Bought Dayton SUB-120 HT Series 12" for $10, amp dead

[Darkfenix101]

So I pick up this sub for about 10$ fully knowing that it MAY not work when I get it back home to test it out (moving out sale). I had read that the enclosure alone is worth the $140 retail so I said eff it why not. Turns out the amp is dead, yet the subwoofer itself is perfectly fine (had it tested). Unfort, a replacement amp would cost me a little less than getting a whole nother unit.

What should I do in this situation? Should I just spring for an amp to fix it or get another unit and somehow use the subwoofer? What would I be able to do with the spare sub?

 

[Adam]

Welcome to the forum!

Have you tried to troubleshoot what is wrong with the amplifier? I'm wondering if it's something simple like a fuse.

 

[Darkfenix101]

Thanks; I'm pretty sure the audio shop I took it to checked the fuse; would that be easily accessible? Anywhere you could point me to that would give me an idea on how to troubleshoot it further? Couldn't hurt, its broken as it is lol.

 

[Adam]

Ah, you took it to a pro shop to have it checked? Gotcha. Did they give you any details about why it doesn't work?

I'm not an electronics expert, so I don't know about where all to look. I just mentioned something that could be overlooked by someone who isn't familiar with an amp.

There are others here that know a lot more than me. Perhaps they'll see this and chime in.

 

[GlocksRock]

Those amps aren't the greatest, I had to have 2 of them replaced in my Sub 120. Maybe you can contact parts express to see how much they will charge to exchange the amp.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Hey Darkfenix,
Not sure about your sub amp problem, but very frequently the reason for electronic components malfunction (in lack of physical damage) is failed Electrolytic Capacitors
Replacing them yourself is fairly simple and cheap, there are zillions of guides online on how to do it.

It took me about hour and a half replacing three caps on Hp workstation motherboard (working very slowly) and after the fix computer was working again like new.

 

[Knucklehead90]

Lacking the ability to get the broken amp fixed you might consider looking for a used amp off ebay - or buy a cheap replacement such as this Foster 110w amp. Or select one from here.

The best option is to just buy the exact amp that is already in the sub but is the most costly one.

 

[Darkfenix101]

Ill look into the capacitor replacements; I took electronics in high school so have a proficiency in soldering if required. If all else fails, I might pick up a sa-240 and a dayton reference for an upgrade. The only Dayton amps I can find are 100 and 240 watts so I might try the upgrade alot of guys have done with this setup. I've heard of guys getting this stuff on sale, any idea when and where they get em from because it seems like there's not many places that carry the stuff.

 

[Adam]

I don't know of a good place to get those amps cheap, but I have a couple of questions.

• Are you just trying to get the sub to work at the moment?
• If so, do you have an older receiver or any other amplifier around?

If the answers to those questions are "yes," then we likely can get you up and running with a working sub.

 

[Darkfenix101]

My dad has a 6.1 receiver he uses for tv and stereo, would I be able to somehow rig it up to get it temporarily working? I'd love to hear how this sounds before I decide what to do.

Thanks

 

[Adam]

I'll tell you how you can do it. Whether you or your dad wants for you to use the receiver that he's currently using to try this, well...that's up to you two. It shouldn't hurt anything, though. I did something similar when I powered two older speakers as subs using an older Yamaha receiver.

The subwoofer that you have contains a woofer cone. That cone should have two wires coming off of it that were/are attached to the amplifier. If you've taken the amplifier out, you've already seen these. Those wires are just the positive and negative leads that will act exactly like the wires that you are used to connecting to speakers (which are normally attached to terminals on the outside of the speaker box).

You would connect the subwoofer output from another receiver (or other audio source) to one of the analog RCA inputs on your dad's receiver. For example, the right channel RCA input for the "CD" input. You would then connect the wires from the subwoofer cone, using extension wire if required, to the corresponding speaker terminal on your dad's receiver (in this example, the front right speaker terminal). You would select the proper input on your dad's receiver (in this example, the "CD" input), turn off any surround sound decoding, start the audio on the source, and adjust the volume on your dad's receiver. I recommend starting with the volume on your dad's receiver at the minimum setting and then adjust upwards.

Does that makes sense?

 

[vilacr]

Amp

You can go here: http://home.comcast.net/~jhidley/
and get a 115w amp for $35 plus shipping which should come out to about $50. I ordered a few of them and they work great.

 

[KEW]

One other option:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61677

Note: This is not a recommendation. I don't know if this is a good value or not - just noticed it fit your general need.

 

[Darkfenix101]

I'll tell you how you can do it. Whether you or your dad wants for you to use the receiver that he's currently using to try this, well...that's up to you two. It shouldn't hurt anything, though. I did something when I powered two older speakers as subs using an older Yamaha receiver.

The subwoofer that you have contains a woofer cone. That cone should have two wires coming off of it that were/are attached to the amplifier. If you've taken the amplifier out, you've already seen these. Those wires are just the positive and negative leads that will act exactly like the wires that you are used to connecting to speakers (which are normally attached to terminals on the outside of the speaker box).

You would connect the subwoofer output from another receiver (or other audio source) to one of the analog RCA inputs on your dad's receiver. For example, the right channel RCA input for the "CD" input. You would then connect the wires from the subwoofer cone, using extension wire if required, to the corresponding speaker terminal on your dad's receiver (in this example, the front right speaker terminal). You would select the proper input on your dad's receiver (in this example, the "CD" input), turn off any surround sound decoding, start the audio on the source, and adjust the volume on your dad's receiver. I recommend starting with the volume on your dad's receiver at the minimum setting and then adjust upwards.

Does that makes sense?

Thanks dude, makes plenty sense. Would it make a difference if i switched up the +/- if im an idiot by accident lol?

and wow, $50 shipped for a replacement? not bad. And thanks for the amp for sale, ill see if i can't replace the caps if im satisfied with the sub

 

[Knucklehead90]

Thanks dude, makes plenty sense. Would it make a difference if i switched up the +/- if im an idiot by accident lol?

and wow, $50 shipped for a replacement? not bad. And thanks for the amp for sale, ill see if i can't replace the caps if im satisfied with the sub

Switching the plus and minus wires will cause the sub to play 180 degrees out of phase. The best way to determine the polarity of the driver is to take a 9v battery and momentarily contact the battery to the terminals on the driver. If the driver moves out and away from the magnet look at the battery, the + side will be in contact with the + terminal of the driver. Put the + (usually red) lead from the amp there. Of course the other goes on the left over terminal.

I have a couple of those Foster amps too. 110 watts doesn't sound like a lot but its adequate for music - which is where I use mine - in the bedroom with a DIY 12" sub. It has a full 110 watts. A 300 watt amp will only give you another 4-5db sound level - hardly something most people would miss - or notice.

 

[Darkfenix101]

thanks man, appreciate it. I'm going to look into the caps first, figure its the cheapest option and cant hurt right? test it on my dad's receiver and depending on my money situation, i may pick up an sa-240 and 12" reference and sell the sub on ebay (or here)