As I mentioned in the thread 'Gr8 Bass', Rmyers and myself decided to test a subwoofer's durability in a way never envisaged before. Now while most of you probably won't ever need a subwoofer to endure such torture, it is interesting to know how it would stand up. So I present to you, the ultimate subwoofer test.
The subwoofer chosen for this test is a Jaycar 50WRMS 12" sub.
NOTE: The subwoofer did come out of the shop with a pink cone, Rmyers painted it before hand for one of the tests.
Stage 1 - The Kick Test
In this stage, we test how well the subwoofer holds up to being kicked and dropped on the ground. The results were pleasing, as the sub had not sustained any visible damage.
Verdict: PASS
Stage 2 - Fashionability Test
In this stage, we test how good the sub looks as an item of clothing. As a sub is not specifically designed for this purpose, the only clothing we could mimic was a hat. As you can see, it doesn't do too good a job of protecting Rmyers' head from the sun, and due to the design of the cone and the frame, it would collect a fair bit of water and increase the already hefty weight.
Verdict: FAIL
Stage 3 - Downright strength test
In this stage, we test how strong the subs construction is. We do this by reversing a 1500+kg EA Falcon over it. As you can see, the sub is not that strong. The sub's frame was bent and distorted, so should you drop the sub while carry it in the middle of the road, it won't hold up too well if a car ran over it.
Verdict: FAIL
Hmm, maybe if it was an extra 50WRMS more...
Stage 4 - Paint holding ability
In this stage, we test the speakers paint holding ability. Should you want to paint your sub in a funky pink as Rmyers' has done here, or a sexy beige or vomit green colour, then you would want to make sure that the paint will stick. After reversing over the sub with the Falcon, we checked the tyre to see if the paint had rubbed off. The picture speaks for itself. Just shocking.
Verdict: FAIL
Stage 5 - Stanley knife test
In this stage, we test the durability of the cone to intentional damage, a la being cut up with a stanley knife. The knife had absolutely no trouble cutting off the dust cap, and sticking the blade through the cone required very little effort. Not good for all you knife happy people out there who go on 'cutting rampages'.
Verdict: FAIL
Stage 6 - Flamability test
In this stage we test the subwoofer's fire retardance. In this case the sub was as flamable as an alcoholic's breath. If your car caught on fire, forget about salvaging this sub. It burned so violently we had to have several bottles of water nearby to extinguish the thing.
Verdict: FAIL
Stage 7 - Heavy impact test
In this stage we check the woofer's ability to withstand the damage from a falling object of decent weight, in this case, a normal building brick. It was dropped from a height of about 2 meters, which is about the average height of falling bricks. We must say we were quite impressed with the result. No percievable damage was done from the falling brick.
Verdict: PASS
Conclusion:
Here is a close up of the sub after the test. We have come to the conclusion that this sub is not durable enough and sustained some serious damage from this simple test. So we say to all you prospective buyers, don't buy Jaycar subs. They just can't stand up to normal everyday use.
Results: 2 out of 7 - Absolutely shocking
To the bin with you!
Alex
The subwoofer chosen for this test is a Jaycar 50WRMS 12" sub.
NOTE: The subwoofer did come out of the shop with a pink cone, Rmyers painted it before hand for one of the tests.
Stage 1 - The Kick Test
In this stage, we test how well the subwoofer holds up to being kicked and dropped on the ground. The results were pleasing, as the sub had not sustained any visible damage.
Verdict: PASS
Stage 2 - Fashionability Test
In this stage, we test how good the sub looks as an item of clothing. As a sub is not specifically designed for this purpose, the only clothing we could mimic was a hat. As you can see, it doesn't do too good a job of protecting Rmyers' head from the sun, and due to the design of the cone and the frame, it would collect a fair bit of water and increase the already hefty weight.
Verdict: FAIL
Stage 3 - Downright strength test
In this stage, we test how strong the subs construction is. We do this by reversing a 1500+kg EA Falcon over it. As you can see, the sub is not that strong. The sub's frame was bent and distorted, so should you drop the sub while carry it in the middle of the road, it won't hold up too well if a car ran over it.
Verdict: FAIL
Hmm, maybe if it was an extra 50WRMS more...
Stage 4 - Paint holding ability
In this stage, we test the speakers paint holding ability. Should you want to paint your sub in a funky pink as Rmyers' has done here, or a sexy beige or vomit green colour, then you would want to make sure that the paint will stick. After reversing over the sub with the Falcon, we checked the tyre to see if the paint had rubbed off. The picture speaks for itself. Just shocking.
Verdict: FAIL
Stage 5 - Stanley knife test
In this stage, we test the durability of the cone to intentional damage, a la being cut up with a stanley knife. The knife had absolutely no trouble cutting off the dust cap, and sticking the blade through the cone required very little effort. Not good for all you knife happy people out there who go on 'cutting rampages'.
Verdict: FAIL
Stage 6 - Flamability test
In this stage we test the subwoofer's fire retardance. In this case the sub was as flamable as an alcoholic's breath. If your car caught on fire, forget about salvaging this sub. It burned so violently we had to have several bottles of water nearby to extinguish the thing.
Verdict: FAIL
Stage 7 - Heavy impact test
In this stage we check the woofer's ability to withstand the damage from a falling object of decent weight, in this case, a normal building brick. It was dropped from a height of about 2 meters, which is about the average height of falling bricks. We must say we were quite impressed with the result. No percievable damage was done from the falling brick.
Verdict: PASS
Conclusion:
Here is a close up of the sub after the test. We have come to the conclusion that this sub is not durable enough and sustained some serious damage from this simple test. So we say to all you prospective buyers, don't buy Jaycar subs. They just can't stand up to normal everyday use.
Results: 2 out of 7 - Absolutely shocking
To the bin with you!
Alex