Popping or Cracking at higher volumes

I had my sub repaired for a faulty control mechanism at the rear and the repair guy said the speaker itself was fine. However, at higher volumes there is a very loud popping noise that sounds like the sub is ripping itself apart. No problems at low or moderate volumes. Any ideas? Thanks

Overheated voice coil. Melted from the magnet. Your repair guy is lazy. Tell him to replace the woofer itself while it's still under warranty.

Not under warranty

Unfortunately its not under warranty anymore. Probably cheaper to buy a new sub than repair? Maybe I could get them to credit the $95 I spent on the switch as I said I didn't want to repair if the speaker was baffed.

vern said:

Unfortunately its not under warranty anymore. Probably cheaper to buy a new sub than repair? Maybe I could get them to credit the $95 I spent on the switch as I said I didn't want to repair if the speaker was baffed.

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That blows, man. What make/model do you have? I'd go right to the manager or owner. You could've bought a new woofer for $95 at www.part$express.com. People kill me. You need to swap the $ for an s to pull that up.

Mirage 12"

Its 6 years old but I agree that maybe he could have checked the power cord. I will have a discussion with them about it but I won't hold my breath. Could there be any other reason for that sound? Thanks

sorry,

power coil not cord....

.....Vern, the problem is Buck and others here aren't there to hear what you're hearing....I suggest since you're getting fine results at lower listening levels that your voice-coil is not damaged....I suggest your linear excursion is hitting bottom-plate at higher listening levels....turn down the bass tone control on your receiver which, I assume, controls the bass tone control to your sub also....THEN, CRANK IT!!!, haha......

bass control

I have the bass on the receiver at mid-point and have the sub level very low. Have not had this problem before and now I'm a bit confused. Sounds like it could be a number of problems? And maybe I need to take it back to the shop and have them look at it again??

.....Vern, from what you just told me, yes, you need to have a person who knows your equipment well enough to be able to repair, that which is wrong....we here at this site have decent cognitive reasoning abilities and mechanical aptitude for turning knobs and moving slides, but we don't make a living fixing equipment going inside the equipment....but it still sounds like the problem is elsewhere concerning the woofer element......

Ask McmanNM tomorrow or send him a private message. He's an expert with speaker building and will tell you exactly what the problem is.

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/member.php?u=8949

Thanks, I have sent him a message. I will also talk with the shop tech.

vern said:

I had my sub repaired for a faulty control mechanism at the rear and the repair guy said the speaker itself was fine. However, at higher volumes there is a very loud popping noise that sounds like the sub is ripping itself apart. No problems at low or moderate volumes. Any ideas? Thanks

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Ok, so it cracks and pops at high volumes. Tells me the Voice coil is fine. Have you taken it apart? Or just removed the driver? What type of sub is this? Make Model, Size, Power? Is it ported? How loud is the cracking sound, and how loud do you have to play it to make it happen?

To go any further you are going to need to remove the driver from the cabinet. It's not hard, just a few screws holding it in.

I can't do this at the moment as I am at work but if I do, then what? Trust me, my tech abilities are not the most finely developed and opening a speaker box is entering new territory. Could you give me the steps on what I am looking for?
Thanks

vern said:

I can't do this at the moment as I am at work but if I do, then what? Trust me, my tech abilities are not the most finely developed and opening a speaker box is entering new territory. Could you give me the steps on what I am looking for?
Thanks

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Take out the driver. Turn it upside down, and place your fingers on the cone and gently move the cone in and out. Try to apply even pressure. feel for any binding, the driver should move in and out smoothly. Next look between the magnet and cone, there should be a brown mesh ring looking thing. When you pull out on the speaker the outside of this mesh should stay connected to the magnet structure, and the inside should be connected to the cone. Verify this is true. I have a feeling that mesh "spider" has become unglued from the magnet. If you get confused, I might be able to send you some pics. If anyone out there can describe what I'm trying to tell him better, feel free.

Most spider separations occur at the critical cone neck-voice coil former-spider joint (or three way joint) and not at the spider to basket joint. However, I would not rule it out in this case as it (the problem) does not occur until higher motion levels.

Mulester7,

Most subwoofer "bottoming" is usually the three way joint making contact with the top plate. Not the former making contact with the back plate. Though that can occur depending upon the design of the speaker.

annunaki said:

Most spider separations occur at the critical cone neck-voice coil former-spider joint (or three way joint) and not at the spider to basket joint. However, I would not rule it out in this case as it (the problem) does not occur until higher motion levels.

Mulester7,

Most subwoofer "bottoming" is usually the three way joint making contact with the top plate. Not the former making contact with the back plate. Though that can occur depending upon the design of the speaker.

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I have found that both joints fail, however, in my experience I have had the spider separate from the basket more often (age of the driver may have been the greatest factor). When this happens and you drive the speaker hard, the voice coil tends to over extend in the outward direction. The voice coil will then pop out of the cylinder cast in the magnet and make a loud popping sound when it tries to return.

Bottom line, its time for a new sub because there something wrong with it? Its not an adjustment error?

vern said:

Bottom line, its time for a new sub because there something wrong with it? Its not an adjustment error?

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I doubt its an adjustment error Vern. I would guess it is a physical problem with the driver. I am sure you could repair it without much problem though. I hate to see someone pitch something for no real good reason. Unless of course you want to buy a new sub! It doesn't take much to make me want a new piece of gear!

Its at least 6 years old and I just don't have the know-how/time to try and repair it. I will talk with the repair shop to see if they would give me some kind of credit (they did tell me the speaker was fine before I spent $100 on a new switch!). If I go new whats a good replacement for the Mirage 10"??
Thanks