sorry if this may be a stupid question....but what exactly does it sound like? I can't seem to hear any distortion from my sub no matter how hard I push it..(not sayin this is a bad thing, i'm just tryin to find the limits of my sub)all I do hear a bit of a buzz when I put my ear close to the port at certain times...however I don't think it's distortion cause it's not coming from the woofer itself. :rolleyes:

I would say it depends on the sub... Some won't exhibit any distortion until you've near-destroyed them. Others will may have one or more of the following:

- if the sub is bottoming out, you may hear the suspension (probably the spider) exhibit straining noises. The best way I can describe the sound is grabbing either end of a piece of paper and pulling on them to create that "frapping" noise
- if the sub is really bottoming out, in some instances the coil may hit the back plate, and you'll know it when it happens... Very loud
- if the coil is mis-aligned in the gap, it will scrape up against the pole piece and create all sorts of scraping noises
- if the coil is burnt, your sub will sould like a slinky when it's moving
- parts that have come unlglued (dustcap) will exibit a loud rattling or slapping noise
- tinsel slap is usually pretty loud and will sound like tapping on the cone
- spiders living in the pole vents will usually bark when you've turned it up too loud...

That's all I can think of for now.

[ December 07, 2004, 12:09 AM: Message edited by: Ex-Maxx ]