18" driver recommendations please for HT? Thanks!

A single FiCar SSD18. $250 a pop.

Sounds like an old-school JBL B460 with a 2245 driver. Won't go as deep as some but very efficient. Unfortunately you need to get lucky to score a vintage driver at a reasonable price.

jeff at jtr speakers has a sub called the captivator.

it got great reviews at a shootout recently.

jeff pointed to the motor strength as one reason why it did so well.

the ascendant audio mayhem has very close motor to the jtr, and alternative would be the fi car audio bl 18 even though i think that they are both made by fi.

it should give >120db from 20hz up...groundplane...even with a simple amp like the behringer inuke dsp 3000.

for diy components, the drive is around $500, the amp is around $400, the enclosure is up to you. the comparable retail is about twice the sum of the parts cost.

If I could make a recommendation, you could take a look at the obsidian 18. I just purchased one, but it's on pre-order so I won't get it for a little while. It looks to be somewhat similar to the ssd as far as specs go. Obviously itll model differently than ssd in your completed cabinet. The pre order price is a tad over $100 less. The company is put together by the owner of Stereo Integrity and the owner of Sundown Audio, so they should know what they're doing. Anyway this should be an option if your budget is low.

Dan

http://www.ebay.com/itm/JBL-Model-22...item5891d8704a

or

http://www.ebay.com/itm/JBL-2242-H-W...item2eba6bb6f4

The 2242 is the best sounding sub I've ever heard. Retail is $1200.

"The 2242 is the best sounding sub I've ever heard. Retail is $1200."

op, if you like what you hear in most big movie theaters, you have probably heard the jbl. the 4645c is the standard bass cab, 8 cubic feet tuned to 25hz w/2242h driver. member nichol just built a pair tuned to around 22hz (larger cabs) and was very happy. i actually can't recall a single person who was ever unhappy after using that driver. jbl also uses a coated version of them in their cost-no-object synthesis line.

the 18sound 18lw1400 is quite similar to the jbl 2242, but costs much less. i've seen them on sale for $300. they model almost identically to the 2242...and at that price, you could get two. :-)

http://www.eighteensound.it/index.as...roduct&pid=197

This is a question out of pure lack of knowledge but, how do those drivers compete with the really high displacement drivers like the LMS? I mean they cant move a 1/4 as much air so what gives?

That's the reason they're tuned above 20hz. Excursion doesn't get to be as much of an issue for them.

I'm wondering how that would perform in a tapped horn.

"I'm wondering how that would perform in a tapped horn."

it would probably be mediocre given the driver specs. plop in horn resp though, who knows?

"This is a question out of pure lack of knowledge but, how do those drivers compete with the really high displacement drivers like the LMS? I mean they cant move a 1/4 as much air so what gives?"

that is where the flame war will start, so i'm not going to start that.

most p.a. drivers are designed to dissipate heat. they use large diameter coils and have a lot of venting or other cooling techniques. this will help limit power compression, which limits dynamics.

another thing to keep in mind is that for pro-audio subs, they tend to have much more excursion beyond their rated xmax than other subs and as 'not noted (lol), the p.a. subs are designed for ported enclosures which help limit excursion as a tradeoff for great sensitivity in their wheelhouse.

the science is not yet solved for what makes one driver sound different from another, but like i said, i'd like to not get into all that again here.

btw, ricci put an lms in a horn and blew out the house. well, not actually, but take a look at the gjallerhorn for a crazy kindof compromise.

I wondered when you would post your question. I think you should get a pair of those JBL drivers, run the swap, and then post your measurements here.

I'm super interested.

These are not children. They are meant to been heard, not seen.

Yes, you can find better looking drivers. You can find higher performance drivers.

The JBLs were designed and built for commercial/professional duty where performance and long-term reliability are far more important than appearance. You might say the looks are an acquired taste. Working up a trim ring or rear mounting them may help.

Personally I want mine covered to keep the occasional 2-3 year old visitor from poking at them. I even installed an ugly PA-style grill cover to make them kid/cat/drunk proof. 10 years, no problems...

I have the 2245 in 8 ft^3 tuned to Fs = 26 Hz running off the large PE plate amp ~500 watts @ 8 ohms. I have about 6 dB boost dialed in at 26Hz. That would be the JBL B460 alignment with my best guess at what the BX63 crossover would do to boost the bottom end.

Not everyone would be impressed but I think I have $200 in the driver (reconed) and $350 for the amp so I think it does nicely in the bang-for-buck category. The 2242 is newer and would be a step up.

I have nothing to compare it to. It replaced a small yamaha sub. The 2245 was sold before home theater so it was meant for music, not earthquakes, so it doesn't like <20 Hz. I have it crossed over at 60 Hz so it just sits in the corner and looks like furniture. I have to touch it sometimes to make sure it is working. I haven't tried to measure it.

"Also do you have any graphs of em? Thanks."

common graphs won't explain why the 2245 sounds better than the 2242, or why the 2242 sounds better than the 2241.

I would go with a 18NLW9600/9000 if you have the budget over a 2242 or 18lw1400 for a pro woofer option or the LMS ULTRA for a non-pro woofer.

I am in the exact same boat. Just ordered two of the xxxs yesterday. Dont want the drama of waiting for parts etc with no guaranteed availability on all the others.

Two enclosures. Prolly about 8 cu ft each. Lg clone amp. Mini dsp. Gonna have to make the boxes nicelooking to get them past the boss!

Thanks. I dont think the xxx has been this cheap until recently, or nobody had known about the low price. I always thought they cost more than the lms. Which i have one of also along with dual pr's