Did I Blow My Sub?

[dcshoeman2k4]

I have a Cerwin Vega CLS-15 Powered 15" subwoofer. I'm not gonna lie, I've probably abused it and pushed it a little harder then I should have... Anyways, I was doing the dishes, listening to a rap song with a rather low frequency bass line. Then I hear this very muffled thud, like someone threw a basketball against the side of the house or something. At first I thought that was exactly it, then I came to my sense's and ran out to look at my CV. It was indeed the speaker that made the noise. At first glance, all seems fine. When listening to music or movies with it at moderate volumes, it sounds perfect, but when I start to turn it up a bit, it makes a loud clapping type of sound. Kinda like "ERRRRRRHHH" Maybe more of a rattling noise, I dunno it's hard to describe via text...

Anyways, it's obviously not supposed to be making this noise. So what's up? What's wrong with it? Like I said, when listen to it at low to medium volume it sounds perfect. But when I crank it up it makes that rattling sound. I removed the speaker from the box and did a visual inspection and didn't see any imperfections or blemishes what-so-ever. My final question is this: Is this a big problem with the speaker? Or perhaps a simple fix, making it worth sending it in to CV for repair. No, the speaker is not under warranty anymore, I would be paying for repairs out of pocket. Thanks for the tips guys!

 

[mtrycrafts]

I have a Cerwin Vega CLS-15 Powered 15" subwoofer. I'm not gonna lie, I've probably abused it and pushed it a little harder then I should have... Anyways, I was doing the dishes, listening to a rap song with a rather low frequency bass line. Then I hear this very muffled thud, like someone threw a basketball against the side of the house or something. At first I thought that was exactly it, then I came to my sense's and ran out to look at my CV. It was indeed the speaker that made the noise. At first glance, all seems fine. When listening to music or movies with it at moderate volumes, it sounds perfect, but when I start to turn it up a bit, it makes a loud clapping type of sound. Kinda like "ERRRRRRHHH" Maybe more of a rattling noise, I dunno it's hard to describe via text...

Anyways, it's obviously not supposed to be making this noise. So what's up? What's wrong with it? Like I said, when listen to it at low to medium volume it sounds perfect. But when I crank it up it makes that rattling sound. I removed the speaker from the box and did a visual inspection and didn't see any imperfections or blemishes what-so-ever. My final question is this: Is this a big problem with the speaker? Or perhaps a simple fix, making it worth sending it in to CV for repair. No, the speaker is not under warranty anymore, I would be paying for repairs out of pocket. Thanks for the tips guys!

Yep, all that rattling sure sounds like you damaged it.

 

[jamie2112]

Sounds like you blew it up. The cerwin speakers especially the older ones have problems with the surrounds around the woofer. I had a set of cerwins and blew both subs listening to The Grateful Dead,lots of bass..I am pretty sure you can buy a new speaker from cerwin and just take out the blown one and put in the new one, unless you have blown the internal crossover but it really sounds like its just the speaker itself..

 

[croseiv]

Maybe the voice coil is damged...Try pushing on the woofer and see if you feel rubbing or scraping. If so, then the coil/motor is damaged.

 

[TLS Guy]

I have a Cerwin Vega CLS-15 Powered 15" subwoofer. I'm not gonna lie, I've probably abused it and pushed it a little harder then I should have... Anyways, I was doing the dishes, listening to a rap song with a rather low frequency bass line. Then I hear this very muffled thud, like someone threw a basketball against the side of the house or something. At first I thought that was exactly it, then I came to my sense's and ran out to look at my CV. It was indeed the speaker that made the noise. At first glance, all seems fine. When listening to music or movies with it at moderate volumes, it sounds perfect, but when I start to turn it up a bit, it makes a loud clapping type of sound. Kinda like "ERRRRRRHHH" Maybe more of a rattling noise, I dunno it's hard to describe via text...

Anyways, it's obviously not supposed to be making this noise. So what's up? What's wrong with it? Like I said, when listen to it at low to medium volume it sounds perfect. But when I crank it up it makes that rattling sound. I removed the speaker from the box and did a visual inspection and didn't see any imperfections or blemishes what-so-ever. My final question is this: Is this a big problem with the speaker? Or perhaps a simple fix, making it worth sending it in to CV for repair. No, the speaker is not under warranty anymore, I would be paying for repairs out of pocket. Thanks for the tips guys!

One of three things have happened.

The voice coil came out of the gap, and on the way back the coil former became damaged distorted.

The voice coil has partially separated from the cone.

Excessive heat has caused the voice coil to partially unravel and you have dropped a turn or two of wire from the voice coil.

Whatever you have done, your woofer needs re coning.

This can be done by CV, or an independent repair service such as Orange County speaker repair.

If you are handy, this is a repair you could do yourself with a re coning kit, if you can follow directions carefully. It is not actually that difficult. It takes time and patience, and you have to carefully get all the old glue off.

You will need lots of razor blades, acetone, the correct voice coil gap shims, a new surround, the correct bonding agents, a new cone complete with voice coil and suspension and a new dust cap.

You will also need a soldering iron and solder, to solder the voice coil wires to the terminals. A source of compressed air is also handy to blow out any dirt or debris from the voice coil gap.

 

[dcshoeman2k4]

My Cerwin Vega Sub did indeed get blown. There is a scraping sound when I push the cone in and out. It's not an older model, nor is it the most expensive model, however, it was pretty nice. I'm wondering if it's worth sending into Cerwin Vega for repair. How much do you think it would cost? Would it be worth sending it in for repair or should I just replace the woofer? I bought the whole set up (CLS 15 Powered Subwoofer, which obviously included the power amplifier) off eBay for 350 dollars. I beat the crap out of it for about a year until just recently, it blew. Anyways, let me know if you think I should send it in for repair or maybe replace the woofer with another CV or possibly a JBL woofer.

 

[croseiv]

I'd be inclined to get a new woofer altogether, or perhaps a completely new sub. Seems to be a pretty decent speaker though.

 

[jamie2112]

Put a new speaker in it and sell it back on ebay. You can probably get close to what you paid and then get yourself a new sub.Or you could just get another speaker for 100 bucks and live with the one you have.

 

[MinusTheBear]

What kind of levels do you listen at to blow a cerwin vega sub. I have some cerwin vega satellites and sub and I would have to have them at beyond deafining levels to blow the speakers or the sub

 

[TLS Guy]

My Cerwin Vega Sub did indeed get blown. There is a scraping sound when I push the cone in and out. It's not an older model, nor is it the most expensive model, however, it was pretty nice. I'm wondering if it's worth sending into Cerwin Vega for repair. How much do you think it would cost? Would it be worth sending it in for repair or should I just replace the woofer? I bought the whole set up (CLS 15 Powered Subwoofer, which obviously included the power amplifier) off eBay for 350 dollars. I beat the crap out of it for about a year until just recently, it blew. Anyways, let me know if you think I should send it in for repair or maybe replace the woofer with another CV or possibly a JBL woofer.

You must use an identical woofer, you can not substitute a different model or brand. The Thiel/Small parameters of every speaker are unique, and the enclosure and tuning are unique to that speaker.

You DO NOT NEED to buy a new driver. The chassis and magnet are the most expensive part, and are perfectly good. If that speaker is re coned, it will be just like new. That will be far cheaper. If you are at all handy, it is something you can do yourself, and that will cost you very little. I have re coned a lot of speakers over the years. If you have common sense and are not a hopeless klutz it is easily accomplished. If you don't want to do it yourself, CV can do it, and there are a lot of excellent firms that re cone speakers like that as well.

Re coning is the way to go. There is no need to throw away the magnet and chassis. The magnet for one has a lot of metals that are getting in short supply and it is profligate to discard the speaker.

 

[croseiv]

You must use an identical woofer, you can not substitute a different model or brand. The Thiel/Small parameters of every speaker are unique, and the enclosure and tuning are unique to that speaker.

You DO NOT NEED to buy a new driver. The chassis and magnet are the most expensive part, and are perfectly good. If that speaker is re coned, it will be just like new. That will be far cheaper. If you are at all handy, it is something you can do yourself, and that will cost you very little. I have re coned a lot of speakers over the years. If you have common sense and are not a hopeless klutz it is easily accomplished. If you don't want to do it yourself, CV can do it, and there are a lot of excellent firms that re cone speakers like that as well.

Re coning is the way to go. There is no need to throw away the magnet and chassis. The magnet for one has a lot of metals that are getting in short supply and it is profligate to discard the speaker.

Most of us aren't speaker professional such as you... No way would I try to dismantle a speaker and recoil it. TLS, it may be simple to you, but it is a rather complicated task.

 

[TLS Guy]

Most of us aren't speaker professional such as you... No way would I try to dismantle a speaker and recoil it. TLS, it may be simple to you, but it is a rather complicated task.

Actually it is pretty straightforward. I would not recommended it if I did not think it could not be successfully accomplished by someone with a modicum of dexterity.

If the OP is interested I can easily guide him through it. If not orange county can re cone his speaker for $75 and it will be good as new. A new CV driver will cost a lot more than that.

http://www.speakerrepair.com/ocsrepairprice.html

I would guess a quality 15 inch driver like that will probably run somewhere between $150 and $200. Any how a re cone will not deliver you a body blow.

 

[dcshoeman2k4]

Most of us aren't speaker professional such as you... No way would I try to dismantle a speaker and recoil it. TLS, it may be simple to you, but it is a rather complicated task.

