Sa-10 Sub is making slapping/rattling noise at all volumes!!&#

[spitfire91104 0]

Ok. I ordered a Sundown Audio SA-10 Sub. Had it hooked up to a Alpine Pdx-1.600 mono amp. Was getting this rattling/slapping noise from the sub at all volumes and all gain but of course it was less severe the lower the volume/gain but was still present. I thought maybe i could have received a bad sub so i got it exchanged. I originally ordered a dual 4 ohm and got a dual 2 ohm which was not too bad since i could still use it but the replacement i received is a dual 4ohm and does not fit in my box. The dual 2 ohm did but the dual 4ohm does not. No idea why the impedance would make a difference on depth. Got the new sub in today and it still makes this noise. I am starting to think it has to be the amp. Any ideas?

Thanks

[Deto1992 5]

Ok. I ordered a Sundown Audio SA-10 Sub. Had it hooked up to a Alpine Pdx-1.600 mono amp. Was getting this rattling/slapping noise from the sub at all volumes and all gain but of course it was less severe the lower the volume/gain but was still present. I thought maybe i could have received a bad sub so i got it exchanged. I originally ordered a dual 4 ohm and got a dual 2 ohm which was not too bad since i could still use it but the replacement i received is a dual 4ohm and does not fit in my box. The dual 2 ohm did but the dual 4ohm does not. No idea why the impedance would make a difference on depth. Got the new sub in today and it still makes this noise. I am starting to think it has to be the amp. Any ideas?

Thanks

Possibly your box. Have you checked it out to see if there could be any issues that would cause slapping as you referred to it?

[spitfire91104 0]

Ok. I ordered a Sundown Audio SA-10 Sub. Had it hooked up to a Alpine Pdx-1.600 mono amp. Was getting this rattling/slapping noise from the sub at all volumes and all gain but of course it was less severe the lower the volume/gain but was still present. I thought maybe i could have received a bad sub so i got it exchanged. I originally ordered a dual 4 ohm and got a dual 2 ohm which was not too bad since i could still use it but the replacement i received is a dual 4ohm and does not fit in my box. The dual 2 ohm did but the dual 4ohm does not. No idea why the impedance would make a difference on depth. Got the new sub in today and it still makes this noise. I am starting to think it has to be the amp. Any ideas?

Thanks

Possibly your box. Have you checked it out to see if there could be any issues that would cause slapping as you referred to it?

Forgot to add. The sub makes this noise when its in or out of the box.

[Kanaworm$ 292]

How can the Dual 4 ohm not fit? How old was the other SA-10? Only thing to change was the cooling ring. Sounds like either a box issue or amp.

[eggyhustles 33]

Glad you joined sir.

[spitfire91104 0]

I said the same thing about it fitting. If anything i thought the one with the ring wouldnt fit vs the one without but the other was brand new also just got it and it fit fine but the 4ohm one is hitting a corner piece(a ridge in the box its made to fit flush in the corner of my trunk so has odd shapes inside) in my custom fiberglass box. My guess is the amp is the problem with the sound. The fitting issue is another story. I dont want to have to return it again. I can try sanding down the piece that it hits and see if it helps some. The sub is being pushed up about 1/2 an inch on one side and i can see where the magnet is hitting the corner where the other one didnt.

[Kanaworm$ 292]

Roughly how big is your custom enclosure? Do you have another amplifier to try to see how the sub sounds?

[spitfire91104 0]

It is .78cu ft with a 3% variance. I have a 4ch amp for my speakers i could bridge but would only be 300w 1/2 of the rated power of the sub.

[smashedz28 110]

Ok. I ordered a Sundown Audio SA-10 Sub. Had it hooked up to a Alpine Pdx-1.600 mono amp. Was getting this rattling/slapping noise from the sub at all volumes and all gain but of course it was less severe the lower the volume/gain but was still present. I thought maybe i could have received a bad sub so i got it exchanged. I originally ordered a dual 4 ohm and got a dual 2 ohm which was not too bad since i could still use it but the replacement i received is a dual 4ohm and does not fit in my box. The dual 2 ohm did but the dual 4ohm does not. No idea why the impedance would make a difference on depth. Got the new sub in today and it still makes this noise. I am starting to think it has to be the amp. Any ideas?

Thanks

Possibly your box. Have you checked it out to see if there could be any issues that would cause slapping as you referred to it?

Forgot to add. The sub makes this noise when its in or out of the box.

box must not be the problem (unless its breaking your speakers). try a different amp and see if that fixes the problem, if not you may have a broken sub and might wanna keep digging to see what's causing it. just my 2 cents. good luck.

[spitfire91104 0]

Dang just realized my 4ch amp is only stable at 4ohms when bridged and i have a dual 4ohn coils. Any ideas? Its the only other amp i own currently.

Edited January 26, 2011 by spitfire91104

[eggyhustles 33]

wire it to 8 ohms

[spitfire91104 0]

Ok. I'll give that a shot this afternoon.

