Breaking in a new sub?
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=30828
Printed Date: September 08, 2025 at 2:18 AM
Topic: Breaking in a new sub?
Posted By: alex75
Subject: Breaking in a new sub?
Date Posted: April 21, 2004 at 9:45 PM
I finally got my Alpine Type R, it's going in a sealed box tomorrow. How do I safely break it in. Also, when is it sufficiently broken in enough to crank up the bass? You guys know the suspense is just killing me, I'm ready to hear that baby POUND!!!
Replies:
Posted By: stevdart
Date Posted: April 21, 2004 at 10:08 PM
alex, it would be worth your while to watch that woofer move at resonant frequency, as it does when you break it in (textbook-style). It's a beautiful sight. Too late now, but preparation for break in is easier to do when the woofer is still in transit! Now,the hardest thing to do is to be patient. Remember that while you're easing that beast in with the Philharmonic Orchestra. Search this forum for breaking in and you'll pull up several recent discussions on this topic.
Posted By: xTimx
Date Posted: April 22, 2004 at 2:02 AM
well if you dont wanna search lol like me. and you want answers right away. when breaking in a sub you CAN pound the hell out of it. BUT just remember to make sure it doesnt have ANY distortion what so ever. have fun :) i know you'll be please!
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xTimx
Posted By: stevdart
Date Posted: April 22, 2004 at 8:42 AM
If you can make CD's on your computer, you can make a CD with frequency tones. Use this free (for 14 days) program, create .wav files of any sine wave freq you want. I used the standard Roxio CD Creator. And I used the CD that I made to break in my sub at its fs of 22Hz. It was also useful to help me set the xover settings on the amp. https://www.softpile.com/Education/Mathematics/Review_21743_index.html If you do this, you only have to run the tone to the woofer for about 10 minutes for break-in. At least it would make you feel a lot more comfortable with giving the new sub the volume you need to when you are adjusting the gains.
Posted By: Disaster092
Date Posted: April 22, 2004 at 1:49 PM
Speaking of breaking in subs. I could swear i remember hearing about playing the tone with the sub free air at low volume. Or should it be done in the box?
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Posted By: stevdart
Date Posted: April 22, 2004 at 4:04 PM
Yes, in free air. You'll see the excursion with low volume. Turn it up until you hear a murmer from the woofer, and hang it up rather than laying it down on its magnet.
Posted By: alex75
Date Posted: April 22, 2004 at 4:30 PM
Well the Type R is finally in the trunk, the box I built looks sweet. So far I've played it up to volume level 8(Pioneer DEHP-goes up to 30, 10-14 is as loud as I usually crank it) and it sounds GREAT,-- hits clear as a bell in a sealed box. Can't wait to really listen to it :) Thanks for all the info guys!
Posted By: stevdart
Date Posted: April 22, 2004 at 4:39 PM
Ok alex, play it like that for at least 5 hours. I assume the amp gain is set below half? After that amount of warmup, you should be able to set the gain to the HU.
Posted By: Vortec4800
Date Posted: April 22, 2004 at 5:05 PM
I got a wave-generator from my school's physics lab and ran it at about 30Hz or so overnight. There's no special frequency to break it in, just something that gets the suspension moving all the way freely without pushing too much power through it. The purpose of break in is just to soften the parts up and get em ready.\ If you don't play it too hard for the first day or so (or about 5 hours like stevdart said) you'll be good to go. Some people don't even believe that break-in is necessary, but I figure it can't hurt it. ------------- 2000 BMW 540i 6 speed
Posted By: alex75
Date Posted: April 22, 2004 at 5:34 PM
Yeah the amp gain is turned down as well as the bass boost. Forgive the novice question, -but how do you properly set the gains to the HU?
Posted By: customsuburb
Date Posted: April 22, 2004 at 5:41 PM
stevdart wrote:
I assume the amp gain is set below half? After that amount of warmup, you should be able to set the gain to the HU.
You could have your amp gain all the way down and it could still clip. The gain on an amp IS NOT a volume control.
Posted By: stevdart
Date Posted: April 22, 2004 at 5:49 PM
Turn the gain all the way down. While playing one of your favorite CD's, continually turn up the HU until the volume, instead of increasing with clarity, instead starts to sound slurred. That's distortion creeping in. So then turn the HU volume back down a notch until the sound is clear again. Make a note of the volume setting, because that will be the max from this point on. note, if the amp is only powering a sub, you will have to find the distortion level of the HU using the other speakers instead. The power of the HU may not be strong enough to hear distortion just from the sub. Leave the HU setting where it is, and slowly adjust the amp gain up until the same thing as before happens (except now it will be LOUD). Once you hear that distortion out of the subs, then turn the amp gain back down a little until it is clear again. At this point the music is maxxed out, so you see why you would want to break in the woofer for awhile before setting gains. The gain has been properly set, and you can nnow turn the HU volume down before your eardrums burst. Note, when setting more than one gain (2 amps, 4 channel amp, etc.), you unplug the inputs of all but the gain that you are setting. Make a note of the HU max setting, and don't let anyone turn it up past that number!
Posted By: stevdart
Date Posted: April 22, 2004 at 5:58 PM
Customsuburb- please note that alex was playing at volume level 8 out of 30, and 15 was his normal loud playing. This is a post dealing with breaking in the new sub for awhile prior to setting the gain.
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