Aurasound NS18 18" Subwoofer, worth using? - Page 3

Do keep in mind by going with an H-baffle that you're probably limiting yourself to roughly the output of a sealed 10 down low, though.

that's because of the 18db per octave rolloff, right?

I'd really love to do a new build in my van with 4 of the B&C 21's

Yes. I agree you should do that.

Totally, not in anyway a lateral move as typical of most "upgrades" for a car audio system. Not you, J but most typical builds I see.

i thought that ricci indicated that they run out of gas pretty quickly around 20mm and it takes a fair amount of power to get them there because of their very tight suspensions.

Yeah, due to dipole cancellation.


Sounds about right. Their Klippel xmax isn't huge (IIRC, in the 14-15mm range), but it's a 21" driver (1700-odd cm^2) so we're still talking multiple liters of volume displacement.

Around 0.5mH if memory serves. (The new Parallels doesn't seem to work right now, so I can't check it against my Unibox database.)

But basically, lower than anything else with the same volume displacement. An underhung (i.e. short) single-layer coil and copper sleeve on the motor will do that.

Too bad no one has an bottomless jar of money and wants to pit the NS18 up against the AE TD18
http://www.aespeakers.com/drivers.php?driver_id=24

oh, nevermind!

I would love to see that.

The TD18 strikes me as more a competitor to the B&C 18SW115 (awfully hard driver to top) than the NS18. The B&C probably has a better suspension, based on Klippel measurements of the B&C and other AE drivers. Compared to the two of them, the NS18 has considerably more throw, a more expensive motor (lots more steel, due to the underhung design, and copper sleeving like the Lambda), lower powerhandling (single-layer coil that's smaller than the B&C's coil and shorter than both of the other two), and considerably lower efficiency. I think it's also the best looking of the lot, with the Mercury space capsule profile of its basket and motor cover, and that cool-looking metal cone with pointy dustcap. (Metal that seems to ding less easily than the Dayton or TC sub cones.)

Though in a sense all of them are equivalent in that they're 18's with good top-end extension, great motors, and all three of them would be plenty of volume displacement for someone like me. In fact, the main meaningful difference between the NS18, TD18X, and B&C 18SW115, it seems to me, is that the B&C 18SW115 is the only one for which there is anything like a reliable and continuous supply! If I were building a production supersub, that's the one of the three I would use. Though in truth I wouldn't use any of the three. I'd probably use dual-opposed Peavey LR18's over any of 'em. The LR18 is a very, very good driver, and way cheaper than anything else that good.

In all seriousness, I would be shocked if anyone could tell any difference between them at all, after suitable EQ and limitin levels to what the one with the lowest rated Vd should reasonably be able to handle. In the last (and only) test of elite-level subwoofer drivers I did, I could not find any difference whatsoever between the Maelstrom-X Mk. I, a JBL W15GTi, and an Aura NS12-794-4A after EQ. (Levels were limited to what the smallest driver, the NS12, could be reasonably expected to handle.)

Truth be told, looks and symmetry (all of the subs in my main system were Aura NS-series, so I figured the nearfield sub should be, too) were the only reasons I replaced the Mael-X with the NS18.

Can the Aura sub be used in a live application such as bass guitar?

I know the AE can and I think the B&C could be but wondered about the Aura sub. 15hz extension would be needed and probably use an L/T with it. I had planned for the AE TD18H but I am still saving up for that project and I am always up for looking at other woofers.

Little less than 2/3 the xmax at a little more than 2/3 the current sale pricing (they're both on sale). I thought it was a fairly good comparison...

You need 15 Hz for a bass guitar?

Might want to use a solid piece in the middle instead of a window brace. I heard arguments both ways, not sure why I went with the window brace. Probably ease of wiring and stuff.

Yup. That size will work just fine. Not's cab is a dual 18 enclosure though. Is that what you're going for?

Are you sure about the Le? The vendor cut sheet for the NS-18 driver does not list the inductance.

I measured mine using an impedance jig and FuzzMeasure. (But saved the result in my Unibox database. Doh!)

Hobby-HiFi measured one as well.

There's a review of the smaller-coil 12 (NS12-794-4A) that reports an inductance of 0.34 or something like that on diymobileaudio.com.

That is quite good. These would make great bass bins crossed around maybe 200-300hz. A little overkill really, but what isn't around here?

UFO, you made an excellent choice, probably the best subwoofer available for pure sound quality. The LMS would only best it in pure output capacity.

The couple weaknesses I see with this driver is the low efficiency and mediocre motor strength. I liked their pro sound version better truthfully . I also wonder about the long term reliability if used in a small sealed enclosure with a lot of power and eq boosting by a person who likes to push their system. There have been some melted coils and neo magnet coatings before, although those may have been under torturous conditions. Maybe I will grab one of these when funds allow, if there are any left. I have always wanted to try one.

Honestly, given the efficiency, I'd rather use B&C 18SW115's for that. Or possibly Peavey LR18's if budget were an issue.

Four separate cabs would give you the most placement flexibility, and be easier to lug around.

Knowing what one good 18 can do, be it an NS18, Maelstrom-X, or LMS Ultra, I honestly can't imagine four of these inside a room in someone's home. Way more volume displacement than I'd even want.

Yeah, the 18SW115 would be a better choice for bass bins or a TD18H or TD15S/H/X. It wouldn't be wise to mix the high excursion of the NS18 with reproduction of 200-300hz content.

Yeah, you'll be fine. Seal the Q8's if you can, to make integration easier. And you'll probably want to run them full-range to further randomize room mode excitation. No reason not to, with all of that cone area.