AV123 "Explosive" Prototype "Klipsched"

[Klipschhead302]

When AV123 was heading down the skids due to fraud I bought several speakers/enclosures on the cheap, seriously on the cheap. Several bookshelf speakers that came with white gloves and white cotton covers in very well made boxes for $30.00 bucks a piece for the X-LS and for that money I'm never selling them.

Anyway as I always have to do, I digress, back to the subject. I bought a prototype "Explosive" subwoofer enclosure sans driver and amplifier. Since I also got a UFW 10" sealed sub enclosure that I installed a Parts Express SPA-250 250 watt amplifier into, I took out the driver and amplifier to use in the Explosive.

The Explosive, if AV123 would have sold it, would have come with a less potent 10" driver than the UFW had. It also would have shipped with a flat 12" passive radiator and a 175 watt amplifier. I'm sure this would have sounded fine but I imagine it wouldn't have been as potent as this combo is.

This is the very Explosive I received from AV123 (on the left), this is the enclosure on the production line. I paid $50.00 for the enclosure, I saw this picture and others online so I queried Mark Schifter and asked if he would sell me one, he was desperate so he did, I think it was a bargain even if I didn't know how I was going to use it at the time I bought it.

This is the UFW10 I bought for $50.00, no amplifier but it did have a beast of a driver, take my money! With the Parts Express amplifier this little box hit pretty hard and AV123 began using the same amplifier to replace all of the dead ones they had for this model sub, they had to be losing money big time with the volume of amplifiers that died for the UFW, the UFW Big Block and the MFW.

Oh yeah.....

So, a plan started to form in my head, why not use the components from the UFW in the Explosive? Here it is with the flat plastic passive radiator.

Here it is with the driver installed inside.

Here is the amplifier installed, I sealed the area above the amp, don't ask what happened, I screwed it up and I'm going to remove the amp this summer and repair it properly, maybe buy a bigger better amplifier, we'll see.

It sounds fantastic, it has some serious chops however I did NOT like that ugly passive radiator so I went onto eBay looking for a replacement and found a Klipsch Passive Radiator and received it Friday. Last night I decided to install it and now I have an AV123 Klipsched Explosive!!

I ran it through "Tron Legacy" sound track which will pound the crap out of any subwoofer and was very impressed with how it sounded.

Plus, tell me that doesn't look great! The bass is very tight and clean, couldn't be happier.

 

[Pogre]

Wait, there's a 10" woofer behind that larger driver (passive radiator?) in the last pic? I've never seen a design like that.

I think I'm confused now...

 

[Klipschhead302]

Wait, there's a 10" woofer behind that larger driver (passive radiator?) in the last pic? I've never seen a design like that.

I think I'm confused now...

Yep, it runs a 10" driver that is ported at the bottom of the enclosure but between the driver and passive it's sealed. It's a different design for sure but it digs deeper than sealed can but has the tightness of a sealed sub with the passive radiator in the front.

It sounds incredible.

 

[Pogre]

That actually sounds pretty cool. I know nothing about AV123, but I'd say you scored. At the very least you have some cool things to play and experiment with.

 

[Klipschhead302]

That actually sounds pretty cool. I know nothing about AV123, but I'd say you scored. At the very least you have some cool things to play and experiment with.

Agreed, the main issue with AV123 was their beautiful veneers have cracking issues, not all mind you but early versions and prototypes, lots of them. All of the speakers/subwoofers I have purchased from them have variations of these cracks but nobody but me can see them.... you can guess why.

I couldn't have built that enclosure for that kind of money that's for sure.

 

[shadyJ]

Remember that for passive radiators, you want twice the radiator displacement as driver displacement. Did you model those parts in a simulator program?

 

[Klipschhead302]

Remember that for passive radiators, you want twice the radiator displacement as driver displacement. Did you model those parts in a simulator program?

See original post, this was a prototype from AV123 so I couldn't model anything. I don't think Mark Seaton had anything to do with this prototype so I'm not sure where their specs came from.

All I know is, it sounds exceptional for the $175.00 invested.




..

 

[Klipschhead302]

Also, keep in mind, this enclosure is sealed between the driver and passive radiator and ported behind the driver. I don't know if this makes a difference?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Crazy design! Nice looking cab too. Looks like ya done did good.

