Mach 5 MJ-18M vs. RE Audio SX18

[wasted911 0]

Well since it's an extra long weekend for me I'd figure that I would do a quick comparison between the two woofers. The box used is my current home theatre box, which is about 8.5 cubes tuned to 18 hertz. The amp being used is a Dayton 1000 watt plate amplifier that does 1000 watts @ 4 ohms.

Impressions of both woofers:

RE SX18

I've owned the RE for about a year now, and it's made its way from the car to the house. The packaging was nothing more than unimpressive. A single ply cardboard box with 5 pieces of stiff foam keeping it in place. It's about 26 pounds and looks pretty sharp. The basket is pretty much identical to the Mach 5 SPL series (only not milled down). The terminals on the RE were a bitch as they are hex screws, and the positive is a different size than the negative. It's a paper cone, and a pretty inverted dust cap. The rubber gasket is also a little queer as it can be a real pain to get the screws through the holes, as well as trying to find the screws when you want to pull the sub out of the box.

Mach 5 MJ-18M

I was pretty excited to get a chance to use the MJs when they got to my door. The packaging was the best I've seen. I've gotten a few items from Mark now and all of which have been packaged VERY well. There is one cardboard box inside the other, and numerous pieces of cardboard above the woofer itself. The Sub is about the same weight as the RE, and looks a little more bland. A plain basket sits on top of a beefy motor with double stacked magnets. The terminals are much easier to use than the SX18's but are a little flimsy. They're jus ta simple push terminal that pretty much all of us have used. The dust cap is a simple paper one that you'd expect to find on a speaker from the mid-80's. There is no gasket to go around the sub itself which is VERY nice to deal with and installation was a breeze.

Listening to each of the woofers:

RE SX18

This is a subwoofer that is capable of a lot. Watching movies is a blast with this woofer as it plays as low as I could ever ask for. At the same time the subwoofer is very musical and sounds lovely listening to anything. It sounds slightly mechanical at times but it's usually too loud to notice. It's quite punchy and produces soem really mean lows.

Mach 5 MJ-18M

The MJ right off the bat didn't sound like a subwoofer that I'd use to listen to music. It seemed pretty sloppy on kick drums. It almost seemed like it wanted to throw a bass line after each one. Listening to some rap music (UNK - Brand New Day) it simply thundered out the lows. On the highs however there seems to be a rattling in the woofer somewhere. At first I tohught it might be the tinsel leads hitting the cone, but looking at my other MJs none of them seem like they would have the problem.

Conclusion:

Price tag aside, the RE I believe is a better driver for people looking for a subwoofer they can listen to music with as well as watch their favorite movies. If you were just looking for something to watch The Transformers with, go with the MJ.

Customer support will without a doubt go to Mark and Mach 5. RE has completely chit the bed with helping customers these days.

Time for some pictures.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Nice review. I see it this way, you could get 2 MJM's instead of one SX.

[wasted911 0]

Nice review. I see it this way, you could get 2 MJM's instead of one SX.

actually.. about 4 of them.

[Mike P. 0]

Did you "break in" the MJM before you compared it to the RE?

[ImReady77 0]

Does that sx have a quad stack magnet? Isn't that box big for an MJ?

[Killerzracing71 0]

. It almost seemed like it wanted to throw a bass line after each one. Listening to some rap music (UNK - Brand New Day) it simply thundered out the lows.

I was sad till I read that about the MJM those are both 18s they dont look it lol

[ddeitz 0]

Oh the mj's own the low's their is no question about that. and for that price, yuo can buy a bunch!

[JEREMIAH 0]

how dos the MJ-18M campare to the old MJ? is it louder?

[djjdnap 78]

i miss that sub (sx18)

[wasted911 0]

I'll answer the questions in order..

I didn't break the woofer in, but after the playing time I gave it, she's loosened up quite a bit.

The RE is a triple stacked magnet, and the box that I'm planning on using will be 22 cubes for 2 of the mjs (mark planned the box).

If you miss your SX you should buy mine.

I forgot to say that in conclusion the MJ was noticably louder than the SX, which at the end of the day is what counts.

[JEREMIAH 0]

louder than the SX? wow

[JEREMIAH 0]

is that MJ at full excursion in the pick?

[wasted911 0]

it wasnt quite at full excursion, but it was close.

[djjdnap 78]

just bought some mt's to keep up wt my ever growing addiktion

otherwise i would