sundownz

Monday morning bump for views !

I am quite pleased with the 10" model -- we fired one up on Friday with what I believe will be the production suspension in a test box in a vehicle (CRX was test vehicle). Tons of bottom-end and extremely clean and tight bass reproduction. Our box was about 0.6 before displacement; I want to try a bit smaller. We tested everything from rap music to Mudvayne on it These are a driver with a hard limit -- something to keep in mind. As both an under-hung and relatively shallow design there isn't much excess clearance so things can bottom out. It takes quite a bit based on my test (we had an NS-1 on it as it was already installed in the test vehicle). It is very low distortion up until hard bottom. It looks like we will end up with different motors on each size; 8, 10, 12 all with different motors. The specs on the 10" ended up great with the 190mm OD motor, but it won't cut it for the 12" so we'll probably use the 220mm OD motor. So obviously pricing will reflect this; I am still working on the final pricing and will announce when I have it -- but I feel like they will be worth every penny for small, sealed box, high fidelity applications.

They are here early -- original ETA was October. * Current MAP is $299 * RMS is still rated at 600-watts * The coil is the same as the 10/12/15" models * The motor is 10mm wider, 10mm taller, and the top plate is 20% thicker than the 10/12/15" models -- in order to drive the heavier moving mass * The spider is an 8 3/8" with standard XL leads (10/12/15 are 7" spider and recently also got XL leads) * It features a newly custom tooled high roll foam surround * DUAL-2 SPECS * DUAL-4 SPECS

----------- NEW PLATFORM PRODUCTS : MODEL -- RE-CONE Price -- FRAME Price X-10 -- $130.00 -- $50.00 X-12 -- $135.00 -- $60.00 X-15 -- $140.00 -- $80.00 X-18 -- $155.00 -- $50.00 * 18" Use the Standard 6-Spoke Frame w/ a 257mm Spider Adapter; the $50 frame price includes this adapter * D2 and D4 Coils Available (CCAW Round Wire) * Add $10.00 for Z v.4 Stiffness Spider * NS v.3 Spider Pack -- NOT AVAILABLE * Add $20.00 for NS v.3 coil option (D1 or D2) ** SPL Cone/Surround Option = $0.00 Extra (must specify) -- Available all sizes 10/12/15/18 ** SPL Spider Option = $20.00 Extra for 3-layer // $10.00 for each additional layer *** Currently SPL Spiders are only sold on 12s, 15s, and 18s -- the spider OD will be reduced to the next smaller size (12s get 8 3/8", 15s get 9.25", and 18s get 9.25") Z v.4 10 -- $150.00 -- $50.00 Z v.4 12 -- $155.00 -- $60.00 Z v.4 15 -- $160.00 -- $80.00 Z v.4 18 -- $175.00 -- $50.00 * 18" Use the Standard 6-Spoke Frame w/ a 257mm Spider Adapter; the $50 frame price includes this adapter * D1 and D2 Coils Available * Softer X Spider Available - NO EXTRA CHARGE * Add $10.00 for NS v.3 Stiffness Spider * Add $20.00 for NS v.2 Coil (v.3 does NOT work) ** SPL Cone/Surround Option = $0.00 Extra (must specify) -- Available all sizes 10/12/15/18 ** SPL Spider Option = $20.00 Extra for 3-layer // $10.00 for each additional layer *** Currently SPL Spiders are only sold on 12s, 15s, and 18s -- the spider OD will be reduced to the next smaller size (12s get 8 3/8", 15s get 9.25", and 18s get 9.25") STOCK CONFIGURATION NS v.3 10 -- $165.00 -- $50.00 NS v.3 12 -- $170.00 -- $60.00 NS v.3 15 -- $175.00 -- $80.00 NS v.3 18 -- $190.00 -- $50.00 * 18" Use the Standard 6-Spoke Frame w/ a 257mm Spider Adapter; the $50 frame price includes this adapter * D1 or D2 Coils Available * Softer X or Z v.4 spiders available -- NO EXTRA CHARGE ** SPL Cone/Surround Option = $0.00 Extra (must specify) -- Available all sizes 10/12/15/18 ** SPL Spider Option = $20.00 Extra for 3-layer // $10.00 for each additional layer *** Currently SPL Spiders are only sold on 12s, 15s, and 18s -- the spider OD will be reduced to the next smaller size (12s get 8 3/8", 15s get 9.25", and 18s get 9.25") * -- Both the X and Z v.4 kits / Frames can be retrofit into the NS v.1, NS v.2, and Z v.3 motors; these motors cannot handle the FULL capacity of the new soft parts so a hard bottom is possible. ** -- The Z v.2 motor bolt pattern is compatible with the new platforms as well but you must be aware of hard bottom possibility at 41mm one-way.

I don't think we'll make October; I am still tuning the suspension on them a bit and I'm waiting on another round of soft parts.

There are currently no options for the SA-8 v.2 cone and dust cap

Preferably at least 1" or so -- it will depend on your power level. The higher the power the more room you want for it to breathe; the less distance the less effective the air exchange will be.

Been working on this guy for a while now... what I hope to be final prototypes just arrived a few days back. Based on our testing I am going with a 750 RMS rating on these. I won't say people will not be able to run more... but that is our official rating. They will cost $210 from an authorized dealer. Production models will, of course, have a gasket and magnet boot. ----- * Compared with SA-8 v.2 * Compared with SA-8 v.2 * Compared with X-6.5SW * Compared with X-6.5SW

I am back as of last night around midnight -- huge jet-lag but made it in today to get started getting back up to speed.

