Anyone know how I can figure out if I broke my sub?

[SSJVejita1]

I'm an idiot and didn't put my subwoofer VTF-2 on its legs when I got it. I did some fussing around with it at high volumes (My SR707 was up real high and the sub was on the white line before max). When the tech support guy figured it out he kind of laughed at me...I know it was pretty stupid but now I'm worried I damaged the thing and since I'm obviously an incredible newb I have no idea how to figure out if the thing is ok or not. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks for the help.

PS. One of the things that worries me is the 16hz warble track on the cd they send you. I can mostly only hear the air coming out of the back of the sub hitting the wall really hard but not really the tone...I'm not sure if this is normal I know this is supposed to be the edge of human hearing so many it is. Thanks again.

[Pete_Hsu]

Hi SSJ,

Provided that you don't hear audible distortion at low to moderate playback levels with music and movie program material, then the subwoofer should not be damaged.

The 16Hz test tone or organ pedals are not very audible per se. With one port plugged, this frequency is very close to the port tuning, so a lot of air will exit through the port. The higher frequencies on the test CD will be much more audible, particularly tracks 11 and up.

Try playing some music and movie program material to see how the sub sounds. If everything sounds good, then no need to worry too much about it having the subwoofer originally set up without spiked feet.

Sincerely,

[kinggimp]

I think your subwoofer is probably working normally. The 16 Hertz tone isnt really heard much. It moves a lot of air but it's not very audible to you. Do the other tones sound normal? Where do you have the volume knob on the subwoofer set now? Also do you have a spl meter?

[SSJVejita1]

Thanks for the responses Pete and kinggimp. I think the sub sounds good for music, but obviously after what I did I've proven I don't know shit. I watched 2012 tonight and there was a lot of rumbling. The water sounded pretty cool. I'm just worried that now I'm always going to think its supposed to sound better but I fucked it up.

Music sounds mostly how I want it to, though. My knob is at the first white line now. I don't have a spl meter, but if I got one it would tell me if the sub is properly producing frequencies if I used it with the test cd, huh? Any suggestions on where to get one for a reasonable price? Thanks again for the help.

[Pete_Hsu]

The VTF/STF subs have gasket material around the surround so that the surround of the driver doesn't get pressed down very much when the driver is resting face down on a soft surface. So the sound quality and output capability should not be affected in any way. Have no worries my friend :)

You can get a sound level meter from Radio Shack.

Sincerely,

[koyaan]

Thanks for the responses Pete and kinggimp. I think the sub sounds good for music, but obviously after what I did I've proven I don't know shit. I watched 2012 tonight and there was a lot of rumbling. The water sounded pretty cool. I'm just worried that now I'm always going to think its supposed to sound better but I fucked it up.

Music sounds mostly how I want it to, though. My knob is at the first white line now. I don't have a spl meter, but if I got one it would tell me if the sub is properly producing frequencies if I used it with the test cd, huh? Any suggestions on where to get one for a reasonable price? Thanks again for the help.

Most people can't hear frequencies below 20hz, so If the sub's moving a lot of air, but you can't hear it, your probably okay.
I would guess that a good 99% of us bought our SPL meters at Radio Shack. As I recall, the analog one was around $40. I've been very satisfied with mine. It makes balancing your speakers easier and much more precise.