Falkor
Junior Member
review of the Phoenix Gold's 15d subwoofer (tantrum series)
I bought two of these at a car show (almost) 15 years ago.
being from the 'hood' I thought i needed two, but realistically I only needed one and removed the 2nd one to sell it.
ran them at 8ohms and at 2ohms and they provide excellent low frequencies.
special note on durability. The one i kept has been in three cars sofar. A beater datsun wagon with rust holes in the back lid (so it was a little moist all the time). An old convertible (which was also moist a lot of the time), and a good sedan which was finally dry.
The sub only got about 200-300 watts of power (guessing b/c the amp is likely not rated correctly), but it sounded fantastic for my needs. I don't turn it up where my ears will bleed, but they will ring if i turn it up for long drives or a girl im with has to crank it up all the way (which i keep the remote knob down to about 50% or less).
Its lasted over a decade of normal use and recenty got a better (used) amp that can push it past 800w...which i did, and even though this woofer is ancient it shook the walls of local buildings.
it's in a vented box, and i recently pulled it out to have it run at 2ohms, cleaned it up, and checked the rubber side, which isn't cracked or broken anywhere.
I'm not super confident this woofer will live very long with this new power i have pushing it, but for what i paid for it in 2001(ish, so long ago i forgot what year i got it, and can only surmise from the car it was in..from 1999-2003), I got a great deal.
if you need a durable sub that sounds good this is it.
the terminals are much stonger than the posts that hold them in, but eveything still works and nothing's broken (yet).
I've dropped screws and nails on it (fell through the metal grill) and learned to put tiny earth magnets on the grill to attract further issues when it was in a spare tire well (facing up).
the sub is back in it's vented box and sounds great, but like i stated i think 15 years is enough for a woofer, and will be replacing it soon, or at least try to blow it with this new amp after i have a spare one to put in its place.
overall, it's never let me down, and has been an ideal woofer that's been in many encoluses from a double vented box, a sealed box, a sealed custom fiberglass (spare tire) enclosure and lately another single vented box.
it's a semi-shallow sub and the magnet is single mass.
the terminal knobs are color coded red and black, and there are two red, and two black ones that are on opposite sides of the basket.
8 speaker holes, and I got a universal metal grill for about 5 bucks that fits it perfectly. The grill is definately a main reason behind this woofers longevity, which is why i mention it here.
the first amp i had this hooked up to was a DHD NTX-3107 (for about 15 years btw..in the same conditions and it's still working)...and recently to an Orion HCCA d-2400 (which really wakes this subwoofer up, and made me realise how under-powered the DHD amp really must be.
well, hope that helps people in the futer know about subs from the past.
happy trails
ps.
this is the woofer in my 1989 325ci's tire well.
you see the metal cover and a thinly woven cloth i got from work being a bag to protect some kind of electronics that was used in shipping (That most people throw away).
i know the install wasn't the cleanest, but it was mostly stealth and durable as a a hammer
here's the grill
the terminals
special note: I marked the Neg and Plus (in silver) that you see written on the basket...
if you remove the screw caps you won't know (easily) which is which...
the cone (after 15 ish years ) and the butile rubber ring is still in great shape. no cracks, no tears.
the decal on the back is still intact, and there is remnants of silicon on the back of the ring from one of the many cabinets this woofer has survived.
I bought two of these at a car show (almost) 15 years ago.
being from the 'hood' I thought i needed two, but realistically I only needed one and removed the 2nd one to sell it.
ran them at 8ohms and at 2ohms and they provide excellent low frequencies.
special note on durability. The one i kept has been in three cars sofar. A beater datsun wagon with rust holes in the back lid (so it was a little moist all the time). An old convertible (which was also moist a lot of the time), and a good sedan which was finally dry.
The sub only got about 200-300 watts of power (guessing b/c the amp is likely not rated correctly), but it sounded fantastic for my needs. I don't turn it up where my ears will bleed, but they will ring if i turn it up for long drives or a girl im with has to crank it up all the way (which i keep the remote knob down to about 50% or less).
Its lasted over a decade of normal use and recenty got a better (used) amp that can push it past 800w...which i did, and even though this woofer is ancient it shook the walls of local buildings.
it's in a vented box, and i recently pulled it out to have it run at 2ohms, cleaned it up, and checked the rubber side, which isn't cracked or broken anywhere.
I'm not super confident this woofer will live very long with this new power i have pushing it, but for what i paid for it in 2001(ish, so long ago i forgot what year i got it, and can only surmise from the car it was in..from 1999-2003), I got a great deal.
if you need a durable sub that sounds good this is it.
the terminals are much stonger than the posts that hold them in, but eveything still works and nothing's broken (yet).
I've dropped screws and nails on it (fell through the metal grill) and learned to put tiny earth magnets on the grill to attract further issues when it was in a spare tire well (facing up).
the sub is back in it's vented box and sounds great, but like i stated i think 15 years is enough for a woofer, and will be replacing it soon, or at least try to blow it with this new amp after i have a spare one to put in its place.
overall, it's never let me down, and has been an ideal woofer that's been in many encoluses from a double vented box, a sealed box, a sealed custom fiberglass (spare tire) enclosure and lately another single vented box.
it's a semi-shallow sub and the magnet is single mass.
the terminal knobs are color coded red and black, and there are two red, and two black ones that are on opposite sides of the basket.
8 speaker holes, and I got a universal metal grill for about 5 bucks that fits it perfectly. The grill is definately a main reason behind this woofers longevity, which is why i mention it here.
the first amp i had this hooked up to was a DHD NTX-3107 (for about 15 years btw..in the same conditions and it's still working)...and recently to an Orion HCCA d-2400 (which really wakes this subwoofer up, and made me realise how under-powered the DHD amp really must be.
well, hope that helps people in the futer know about subs from the past.
happy trails
ps.
this is the woofer in my 1989 325ci's tire well.
you see the metal cover and a thinly woven cloth i got from work being a bag to protect some kind of electronics that was used in shipping (That most people throw away).
i know the install wasn't the cleanest, but it was mostly stealth and durable as a a hammer
here's the grill
the terminals
special note: I marked the Neg and Plus (in silver) that you see written on the basket...
if you remove the screw caps you won't know (easily) which is which...
the cone (after 15 ish years ) and the butile rubber ring is still in great shape. no cracks, no tears.
the decal on the back is still intact, and there is remnants of silicon on the back of the ring from one of the many cabinets this woofer has survived.
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