Some open discussion on product development.

[sundownz 197]

Just to fill you guys in... I've been working on a TON of things for Sundown for the future... hoping to see many of these things next year!

I am going to discuss woofer related plans here... things I didn't really mention much in the "New Stuff Coming to Sundown" thread.

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As you can see the E8 v.2 is available for pre-order now -- I am going to fill out the E line with 10s and 12s. Like the SA line the 8" motor is unique in the line... the 10s and 12s will have a larger motor, smaller than the SA series, though, but also with a 2.5" coil.

The coil will be shorter and the depth of the 10" model will be around 4.25-4.5" or so for depth restricted applications. They will be rated for 400-watts RMS and will feature less advanced cooling methods than the SA series due to the lower rating and lower price.

I am debating 15s in this line... if they are made it won't be until a later time.

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I have already released most that there is to know about the SA series development. We have the new spacer ring that is to replace the drilled basket vent holes.

I may not have mentioned that I also re-designed the pole cap for enhanced cooling as well. Simply a shape and size change... not too major.

The above two are for 10s, 12s, and 15s only -- not the 8s.

Of course without either of these modifications the SA series already WELL exceeds it's rated power capacity -- as is highly documented all over by this point. I simply decided to take it to the next level as I am a speaker nerd and that is what I do!

They will be fully "backward compatible" with older units as the changes are to air flow only... no spec changes.

For the SA-8 I have tooled up a new surround that is 5mm taller, 5mm wider, and twice as thick. It is a softer foam, though, so compliance has not changed and SPL output also did not change at all -- not even 0.1 dB. I simply wanted THE best surround on an 8" woofer so I tooled my own

Here is a comparison :

New on the left -- old on the right.

Those will be coming out within the next few months. You can run them with "older" ones no problem as I have mentioned the specs don't change in any significant fashion.

I have and will continue to test anything I can think of to further improve the SA series without making them more expensive... since many of the ideas won't make production if they have no benefit in my testing I won't talk about them just yet.

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I haven't said much about this at all... but I am developing a 1000-watt series.

It looks almost just like the SA series motor (same height motor, basket, etc) but it is 20mm wider and used a 3" voice coil (of course a wider spider comes with that). What is not seen is an added aluminum shorting ring inside the motor. Therefore all of our subs 1000-watts on up will feature a shorting ring.

The coil will remain a 4-layer copper round wire as with the SA series -- customers really like the low-end extension!

I still have a good bit of testing to go before releasing more information, specs, etc... but I am working on something to bridge the gap from the SA to the Z series!

This series will be available in 10s, 12s, 15s, and 18s over time... will likely be introduced one size at a time as with the SA series.

They will come out of the gate with the latest SA features (magnet boots, new pole cap design, new basket spacer ring, etc).

Thinking about using the "X" designation as I've applied to several prototypes in the past.

Only very early work is done on these... so don't expect them until later in 2011 unless something changes dramatically.

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I am working on several things on the big boy woofers... not much I am ready to talk about yet, though

I am ALWAYS testing new things though!

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Obviously I am toying with several Neo woofers designs... the other lines do hold priority over dedicated SPL products but I am an enthusiast as well so I haven't forgotten about you guys!

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Anything I am missing that people want to see from Sundown in the woofer lines ?

We are looking at 5 main lines : E, SA, X, Z, and Nightshade

I am also prototyping three Neo motors (may or may not be released), a Monster v.2 concept motor (may or may not be released), and an ultra linear SPL motor (flat BL topology, large ferrite motor). These are fun projects that may or may not end up being made - perhaps in limited production if they are - and I'll have more details on them as time goes on.

Anyway... just thought I'd get it out there as I do enjoy discussing future products!

[altoncustomtech 773]

One question I'll toss out there right off is about the 10's and 12's of the E line. Do you have an estimation on when those may be expected to go on pre-order. I have a buddy who's going to be doing a very modest install and a pair of 10's in that power range are right up his alley. Don't get me wrong here either, it will be months before he's ready to buy so no rush on the response. Otherwise I'm looking forward to seeing what the "X" line can do. Between them and the SA line there's a good chance there will be a lot more Sundown being sold in my area soon. Everyone's been impressed with the amps in the van and I'm sure they'll be even more impressed when the Jimmy is complete and they get to see and hear the SA-8's in action.

[sundownz 197]

I don't have an ETA at all on the E10s and E12s -- I've only drawn up the design and haven't started prototyping yet.

[mrbojang 8]

Has any thought been put into a 'slim' line for extreme space limited applications? I know pioneer and some other brands have some very thin subs out there.

[sundownz 197]

Honestly I have no current plans to enter the ultra-slim market. Most Sundown customers expect incredible durability and super high power handling from us and I just don't feel like an ultra-slim can do that justice.

