Replacement 15" driver

[mtrycrafts]

OK, my turn to ask for some inputs from you bass-aholics out there

Anyone know if the great sub companies we discuss here sell just the drivers before I call them all?

I am considering replacing my two 15" drivers in my passive subs as I have been noticing that they just cannot handle today's sub duty. I am pretty sure the subs were complaining during the Kremlin destruction in Ghost Protocol with just a few dBs higher than normal.

I rather not replace the nice cabinets I have now and a driver replacement is much easier to sell at home than new subs; besides, back in 1990 design phase, no interconnects were run for powered subs.

Not too concerned if the current cabinet volume (21"w x 17"d x 27"h) is not ideal for the new drivers as long as it can handle the power.

If this goes as planned, not looking forward in re-eqing the subs though but will be worth the agony.

 

[jonnythan]

Are these cabinets sealed?

 

[Send Margaritas]

You could do something like this... TC Sounds LMS-R 15" DVC Subwoofer 293-662

They're pretty decent subwoofer drivers. That'll handle some power too.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Are these cabinets sealed?

No, it has a 4" port which can be modified larger if needed.

 

[jonnythan]

The box size and tuning will have a big effect on the woofer response. I'd start by modeling a few different commonly-available woofers like the TC and Daytons to see if any will work well without modifying the boxes.

 

[TLS Guy]

No, it has a 4" port which can be modified larger if needed.

A 4" port, or any tube port is not going to handle any modern high powered 15" sub driver. It will chuff like the devil. A slot vent or passive radiators will be mandatory.

Also getting the volume right for a given driver in a resonant system is essential.
With resonant systems you have very little leeway in cabinet volume and port dimensions.

Correct tuning is essential for good bass response and preventing driver destruction.

If the cabinet is strong enough with good bracing your best bet is to seal the port. You have much more leeway with cabinet size in sealed alignments, but you still have to model the response, and look at cone excursions etc, if you don't want to blow an expensive woofer. Equalization will be required in a sealed alignment to extend bass response.

In general reverse engineering a cabinet for a different driver is a bad idea, and ends in frustration and compromised results.

It is far better to build a new cabinet and get things right from the ground up.

 

[Steve81]

Of the "complete" sub manufacturers recommended on this board, the only ones I can think of that offer raw drivers are Rythmik

Rythmik Audio 15" servo driver• DS1500 Direct Servo driver

and JL, although JL's raw drivers are marketed to the car market. I'd also toss out Fi Car Audio as potential driver source. I've not heard their product personally, but I know of folks using their products for IB setups with good success.

http://store.ficaraudio.com/

 

[TLS Guy]

Of the "complete" sub manufacturers recommended on this board, the only ones I can think of that offer raw drivers are Rythmik

Rythmik Audio 15" servo driver• DS1500 Direct Servo driver

and JL, although JL's raw drivers are marketed to the car market. I'd also toss out Fi Car Audio as potential driver source. I've not heard their product personally, but I know of folks using their products for IB setups with good success.

Fi Car Audio Store

Since this is for a passive sub, a servo driver is out at the start.

The JL line are good drivers, but there are lots out there.

SEAS have a good ABR kit ready to go for instance.

 

[Steve81]

Since this is for a passive sub, a servo driver is out at the start.

It probably wouldn't be my first choice given the other options available, but per the product page:

While designed specifically for our Direct Servo subwoofers, all our drivers are also suitable for conventional use.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Thanks.

I guess I have to do some soul searching on this idea.

 

[fuzz092888]

You may want to consider Pierce Audio. I've talked to Paul he can answer any of your questions. The specs on the website for the 1K aren't final, he finds out what you want to do and adjusts materials as needed to suit your needs.

The rumba 12 that theJman did a review on uses a pierce audio driver he thought it was excellent and I ordered one of his drivers, but I'm still waiting on it. I could have had it sooner, but I decided to wait for the new shipment of carbon fiber cones to come in rather than go with a different material so we'll see how that turns out.

Just a thought.

Welcome

 

[mtrycrafts]

You may want to consider Pierce Audio. I've talked to Paul he can answer any of your questions. The specs on the website for the 1K aren't final, he finds out what you want to do and adjusts materials as needed to suit your needs.

The rumba 12 that theJman did a review on uses a pierce audio driver he thought it was excellent and I ordered one of his drivers, but I'm still waiting on it. I could have had it sooner, but I decided to wait for the new shipment of carbon fiber cones to come in rather than go with a different material so we'll see how that turns out.

Just a thought.

Welcome

Great, thanks. I will look through the web site and if need be call Paul.

 

[fuzz092888]

No problem. I couldn't find the thread before, but these were also recommended to me as excellent subs.

SPEAKERS - Fi Car Audio Store

ZCON Series Sub Woofer

Both of these are US made as well. The recommend for these two brands came from Ricci.

 

[mtrycrafts]

..

Welcome

Is this company by Richard Pierce who has been a very prolific participant in on line audio boards over the years? I have followed that person for a long time, unreal amount of knowledge.

 

[fuzz092888]

Not to my knowledge. This Pierce is Paul Pierce, not sure what his involvement in the audio industry has been over the years. All I know for sure is that theJman wrote a very favorable review and that Murrel, who makes the rumba that theJman reviewed has said he has been using Paul for years.

Maybe there's a relation there? That would be pretty interesting if there was.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Not to my knowledge. This Pierce is Paul Pierce, not sure what his involvement in the audio industry has been over the years. All I know for sure is that theJman wrote a very favorable review and that Murrel, who makes the rumba that theJman reviewed has said he has been using Paul for years.

Maybe there's a relation there? That would be pretty interesting if there was.

Richard is into speakers as well. He frequently mentioned how many speakers he has measure this way, that way, after many hours or use, etc.