Sub Material

[tgwX 10+ year member]

What exactly is the best material for the cone of a sub to be made of. I've herd several types, paper...ect ect. Also what about the surround? what is technically the best (im sure there are different types of cones and surrounds for different applications)

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[LostCause 10+ year member]

Theoretically the best speaker (or subwoofer) would have a cone that has no mass whatsoever...since that is impossible usually the lightest and most rigid cone you can fine works the best...

today most highend subs use kevlar (stuff bulletproof vests are made out of) sandwiched between other "space age" materials like Nomex...usually lowerend speakers and subs use paper or polymer cones...

I'm not to sure about the surrounds but I've heard some people avoid getting rubber surrounds in cold climates because they can crack if they aren't warmed up...some rubber surrounds also fade in the sunlight or get damaged by moisture...usually a surround that has good dampening characteristics and allows good cone excursion is a decent one...most high end subs and speakers use Butyl Rubber Surrounds...others use foam...

- Lost Cause

 

[Electrodynamic 10+ year member]

Heh...this should be interesting.

Paper cones offers great effiency with so-so heat disipation. Aluminum cones offer average efficiency with great heat disipation capabilities. Poly offers average qualities of both. (I know I'm going to get reamed for this one)

Surrounds. Foam is more efficient. Rubber is less efficient. Foam has better stretching tendencies than rubber does. Santoprene is the best of both worlds - efficiency of foam with the "longevity" of rubber...even though the new foam surrounds are treated to last a LOT longer. However, santo. and rubber cavitate under extreme stress (AKA: severe SPL applications).

Basically you will find people / mfg's stressing one thing over the other because frankly, they use a certain product over the other for a given reason. I seriously doubt you will find a hardcore, dead-set, un-foulable cone/surround combo. It simply doesn't exist.

Now let the flaming begin. I have a feeling that what I've just posted will cause some people to become a bit perturbed.

 

[saywhat? 5,000+ posts]

titanium man titanium, the highend eclipse sub uses titanium with i believe a foam compound surround.....

 

[Steven Kephart 10+ year member]

With cones it is all a matter of compromises. Metal cones do increase heat disipation (as mentioned above), but at the cost of being prone to denting and weigh a lot more. If it is within your design goal, the latter might not be a problem. Paper cones offer stiffness while being lighter. But they don't offer any cooling benifits. Then of course there are more exotic materials each with benifits and weaknesses.

As for surrounds, the best is foam. Rubber over time stiffens up, which makes their life much shorter than foam. Also, as mentioned above rubber cavitates. To prevent this, you have to make it thicker. This makes the surround heavier, and stiffer which can hurt performance. Foam offers you the longest life, and ideal performance while still staying thin.

Steven Kephart

Adire Audio

 

[ghs_wrestler189 10+ year member]

What exactly is the best material for the cone of a sub to be made of. I've herd several types, paper...ect ect. Also what about the surround? what is technically the best (im sure there are different types of cones and surrounds for different applications)

OT, I see you are from Indiana, what city? I'm just south of Indy. PM me if you wanna meet at a comp sometime.