How to break your speaker:
A “speaker” is made up two parts; the “driver”, and the “enclosure”. The enclosure must be just the right type and
size to provide the proper air pressure for the driver to push against. ALL drivers have an “excursion limit” which is
the farthest they can move in each direction. This is simply the physical limitation of how loud it can go, even if
more power is applied.
The SSC
TM
driver used in all SubSolutions feature a voice coil former which is very strong and lightweight. At the
end of the excursion limit, the voice coil former hits the magnet and, announces that it has done so by producing a
mechanical sound. It does not break right away, however, eventually will become damaged if it should continue. It
is unlikely to continue, though, because the listener will immediately hear this terrible sound and turn down the
volume a bit to a level below the excursion limit. In other words, the listeners’ ears act as a built-in safety alarm,
which protects speakers from damage.
Even if someone were
trying
to break a speaker like this one, he (or she) would have to listen to an awful lot of
terrible, rattling noise for quite awhile before it would break. This is one of several good reasons
not
to put a sub
box inside of a trunk, closed off from the area you are listening in. The sub can reach its excursion limit (or the amp
can reach its distortion limit) and break the woofer without you hearing the warning signs.
Wiring
In wiring up your SubSolution
subwoofer(s), you will need
to follow your amplifier’s wiring instructions. The reason for
this is that different amps have different minimum
impedance requirements. The most common of these is “2
ohm per channel, minimum impedance”. If your amp is this
type, then it can be “bridged mono” into 4 ohms; 4 ohms
mono represents the same load to the amp as 2 ohms per channel. This mode (2 ohms/ch. or 4
ohms mono) is the
minimum
, not the required impedance. Most amps will also work very well (in
some cases, better) in “4 ohm mode”, which is 4 ohms per channel or 8 ohms mono. So, if you have
two
4 ohm woofers and you want to wire them both up to one of these amps, configure them in
series (see diagram). This is because two 4 ohm drivers in series become an 8 ohm load. In
parallel, they would create a single 2 ohm load and, since your amp needs 4 ohm mono
minimum
, it
would “thermal” after a short time and the protection circuit would kick in -- (or it would break).
Power Handling
SubSolutions subwoofers are very efficient. They will play very well, and sound very good, with as
little as 100 watts applied to them. This is unlike most conventional subwoofer drivers sold today.
Most are built for maximum power handling (3-400 watts or more) with massive voice coil and other
components. This means that all of these drivers are quite in-efficient as a result. They actually play
about 10 db quieter than a SubSolution, at a given wattage. So, be sure to use a large amp on those
subs. Single-driver SubSolutions can use a smaller, less expensive, easier to install, 50-60 watt/ch.
Amp, bridged mono. They will
handle
more power, but it won’t be turned into sound, it will just be
dissipated as heat. Actually, most subs will handle more power
than you think. What they can’t handle is distortion. Distortion
is what an amplifier puts out when it isn’t big enough to play as
loud as you would like it to. All amplifiers distort when you turn
them up past their maximum output level. It’s that extra, “fuzzy”
sound over the top of the music. The graph at the right shows
how your amp tries to amplify the small signal from your deck
without altering its smooth shape. Your amp has a “voltage rail”
limit of how big it can do that before it chops off the top and
bottom of the sine wave, causing distortion -- which will damage
your speakers.
To summarize:
if you’ve blown a speaker from
distortion, (which isn’t covered under warranty) and had to get
another one you might need a cleaner or more powerful amp.
Almost every time a speaker “blows”, it is due to distortion. It is
very rare indeed that a manufacturing defect in a speaker
doesn’t show up within the first few hours or minutes of play. For best performance, try to use an
amp that will put 200 watts on each SubSolution
driver. For example, a 50 watt/ch. amp will
usually deliver 200 watts mono into 4 ohms. These would be ideal for a single driver SubSolution
.
The dual driver models have two drivers and would sound better on an amplifier twice as big, etc.
Bi-amping
It’s very important to understand the need to “bi-amp” your vehicles’ sound system. That is, to
make sure you have a power amp for your door speakers as well as one for your subwoofer. If you
don’t, and you use the little, “BTL, IC chip” amp that is in your radio (“deck”, or “head unit”), you
will be missing out on an awful lot of sound quality. ALL IC chip amps put out 12 watts, at 1%
distortion, rotten signal to noise ratio, crummy stereo separation, and absolutely no headroom.
ALL of them. (despite what they say). When you use a discreet amp, your door speakers will
receive a wonderfully clean, powerful signal, with high power, low distortion, great signal-to-noise
ratio (no background hiss), and, because it will be bi-amped, all the deep bass is filtered out. Your
door speakers will play a whole new tune. Your ears will hear an incredible difference. Your brain
will think it’s the best idea it ever had.
Crossover Settings
In vehicles, we only need subwoofers to play
from 40hz to 90 hertz, but we need them to be
very loud in order to hear the rhythm part of the
music over the vehicle’s road rumble. A separate
amp for just the subwoofer is a must for a high
performance audio system. It also must have an
electronic crossover, either built-in or external, to
block both the higher frequencies from going to
the woofer (low pass) and the lower frequencies
from going to the mids and highs (high pass).
Set the “low pass” at about 90 hz -- or slightly
lower (80 or 70 hz) if you have a larger amp. The
setting for the “high pass” output to the amp that
runs the mids and highs should be as low as your
door speakers can handle without breaking up at
high volumes. Many two-way crossovers have only one adjustment to determine a “center
frequency” point; the sub amp must play from that point and below, and the high-pass from that
frequency and above. If so, set it at 90 hz.
Care & Maintenance
Unlike most other subwoofer boxes that are covered with carpet, the durable finish on your
SubSolutions
can be easily cleaned with soap and water, if, for example, a drink should spill on it.
"Sedans", or
"Cars with trunks
"
—
Bass is the resonating of air. In order to hear (or feel) bass, you need to resonate the air near
you. If you put a subwoofer inside a closed trunk only a small portion of the bass can be heard
or felt in the cab of the vehicle. However, in sedans, there is no other place for a sub, and so
one theory (not a very good one), is to put in a huge sub and huge amp and hope it can be
heard up front. This idea of wasting ¾ of the bass is not only very expensive, it leads to many
blown subs since you can’t hear the amplifier’s distortion limit or the driver’s excursion limit.
Some cars have seats that fold down but the opening is smaller than the trunk causing a
destructive "loading" effect. In addition, there is the inevitability that you will close the seats up
one day, causing the problems previously mentioned.
A simple and very effective solution for sedans is to use a "band-pass" type of subwoofer
enclosure since all of the energy is focused into a small tube that can be "ported" into the cab
through the rear deck of the car. This way the box can still be in the trunk, but the bass can be
in the cab. Two SubSolution™ models are made specifically for installation in these vehicles.
The Thru Deck Port Kit adapts The Sports Car SubSolution™ with the use of a 3" port tube.
And for audiophiles, The Low Bass Trunk Solution™ provides twice as much bass energy
through its 4" port (the four and eight driver models can be modified for trunks as well). It’s
simply a matter of feeding the energy into the passenger area—where you want the sound!
