Fast1one
10+ year member
CarAudio.com Veteran
A member over at carstereos.org posted a link to a review of Mach 5 audio's CHEAP 18 seen here http://www.mach5audio.com/product_info.php?products_id=38&osCsid=c4991c63604d7cc10906690805dbd2cf
Its a home audio IB subwoofer forum. It got a decent review from a member. Ill let the review do the talking. Im really interested in these now after this review....You have to register to browze the forums so ill just post the review here...
I just may buy two of them //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif
Its a home audio IB subwoofer forum. It got a decent review from a member. Ill let the review do the talking. Im really interested in these now after this review....You have to register to browze the forums so ill just post the review here...
Full link here http://ibsubwoofers.proboards51.com/index.cgi?board=talk&action=display&thread=1151535797&page=2Drum roll please...
Okay, I started off my day going to Wal-Mart...oops, wrong story.
The 18” woofers for 50 bucks each, that’s where we were at...
As you all know, I received the 2 test woofers earlier this week. I have observed, tested, & played throughout this weekend and here is what I have come up with.
First of all, the woofers arrived well packed, but in a box that was just roughly fabricated. The woofers themselves were wrapped in plastic within this box and that’s about it. No frills at all, just a brown box with no markings.
Next, upon inspecting the woofers, they appear to be very sturdy and well built. The surrounds are big and thick and the cones are good and stiff. Again, no frills at all. Just a very plain basket, black and gray with no markings. This thing looks like a man’s woofer. Here’s my best analogy. My current 15” woofers with chrome baskets and dual voice coils are like a Honda civic with a hopped up VTEC, whereas these 18s are more like an old primer gray Dodge Charger with nothing but cubic inches under the hood.
I have to say, the one thing that feels a little cheap on the woofer is the spring clip for the wiring. First of all, it’s probably for a 12 gauge wire or so, which is no problem until you are wiring two together in parallel. It’s a little tough to fit two 12 gauge wires in there. It’s also a little flimsy, so I was very careful when inserting the wires as to not brake it. It really feels like a spring terminal for a 6X9 or something, not really an 18” sub.
Next, I built a pretty cheesy 20” x 20” manifold, but it’s solid. It’s in the same location that my current manifold was in which works real well, right between my mains. I got the subs installed in the manifold and bypassed my BFD so there is no EQ at all. Just a straight signal from my Denon receiver (80hz crossover, everything set to small) to my Nady XA900 to the subs.
Next, I set the level with my SPL meter. I went ahead and set it about 7 DB hot just to make sure they would handle what I was throwing at them.
The next part was easy. I pulled out all of my favorite demo stuff, DVD’s and CD’s, and started listening.
Now for the real drum roll since this is what you guys are really waiting on…
Long story short, I was simply blown away with what I was hearing. I have owned a Paradigm PW-2200, dual SVS cylinders, Sunfire True Sub, & my current 4-15” IB, and these 2 18’s are the best bass I’ve heard yet. I really hate to sound this strong about it since this review will probably be the deciding factor for many purchases, but I can only report what I am hearing and post test plots so that’s what I’m doing.
The concrete cracking in War of the Worlds DTS was scary, seriously. I will say, at extremely high volumes and the SPL about 7 DB’s hot, I did hear a very slight bottom out once, but again, this was at very high SPL levels, way louder than I would ever listen to.
As far as music, everything I threw at them sounded awesome. The AC/DC kick drum has never sounded better!
I could go on and on about all the test scenes and demo music I listened to, but I think you probably get the point and I don’t have much time left at the moment.
I will post more later, and feel fee to ask any questions you may have. Here is a quick test plot I did, one near field and one from my seated position. These actually tested out almost identical to my 4 15’s, so I think any nulls or peaks you see are pretty much room induced. Also, the near field peak at 34 hz changed as I moved the mic closer, so it's apparently induced by the wall next to my manifold.
Another huge thanks to Mark for agreeing to this testing. :'( By the way, I have not emailed Mark back, so this is the first that he will read about my experiences also.
I just may buy two of them //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif
