Rainbow comps, blown woofer?
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Silver Member Username: AlonzoubPost Number: 303 Registered: Apr-10 | Yea, I know this is the subwoofer forum, but this site gets so little action nowadays, I though I might aswell post this here since it is the "most active" of the sub-forums. Description from youtube: So I have had these components, Rainbow SLC 230.25 NG, for about a year and a half now powered by an Eclipse EA4200. That amp is rated to put out 60w x4 into 4-ohms. I measured the point of clipping with a 1khz 0db tone to be at 45/50 on my headunit. Never EQ'd. I am very confused about how this could happen considering I was listening to the same song in the video when I heard the passenger side begin to distort. I was listening to it at 41/50, IMO there is no way the woofers were getting anywhere near 60 watts of power and they are supposed to be able to handle 80wrms. I don't have time right now to take my door apart and look at the woofer, but I will down the line. ------------------------ The components: http://www.woofersetc.com/p-7046-slc-23025-ng-rainbow-slc-ng-525-2-way-component -system.aspx The amp: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_12439_Eclipse-EA4200.html Tell me what you guys think. |
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Silver Member Username: Joe1234Post Number: 931 Registered: May-09 | No takers?? Well just to make things easy on me I would swap the speaker connections L/R on the amp and see what happens before actually disassembling the door which is a pain. And that's the downside of having good stuff, one can't lol when something like that happens. |
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Gold Member Username: JoebruceCrescendo Audio FTMFW!!, AA Havoc 15 ... Your Mom FTW!! Post Number: 3749 Registered: May-04 | Maybe its just a loose connection on the mid? |
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Silver Member Username: AlonzoubOrlando, Florida Post Number: 355 Registered: Apr-10 | So after a month of having my mid in my passanger door unplugged, I finnaly decided to pop that door panel off and give it a good look see... The reason it blew was pretty much immediately apparent... Ill let you all see for yourselves:   Yea so, about 5 months ago I had that entire door replaced because of an "accident", the place I went to get the repairs done must have done a poor job sealing the door up or something because I had the speakers in the car for a year before they replaced the door and water was never an issue... Buying a new pair of the woofers alone costs $180... so im thinking I might just re-purpose the tweeters and crossovers from this set somewhere else down the line and just buy a whole new component set... Im thinking this time im going to fiberglass some kick pods in my car. Ive been eyeballing two different component sets: Polk Audio MM6501 or Image Dynamics CXS64 v.2 ... they are both available for ~$200 so... eh well see, if I don't decide to make the glass pods this week then I probably won't do it for a WHILE. If anyone has a comment about either the Polks or the IDs please share. |
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Platinum Member Username: GlasswolfColumbia, South Carolina Post Number: 14581 Registered: Dec-03 | the woofer could have blown due to clipping caused by insufficient current supplied by the charging system. in other words, when your car is running, and other things are drawing power like your engine, brakes, HVAC, etc.. especially with a stock alternator, you can demand more power than the alternator can supply, which will cause the amplifier to clip. |
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Platinum Member Username: GlasswolfColumbia, South Carolina Post Number: 14582 Registered: Dec-03 | if water damage was an issue, you can buy foam shells that protect the back of the speakers from this sort of thing. I know crutchfield used to sell them.. not sure if they still do or not. |
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Gold Member Username: Joe1234Post Number: 1125 Registered: May-09 | Quite right those exist: http://www.parts-express.com/wizards/searchResults.cfm?srchExt=CAT&srchCat=740 And I know the 6501s nice midbass clean sounding and not harsh but can they outperform Rainbows?? hmm... |
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Silver Member Username: AlonzoubOrlando, Florida Post Number: 357 Registered: Apr-10 | Well, I appreciate the input but I know the speaker wasn't clipped to death. It was most definitely water damage. I do really like the foam shell backing idea though. Reading the reviews of the XTC 6 1/2 shell that you linked on PE, one of the reviewers had the fantastic idea of glassing the foam shell to create a rigid barrier/enclosure for the speaker. I may try this. Unfortunately I go back to school in 4 days so I do not have time to wait on shipping for new speakers, tomorrow I am going to stop by a couple local car audio shops, see if any of them carry something that I would be willing to buy for temporary use. |
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Silver Member Username: AlonzoubOrlando, Florida Post Number: 358 Registered: Apr-10 | So, everyone wants to charge me an arm and a leg compared to online prices so I couldn't pull the trigger on anything... I got to talking to one of the shop owners and he told me he would never use one of those foam baffles in the doors because it lowers sensitivity and kills low frequency response. So I asked him... what about for custom fiberglass pods, isn't it essentially the same thing? He tells me that most fiberglass pods are open-back and the sealed ones aren't going to preform as well as a standard IB in the door because they are just made for imaging, not loudness/performance. I also showed him the picture of what happened to my rainbow mid and he said "that is not normal, that wont happen to any of the speakers I sell here". He sells mainly Focal and Polk Audio, I know most of Polk Audios speakers are "Marine Grade" but... Do you guys agree or disagree with anything he said? |
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Gold Member Username: Joe1234Post Number: 1131 Registered: May-09 | I guess that if the midbass on the opposite side is in much better shape then taking care of the leak would be first on my list. Some stuff to look at: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/viewcat.php?category_id=181&page=1 One to take notice are the Polk Audio MM6501UM. Anything he sells will have a different and better fate than some cheap Rainbows? |
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Silver Member Username: AlonzoubOrlando, Florida Post Number: 359 Registered: Apr-10 | Well ill start by saying, I am not too sure anymore if there is a "leak" in the door, because I decided to check the other door yesterday and the mid driver in that door looks JUST as bad. Maybe im lucky that one has not blown yet. Im thinking it is just moisture/humidity that is causing this, I do live in Florida after all... I did originally look at the Polk Audio MM6501UM, and then I realized that they are the same as the MM6501 except the crossover is built around the speaker magnet rather than separate. I almost bought those from a local car audio shop until the guy would not budge from the $330 price tag he had... I decided to purchase the Image Dynamics CXS64 v.2 from SonicElectronix and some of those foam baffles, I will experiment with the baffles, as-is, with fiberglass and whatnot... If I can't make those work nicely then I will just make some kick pods for inside the car. |
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Gold Member Username: Joe1234Post Number: 1143 Registered: May-09 | Don't really know those IDs so It will be interesting to see how do you rate them (if you care to). Also I am betting that big soft shells will have a small impact on the midbass performance. |
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