Nikuk

Weds, Nov. 2nd I received the RLS-12" for the demo ring. I'll start with the summary, because there is alot of typing and I know alot of people don't want to read it all. In the end, and IN MY OPINION: The RLS is an awfully impressive driver. The output of this thing is downright impressive. As more then one "well known" engineer has said, You don't need 40 Newton Meters of force to make a driver strong. It also seems that the early estimates (based on driver spec's) are correct - this is not much of an In-Car driver. I was expecting this as well, but was hoping to be surprised. The LMT motor design itself seemed to come together awfully well. The driver stood up to full power & then some. I drove the driver far over it's thermal rating (which I do not suggest nor is it recommended by the manufacturer), and the whole while the driver sounded CLEAN. There was never a hint of clipping, or distortion. I'm sure it could be distorted with user error or pure abuse, but You'd be hard pressed to get this driver "dirty" in normal, intelligent usage. I've heard more then two-dozen subbass drivers in more installs then I could accurately count. With that being said, I'll admit that the "two other flat BL topologies" that I've used are about on par with the LMT design. Car audio - The RLS has earned itself a spot in my top-5 choices overall. The output & general tone is good enough to beat out ALOT of other drivers. Home Audio - The RLS is nearly dead even with the Uberwoofer that I have, bear in mind that the TC motored Uberwoofer is a 15" driver to boot. Overall - I wouldn't spend $500 on it, but if it were in the $350-400 range, I'd be all over it. 1st impressions: Upon 1st inspection she seemed to be in good shape still. The suspension has definitely been broken in at this point, and she had peanuts stuffed into every crevice (Noah!), but after ridding the driver of those she stood aweful proud. I was surprised and the diminutive size of the pole vent, the exposed upper end of the coil looked impressive for sure. All things considered, the driver looks good (basket design aside ). In my truck: Specifics (box): I had initially made up two enclosures that would see duty in my Trailblazer & in my house (entry level Home Theatre): 3.0 (net) cu.ft. sealed. I had 2 lbs of polyfill that I would add later on. 6.0 (net) cu.ft. ported with 96 sq.in. of port (35hz tuning). This would also be knocked down to 60 sq.in. of port (27hz tuning). Specifics (power): In my truck: Pioneer Prem. 860 deck, SSF Off, LPF set for ~60hz with 12db/oct rolloff; a pair of Orion 1200D's strapped (~1500 wrms). Saturday I managed to upgrade (thanks to my good friend) to a pair of Autotek MM4k amplifiers, strapped (~7k wrms). I had to borrow (2) batteries as well. Wednesday night I put the 3.0 sealed into my truck with the (2) Orions. Set everything up with test tones, dmm & clamp ammeter (~950 rms actual @ 50hz 0dB sine). Went for a ~1.5 hour cruise listening to Lil John, Country, Techno (house & break-beat), and some Rock. Impressions: She's got alot of output, thats for SURE. The low bass extension is damned impressive. My vehicle inherently kicks in some support in the 25-35hz range (shown in SPL competition) and the RLS ate it right up. The upper end rolloff was very decent. I'm sad to say that overall, the driver was "slow". After adding 2lbs of polyfill to the box, I gave her a 1/2 hour spin. This didnt help matters. The driver seemed "inaccurate", which was surprising to me. I swapped in the 6.0 ft 35hz box and reset the amps (~700rms actual) and called it a night. Thursday I put about 1 hour on this enclosure. It's shear output was even more impressive. I can honestly say that I have not heard many 12" drivers with this much output, and I've heard an install or two. The response DID clean up some - which surprised me. But it still seemed a bit off. The subbass did not blend as well with the midbass in this alignment though. Thursday night I "plugged" the port down to a 27hz tuning and reset the amps (still ~650rms). I have always felt that anything <32ish hz in car is too low (given the environment). With that being said, I only gave this alignment ~30 minutes of listening. I didn

I've decided that I need to address the stock 12 speaker Sony system in my 2010 Fusion Sport. I can't believe that in a top of the line package you are only allotted options to change "treble & bass". I honestly got better sound in my 99 Ranger with a $50 component set and a pair of 6" mids, with a 5 year old Pioneer HU's eq. That being said, I DO use and have decided to retain Sync & Steering wheel controls. The only alterations I have in mind (for now) are signal processing. The amp is plenty for everything above midbass range and the sound can be decent from the speakers. I am adding a small subwoofer / amp combo and associated accessories otherwise. This leaves me two paths: Buy a decent aftermarket HU ($300-1200) with Bluetooth integration and an aux input, and add on a Ford retention module for Sync et al ($200) and hope the ($50) Schoshe dash kit isn't horrible. I stil have to delve into retaining the factory amp (I/O options). Finally, possibly, pick up an Audiocontrol unit ($100-200) to retask my factory subs (which aren't horrible) to mid-bass duty specifically. -or- Buy a JBL MS-8 ($600) or very similar and retain the stock HU & factory features, as well as the stock dash which I'd prefer. It appears that the MS8 is simply an advanced inline signal processor which will allow me to tweak the audio stage & bands (moreso then most aftermarket HUs) as well as expand upon the system as a whole. It seems I can spend an "extra" $250 or so on going aftermarket HU and may still lose some functionality, or I can spend $600 total and get what I'm looking for in total. So I ask, has anyone had any actual experience with the JBL unit? Nick

thats the best user review Ive found on the unit, other then the 110000 page thread on another site. Thanks. That is overall about what I expected, so I feel a bit better as I dont have it in hand yet. I appreciate it.

