So much much power should I actually give a hdc318?

[bgowdy 5,000+ posts]

i only did two days break in because i had a comp on a friday and got my sub in and wired Weds. So i used about 1200w(re xt4000) on weds thurs and went full tilt(Sundown SAZ-2000d) friday no problem. have pulled sub out a few times since ive had it and never had a problem with the sub or spiders tearing or anything.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

to the dd/aq spiders or the fact certain drivers need to be broken in to perform at 100%? I think mark audio has a pretty detailed paper out on why it's required for their fullrange drivers. It has a lot to do with making sure the spiders break in the same all the way around and stay the same stiffness from inside to outside.

Again Im just not understanding why the spiders, even on a fullrange speaker, would require minimal movement for any period of time, rather than 'normal' operating conditions, to achieve even wear/compliance. If anything, you would think that limiting their movement range when first played would serve to 'wear them in' unevenly, as their full movement range is not being used and thus the spiders are not seeing their full/normal range of movement.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

DJ explained to me that the layered spiders "could" separate if given too much power too soon as only 1/2 of them would take the brunt of the power. This was the noise some subs had as the spider layers were tapping against each other. Over time they would take a proper set, but it's best to just give them a chance from the start.
I've never witnessed it personally, but I've always been religious about doing a break in on fresh recones.

Why would only half of the spiders take the brunt of the power?

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Im not trying to sound like some sort of speaker manufacturing expert here, but I do have some knowledge of physics and mechanics. I (almost) always hear the same reasoning about a break in period... the spiders will wear in unevenly, the spiders will tear due to their abnormal stiffness, etc. These reasons fly in the face of my understanding of what happens.

Since the spiders are stiffer to begin with, they will restrict motion more. This does not mean more stress, as they have the same force being applied to them as they would if they were already broken in. The less motion simply means excursion will be (slightly) less. Less travel distance would imply less likelihood to tear, not more. And again since they are stiffer to begin with, and excursion is reduced, seems that running the speaker at lower power than normal operation would only serve to wear the spiders unevenly compared to when the speakers are played at full tilt, not the other way around.

Not being argumentative with you guys, just wanting a more in depth discussion on this topic.

Thanks for the additional info rabbit.

 

[Lowflyin 10+ year member]

I'm with you on this audioholic. You would think that playing at abnormally low volumes would cause the spiders to wear to where they're used to the low power. Or wearing them in unevenly, but hell, what do I know.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

I'm with you on this audioholic. You would think that playing at abnormally low volumes would cause the spiders to wear to where they're used to the low power. Or wearing them in unevenly, but hell, what do I know.

To be clear, Im not suggesting that breaking in a sub on low power will create a situation where the spiders are more likely to tear later, Im simply saying its a peace of mind thing more than anything. Once you decide your low powered break in period is over, the increase in excursion will soften the spiders fully just like it would if you had skipped the low powered step to begin with.

Ive never seen any corroborating evidence for uneven spider wear, at full power, or otherwise. Which is one of the reasons I say Ive seen no evidence that a break in period is necessary.