Cracks in rubber surround

 

Bronze Member
Username: Vic_in_explorer

Sanford, Florida United States

Post Number: 56
Registered: Jul-05
I bought 4 Arsenal 15" subs back when they were on presale in Jan. I had them installed in a wall type enclosure which was supposed to be sealed. Well the big F'ing problem was the boxes had leaks and it seemed to have led my speakers to get cracks in the rubber surrounds. Does anybody think that was the actual cause of the problem? It seemed that the speaker was only excurting 2" (if that makes sense). Or 2" overall movement.










I will send pictures of my truck, my old wall enclosure,(that i am getting ready to pull out)my cracked subs, and the amps i was using either today or tommorrow
 

Silver Member
Username: Frkkevin

Lake Worth, Texas US

Post Number: 994
Registered: Nov-05
are you sure it is a rubber surround or the foam type? foam does break down over time depending on where you live it could be quicker.. if they still work then use them.. not much you can do besides play them till they die then order some new surrounds
 

Gold Member
Username: Drsmith

Montana USA

Post Number: 1010
Registered: Nov-04
^^^ kevin, i won the race to gold lol
 

Bronze Member
Username: Vic_in_explorer

Sanford, Florida United States

Post Number: 57
Registered: Jul-05
are the HD3 surrounds rubber?
 

Silver Member
Username: Frkkevin

Lake Worth, Texas US

Post Number: 996
Registered: Nov-05
pfft.. i'm not a post wh0re plus I work nights.. i have a total of like 30 minutes to an hour of posting a day and i normally only post to topics that interest me or that i think i can help but congrats! now im going out of town and well.. ill see where that leads me
 

Bronze Member
Username: Vic_in_explorer

Sanford, Florida United States

Post Number: 58
Registered: Jul-05
yeah the rubber surrounds on the arsenals are a foam type. Man i hope i don't have this kind of problem again. Maybe sealed boxes have a bigger possibilty of cracking a speakers surrounds?
 

Gold Member
Username: Drsmith

Montana USA

Post Number: 1011
Registered: Nov-04
i am hardly a post wh0re lol, and yes the HD surronds are rubber, i just rubbed mine to make sure haha
 

Silver Member
Username: Frkkevin

Lake Worth, Texas US

Post Number: 998
Registered: Nov-05
I'm not sure of that but you have to think of what its made of.. foam deteriorates over time.. with moisture and humity and the contiue stress from moving it can cause it to deteriorate faster.. I had some old Cerwin Vegas that did that but all I had to do was order a new surround and glue it on.
 

Gold Member
Username: Bestmankind

Los Angeles, CA USA

Post Number: 5968
Registered: Oct-05
if you think about kevin, doc was here a year earlier than you. lol.
 

Gold Member
Username: Bestmankind

Los Angeles, CA USA

Post Number: 5969
Registered: Oct-05
oops sorry to hijack the thread there.

if its rubber, you can use some kind of softner on it.
 

Silver Member
Username: Th3pwn3r

Chicago, Illinois U.S.A

Post Number: 460
Registered: Jul-06
Yea...rubber "Dry rotts" it happens to cars that sit for a long time and don't see moisture.Maybe something like that happened?Perhaps you could find something to treat the rubber next time you get a sub with an actual rubber surrond.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Vic_in_explorer

Sanford, Florida United States

Post Number: 59
Registered: Jul-05
these speakers were not that old (3 months)

I believe they were overexcurting for there design or something. I don't think they are not supposed to be much of a excursion speaker.
 

Gold Member
Username: Sploosh56

Ohio

Post Number: 1515
Registered: May-04
I go to florida ever year and I was talking with a few kids at a bar one night about subs and I was telling them about some JL's that my buddy bought cheap that were five years old and they looked at me like I was nuts and I asked why and they all said that the JL subs foam rots very quickly and were supprised when I told them they were played hard every day since they were bought and still looked brand new. I'm assuming the weather in florida might have something to do with it.
 

New member
Username: Bass__monkey

Las vegas, Nevada United states

Post Number: 4
Registered: Sep-06
in humid areas foam doesn't last as long, and although jl uses these surrounds it is all about the design of the loudspeaker. if the surround is stiff it affects the "q" of the speaker... along with the spider they use. there are lots of things that come into play here which i will not discuss, but to let you in on some insight the coil they use, the weight of the surround/cone assembly/spider suspension does have a characteristic effect on different motors that speakers use. another part is motor design... gap tolerances, height of the pole piece, height and thickness of the coil, etc,etc. it's all about the design. also for the post above about the surrounds... sealed boxes have constant pressure, but believe it or not ported enclosures "at the tuning frequency" can triple in air pressure than that of a sealed enclosure...
 

Silver Member
Username: Fiber

Post Number: 264
Registered: Mar-06
why would any company want to use a "foam material" on something that moves, i would be scared to death that i would poke a hole in it, but in florida nothing lasts long its always above 75% humidity and not to mention all the salt in the air that eats EVERYTHING
 

Bronze Member
Username: Bass__monkey

Las vegas, Nevada United states

Post Number: 13
Registered: Sep-06
I know what u mean. lol but honestly, foam starts to last long depending on how thick it is and how it was made. yes lots of things deteriorate over time like the paper cones and believe it or not, the adhesives some manufacturers use, it's all trial and error IMO... but like all things, nothing lasts forever and thats where new things come about...
 

Silver Member
Username: Adddisorder

West palm, Florida

Post Number: 954
Registered: Jan-06
i put armor all on my rubber surround once in a while
 

Bronze Member
Username: Vic_in_explorer

Sanford, Florida United States

Post Number: 60
Registered: Jul-05
Thanks for all the info. Well im going to get the arsenals reconed eventually. The time has come to try the HD15's. I hope these botches are good.


by the way

I have had a pretty good amount of subs for a long time and never had this problem.

the foam actually cracked where it attaches to the cone very close to the glue. It has happened to all 4 speakers.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Bass__monkey

Las vegas, Nevada United states

Post Number: 30
Registered: Sep-06
hmmm i guess after a while it goes man. you must twang it hard buddy! that's why there is always a limit to warranties. ( heh, lets u enjoy it for awhile.) if ur box is ported never play below the tuning that is what causes uncontrolled pistonics to come into play... can anyone say sub sonic filter? ( nothing lasts forever... jeez man i wanna cry... *sniffle* ) I think everything out there has a shelf life just like me LOL! so I FEEL ya brother...
« Previous Thread Next Thread »



Main Forums

Today's Posts

Forum Help

Follow Us