A few years back Theil liquidated their inventory. I was able to purchase 2 of the 12" sub drivers from their Smartsub1.12, to be used in a custom build.
2 questions
1. Does anyone know the dimensions of the original cabinet this was to be placed in?
2. Does anyone know what the specs are on the driver? Fs, Qts, Vas, etc?
I finally have time to build my cabinets for them, but they are going to be a bit odd shaped to fit behind the false wall, under the screen.
Thanks for any input.
Unfortunately those T/S parameters are very incomplete. However it is enough to see that, that driver is for sealed application. Even then it is a very high Qts driver, and edging into acoustic suspension territory.
I suspect Thiel had a liking for high Qts drivers. I was someone never a fan of his designs, as the bass was never tight, but of the loose sloppy variety. I heard his speakers quite often, but I never heard a speaker of his I could have lived with.
What you really need to do is purchase a
Dayton woofer tester and measure the T/S parameters before doing a build. That way we can model the driver and optimize the design. One of the things we really want to know, is the inductance of the speaker. I say that, as voice coil designs have improved a lot in recent years. If that driver with a high Qts also has a high inductance, then you will not be able to build a good design. I do think you need to get an accurate predictive model, which I can do with accurate data. Speaker builds are a lot of work, and it is a real PITA to put a lot of work into a design that is no good.
The bottom line is that I need more and accurate data before I can give you good reliable advice.
I would pick that woofer tester up pronto. I see it was on clearance at Parts Express, and now it says unavailable on their site. I hope it is because they are going to release a new version. If that unit gets discontinued, it will be a big problem for us all.
Update!
This is the replacement tester.