# Rattle Coming From the Back of My Sub!



## bibeed (Sep 26, 2012)

Hey everyone, 
I have a Polk PSW505 sub that, when the decibels are up and the extreme low frequencies are flowing, there is a rattle coming from the back it. I've listened and its coming from the plate that is screwed to the back of the subwoofer. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does I can press my fingers on the plate and stop the rattle. I've tightened all of the screws which consist of larger ones around the perimeter and many smaller ones on the inside area (one of which I accidentally stripped). So my question is is there any thing I can do? I thought about removing the plate and putting down some sort of dampening layer, then screw the plate back on top of that. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

If the sound is due to the amp plate not seating against the cabinet properly you might be able to seal it using speaker caulk.


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## bibeed (Sep 26, 2012)

That seems to be exactly what I need. However, is there anything similar that I could use that could be purchased at Lowe's or Home Depot? Looking at that made me think that I could get a flexible-type caulk at the hardware store, take the plate off and put a bead of down before I screw it back down. Des that even seem like it would work or would I be better off purchasing this stuff over the Internet? My concern is that I only need it for this application, and the amount that I would be buying would not end up being used. Regular household caulk, on the other hand, has many household uses as well. I guess really I want my money to go as far as possible.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

If you're referring to the type of caulk with a consistency of toothpaste I don't imagine that would suffice. It would more then likely ooze out. The link I sent is for a substance closer to silly putty. If you can find something like that at the home center then you could probably use it as a substitute.


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## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

Are you sure it's the amp and not the back panel that's rattling? Pressing on the amp would cause the panel to stop rattling.


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## bibeed (Sep 26, 2012)

I'm not sure where the amp is located. The only thing on the back of the sub is the panel where all of the connections, knobs, phase switch, et cetera are located. I was thinking of trying some rubber foam self-adhesive weatherstripping. If I were to put that around the perimeter of the panel and then screw it tightly down to compress the rubber foam, would that help at all? It seems like it's worth a shot just because of how cheap of a fix it could be if it did.


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## 8086 (Aug 4, 2009)

The problem may be one of three things (i can think of)

A loose driver or amplifier
Loose cabiniet pieces or screws
Something in the wall rattling.
#3 Is a problem I have at my place. The lower frequencies cause something in the walls to rattle.


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## bibeed (Sep 26, 2012)

That was one of the first things I thought of too. There were a couple of cords touching the side of the sub so I moved those. Still the rattle on loud low notes. There is an electrical outlet behind that I thought maybe the plugs in the sockets were rattling but they're not either. It's hard to listen to where the sound is coming from when I have to play the sub loudly to hear the rattle in the first place. But the rattle does seem to go away when I press my hand against the panel on the back of the sub. I guess I'll make a trip to the hardware store and spend my Saturday finally eliminating it. The sub really sounds great, but during a movie, that rattle takes me out of the moment and the immersion I find myself in.


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## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

> The only thing on the back of the sub is the panel where all of the connections, knobs, phase switch, et cetera are located.


That is the amp.


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## bibeed (Sep 26, 2012)

Ah. Then yes the amp is exactly what I'm talking about. Learn something new every day. Do you think I would harm anything by putting a layer of weatherstripping between where the amp screws into the cabinet? Or lose sound quality somehow?


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## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

How hard do you have to push on the amp to make the rattle stop? Are you pushing on the center area of the amp? Have you tried putting pressure on each control and speaker connector to try and narrow it down?


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## bibeed (Sep 26, 2012)

So I did some more investigating and I think the rattle is from the power cord going into the amp. I can hold it and keep it from rattling. Now the question is how do I secure it so that there is no wiggle room where it plugs in?


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## 8086 (Aug 4, 2009)

bibeed said:


> Ah. Then yes the amp is exactly what I'm talking about. Learn something new every day. Do you think I would harm anything by putting a layer of weatherstripping between where the amp screws into the cabinet? Or lose sound quality somehow?


As long as the weatherstripping is thin enough to allow for a flush fit and is non-conductive, you will see only benefits. A better sealed cabinet is a better sounding speaker (dont block the port).


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## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

bibeed said:


> So I did some more investigating and I think the rattle is from the power cord going into the amp. I can hold it and keep it from rattling. Now the question is how do I secure it so that there is no wiggle room where it plugs in?


You need to take the amp out and see how the power receptacle is mounted.


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