The E10 will fit under most truck seats though -- we sold 90% of the SD-1 and SD-1 v.2 for that.

[antonmiller 8]

this doesnt have anything to do with subwoofers, but i think a 500 or 600 watt amp would be nice to go with the sa series.

[mrbojang 8]

this doesnt have anything to do with subwoofers, but i think a 500 or 600 watt amp would be nice to go with the sa series.

sax-125.2 can do close to that if i'm not mistaken

[Kickin Kia 1]

Hey Jacob, how about different coil configurations for instance my my cone rise is 3x on my spl box so that makes it 1.7 ohms with amp wired at half ohm. If my math is correct, if I had dual 1.4 ohm vc's, the amp would be at .35 and cone rise would make it just over 1 ohm and I would get the full potential out of my 3500. Geez I wish I could remember all of those Ohm's Law formulas. I wish I knew how to lower my cone rise to 2x that would be cool as well.

[jcarter1885 995]

This new design for the pole cap on the SA speakers, will it be on the SA-15s that are coming out at the end of the year?

What about a nice 4 channel amp without all the crossover features of the 100.4D, maybe one with the features of the SAX-125.2 and with a nice footprint. Dont want to sound selfish but Im looking for something that has nice amount of power bridged at 4 ohms (500rms or so).

[sundownz 197]

Hey Jacob, how about different coil configurations for instance my my cone rise is 3x on my spl box so that makes it 1.7 ohms with amp wired at half ohm. If my math is correct, if I had dual 1.4 ohm vc's, the amp would be at .35 and cone rise would make it just over 1 ohm and I would get the full potential out of my 3500. Geez I wish I could remember all of those Ohm's Law formulas. I wish I knew how to lower my cone rise to 2x that would be cool as well.

A new box design would be require to change the impedance rise.

I may consider different coil configurations later on... I already stock a bunch of different coils between the NS v.1, v.2 and Z v.2 coils all being different.

I am working on consolidating coil models a bit so they are a bit more interchangeable then I can worry about different configurations.

[sundownz 197]

This new design for the pole cap on the SA speakers, will it be on the SA-15s that are coming out at the end of the year?

What about a nice 4 channel amp without all the crossover features of the 100.4D, maybe one with the features of the SAX-125.2 and with a nice footprint. Dont want to sound selfish but Im looking for something that has nice amount of power bridged at 4 ohms (500rms or so).

1) Yes.

2) That would require Full-Range Class-D to get the size down and have that much power. The original 100.4 was pretty large too. It's something we are looking into.

[jcarter1885 995]

Well it doesnt even have to have those crossover capabilities, just some simple 4 channel amp with a good amount of power. I remember a while back when you had the SAE amp that was a 4 channel amp but never made the scene:

[sundownz 197]

A few updates...

When I made this thread what I was talking about for the "E Series" turned into the SD-2 series.

I then started on a more "true" E series driver with stamped frame and 2" coil -- which I am still working on.

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SA-8 development moved even farther into what is going to start shipping first of August :

A full v.2 model is still in the works.

All of the SA revisions I spoke about were finished -- pole cap change and venting ring. We then took it another step farther and added a magnet ID shorting ring.

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What I was calling the "X" line will have a different name but is still in the works -- I am still pushing the SA series envelope for the v.2 model and all the changes I am making for the SA will go into this line right off the bad.

Some different names entertained : "SAX" Series, "SD-3" Series

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The Monster v.2 concept DID get made :

About to test that soon!

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I all but stopped development on Neo based subwoofers for a while to concentrate on our "bread and butter" lines -- eventually I'll revisit this area.

Edited July 15, 2011 by sundownz

[ALL4SPL 4]

I'd still love to see a Sundown 6.5" Woofer, something pretty beefy that could be used for either small sub application or door mounting

[sundownz 197]

I have a TON of things always in the works... you may see that one day; but not immediately.

Figured I'd bring this back from the dead to show people we are moving along with plans

[ilikedirt 0]

Sounds good! Always keeping it fresh and exciting.

*cough* sundown 2 way 6.5" component set *cough*

[edouble101 314]

Thanks for sharing the direction that Sundown's woofer production will be headed!

I am always looking for a lightweight high output driver that has excellent sound reproduction. The more you raise the bar in this aspect the more interest you have from me. Maybe your upcoming neo line will fit into this category.

This is unrelated to woofer production but...... I would also love to see high ouput Sundown amplifiers with a smaller footprint. Size comparable to JL Audio XD or HD but +2000wrms.

[jFreezy 0]

Very interested in the e series for my truck! I felt e8 was too small a pair of 12s would be nice in my truck