I am going out of town for an extended business trip on July 23rd -- I will be returning August 5th. I am the only one that will be gone; everyone else will still be here. That DOES mean that I will temporarily close down ordering of Refurbished Woofers and the Yard Sale while I am away since I manage those two projects myself. That DOES NOT mean anything else will be majorly affected. The entire rest of the staff will still be here -- but please avoid sending messages directly to me at "sundownz" or "jacob" e-mails as I will have very limited responses during those dates.

CarAudioBargain.com New authorized B-Stock vendor is available. Check the site for what is available (click an item and it will show In Stock or not).

We inspect every single driver and there are tolerances for what passed and what does not. This driver would not fail as a B-stock -- even then most people getting our B-Stock are amazed we failed those units.

I started talking about doing this line back in November on Facebook then on CACO. I decided to take it all the way to the prototype phase -- this is what I came up with so far. We are talking $60-70 MAP on these from a dealer ----- Here are some initial photos of the FIRST rough prototypes. I am essentially testing for ruggedness and for the soft parts and coil being what I want first. The motor will likely increase in OD a bit if I can't get Qts down with other methods but I started small to ensure we aren't wasting any costs on making it too large off the bat. Had to get a feel for what % I would be off compared to FEA to go from there. If we go to production the frame itself will have the vents removed -- for the prototypes they are plugged. The finish of the motor will also be a bit nicer but not to the point to increase cost to the end-user. The look from the front is pretty well final. The motor is alot deeper than most in this class to support some legit levels of excursion as well. 10" Model : ----- 12" Model : ---------- And finally... the video I took this morning of the 10" prototype : The 12s were separated in transit but I should have them soon. This level of excursion is not something you will find on most drivers in this category. We are looking at ~1.6-1.75" peak to peak or so in the video at the highest level (1.25" p-p is linear). There is 2" p-p before coil bottom -- I haven't gotten brave enough yet to push it past where I did in the video as we were getting a bit of mechanical noise at that level. It's still a new prototype and I'm enjoying it a bit before possibly tearing it up =) I think we are REALLY close with this sample... Qts is a bit high for what I normally like to see but I want to do some real listening tests before making a call on that one way or the other.

I am also working on a third set of prototypes. I am taking my time to ensure it is really the best possible value at this price

It's possible some will make it to the Yard Sale.

The X-6.5SW has shipped from our factory -- I have posted pics of it completed on Facebook. ETA is ~30 days. The X-8 first shipment came in; we shipped out as many D4 as we could that passed QC. None of the D2 passed QC. We are working with the factory to sort that out and get them back on the market / ship any D2s that were sold as soon as we can.

I have tested a few samples; but finishing some other projects first.

Should be a great addition and a very unique series in our line being fully sealed optimized

We have had customers running anywhere from the rated 2500 watts up to an amp rated for 6.5kw dropped to 0.5 ohm

I would NOT put the SA-8 v.2 in a sealed enclosure. The SD-2 8" is our sealed box 8"

False... there is no "we won't hire anyone" -- our staff has exploded from 4-5 guys to 15 people over the last 18 months. Several of the new staff are on the phones and e-mail full time. As the company matures we have MANY more calls and e-mails per sale due to legacy support. We are answering calls and e-mails about products sold 5-6 years ago at this point -- so total response volume grows MUCH faster than total sales volume so staff will necessarily lag a bit. As far as a "shitty response" -- I disagree -- I was never rude but I will not sit there and have someone say we absolutely are a terrible company without sharing our side of the story. Sorry, I won't do it, I am not going to stand for it. My staff works hard every day, as do I, to handle customers in the best way we possibly can. ------ As far as the actual CUSTOMER he understandably sad that his woofer is broken but he is by no means angry -- I am responding to his posts directly over on SMD and letting him know it's all being taken care of like always. I was on top of it the first I heard about an issue even on my personal family vacation. I know car audio is our hobby but we aren't selling emergency medical supplies; if we are away and unavailable for a day or two that should be understandable when we announced it a month in advance.

It will be 4-6 weeks probably right now until we can get current.

Heads up to everyone about our schedule. Most of the guys going to Slamology will be leaving on Thursday to head up there. I am leaving Friday morning. We will have a booth to show our products at Slamology; we will also be giving out signed posters with our new company model -- if you want to see you'll have to attend Slamology or wait until afterward All of the guys attending Slamology will be back to work on Tuesday *except* for me (**). Limited staff will be at the shop the entire time -- we will not fully close the shop at all but operations will be severely limited Friday and Monday around the weekend of Slamology. ** - I am actually taking a family vacation that is completely unrelated to work (weird, I know) for the remainder of the week next week with my extended family, kids, wife, etc. So this means Debbie will also be gone. Debbie and I do all of the manual credit card billing and most invoicing here so invoicing will be limited all of next week. I will remote in from my laptop and do what I can in the evenings; and the rest of the staff will do their best to keep work flowing as smoothly as possible.

The 0.9 mH figure is actually with a really thick 8-layer coil and aluminum sleeve -- we need to actually look at the RE to LE ratio 1.77 ohms to 0.97 mH (1.82 ratio) If I use our 4-layer flat coil and the aluminum sleeve the ratio is super low... meaning with the same RE of 1.77 ohms the Le would be ~0.3 mH

Had a friend of ours in the industry put these on their Amp Dyno to verify power since people have asked us about it. All SAE amps meet or exceed ratings @ 1 % THD on the Dyno. SAE-1000D v.2 : * 1 ohm Dynamic test; works out similar to clamped results SAE-600D : * Certified; when I did a "clamp" test on the prototype it worked out similarly to the SAE-1000D Dynamic burst as I clamped around 50% over the certified figures. SAE-50.4 : * Per channel * Per channel * Bridged @ 4 ohms