Lol, yeah, I'm thinking the same thing. I really like the speaker, it was very loud and sounded really good. It's true, I listened to it at pretty extreme levels. When it blew I had my Denon amp at -04 with a 4db gain to the sub, so it's my own damn fault it happened. My only unanswered question is this: Would it be worth sending it in to CV for repair? Would the cost of the repair and shipping be more than the woofer is worth?

My wife said she would buy me a PB-13 Ultra as a Birthday/Christmas present, but that's not til November/December and I simply can't live that long with out my woofer. Anyways thanks to all who responded to my question

 

[dcshoeman2k4]

Actually it is pretty straightforward. I would not recommended it if I did not think it could not be successfully accomplished by someone with a modicum of dexterity.

If the OP is interested I can easily guide him through it. If not orange county can re cone his speaker for $75 and it will be good as new. A new CV driver will cost a lot more than that.

http://www.speakerrepair.com/ocsrepairprice.html

I would guess a quality 15 inch driver like that will probably run somewhere between $150 and $200. Any how a re cone will not deliver you a body blow.

Ok, well I dunno where you live, but I live in the boonies in Iowa. What's this "Orange County" company you speak of? Would I simply ship them the speaker and have them re cone it? There is 1 audio shop that is within about 30 miles of me, should I ask them if they could re cone it?

 

[TLS Guy]

Lol, yeah, I'm thinking the same thing. I really like the speaker, it was very loud and sounded really good. It's true, I listened to it at pretty extreme levels. When it blew I had my Denon amp at -04 with a 4db gain to the sub, so it's my own damn fault it happened. My only unanswered question is this: Would it be worth sending it in to CV for repair? Would the cost of the repair and shipping be more than the woofer is worth?

My wife said she would buy me a PB-13 Ultra as a Birthday/Christmas present, but that's not til November/December and I simply can't live that long with out my woofer. Anyways thanks to all who responded to my question

Orange county speaker are a certified CV repair center. They will repair yours for $75, which will be less than 50% of the cost of a new woofer, let alone a new sub.

I would have your driver re coned. It will be as good as a new driver. You liked the sub, so I don't see where this is a difficult decision.

 

[TLS Guy]

Ok, well I dunno where you live, but I live in the boonies in Iowa. What's this "Orange County" company you speak of? Would I simply ship them the speaker and have them re cone it? There is 1 audio shop that is within about 30 miles of me, should I ask them if they could re cone it?

I can have no idea of the competency of your audio shop. I do know Orange County speaker, in Orange County California have had a reputation for excellent work and service for a very long time. You ship the speaker to them UPS or FedEx, and they send it back as good as new. It will cost you $75 plus shipping both ways. They can also supply you with everything you would need to repair your own speaker if you want to try it.

I live in the middle of a Forest and I'm not even on a Federal mail route. I think I best on the boonies factor.

 

[dcshoeman2k4]

I can have no idea of the competency of your audio shop. I do know Orange County speaker, in Orange County California have had a reputation for excellent work and service for a very long time. You ship the speaker to them UPS or FedEx, and they send it back as good as new. It will cost you $75 plus shipping both ways. They can also supply you with everything you would need to repair your own speaker if you want to try it.

I live in the middle of a Forest and I'm not even on a Federal mail route. I think I best on the boonies factor.

Hmmm... Well, I truly love this speaker. Felt like I lost a good friend when it died... I think I'll look into this company. Thanks TLS, you have answered some of my other stupid questions in the past, always nice to have your insight. Cheers!

 

[dcshoeman2k4]

One more comment, it says there typical "re-edge" job runs about 80 dollars. The foam surrounds on the speaker are perfect. It doesn't need re-edged. Would a re cone cost a lot more?

EDIT Im dumb and didnt continue reading, says recone for all 15" Cerwin Vega Models is 75 dollars. Thanks for the recommendation, I'll give these guys a shot!

 

[TLS Guy]

One more comment, it says there typical "re-edge" job runs about 80 dollars. The foam surrounds on the speaker are perfect. It doesn't need re-edged. Would a re cone cost a lot more?

EDIT Im dumb and didnt continue reading, says recone for all 15" Cerwin Vega Models is 75 dollars. Thanks for the recommendation, I'll give these guys a shot!

I'm confident they will do an excellent job. With re coning everything has to be replaced except the chassis and magnet. The edge has to be sacrificed. Basically you cut everything out with a razor blade. You remove all traces of glue and remaining material and then you are ready to install the new parts.

 

[bandphan]

Sometimes when you overdrive a woofer, the cone assembly can overexcurt causing the voice coil to "bottom out" and get damaged. That is just one explanation for the noise you are hearing but all of the possible problems can be solved by reconing by a reputable, CV authorized recone center.
Check out The Speaker Exchange for all your reconing, refoaming, parts and speaker hardware needs.