Subs hitting at half power
 

For some reason, all of a sudden when I was driving, my subs began hitting at half power. They still work, And they both are still hitting, but just not nearly as hard as they were before. The settings on my amp and HU have not been changed, Does anyone know what this problem could possibly be? I checked for VISIBLE loose wires and did not see anything out of the ordinary. They also lost some quality too, they sound much more choppy, and a lot softer. Ill post some pics of the system, I got it VERY cheap and spent under $200 on everything (bought from a friend). It is certainly nothing special.

720 watt Kenwood amp
7 inch 2Din touch screen HU (I believe it is from ebay)
2 12 inch jensen subs

http://i53.tinypic.com/icp7bb.jpg
http://i52.tinypic.com/2z4eog0.jpg
http://i53.tinypic.com/xofrif.jpg

Could be a loose connection inside the sub box, blown, air leak. If it was me, i would just get a new sub stage and custom sub box.

take the subs out and check if each one is still working. one sub could stop playing, but the air pressure created by the working sub can move the other cone...making you think that they're both fine.

A more common problem is the cold solder on the "RCA" plugs. Try holding tension from different angles on the plugs and see if anything changes.

If you checked all the wiring then pull the subwoofer out and inspect the tensile leads. The tensile leads for the subwoofer could be partially worn. They can break from over excursion over time or too much power over time can cause them burn out.

A bad ground for the Negative power lead could be a problem too...not sure it would cause exactly what you're describing, but certainly worth checking.

Short of that, amp could be shot too...

I think it is the amp. I just tried another friends 12 inch pioneer sub today that was working fine and it also sounded like it was being "choked" just like my two 12's. I think it is the solder joints inside of the amp. I guess from the insane heat they cracked and broke. Anyone know of any cheap but nice replacement amps? Or maybe I could even get a manufacturers warranty? I used to have another amp that blew and I bought this one about 3 months ago.

Try warranty, but you'd be better off buying some better quality stuff.

^ now that's a user name that i haven't seen post in the audio forum for awhile. :)

I am guessing they are SVC, because they are low end gear but all the same: are the subs dual voice coil or single voice coil? If you blow a coil, you will drop to half the power because impedence doubles.

Regards to amps, I like the Cadence monoblocks. Its a smaller brand and the amps are very cheap but produce the rated power.

If you are blowing amplifiers its probably because you are setting gains wrong. Make sure your gain is set right before you spend a ton of money on a new amp. http://forum.sounddomain.com/ubbthre.../1#Post1294233

The first one I had blew because I didn't realize it was missing a fuse :X

Yeah, recently I've eliminated some steps in converting from gasoline to noise. Instead of burning it to make electricity and then turning electricity to noise, I just burn it as fast as I can... :)
http://blehmco.com/pics/track_pics/t...at/DSC4859.jpg

Umm yesterday I started my Maxima and turned on the stereo for the first time in a year. does that count?
know anyone that would want a full compliment of PPI art series amps? I'm not using them anymore- need to put them in a place they can do some good.

Not really understanding what your trying to say ^^^ :P

hey Dougy if I were you I'd jump on those PPI art amps. Those are some of the best built ever! You won't have to worry about solder joints burning out on you again. They're not cheap but I'm sure you can get a good deal from Matt since they're used. Good luck

PM Matt93SE

Matt, shoot me the list of your amps. I might have a buyer for you...