Sub Distortion

[icefusion]

Hi all, I'm a newbie when it comes to audio and it took me awhile to find a site like this!!

I have a Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 Ultra system, and it has been working great the whole time, except for one thing!!

When I turn the volume up on loud songs that have a lot of bass in it, the back of the subwoofer would rattle. I don't know if my sub is blown out or not, but at the same time I don't believe so since I still get clean tight bass from most songs. It's mainly the songs with exceptionally low bass that I get distortion from... OR if I cranked the volume on a normal bass song.

I hear the rattling from the amp panel of the subwoofer, not the sub drivers themselves. Is this because something is loose inside and I must tighten it? I've opened my sub twice now, and I see no missing screws. I also doubt that a system like this would distort at the level I play at, since it's so powerful and beats all other systems for PC (My Logitech Z-2300 can play bass louder without rattling).

I've tested my two systems with the song : DJ Billy E - Beats 4 My Van, and the Klipsch's amp would rattle so bad (just like a blown out sub would), and my Logitech would handle it fine except you can't hear much bass but still feel the thump.

Another song I tested this on was : Moby - Rushing... which has a decent amount of bass in it, and both my systems would play it with deep, smooth and clean bass. So I'm thinking it HAS to be something inside my sub that is causing the rattling... something loose!!

I appreciate any help from you people, thanks very much!!!!

 

[TLS Guy]

Hi all, I'm a newbie when it comes to audio and it took me awhile to find a site like this!!

I have a Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 Ultra system, and it has been working great the whole time, except for one thing!!

When I turn the volume up on loud songs that have a lot of bass in it, the back of the subwoofer would rattle. I don't know if my sub is blown out or not, but at the same time I don't believe so since I still get clean tight bass from most songs. It's mainly the songs with exceptionally low bass that I get distortion from... OR if I cranked the volume on a normal bass song.

I hear the rattling from the amp panel of the subwoofer, not the sub drivers themselves. Is this because something is loose inside and I must tighten it? I've opened my sub twice now, and I see no missing screws. I also doubt that a system like this would distort at the level I play at, since it's so powerful and beats all other systems for PC (My Logitech Z-2300 can play bass louder without rattling).

I've tested my two systems with the song : DJ Billy E - Beats 4 My Van, and the Klipsch's amp would rattle so bad (just like a blown out sub would), and my Logitech would handle it fine except you can't hear much bass but still feel the thump.

Another song I tested this on was : Moby - Rushing... which has a decent amount of bass in it, and both my systems would play it with deep, smooth and clean bass. So I'm thinking it HAS to be something inside my sub that is causing the rattling... something loose!!

I appreciate any help from you people, thanks very much!!!!

Probably the sub amp rattles. Your best bet is to mount the amp away from the sub, and seal up the hole where the amp was. See if you can hear another sub of the same model. I would bet they all rattle.

 

[fmw]

Put something under the subwoofer's feet that dampens vibration. That could be enough. As an example, my DirecTV receiver rattles noisily. I resolved it by putting some rubber cups at the 4 corners. Now it is as quiet as a mouse. Worth a try.

 

[icefusion]

I have tried putting soft material under the sub, it sits on my carpet anyways so there isn't anything to make it rattle. I just wonder if I can do anything inside on the amp to make it stop rattling but I don't dare fiddle around with the electrical components inside. The idea of separating the amp would be one hell of a project, since you'd have to make a custom box for the amp and then a custom cover for the back of the sub and also a wire extension so that the sub cables would reach the amp. That'd be too much of a hassle and too expensive.

 

[Adam]

I had a B&W sub that rattled. Annoying as all get out, isn't it? I never did track down what was causing it, but mine would stop rattling if I put some weight on the top of the sub. In my case, it was two 10lb plates. I had to experiment with placement at first, but I got it to stop.

I tried all sorts of stuff first, but the weights did it in my case.