Love Lockdown

[sterling shoote]

O.K., I'm listening to Kayne West's, Love Lockdown tune on his 808s & Heartbreak CD. This song has got the most exaggerated bass I've ever heard. At any rate, It appears my JBL B380 either can't handle it, or something, somewhere in the audio reproduction chain, is not adjusted properly, or is simply broken. BTW, the passive B380 is powered by a Sony TA-N80ES in mono. The bass signal comes from a digital signal processing Sony TA-E9000ES. What I'm hearing when I play this tune is not the sound of clipping, which would sound like colliding hammers, but instead, I hear what sounds like a sword fight with 2 x 4's, kinda like something rattling, or loose, yet all components of the sub's speaker and enclosure seem to be screwed tight. What's up with this? Please note that it's only with this insane manufactured bass I've had a problem. Other music and movies have, so far, been made more engaging by this sub. Also, my mains (JBL L100t3's) sound fine on this material.

 

[Rickster71]

You sub's voice coil is bottoming out. Reduce the volume and / or sub level to prevent it; or else it will ruin the driver.
Also, throw out that CD.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

What rick said. The driver is bottoming out and that's not good. Turn it down.
...and throw out that CD.

 

[sterling shoote]

Well, I don't think it's bottoming out. I've heard that sound before, kinda like a popping sound, jackhammer loud. Nevertheless, taking your advice, the distortion can be eliminated, but that effectively eliminates the sub's bass extension. Is there anything else that could be producing the rattle?

 

[Rickster71]

This song has got the most exaggerated bass I've ever heard. At any rate, It appears my JBL B380 either can't handle it......

I think these two things combined, are the problem. Pretty sure that sub can't go below 25Hz.
You could take out the driver and see if there is anything loose inside the box.

 

[just-some-guy]

DO NOT throw out that CD.

connect it to a rope. tie that rope to your bumper. then drive. A LOT.
this torture is a fraction, like .00000000000001% of what it actually causes.

 

[dkane360]

I like Kanye West...

 

[GranteedEV]

I thought that CD was nice. His worst, but good =(

His new one on the other hand, amazing

 

[dkane360]

I thought that CD was nice. His worst, but good =(

His new one on the other hand, amazing

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy? I just borrowed it from my friend, I'll have to give it a listen.

 

[sholling]

I haven't heard that CD (and won't) but I have two CD's that produce bass so tortured that I can't imagine what the heck the musician and/or mixer did to produce such a mess and the first time I heard it I thought I'd screwed up a woofer. It's possible that this is the same situation.

 

[just-some-guy]

check ALL of your connections !!!

i had a scare last night. thought i blew a driver, sounded exactly like a blown driver. turns out i had a bad connection

 

[sterling shoote]

I think these two things combined, are the problem. Pretty sure that sub can't go below 25Hz.
You could take out the driver and see if there is anything loose inside the box.

Upon closer inspections, I discovered my speaker foam surround has disintegrated.
Is re-foaming this speaker a DIY project, or is this something for an expert? I googled up a service in Florida; and, they can sell me a kit or do the re-foaming. It does not cost much more to let them do it; however, the shipping charges are going to be more than the cost of parts and labor, so I'd rather do it myself.

 

[Rickster71]

Upon closer inspections, I discovered my speaker foam surround has disintegrated.
Is re-foaming this speaker a DIY project, or is this something for an expert? I googled up a service in Florida; and, they can sell me a kit or do the re-foaming. It does not cost much more to let them do it; however, the shipping charges are going to be more than the cost of parts and labor, so I'd rather do it myself.

It sure is a DIY project.
There are 'how to' videos on You Tube to give you a better idea of what's involved.
Parts Express has repair kits also: http://www.parts-express.com/speakerReplacementGuide/speakerReplacementGuide.cfm

 

[Seth=L]

Well, I don't think it's bottoming out. I've heard that sound before, kinda like a popping sound, jackhammer loud. Nevertheless, taking your advice, the distortion can be eliminated, but that effectively eliminates the sub's bass extension. Is there anything else that could be producing the rattle?

You described bottoming out, it's the sound of the voice coil repeatedly hitting the magnet structure from over excursion, aka, bottoming out.

Given that your surrounds are shot it makes sense that they would bottom out, there's nothing to hold them back from doing that.

 

[sterling shoote]

Foam kit is on the way to me, along with a gasket. I purchased the kit from Simply Speakers in FL. They tell me the only trick to it all, with JBL cones, is getting the disintegrated foam off the back of the cone. I think I can do it with some rubbing alcohol and maybe a few q-tips. Any other suggestions?

 

[GranteedEV]

check what i just noticed in stereophile, of all places

Today's popular music tends to go over my head—even more than before, with the major labels' abandonment of artist development, pop comprises ephemeral music by equally ephemeral talents. But when I caught Kanye West on Saturday Night Live performing the hit "Love Lockdown," from his album 808s & Heartbreak, it was obvious even through my TV's tinny speakers that there was something going on. Playing the CD (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam) through the Revels, their three 8" reflex-loaded woofers per side driven by the 750W Musical Fidelity 750K Supercharger monoblocks, the track made musical sense. The sampled three-note bass figure that opens "Love Lockdown" needs both maximum LF extension from a speaker and the ability to play loud without the recording's gross needs for bass reproduction muddying up the midrange. When first the pitch-corrected voice enters, then the piano riff, then the thunderous drums, each new musical element remains maximally distinct from the others and from the bass figure.

Yup... an audiophile reference track

 

[Rob Babcock]

DO NOT throw out that CD.

connect it to a rope. tie that rope to your bumper. then drive. A LOT.
this torture is a fraction, like .00000000000001% of what it actually causes.

Hahaha! I like that idea! "Now, Ima let you finish, Kanye..."