Well, ordered it yesterday... Along with an amp, sub, and wiring. Processing is in the HU. Going to bypass the stock Sony amp & remove it, going to run the MS8s internal amp for now and tweak awhile before jumping to aftermarket drivers & amps. Squmpoius - is it as good as it is often advertised / reviewed? What are YOUR overall impressions? To be fair, I'll be happy if it can give me level tonality and an effective 31 eq. Given the price point and reviews, if it lives up to the hype (i assume I'll have to tweak the options) then i'll be ecstatic.

I like being able to comfortably fit two golf bags & pull carts in my trunk. A free air install in the rear deck would allow me to retain the vast majority of my cavernous trunk. Having only played with the idea in a large enough wall enclosure that it may as well have been free-air, I'd like to hear experiences. It wouldn't be a huge loss to tuck a 1.5' box in the trunk, so if infinite baffle is more trouble then it's worth, please say so. TIA Nick woofer specs: FS: 47hz Qts 0.593 Qes 0.635 Qms 8.935 Vas 3.34L Wrms 500 The suspension & motor control are strong. I know what BassBoxPro says, I also know its incredibly outdated, thank you though.

8", 33mm one way xmax, BL in the 20. tm range. Primarily Jazz, Dance, Hip Hop / Pop / Rap, and occasional country or classical.

OMG WHY IS NO ONE ANSWERING ME ANYWHERE?

i was originally thinking (2) 8s in 1.5' ported low with 200-300 wrms, but then I remembered I have that TC9 3H in on a shelf without soft parts, and a high BL...

top ^

no.

Yea yea, old thread, i know... uberwoofers didnt have a black frame. natural aluminum. That is a TC9 3HP though.

Post.

holy sun burned,ugh.

Been using these in a dozen or so installs now (amp wiring as well as battery racks and battery relocations), snip some solder into 1/2" lengths, stuff the lug full, hold it (cup upright) right in front of a ceramic propane heater element (~600* on the surface) with a long jaw needle nose until the solder puddles, quickly pull it out and jam the cable in, let cool a a while before handling by hand cause they retain heat. 0 resistance and super solid full contact with the wire.

nah, everything in those pictures is long gone, save for the Uberwoofer, those are years old Although I am putting together a 10" Vega 102 install for a friend currently. Nothing like the smell of new woofers. I've been strolling through the SSA Store...

Pups are in the last pics...? Uhhh, k.

Cheaper indeed. Bracing, well not really a reason to use any sort of port. As for the more effective port area per internal volume I completely disagree. MDF is thicker than a plastic port. "Acoustical length" -- what do you mean by that? I presume he's referring to how many degrees of wave length are spent in the actual port.

Sound deadener will definately change your loudest frew. Been there, done that. If you can you should try and get it done before you spend a couple of hours testing, otherwise it will be time wasted. Also be sure to refer to the rulebooks re: deadener. Every SUV I've competed (XJ, ZJ, Trailblzer, Element) in a below the windowline install: Sub up port back was louder on the mic. Last tip: See if you can adjust the tailgate latches to hold as tightly as possible Once you've got the install done (deadener, cabling & power storage, etc) spend as much time as you can afford in testing on the sensor. Moving the box a couple inches, or angling the portedges can gain you tenths or more, so it seems you two are on the right path.

Classic canned spam: Depends on the install. More specifically: the enthusiast. I used to pick on SQL guys. This was when I ran 3k wrms daily and competed with 9k. 12 years later I run 120wrms to my subwoofer and 400wrms to my components & mids. While I do appreciate more "powerful" sub installs, there is nearly NO need for it anymore. As far as in competition - totally depends on the install.

You know you have a car audio addiction when...

christ I feel old. I remember when & why Kent started that.

always loved my DDs. LOL'd a few weeks ago when I saw a triple 8" install in an Accord on WCC show on Speed.

You're gonna want to throw more then 14 watts at an RE MT if you really want it to shine. Then again you always were more of a SQ guy and never were one to really light up a speaker <3 That reminds me, you still at the same address there Bradley?

I've been meaning to write this up and post it here for sometime... thankfully Aaron pushed me a little. A couple of quick comments: I've tried to make this as straight forward and digestible as possible; I've explained these things to the best of my knowledge... bear in mind, I am no Electrical Engineer. What follows is the result of monthss of research and hours of playing / testing my own equipment. Lastly - I'll leave this locked until Denim gets a look at it. -Nick