I assembled my first diy subwoofer using a JL Audio 10W3v2 and Bash 300 amp in a 2cu ft sealed enclosure. It sounds good except I can here a strange sound coming from the driver at lower volumes and high volumes as the driver tries to produce the bass notes from the music. I'm not sure how to describe this sound other than it sounds like my kitchen cupboard doors vibrating whenever I watch movies with lots of deep low bass. I don't have much experience with this so I don't know what could be causing this sound. Does anyone know what would cause this vibrating/rattling sound and how it can be removed?
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Have you looked closely at the inner edge (cone side) of the foam surround? It may be ripped from over excursion or age/heat. They are famous for it, others as well
I've re-foamed a few sets for people, companies like SimplySpeakers.com sell kits and they have videos to show you how it's done
I've re-foamed a few sets for people, companies like SimplySpeakers.com sell kits and they have videos to show you how it's done
it could also be that bash amp, I've come across some that are terrible. try turning the gain down to see if it goes away
The foam looks fine on the inner cone side. So I don't think it needs to be refoamed. I already tried turning the gain down and the sound could be heard at all volume levels.
I will try rotating it180 degrees and see what happens. But if the spider or voice coils is detached then I might have to repair it which I rather not have to do.
Proper tension on each fastener and a good seal on a flat baffle all are needed to avoid voice coil dragging and air leaks.
If you are lucky, it may be an alignment tension issue warping the frame, but when voice coils get hot enough, they may blister the former which can cause dragging, or a few coils may become loose and drag.
I turned the subwoofer 180° and it sounded much better. The weird sounds I was hearing before was almost completely gone and not very noticeable. So if it sounds better this way does that indicate that there's a coil alignment problem? I'm hoping this can be repaired by an audio repair shop that specializes in repairing speakers and audio equipment.
Cones may sag over time, causing the voice coil to drag, turning the driver 180 will fix that problem, and the alignment will improve over time as the cone sags in the opposite direction, then eventually require rotation again.
There was a voice coil alignment problem which you have at least partially fixed.The driver's frame/and or the baffle still may still be warped slightly, careful attention to fastener tension may eliminate noise all together, much easier to fix using a sine wave tone at the frequency that causes the buzz.
If the speaker were tested outside the box and there was still dragging, an audio repair shop would re-cone the speaker. If the driver tested OK outside the box, the box baffle is probably warped. An extra gasket made of mortite putty or weather strip can make it possible to keep the frame true even on a warped baffle.
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