Burning Smell?

[dris]

just recently got a polk 2124dvc and a c500.1 after a week of playing it low to "break in" the sub. it now produces a burning smell when played loudly. just wondering if this is because it is new or am i putting too much power to it? isnt it rated 400w rms per coil?

[neomagus00]

actually, that sub is 360W total... i called polk and they gave me a kinda sketchy answer, but i'm nearly positive that's correct...

so if you're putting a c500.1 on it, you could be hitting it with close to 700 watts - bad! burning smell is bad... turn the gains down pronto, before you destroy the thing - if you haven't already...

[dris]

i dont understand... why i didnt hear any distortion then?

[neomagus00]

maybe you have bad ears? :D

what size box is the sub in?

it is possible that you're just cooking off residues from manufacturing, or something like that, but i honestly don't find that likely...

[dris]

its in a .8cu ft sealed box

[neomagus00]

yeah, that's about right... it's probable that the sub is shot... does it make a grating noise, or stick, when you push the cone?

[dris]

well the sub still sounds good so i assume its not blown....i'll check next time i get in my truck.

[MacLeod]

The MM2124 is rated at 400 watts RMS. If youre running a 500.1 at 2 ohms then youre sending over 600 watts RMS to is and Id be willing to bet you that youve also got the gains too high. So youre pounding the hell out of that sub and what likely is happening is its building up more heat in the voice coil than it can dissipate. Hence the burning smell. If it werent for the exceptional build quality of the Polk sub, youd have a real fancy paper weight on your hands.

You can still use the 500.1, just turn the gain WAY down and use some common sense with the volume and bass levels. Remember, its just a 400 watt sub and even if you give it 700 watts and it holds up, it still wont be much louder, if at all, than a 400 watt sub.