breaking in new subs

aight thnx, 2wks is gunna seem so long tho i already kno

Why do people keep thinking too little power will damage a sub?  That is nonsense.  Where did this myth get started, at The Good Guys car stereo sales department?  Running too small an amp and pushing it into clipping, now that will damage any speaker system.  But running a 500 watt RMS sub on 50 watts will damage nothing as long as the amp is set up properly.  It would be a waste of money on the sub, yes, but damaging, no  If your car can go 120 mph, does that mean you will damage it if you drive no faster than 60?  No.  Not as much fun, granted, but the motor will be just fine.

Now, as far as breaking in a driver is concerned, there are many approaches to this and most of them work. Some manufacturers publish specific guidelines and you should check what your driver manufacturer recomends.  A good rule of thumb is 20 hours for woofers using a 50 hz test tone or 40 hours using a  music program, at 50% power.

thanks for all the advise, does anybody know the infinity reccomendations?

c.c.]a wrote:

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tually, i've never heard of that "rule of thumb"...and as far as your analogy goes...if you drive a car at no more than 60 for an extended period of time, then it will not be capable of going 120 any more.  the same is for speakers, and yes, too little wattage can harm certain speakers.  but this is usually like 10 watts rms or less.  that is why some manufacturers claim "10-150wrms" or something similar.  this can mean that extended listening at low level may damage the sub.  however; this is not to be confused with sensitivity an freq. response.

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Look, this is not worth a flame war... but it is absolutely ridiculous to think that too little power will ever harm a sub or any other loudspeaker.  The "10 to 150 wrms" rating you mention actually means that the manufacturer recomends at least a 10 watt amplifier to attain the stated frequency response, and the voice coil can handle the heat of a maximum 150 wrms input.  It has nothing to do with "extended listening at low volumes can damage a sub."  This is complete BS and mis-information from people who are generally interested in selling amps who know nothing about electrical or loudspeaker theory.

Don't take my word for it.  Do some research.  Start here: https://totoro.efiregate.net/HTMLPages/Tuning/GainSetting/GainSetting2.htm

You mention sensitivity.  Loudspeaker sensitivity ratings are given in db per watt-meter (or an equivalent value like db per volt-meter.)  This means if your loudspeaker is rated at, say, 90db, that it produces 90 db with a 1 watt input measured 1 meter away from the driver.  So does this mean the loudspeaker is now damaged since it was operated at only 1 watt?  According to you, yes it does.  This is silly.

And by the way, if you really think that driving a car at 60 will prevent you from attaining maximum speed (or that listening at low volumes/power input will prevent a speaker from attaining max output) then I have a bridge for sale you may be interested in...

https://www.jblpro.com/pub/technote/lowpower.pdf

:)

Precisely!  Did you read the article? 

It states exactly what I've been trying to say: if used properly (i.e.: NOT driven into distortion and clipping) a low power amplifier WILL NOT damage a loudspeaker system.  If driven BEYOND ITS LIMITS due to inexperience, lack of care, not understanding how to set up an amplifer, or just plain idiocy, an amplifier driven into clipping MAY damage a loudspeaker by exceeding the voice coil's power handling limits.  This is what JLB says in the linked article.  Also, if you read the article carefully, you will note that they state damage due to a clipping amp is more likely to occur in high frequency drivers.  This is because they are designed to operate at relatively low power levels and their voice coils are more easily damaged.  Large woofers, on the other hand, have large voice coils with lots of ventilation and many may be driven to 200% or 300% rated heat capacity before damage will occur.

NO WHERE does JBL or any other manufacturer state that a low power amplifier will damage a loudspeaker when the amp is used properly.  They simply state the fact that it is easier for an idiot to damage a loudspeaker by driving a low power amp into clipping without realizing what they are doing.

Therefore, JBL, a well-known amplifier manufacturer, concludes with "buy a bigger amp" (give them more money) when the real solution is to use amps (and all audio equipment) as they are intended... and THEN if you need a larger amp, by all means get one.

if you state that the "10 - 150" watt rating is for sensitivity, then how could the manufacturer of the speaker attain that range with only 1 watt? it can't!  I did not say that if you only use a small amount of power, it will damage a speaker...   and damging a speaker by using only one watt...i dont see where i said that either.  per the article that you posted, which i dont fully believe, your amplifier may be clipping, and you wouldn't notice it.  if you have a 10wrms x 2 amp, and you are trying to get 20 watts out of it, its going to damage a set of speakers capapble of handling 50wrms.  on the other hand, if you use a 100wrms x 2, and only use 20 watts, then the speaker should be just fine. why?  because the first amp would be clipping, but the second could handle all signals with power to spare. but who uses 20% power?. (exception is SQ, maybe), if this is "what you were trying to say", then i have no arguments with that, but its sure didnt sound like it to me.

hey, big turds, blow me.

No, I never said a rating like "10-150 wrms" in a loudspeaker had anything to do with sensitivity.  I stated it generally specifies the minimum power input recomended to attain full range frequency response, and the maximum power input the voice coil can handle.  Sensitivity is completely different, which I tried to explain.

Now go back and read your first post.  What you said was completely wrong about a car not being able to perform to its fullest if operated at low speed, and you stated a loudspeaker will do the same.  This is why Big Purds thought you must be on the pipe.  You also stated that too little wattage will harm a speaker.  You said exactly that, and that is exactly wrong.

Bottom line is it does not appear that you understand the concepts involved.  I suggest you need to more fully understand electrical and acoustic theories.

umm...no, i dont need to "more fully understand" anything, and the whole car thing wasn't even brought up by me...did i mention i am a certified car audio installer?  i think i know about electrics.  let me ask you a question...what is the millivolt drop across a 19.1 inch 8 gauge wire ( HC shunt) with 30 amps running across it?

to add to that, by extended period of time, i dont mean a trip to the nearest state, i mean driving for more than 6 years and never going above 45 mph, like my friends grandmothers car!  she lives in a rural city, and only goes to and from work, 2 miles away.  this car would not do more than 90 on the highway, (its a 96 ford taurus).  and i have seen this many a time. 

huh?  Oh, you're talking abut voltage drop across a wire.  The formula is Vdrop=(22Xlength in feetXcurrent)/circular mils.  Anyone can look that up in a reference book.

YOU are the one who maintains the ignorant postion about operating a car - or a loudspeaker - at low power.