Can I hurt my SVS?

Oh, you can definatly damage any sub using TPM....especially that THX intro! That things a killer.
But, since you're using an SVS, you'll know when you're reaching the limits of it's safe operating range.
From the way you talk, I take it that you've never bottomed your SVS? If you have, you'll know what I'm talking about. During a very loud bass passage, you'll hear a terrible pop coming from your sub. THAT over time can damage the sub.
If it happens once in a while, and you correct it by lowing your sub level before it happens again, you're fine.
Last night while demoing TPM, my 20-39 bottomed out twice during the THX demo....scared the crap out of me, and I've done that several times before....just wasn't expecting that much bass out of an intro.
Anyhow, if you're not noticing any bottoming of the sub, it's operating well within it's limits.
Enjoy.

 

Considering your running a klh reciever to power your sub, I think it would be pretty much impossible to hurt your svs. The svs can handle far more power than any klh reciever i have ever seen has been able to put out. Your reciever may not be able to handle it at times and make the svs sound muddy, distorted, etc. but theres still not a chance of actuall damage to your sub.

 

I would think the opposite. What is the KLH receiver rated at power wise. If you feed an SVS too much clean power you will bottom it (at which point you will know to turn it down right aways and not go that loud any more). A few bottomings shouldn't hurt anything. If you ask the receiver to output more than it is capable of though, and it starts clipping (generating square waves) you will quickly screw up the driver.
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Dustin
[email protected]
My Adire Tempest Sonosub

 

I bottomed my SVS out on that intro too!
The bass throughout this movie is incredible, to say the least.
Steve

 

Grady,
The settings of our dials is nearly irrelevant. Only calibraion with an SPL meter really matters. In the end, as stated above, if your subwoofer level and your mains level keep the sub from either bottoming or causing your amp to audibly distort then you are fine.
This movie is punishing on subwoofers (at least the ones that are designed to produce low/loud bass) but if you watch your levels on the intro scene and don't have any problems (back off your sub level if you do) then just enjoy the movie.
Ron

 

Hate to disagree but the only thing distortion is going to do to that sub is make it sound bad. It will in no way hurt it. The max the amp could put out if it truly is 100 watts per channel is 200 watts. Unless im mistaken and the sub cant handle 200 watts youll be fine.

 

The TPM intro finally got me motivated to go for the 16-PC46. It seems that we're likely to see more pushing of the envelope for bass extension like the THX intro and I want to be ready for it. Plus, I can't wait to hear pipe organs on this baby....if only I had it for the trick or treaters!
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"This movie has warped my fragile little mind."

 

I tried to bottom out my 16-46PC with the THX intro and I couldn't do it. I have all speakers set to 75db with the sub at 80db and I just keep going up 5db on the volume of my Denon 4800. When I got up to +10 on the dial and it still didn't bottom out, I gave up and was very happy with what I was hearing.
Incredible sub!!!
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Home Theater Page

 

What about a sub like a Velodyne SPL-1200? Will it bottom out, or does it have protection built in to keep it from distorting or bottoming out? Will it just back off the level on its own? Just curious - don't mean to cut into the thread!
Bryan

 

Some of the Denons and other receivers have a subwoofer limiter which can be adjusted in their setup. If you crank up the limiter adjustment slowly up to the point the SVS bottoms, then back off 1 or 2 dB to set the limit, the receiver will keep the sub from getting hit with too high a signal. Then go back and try the THX intro while gradually going up 1 dB on the master volume at time until you reach 0 dB. If you hear any bottoming clicks, go back and back down the limiter another dB and test again. Once that is done, you should be pretty safe from bottoming out the SVS again. You'll still get full low bass output up to the point that you set the master volume exceeds the sub's capabilities. At that point the receiver will drop down the sub and you note a thinning of the bass relative to the midrange sound.
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Guy Kuo
www.ovationsw.com
Ovation Software, the Home of AVIA DVD

 

I agree with Dustin. You can most certainly harm a driver by pushing it with an inadequate amp. Dustin you are right on the money about the square sine waves. A squre sine wave=DC voltage which is very bad. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with using the KLH to power the sub, I just wouldn't push it to its limits for very long.
my 2 cents...Chris

 

"Hate to disagree but the only thing distortion is going to do to that sub is make it sound bad. It will in no way hurt it. The max the amp could put out if it truly is 100 watts per channel is 200 watts. Unless im mistaken and the sub cant handle 200 watts youll be fine."
Ryan,
Many speakers are blown on the low end...i.e. not enough "good" power. If you have an amp that clips at around 80 watts and try to force 100 watts of distorted power through it to the driver, the chances of blowing the driver are better than forcing too much clean power to the driver. Square sine waves are devastating to speakers over a significant amount of time.
If you pull up your sound recorder on your computer and shout into it....you'll see a square wave. That is damaging to a driver.
Jeremy

 

I can say first hand. Yes, you can hurt a SVS sub. I'm waiting for a new driver for my 20-39 now. Did a demo of TFM last week. And Sunday I had a friend over and noticed that the tissue I leave on the grill top wasn't moving during the opening scene of the pod race. Did a check and noticed the driver was stuck in an extended position. Pushed it back into place and tried the scene again. And it extended back out of position. I use a Carver Cube amp bridged to power the 20-39 and also use a M&K MX-125 as a second sub. I contacted customer support and Tom and Ron were right on it and told me to order up a replacement. Tom wanted to know my room size and of course wanted to know how hard it was pushed. I've checked it on the SPL meter during the pod race when I first got TFM and it hit 110db only once during one part of the race scene. But turns out the room because of the vaulted ceiling is about 3500 cu-ft.
So to answer your question, SVS are not indestructible!
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Enjoy the Toys!

 

Darrel is right,
You can kill an SVS driver, as you can kill nearly any (I've replaced 4 Polk drivers, one Hsu, and a Bose bookshelf element over the years). In our case, at least in any instance where we can give the customer even the slimmest "benefit of the doubt", a new driver will go out at no cost. The bridged set up of the Carver (esp. if it was clipping, hard to say one way or another, bridged loads can be tough ones) might have had something to do with this instance of premature failure so Darrel will likely get a full refund on his driver.
Just didn't want anyone to think he'd been thown to the wolves, because there is nothing, and I mean NOTHING worse than knowing what an SVS will do to your own HT and having it die on you.
Our failure rate on drivers is so low we don't even keep track of it, (probably under 1/2% after 18 month of sub delivery) so when it happens we don't waste any time.
Darrel, you already know to holler if you have any problems with the "driver-echtomy". Should take about 10 min.
Ron
[Edited last by SVS-Ron on October 31, 2001 at 09:54 PM]

 

Glad to see you got yourself an SV sub. This game is addicting, ain't it?