 

[Klipschhead302]

Crazy design! Nice looking cab too. Looks like ya done did good.

I am amazed how this sub sounds!

 

[everettT]

Did you contact Mark Seaton to see if he had a hand in the design? Or more likely if he had anything to do with it , the whole design?

 

[Pogre]

I am amazed how this sub sounds!

Post a YouTube video!

I wish I could swing by and check it out. You have a couple fun projects going on.

 

[djreef]

Did you contact Mark Seaton to see if he had a hand in the design? Or more likely if he had anything to do with it , the whole design?



Ya, that'd be badass to know.

DJ

 

[Klipschhead302]

Did you contact Mark Seaton to see if he had a hand in the design? Or more likely if he had anything to do with it , the whole design?



Ya, that'd be badass to know.

DJ

I just posted there asking him, we'll see what he says. Agreed, if he did, that would be badass. My MFW15's are the real deal with his ICE amplifiers installed.

That's two prototype subwoofer enclosures I own, the Explosive and an MFW.

....

 

[TLS Guy]

Yep, it runs a 10" driver that is ported at the bottom of the enclosure but between the driver and passive it's sealed. It's a different design for sure but it digs deeper than sealed can but has the tightness of a sealed sub with the passive radiator in the front.

It sounds incredible.

There is no sealed cavity. an ABR is no different to a port. So this is a coupled cavity design. It is two resonant cavities in series. It is the same as having a cavity with a port entering another cavity with a port. Bose are renowned for this type of arrangement.

The problem is that the T/S specs of the driver and AVR must match the box dimensions and port dimensions.

You need to take some measurements. If the sub has a smooth response I want you with me on my next trip to Vegas!

 

[Klipschhead302]

There is no sealed cavity. an ABR is no different to a port. So this is a coupled cavity design. It is two resonant cavities in series. It is the same as having a cavity with a port entering another cavity with a port. Bose are renowned for this type of arrangement.

The problem is that the T/S specs of the driver and AVR must match the box dimensions and port dimensions.

You need to take some measurements. If the sub has a smooth response I want you with me on my next trip to Vegas!

The chamber between the inside driver and the passive radiator is not not part of the port. The port that exits out the front goes underneath this chamber from behind the driver. The chamber between the driver and radiator may not be sealed in that there is a driver and passive radiator so I don't see how this design mirrors any Bose application I have seen.

I'm no expert clearly, as for the driver I have no clue how to match the driver to the enclosure, I have a driver and decided to try it. My ears tell me it sounds great, measurements aside how does it sound is the end goal and it sounds incredible.

I'm not here to try and pass this off as an audiophile sub that would blow you away, it's a hodgepodge of parts that I decided to mess with and the resulting sub sounds very tight and punchy.

I'm getting a mic soon, and I'll download REW and take some measurements to see how it does.



...

 

[Klipschhead302]

Post a YouTube video!

I wish I could swing by and check it out. You have a couple fun projects going on.

I have way too much stuff laying around and my serious subs are where they belong. These other ones are just for fun.

 

[TLS Guy]

The chamber between the inside driver and the passive radiator is not not part of the port. The port that exits out the front goes underneath this chamber from behind the driver. The chamber between the driver and radiator may not be sealed in that there is a driver and passive radiator so I don't see how this design mirrors any Bose application I have seen.

I'm no expert clearly, as for the driver I have no clue how to match the driver to the enclosure, I have a driver and decided to try it. My ears tell me it sounds great, measurements aside how does it sound is the end goal and it sounds incredible.

I'm not here to try and pass this off as an audiophile sub that would blow you away, it's a hodgepodge of parts that I decided to mess with and the resulting sub sounds very tight and punchy.

I'm getting a mic soon, and I'll download REW and take some measurements to see how it does.



...

Over the years Bose have had bass modules with all manner of spaces connected by ports.

 

[Klipschhead302]

Over the years Bose have had bass modules with all manner of spaces connected by ports.

I've seen them, I fail to see how their crazy pipes going everywhere has anything to do with a sub with a bottom firing port? Klipsch does this, AV123 as you know did it as have many others, so this one has a passive radiator in front of the driver so now it's suddenly like Bose?

 

[djreef]

No,

It's Bose-like.

DJ