Sub stops playing until I press down on the cone
 

Got a strange problem here.

Recently installed a small, cheap system for my friend's "budget" install. It's a used 2-channel amp that does 300W RMS in bridged (I highly doubt the specs because it uses only a 15 amp fuse). It drove a 10" 250W RMS sub for a day before it stopped playing. I figured the sub just blew, but when I press the cone in, it starts playing again for a while. Not to waste time, I just gave him a higher rated 12" sub. A week later, same thing. The subs stopped playing, but when I pushed the cone of the sub in, it started playing again. I didn't think it could have anything to do with the amp?... But, there weren't any pops or any smoke, so I don't think it was the sub that blew. In fact, when I hook up the same sub to my amp, it plays fine.

Could there be a connection problem in the sub, in the amp? Anyone had a similar problem before?

ANy help would be appreciated!

what subs are they ?



you likely have broken/burned tinsel leads or a bad solder joint where the leads meet the coil


there is a chance it could be fixed depending on the sub and how its put together....

The first sub I put in was an Infinity Reference 1030W, the second one is a 1240W.

So this couldn't be because of the crappy amp? The subs seemed to work fine with a different amp.

pretty hard to say its the amp IMO... sounds more like bad luck/defective product.

Id make sure its not something silly like a bad wire connection and if not inspect the tinsel leads and test the sub with a ohmmeter.

I could be way off the mark here, but could it be that the 300w amp isn't enough to move the sub consistantly?

or should I not try to apply my knowledge of computer fans to subs?

eg. "a cpu fan may require 6v to get it spinning but once started it will continue to spin down to 4v"

maybe?

Nope, wattage is a maximum rating, hardly takes anything to move the sub a little.