Infinity PS-12 sub overheating?

[Kyle Lorenz]

I had my Infinity PS-12 subwoofer going for about an hour and half with the volume at half (where i always have it). Then, it started to make ticking sounds. Four or five ticks in a row. It then shut itself off before I could get to it. I'm thinking that the ticking sounds is a safety mechanism to shut off the amp whens its too hot. I felt the cone and it was a little warm. I had it shut off for about 10 minutes to cool and turned it on again. It works just fine now but I'm scared that something could be harmed. Are the ticking sounds a safety mechanism for when it gets too hot? Thanks

 

[j_garcia]

Based on what you said, that's what it sounds like to me. 1 1/2hrs doesn't seem like a long time unless you had some sustained bass heavy stuff. The cone being warm I wouldn't think would shut it down, but the amp being too hot is more common for something like that. Do you have your system calibrated?

 

[bandit]

In my limited experience - I've found that most sub amps usually run quite cool. There isn't an outside influence - such as direct sunlight or proximity to a heat source??? Also - if the amp as an input power voltage selector switch (115/230v) make sure it is set correctly. Just my $.02.

Bandit

 

[Kyle Lorenz]

I had the new Three Days Grace cd on which has alot of low bass. What does a calibrated system mean?

 

[Thunder18]

The good news is that Infinity covers the driver for 5 years and the amp for 3 years, but that does sound like some kind of self-protection circuit kicking in. I have one and I've never driven it hard enough to have it kick in though. I guess just see if it does it again, then you might worry.

As for calibration. He means have you set it up so that it complements your system. In effect, picking up the low end where your other largest speakers can't go. In that way, you're not over driving the sub all the time.

 

[j_garcia]

I would tend to agree that most sub amps run cool these days, but that doesn't mean you can't push them to the limit if you have the sub/system going loud for a long time or throw some really deep stuff (below the sub's capability) in there. Yes, calibrated means set to an appropriate level relative to your other speakers. If you have the sub really cranked up and something really demanding comes along, it could cause problems like what you saw. Just keep an eye/ear on it and turn the system down if you hear that sound again. The clicking was possibly a relay trying to shut the amp off, but if you were playing it really loud, you could have actually bottomed out the sub - neither of which is a good thing to keep doing.

 

[Kyle Lorenz]

Thanks for the advice guys. I don't have my system calibrated and I'm not to sure how I could. How do you do it?

 

[j_garcia]

What receiver do you have? Calibration is done manually with test tones (in the receiver or from a disc) and a Sound Pressure Level (SPL) meter, or many receivers now come with an automatic calibraton feature that does it more or less for you. The idea is to match all the levels of the speakers relative to your exact room, so that as things move from speaker to speaker the sound is realistic.

 

[Kyle Lorenz]

I have a JVC RX-6042 receiver.

 

[j_garcia]

Well, it looks like a relatively current receiver, but it doesn't appear to have auto-setup. Maybe drop the level of the sub a little bit relative to the other speakers for now and see how it does.

 

[Kyle Lorenz]

I had it going today again with the same music at the same volume just to see what would happen and it did fine. After 2 hours or so, I had to shut it off because I started to get a headache

 

[j_garcia]

So is this album any good? I enjoyed the first one.

 

[tomd51]

Fyi...

Kyle;
Check out the Home Theater Set-up Basics 101 article here at AH.

While some of this may cover things you already know or have done, other points will help you understand how to properly configure your setup and get the best performance out of it.... -TD

 

[Kyle Lorenz]

Thanks for the article tomd51. I learnt a few things. Yes, the new Three Days Grace cd is very good j_garcia. It's got good bass and what's not to love about bass