How to tell if a Fi BL is fully loaded?

[SSS 18734 5,000+ posts]

I found a great deal locally for a pair of 15" BL's. He claims they are fully loaded. My question is, how can I be sure of this if he doesn't have any paperwork proving them so? Are there physical differences with the subs that have cooling, flatwound coils, hyper poles, or between ones that have the "daily" and the "SPL" option?

I'm meeting with him later today, so some quick responses would be appreciated!

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[grimreper912003 5,000+ posts]

I found a great deal locally for a pair of 15" BL's. He claims they are fully loaded. My question is, how can I be sure of this if he doesn't have any paperwork proving them so? Are there physical differences with the subs that have cooling, flatwound coils, hyper poles, or between ones that have the "daily" and the "SPL" option?
I'm meeting with him later today, so some quick responses would be appreciated!

FW coils look different. that should be an easy one cooling, probably not. I have yet to hear of these hyperpoles? and Isnt the SPL vs Daily in the gap?

 

[Shinju 10+ year member]

Fi does have a website

 

[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

breathalyzer....

 

[Stephen_c 10+ year member]

fully loaded bl weighs 1.9 pounds more than a non loaded btl. should be 43.2 pounds unloaded, if they load it up 45.1 pounds

 

[Rich B 5,000+ posts]

It slurs its words.

 

[SSS 18734 5,000+ posts]

fully loaded bl weighs 1.9 pounds more than a non loaded btl. should be 43.2 pounds unloaded, if they load it up 45.1 pounds

I believe the '09's weigh ~45 pounds, correct? I'm pretty sure these are the older style, and from what I hear, they are lighter than that. Any idea on how much those are supposed to weigh?

 

[bigbud747 10+ year member]

Look through the cooling holes in the bottom part of the basket where you can see the paper part of the coil (right above the winding) and they should have written on the former what options are on it. (FW means flatwind, FC means full cooling) and it should have what coils are in it (D1 or D2).

 

[Twisted_0912 10+ year member]

the copper on the coil will be flat and it will have plug in the pole vent. the leads will be woven as well. i had two and one was loaded and one had some options on it and i was told it was fully loaded but they still worked together just fine

 

[bigbud747 10+ year member]

the copper on the coil will be flat and it will have plug in the pole vent. the leads will be woven as well. i had two and one was loaded and one had some options on it and i was told it was fully loaded but they still worked together just fine

Leads won't necessarily be woven. If it's an older model like mine they are still the "free" tinsels, and not woven into the spiders..

 

[SSS 18734 5,000+ posts]

I picked both up for $280 yesterday - perfect condition other than a tiny rip in one of the spiders. I figure that is easily fixable. They are indeed fully loaded. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Davecubs14 10+ year member]

That was a good price, even with a little tear. And fully loaded...you're pretty lucky. Good luck with them.

 

[SSS 18734 5,000+ posts]

I also saw that they have "SPL" written on the paper on the voice coils. I'd assume this means they have the "SPL" option... I've read it isn't recommended for daily applications.

From what I understand this just means that the gap is tighter, resulting in a sub that won't be as good on complex notes or rapidly changing bass. I've read some posts on SSA that say the sub can actually be DAMAGED playing music - but there was nothing conclusive on that subject. I don't see how that can be possible, really, unless it's abused. I've seen people use DD 9500's or Pioneer 5000SPL's - flat out SPL subs - daily with good results.

I can live with it as long as they don't sound like absolute crap - when I heard them in the seller's car, they sounded decent - I didn't buy a pair of 15" BL's for perfectly linear response in the first place. I plan on putting these in a ~8 cu.ft box tuned to 30-32 hz.

 

[grimreper912003 5,000+ posts]

Clean power will help prevent problems //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[SSS 18734 5,000+ posts]

Clean power will help prevent problems //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

I will have an American Bass XD-2000 on each one //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif