Subwoofer clipping (1 Viewer)

[KenFL]

What are the possible causes of subwoofer clipping? I have a pair of 8 ohm 12" Delta 300 watt woofers in separate 4 cubic foot enclosures. I had them hooked up to 2 old 110 watt receivers and would get clipping when there was any real loud explosions or the like. I spoke to the owner of the speaker store and explained what was happening and he told me they were under powered. So i went out and bought a 500 watt plate amp and now have them wired in parallel. Now i can't turn the volume up past 3 because i'm getting clipping. I was told that because these speakers have a xmax of 1.4 this is the reason and that these speakers are designed for a guitar and not for subwoofer applications. I need to know what i'm talking about before i take them back. Also i will be changing these speakers and i would like to know what would be a good replacement in a 15" or 12" subwoofer speaker for under $200 a piece. Any and all comments welcome. Thank you KWWINFLA

 

[ColinM]

Do you mean you get violent mechanical sounds from the drivers?

If yes, you are bottoming out the voice coil within the magnet assembly, or the suspension is preventing that and causing massive distortion. Typical subs (shiva from adireaudio.com) have 14mm+ of Xmax, not 1.4.

They're probably pretty sensitive, and the 110w you say you had before was probably enough power.

Do you have a link to the specific woofer?

 

[ColinM]

I ran a sim based on a Kappa, and made the Xmax 2.8, assuming your figure was one-way. So best case, your max power allowed is 20W at 50Hz.

12w at 30Hz.

Max SPL at 30hz = 90db.

By comparison, the Shiva, using the same program =

650w @ 50Hz
230w @ 30Hz

Max spl @ 30 Hz = 105.