Monolith - Loud pop/crack

Such

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whilst watching the opening scenes of war of the worlds yesterday, my monolith made a couple of very scary pops and cracks. :( The gain was up to just halfway, and the volume on my amp (pioneer 2011) was at -15db. (normal listening levels during daytime usually around -10db).
I'm guessing that this is not good and not normal.
I am extremely pleased with my monolith,:D but surely I cannot have found it's limit so easily?
This I had never experienced with my Q200 and have played my amp much louder too.

Has anyone experienced this and should I be worried?

Thanks
 
yes - sounds faulty - those don't sound like the noises you'd get if you bottomed it out ... one thing to check though is that you haven't anything nearby to it that is rattling ...

Mark.
 
yes - sounds faulty - those don't sound like the noises you'd get if you bottomed it out ... one thing to check though is that you haven't anything nearby to it that is rattling ...

Mark.

Thanks Mark.
Nothing nearby, only the cables and the pop was loud enough to make me jump!
Guess I'll have to speak with BK...
 
Have you listened to your sub after this event?

If you bottomed it badly the voicecoil would be likely to be distorted and then rub on the magnet pole.

This would usually be very audible.
 
I'll check
 
It'd be very hard to bottom the Q200 as it is sealed and therefore resists the increasing driver excursion of very low frequencies due to the pressure within. That's also why it doesn't go very low - It simply hasn't got the power to overcome this effect.

The Monolith, is ported and the drivers travel is restricted by the pressure within, down to port tuning frequency in much the same way. Below this point, it looses this protection pretty quickly, as it starts to behave more like an open box.

I'd still be surprised if you've bottomed it. I've run mine at some pretty silly levels (in the interests of research you understand) and have managed to make it honk a bit and rattle (although that could be the house) at the extreme. To be honest, it sounds like it's reaching it's limit and maintaining those levels would just be abuse. I've never managed to bottom it though.

Reference level on my system is achieved at -10dB setting on the volume. WOTW will sound comfortable up to -5dB. That's quite loud, that is.

Russell
 
Reference level on my system is achieved at -10dB stting on the volume. WOTW will sound comfortable up to -5dB. That's quite loud, that is.Russell

Hooligan!

@ Such .... Try the sub pink noise test tone of your receiver.
 
I'd still be surprised if you've bottomed it. I've run mine at some pretty silly levels (in the interests of research you understand) and have managed to make it honk a bit and rattle (although that could be the house) at the extreme. To be honest, it sounds like it's reaching it's limit and maintaining those levels would just be abuse. I've never managed to bottom it though.

Reference level on my system is achieved at -10dB setting on the volume. WOTW will sound comfortable up to -5dB. That's quite loud, that is.

Russell

Thanks Russell, I'm still suprised that it gave up so easily as it really didn't seem that loud. ps whats "WOTW"?

Druboo, I'm assuming that I have to reduce the LFE signal strength?

Nimby - it sounds ok since then, but I've turned the gain down somewhat.

Thanks
 
WOTW = War Of The Worlds ;)

What I was meaning was if the drive/voicecoil sounds ok while playing the test tone, then the pop you heard hasn't done any damage.
 
Thanks, i'll run a test tone and check
 
whilst watching the opening scenes of war of the worlds yesterday, my monolith made a couple of very scary pops and cracks. :( The gain was up to just halfway, and the volume on my amp (pioneer 2011) was at -15db. (normal listening levels during daytime usually around -10db).
I'm guessing that this is not good and not normal.
I am extremely pleased with my monolith,:D but surely I cannot have found it's limit so easily?
This I had never experienced with my Q200 and have played my amp much louder too.

Has anyone experienced this and should I be worried?

Thanks

Hi

Glad you posted, I was searching for this very issue last night!

I received my new Monolith a couple of weeks ago and have been pleased with it, however while watching films this weekend (the first time I've really used the sub) I too suffered a loud popping/cracking (almost like a knocking?) sound. It's not easy to describe well but it sounds exactly like the problem you're having.

The strange pop/crack has only happened during (very sudden) gunshot-type sounds and occurs at quite moderate sound levels, but doesn't seem to be reliably reproduced (you can play the same scene several times and not always get the pop noise).

I'd be interested to know when you bought your Monolith to see if they both came from the same "batch". I also have a REL Q200 and it could easily cope with the sort of stuff that is popping the Monolith so I feel there's definitely something up with mine. There's no "honking" sound either: I really don't believe it was running anywhere near loud enough for this to be down to "abuse".

In answer to Nimby's post, since the pops/cracks I've noticed no deterioration in the sound.

I'll speak to BK tomorrow and let you know what they have to say.

Cheers all
 
Hi

Glad you posted, I was searching for this very issue last night!

I received my new Monolith a couple of weeks ago and have been pleased with it, however while watching films this weekend (the first time I've really used the sub) I too suffered a loud popping/cracking (almost like a knocking?) sound. It's not easy to describe well but it sounds exactly like the problem you're having.

The strange pop/crack has only happened during (very sudden) gunshot-type sounds and occurs at quite moderate sound levels, but doesn't seem to be reliably reproduced (you can play the same scene several times and not always get the pop noise).

I'd be interested to know when you bought your Monolith to see if they both came from the same "batch". I also have a REL Q200 and it could easily cope with the sort of stuff that is popping the Monolith so I feel there's definitely something up with mine. There's no "honking" sound either: I really don't believe it was running anywhere near loud enough for this to be down to "abuse".

In answer to Nimby's post, since the pops/cracks I've noticed no deterioration in the sound.

I'll speak to BK tomorrow and let you know what they have to say.

Cheers all


I collected mine about 4wks ago now, will also speak to BK, post response later
 
Spoke with Tom at BK earlier this morning and he was happy to have the unit collected and checked out. As I don't have the box anymore he suggested that they come and do an on site repair as I'm only about 45mins away.

So, tomorrow they are coming to replace the driver and amp module.
How's that for service?:clap:
 
Sorted!

Tom and Barry swapped out the driver and amp module earlier today without fuss. Very nice chaps, also got a brief history of BK and their involvement with Rel during their early days!

Glad I bought from BK as any other manufacturer would have probably insisted the unit be returned for testing etc. Can't imagine the latest HCC award winners going that extra mile!

THANKS BK FOR FIRST CLASS CUSTOMER SERVICE!::) :thumbsup: thumbsup:
 
Hello Such, thats excellent service. BK sound like an excellent company. BTW tell us about there involvment with REL.
 
Has the limit of the mighty Monolith been found?! Is the Monolith not so mighty after all?! If the whole system has been calibrated correctly, a decent sub fot for the purpose will have no problems at -15dB, whatever the source material.

Some reviewer may have compared it to a £2500 Rel, but this is where you'll see/hear differences. The Rel wouldn't have batted an eyelid, probably right up to 0dB. As i have previously stated in many other threads, there is only so much you can do for a given budget, and £400 (at retail) isn't a whole lot of budget. I'm sure the Monolith is a great achievement for £400, but it is going to have some failings/shortcomings. The sooner people acknowledge and accept that these budget products aren't perfect the better, instead of putting them up on a pedestal and worshipping them. Many other products get raved about on these forums, even by people who've never heard them, because they're getting caught up in the hype of being told they're the be all and end all, and that the competition is crap. One sub recently got an earbashing purely because of who made it, even though the posters had never even heard it.

These budget products may be king of their price point, and slightly beyond, but don't expect them to keep up with the more costly, better designed, and more capable models.

If you're bottoming out your sub, you either need larger drivers or multiple drivers with better control.
 
I thought it was a faulty unit?

lets not start all the mines bigger than yours AGAIN!v.boring.
 
I'm not mentioning mine :)
 
A retailers comment from Helicon who obviously cannot sell a 'quality' subwoofer like the BK Monolith at anywhere near the price that BK sell it.
Of course retailers have their mark up on top of 'direct' sales, therefore cannot compete with the likes of BK - just don't knock the product as we all know the Monolith is a superb subwoofer with very few limitations.
 
A retailers comment from Helicon who obviously cannot sell a 'quality' subwoofer like the BK Monolith at anywhere near the price that BK sell it.
Of course retailers have their mark up on top of 'direct' sales, therefore cannot compete with the likes of BK - just don't knock the product as we all know the Monolith is a superb subwoofer with very few limitations.
Touchy!! Steady on! I was merely pointing out that budget products are not going to be the be all and end all. I did state that the Monolith was probably a great achievement for the money.

As Helicon, i'm on here as me, not as a retailer. I will draw on my experience as a retailer spanning about 18 years now, and my interest in this subject which covers 30 years. I will give advice as i see fit.

Retailers aren't interested in selling subs that are available directly from a manufacturer via the internet. You're right, they can't compete with a direct price. But that wouldn't put me personally off supporting a product i don't keep. A

This is the sort of thing i try and point out. Say anything negative against a popular product, and all the owners come rushing to it's rescue. It's touching in a way. But naive. It's a little different when a mod says something bad against a popular product though. That's taken as gospel.

I'm merely pointing out here that a £400 sub (and other budget products), aren't the best you'll get. Corners have been cut. I'm not trying to start any arguments. But once again this sort of thing reveals and proves the anti-retailer vibe that appears all too often, which i find a little strange as you don't even know who i work for.
 
I'm merely pointing out here that a £400 sub (and other budget products), aren't the best you'll get. Corners have been cut.
this is almost certainly true, something can be v good value for money and a serious achievement for the price but still be a poorer performer (speaking purely from performance terms) then A.N. Other Sub. I'm sure if I had £3k (or whatever the cost of a better sub is) sloshing around with no home to go, I'm sure I would have bought something else. Somehow I doubt that is ever going to happen :rolleyes:

to be fair though, if the Monolith had a general problem at -15dB then surely we'd have heard about it by now. There are enough out running happily at that level (and no doubt beyond) to suggest that it can deliver. I know mine can :smashin:
 
Thank you for understanding and acknowledging the point i was originally trying to make :)
 
My understanding is that BK were the OEM manufacturer for REL, perhaps specific models, "way back when". I don't know what they do with REL know but I don't expect it's much.
 
I acknowledge my part in this somewhat dull and long running arguement, which is needlessly being dragged up again, but isn't the point, that a customer has experienced exceptional customer service from a manufacturer?

It's very easy to gain the opinions of dissatisfied customers (ask Kef PSW2000 owners), so it's nice to see good service, which is expected, receiving acknowledgement when it happens.

That's all that's happening here. No subtext or hidden agendas. Just a customer getting back to enjoying his sub in double quick time.

Russell
 

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