A new "top dog"?

[newusername 10+ year member]

This is all just preliminary information for now. This particular subwoofer is probably 8-12 months away yet, but it is quite intriguing for those who like their high output, low distortion drivers.

It started as a conversation on AVSForum seeking a replacement for the LMS-Ultra. And here's what is being looked at now.

By the way, this will be for sale from Exodus Audio; this is the same company that currently has the Shiva-X, Tempest-X, and the upcoming Maelstrom-X.

It's being referred to as the "Sicko-X" for now, although I hope a namechange is in the cards. Some of the detail below is home audio specific, but this driver will be very capable in your car, too.

For those not familiar with the technical aspect of some of these details, the split coil/XBL^2 combination will likely use a split coil that travels through two or three gaps for a ton of linear throw. Initial simulations have suggested ~42mm of BL within 1%. The use of a counter-coil to lower inductance is not often used in audio because many are unfamiliar with it's use, but it allows you to make inductance virtually non-existent and inductance variation equally minimal. When combined with the 14" spiders (with apparently more details of the suspension to come), you should expect wonderfully low distortion with wide bandwidth as well.

We'll see if the driver comes to fruition, either in its current state or in some new form, but the details are at least interesting.

Details of Concept:
Box Size: 7-12 ft^3

System Design: Single 18" driver with dual matching 18" Passive Radiators.

Power: Face Audio F1200-TS 4700W of power into the driver

Goal: The most accurate and powerful sub on the planet, that can fit in the defined box size, powered by a single 15A/20A breaker. Output >115dB @ 10Hz in-room measured from 1M, >120dB from 14Hz on up, measured from 1M. Anechoic F3 about 20Hz (depending upon signal processing settings) and >116dB anechoic from 25Hz up.

Transducer Design:

*5" Voice Coil with split gap, split coil motor design. Power handling out the ying-yang and at least 55mm of X-max. 70mm of X-mech so we have a full 5.5" of mechanical clearance and 4.3" of clean stroke peak-peak.

*Counter Coil to virtually eliminate inductance issues, careful design for symmetric Le curve for the inductance we have. Counter coils won't saturate with power like shorting rings. End result, 5" VC with very little inductance and EXTREMELY linear with power, frequency and stroke. Impedance curve looks like a planar, ruler flat way out beyond what you typically see with a sub.

*Specially tooled 14" spider with some unique mojo to linearize Cms and maintain production tolerances within +/-5%. Designed to fully support full capabilities of the motor.

*Specially tooled Surround with symmetric Cms curve, both inner & outer rolls like a progressive spider fully supporting the full capabilities of the motor.

*T/S Parameters close to our Maelstrom-X. Parameters usable in both PR/sealed systems of large but manageable size.

*Matching Passive Radiators with the same 5.5" of peak-peak throw.

*Projected Price for the driver: $1000 each Projected Price for the Passive Radiators: $250ea (two needed)

*Projected Price for complete projects (driver, PRs, amp & signal processing): $2500

*Projected Availability: November 2008

Click to read more...

 

[bonesninja 5,000+ posts]

interesting....is it going to more suited towards home audio tho...like the RL-s from SS?

 

[damonhargroves 10+ year member]

very very interesting!!!

 

[newusername 10+ year member]

Nah, it will be workable in the enclosures that are typical of an 18" driver...ie 4-5 cubes sealed and 7-10 cubes ported. You will likely be able to go bigger if you love that huge low end, though.

 

[damonhargroves 10+ year member]

5 inch coil + 4.3" of clean stroke = DeStrUcTiON

 

[damonhargroves 10+ year member]

its about time someone took woofer design further. the past couple of years amps have seemed to make better faster improvements vs. subs. i think this is great

 

[bumpin buick 5,000+ posts]

any pics of what it may look like, it seems very interesting and its good to see people are trying new differnt things

 

[terra 5,000+ posts]

that would be godly

 

[lilmaniac2 5,000+ posts]

rather large investment, probably worth it but wont be a top dog on this forum lol

 

[bonesninja 5,000+ posts]

rather large investment, probably worth it but wont be a top dog on this forum lol

yeah...most of us are too poor to afford stuff along those lines

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

Sounds like a worthwhile venture.

Lots of engineering in it...

nG

 

[savagebee 10+ year member]

14" spider..

****

 

[bigbangtheory 5,000+ posts]

Wow, 4cube box for sealed, lol! I couldn't even run it sealed in my car, lol!

Sounds impressive to say the least.

 

[Immacomputer 10+ year member]

The counter coil mentioned is like what the JBL GTi uses correct?

Sounds like an interesting driver but way out of my price range for at least the next few years.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

GTi is a standard split gap iirc.