[spitfire91104 0]

Well I still get the same noise when using my 4ch amp bridged. I am pretty sure its not my power wire. Running 4 gauge all the way to the back. Have my rca's on the other side of the car as the power wire. My ground is grounded straight into my trunk well. Only other thing i could think of is the headunits rca subwoofer out. I dont know how it could be that but I cant think of anything else. And this is all in free air. Still have no modified the box to fit this one. Still dont get why it doesnt fit but oh well. Any ideas guys?

Edited January 26, 2011 by spitfire91104

[sundownz 197]

There is nothing operationally wrong with your sub -- not the one you sent back or the one we sent out again. We test them on a 2500D at near full power in free air before they go out. This is absolutely an install problem of some kind.

As far as fitment the dimensions have not changed since the subs came out originally. Same frame, same motor, new and old spacer are the same total height, etc. In this regard I have no idea.

[Notorious97200 339]

do you have the bad noise on all songs or just a particular one ?

I had this kind of problem lately, and I finally realized I was playing a very bad recorded or compressed song !

[spitfire91104 0]

Well the dual 4ohm voice coil definitely hits a section inside my custom box that the dual 2ohm did not. I have tried it on numerous songs with no avail. Even if a recording is bad I have never seen a sub actually make a loud rattling noise with bad quality sound. Maybe a 96khz song might but only thing I have heard with bad quality sound is either the bass is non existent or just muddy. As far as the install I cant see how I have a problem. Ran a 4awg power wire from the battery through and inline fuse to my trunk on the right side of my car. Ran my rca cables on the left side of my car. Drilled a special hole in the metal floor of my trunk for the ground. Plugged the connections in. Have tried wiring the sub differently and I get the exact same thing. I mean its not like I can just block out this noise. Its loud. I heard it when it was in my box in the trunk with my back seat up. Maybe I am not giving it enough power idk. I have never had this problem with any install i have ever done.

Edited January 28, 2011 by spitfire91104

[sundownz 197]

Copy of e-mail reply :

Michael,

We have the D2 unit here now that you returned and it is operationally flawless -- no problems whatsoever with the driver. I just tested it again to confirm and I am currently uploading a video.

It seems as if you are either 1) Doing something wrong 2) Your test setup is flawed and/or amplifier over-driven and/or wired wrong or 3) You are hearing air noise from the motor vents and assuming it is something else.

As for the fitment -- they are 100% identical to one another dimensionally. See attached photos of your D2 woofer and a new D4 with cooling ring. The D2 you sent back to us actually does not have a cooling ring for reference.

- Jacob

[sundownz 197]

http://www.sundownaudio.com/misc/customer_test/CIMG4719.MOV

The returned D2 woofer -- when we go towards the back of the sub you can hear some "wooshing" which is air-flow through the frame venting holes.

There are zero rattling noises of any kind present.

The video was produced with an SAZ-2500D at over 75% maximum levels.

[sundownz 197]

I hope we can figure out what is going on as I am fairly baffled on both counts.

[2000LaDe 1]

people just dont comprehend how sundown tests their products before they ship out the door to make sure there is 0 problems with them.

[jmanjr 0]

might sound crazy here, but have you checked your rcas?

[sundownz 197]

I believe we have it solved.

[sundownz 197]

The replaced SA-10 was the version with no magnet boot which the back and top plates are about 5mm wider -- we shrunk them slightly to give the boot a place to lock on to.

As for the rattle we believe it was due to the back plate touching the inside of the enclosure.

[spitfire91104 0]

Well according to jacob that is how the sub is supposed to sound. I dont understand why I should be hearing a rattling sound over my bass when im sitting in my driver seat with the sub in its box and my backseats up. Not trying to offend anyone but I have never heard a sub that sounds like that from inside the cabin or even free air. I might just not be experienced enough on quality subs to say that sound is normal but when its over the bass it just gets really annoying. And that rattling which jacob refers to whoosing air I will say again happens with the sub in or out of the box. There was no sound like anything was hitting inside the box it was the same noise that i was experiencing outside. And for the part that does touch the inside of the enclosure(only one without the boot as stated) is the actually magnet all the way at the bottom. It sounds like a broken muffler in the video you posted btw =).

Edited January 28, 2011 by spitfire91104

[sundownz 197]

Any rattling sound heard with the sub in the box is definitely not the air swooshing sound -- that is not audible over bass in an enclosure. If it was I am confident I would have heard about it by now or noticed it in my own testing.

I am pretty confident any rattling sound in the enclosure is related to the enclosure touching the magnet or perhaps enclosure flexing. The air sound is not a rattle sound, it is distinctly air movement.

In my video we have a 2500-watt amp at ~75% maximum levels to produce even a fair amount mechanical noise from the driver -- with any other driver in this class what you would hear is the driver falling apart in that video.