RD vs Sundown?

[sundownz Pro Seller]

Sundown Audio - Nightshade 15"

Mounting Specifications :

Mounting Depth = 9.75"

Overall OD with Gasket = 15 3/8"

Cut-Out Diameter = 13 7/8"

Sub Displacement = 0.21 ft^3

You don't quite have to go that large on box -- 3 to 3.5 is good as well if you prefer a smaller box.

 

[t1990le 10+ year member]

Sundown Audio - Nightshade 15"
Mounting Specifications :

Mounting Depth = 9.75"

Overall OD with Gasket = 15 3/8"

Cut-Out Diameter = 13 7/8"

Sub Displacement = 0.21 ft^3

You don't quite have to go that large on box -- 3 to 3.5 is good as well if you prefer a smaller box.

ok, thanks jacob. What would be the optimal tuning? I was thinking about 36hz so it would sound great on music but still have great spl.

 

[BloodyGuts335i 10+ year member]

I'm in this same dilema!! either 2 alpha v3's or a 15" NS or HW!!!

 

[basebalz13 10+ year member]

No it doesnt mean that it can take more power it just simply means if i aquire that kind of power in the future and i accidentaly blow the sub/s jacob, from what ive read and expirenced, would be alot better to deal with than steve.


Ok, I have a few designs on my comp that i made for a box or two. The ns would be in my reg cab f150 in about 4.5 cu ft and 76sq in of port tuned to 36hz. Sub forward behind driver seat and port up behind passenger.

Whats the mounting depth of the ns btw?

single NS 15" use a 3 cube box

 

[t1990le 10+ year member]

single NS 15" use a 3 cube box

ok, one problem though. The mounting depth for the NS is 9.75". I only have 11" of depth to work with. This leaves me with 9.5" internally. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif If I double baffled the side of my box that i was mounting the NS in, that would give me 11.75 depth and the NS would have .5" from the back of the box. Is it ok for the sub to be that close to the back of the box or can should i triple baffle it to give it 1.25" from the back?

 

[sundownz Pro Seller]

The NS v.1 pole is plugged after the very first run (not many floating around out there not plugged anymore as many folks added it later with re-cones) -- it can be touching the other panel without an issue for cooling.

 

[basebalz13 10+ year member]

ok, one problem though. The mounting depth for the NS is 9.75". I only have 11" of depth to work with. This leaves me with 9.5" internally. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif If I double baffled the side of my box that i was mounting the NS in, that would give me 11.75 depth and the NS would have .5" from the back of the box. Is it ok for the sub to be that close to the back of the box or can should i triple baffle it to give it 1.25" from the back?

Also to note you have 11" of depth to work with. you minused 1.5" you only minus .75" because the sub mounts on the front of the baffle, not behind. so actually you have 10.25" of mounting depth

 

[t1990le 10+ year member]

The NS v.1 pole is plugged after the very first run (not many floating around out there not plugged anymore as many folks added it later with re-cones) -- it can be touching the other panel without an issue for cooling.

ok, so i would be ok with adding only one extra baffle to make it clear by .5". and be ok

 

[sundownz Pro Seller]

Double baffle is plenty in almost all cases - especially since your box is not all that big.

 

[t1990le 10+ year member]

Double baffle is plenty in almost all cases - especially since your box is not all that big.

ok, as soon as i get done with some google sketches ill have some pics up in the enclosures section hopefully tomorrow. This week is already looking to be super busy for me.

 

[Electrodynamic 10+ year member]

Nick im confused on your statement.

Cone area of 2 12's is 226 sq inches. Cone are for a single 15 is 176 sq inches. Difference of 50.

Xmax is 16mm on the Alpha v2 however there is two 12's. Nightshade you said had 23mm and one 15".

"stock" Alpha will handle 1500rms

"stock "nightshade will handle 1500rms

Just my .02 cents

Cone area is larger on the Alpha's, but the NS still out-displaces the pair of 12's. But as Jacob pointed out, it's going to be tough to get either driver(s) to full Xmax.

 

[Electrodynamic 10+ year member]

So, if you are going by the amount of one way linear movement while maintaining 70% of the BL obtained with 1 watt of power as X-max, I guess according to you the RD Alpha is unable to move out of the gap and maintain a minimum of 70% Bl loss?

I never said the Alpha was unable to move out of the gap and maintain a minimum 70% BL loss. If RD is rating their Xmax by typical overhang, that is their rating. I was unable to find any data that would say otherwise. I haven't seen any FEA or Klippel data that would support the notion of the drivers having more linear excursion than what they are claiming. I was going off of data supplied by both manufacturers, nothing more.

If you add X-max to the Alpha's in your equation, then it might be possible for two 12" Alphas to have as much or maybe even more displacement as one 15" Nightshade? I really don't care for either driver, I just didn't see how your math was accurate in your displacement values. My opinion is go with the company that can and will help you in the future with their product or make sure you can find another company that can fix it before you buy it.

If you added Xmax without verification to either driver, then you would be correct that the displacement values would change. But if you're doing that, why not pad other data as well? Calculating linear displacement is pretty easy: convert all measurements to one common value (in this case, I converted to cm) and take cone area and multiply that times linear stroke.

For the Alpha, 490 cm^2 is a typical Sd for a 12" driver that does not have a wide surround. Xmax is rated at 16mm according to RD's web page. Xmax is in mm, and in order to convert it to cm, 1 millimeter = 0.1 centimeters, which makes linear excursion 1.6 cm. Multiply the surface area of 490 cm^2 times the linear stroke of 1.6 cm and you get 784 cm^3 of linear displacement for a single driver, or 1568 cm^3 for a pair.

 

[basebalz13 10+ year member]

Didnt the OP ask about SPL in the comparison between 2 12's and 1 15?

 

[Electrodynamic 10+ year member]

Didnt the OP ask about SPL in the comparison between 2 12's and 1 15?

You know you're right. Higher linear displacement doesn't always mean it's going to be louder...especially in the SPL lanes and especially in ported enclosures.

 

[t1990le 10+ year member]

My question still stands, would i see a good enough increase in db to be worth trading subs and making a new box.