How Long Do Subwoofers Last (Helpful Tips)
Subwoofers vibrate to produce bass sounds in your car audio system. Because of the continuous vibrations, they have to work so hard, shortening their lifespan to some extent.
How long does a subwoofer last? And what makes them deteriorate? This article will help you discover the lifespan of these devices. You can also learn some tips to treat them well. Now, let’s read on!
How Long Does a Subwoofer Last?
The average lifetime of car subwoofers is between four to seven years. The answer may differ depending on the model you buy.
Purchasing a subwoofer of poor quality will cause it to blow up or fail to function effectively in the first few years or sometimes months.
Moreover, the components of a poor subwoofer can’t withstand external damage, exposing your device to long-term harm.
As a result, make sure you thoroughly research the best products for your car audio or home audio system before making a purchase.
Also, ensure the one you choose is high-quality, delivers your desired bass frequencies, and is compatible with your car stereo system.
Aside from the quality of the subwoofer, the way you use it affects its life expectancy. If you let them overwork or expose them to extreme weather conditions, even expensive car subwoofers may not last as expected.
What Causes A Subwoofer To Have Deteriorated?
How long does a car subwoofer last? Maintenance, usage frequency, and wiring significantly affect your subwoofer’s longevity.
We will discuss some factors that make the device deteriorate faster. Then, you can come up with the right solution for each.
Temperature
The surrounding temperature affects your subwoofer’s performance too. For example, if the weather is hot and you are driving in intense sunlight, the heat will get inside your car, heating the subwoofer.
Similarly, if the weather is freezing and you park your car outside, the frigid air will harm it.
Excess use
You could regularly and loudly play the car subwoofers. The excess workload required to deliver bass boost will burn and tear the device’s wiring.
Please note that every time you turn the volume up to the maximum level, the lifespan of your car subwoofer decreases. How much damage it gets depends on how far it’s gone past its capacity.
Power supply
Your decent subwoofer will stop operating if the power is either too high or too low. It can’t give you an adequate base if the power isn’t getting to the electromagnetic voice coil within it.
Over-powered subwoofers may blow. The excess energy causes them to experience more pressure than they can tolerate. As a result, they will break down soon.
Ported subwoofer box
Two main types of subwoofer boxes in car subwoofers are sealed and ported. The ported box is the better option because it offers more protection.
There is more air in the ported subwoofer, helping your subwoofer produce more low bass sound. You may easily notice the quick-moving air within the box. This feature also prevents your car subwoofer from getting heated.
On the other hand, if you use a sealed box instead of a ported subwoofer box, the air will get trapped inside the construction. Due to the lack of ventilation, it will overheat, affecting the subwoofer components and decreasing their lifespan.
Wiring issues
Incorrect wiring is the cause of various problems with your subwoofer, such as overheating and blown subwoofers. It will also affect the performance of the device.
For example, many drivers put faulty wires in the negative and positive terminals. When attached to the wrong polarity, the wires may spark, leading to severe damage.
Another problem with the wires in car subwoofers is when they get tangled. In this case, your subwoofer can’t receive enough power from the amplifier. As a result of the lack of power supply, it won’t work properly and will degrade over time.
Clipping
You can use an oscilloscope to see signal voltages in your vehicle’s audio system. It should have smooth curves with rounded tops. As you turn up the volume, the power of the sound waves rises.
Clipping will occur when the car subwoofer tries to amplify the signal beyond what it can handle. This process refers to the highest and lowest peaks of the sound wave.
The clipping will heat up your car subwoofer. As a result, its lifecycle will become shorter. What’s worse, the clipping may burn the device if it persists for too long.
Tips to Ensure Your Car Subwoofers Last a Long Time
You can only extend the lifespan of car subwoofers by dealing with the factors we mentioned previously. Here is what you should do:
- Invest in a high-quality car subwoofer from the start.
- Avoid playing too loud music and bass boost.
- Do not let it stay in extreme weather. Both scorching and freezing temperatures are intolerable.
- Monitor the power supply transmitted to the car subwoofer. It shouldn’t be too high or too low.
- Use a ported box to promote ventilation instead of the sealed subwoofer box.
- Make sure you connect your subwoofer to other components correctly.
- Check the wiring regularly to ensure the wires don’t get loose or tangled.
Conclusion
How long do car subwoofers last? These devices have a limited lifecycle of about four to seven years. You can extend its life by maintaining car subwoofers to ensure that they are always in good condition.
Hopefully, you will find this article helpful. Please send us a message or leave a comment in the section below if you need any further information about handling car subwoofers. We will reply soon.
Thank you for reading!
FAQs
Yes. Most car subwoofers can last for four to seven years, depending on how you use and set them up. External elements, such as the weather, will also decrease the performance of your device.
You can tell that your car subwoofer has worn out by checking these signs:
- The overall sound quality decreases significantly. You may detect distorted sounds sometimes.
- The cone doesn’t vibrate to handle bass frequencies.
- The voltage reading constantly changes. You can check it with a multimeter.
Most car subwoofers need a break-in time of two weeks. After that time, they can produce loud music better. However, the sound quality won’t change much once they have broken in.