BIC Acoustech Sub rattling noise

I got a BIC Acoustech Sub and it definitely has a nice ability to powerfully capture the low end...

The thing is, I'm hearing a rattling, crackling noise. The wierd thing is if I gently touch the rubber gasket around the main speaker area with my thumb while it's functioning, the rattling sound goes away immediately. When I remove my thumb, rattling. This rattling is not electrical hum. It seems as if something "loose" is stuck to the woofer or something. the fact that I can dampen it with very gentle thumb pressure suggests it's mechanical.

Any idea what this could be? Any ideas how to fix?

thanks

Thanks for your advice!!!

I will see about calling them, hopefully they will stand behind their product(s)

The thing is heavy and hard to ship, I wonder if there's a local authorized repair. Anyhow was hoping this could be something I could fix myself... or was a well -known problem... thank you...

Here was the reply from BIC:

The first thing to do is determine whether the sub's amplifier or its woofer is responsible for the noises. To do so, remove the amplifier from the cabinet by taking out the screws around the perimeter of the black control panel. The amplifier is built on the inside of that panel. When you have access to the woofer, reach in and wiggle the lead wire clips off the woofer's input terminals.

Then, turn on the system and play something at a reasonable audio level. Remove the speaker cable from one of the front main speakers, being carefull not to let the bare wire ends touch together. Hold those wire ends temporarily but firmly to the woofer input terminals. If the woofer plays, even though a bit muffled, and you don't hear the crackling noise, it's OK. In that case the amplifier is at fault. If you hear a scraping noise or distortion with the crackling noise, the woofer need to be replaced and the amplifier is OK.

When you know which is causing the problem, wrap that component carefully in a couple of layers of bubble wrap and put it securely in a sturdy carton, but don't seal the carton yet. Put a note in the carton with a brief description of the problem, and your name, address, and telephone number. Also, put in a copy of your sales receipt showing the date of purchase and also a copy of this correspondence. These are essential.

I'm sharing it here because someone else out there might benefit from using this technique to isolate a fault in a sub, but also to indicate that BIC was extremely responsive to my email and provided an intelligent approach to diagnosing the problem, as well as a way to avoid shipping a very heavy unit all in one piece. So so far I am having a good experience with them.

So far my help from BIC has been great, I sure hope it keeps going this way.

And yes they replied to me Sun, Mar 22, 2009 at 12:19 PM very impressive imho

So I did the diagnostic and believe the problem is the woofer, it seems to have something going on inside that is causing the sound. Anyhow I took it over to UPS and they shipped it ground for 16 bucks including packing it themselves. I was pretty happy about it I was worried something heavy like that was gonna cost an arm and a leg. At least they had me detach the woofer from the cabinet. I got to see the inside of the thing and it didnt void my warranty!

Anyhow it should arrive in Anaheim California today which is where they said to send it. fingers crossed.