Exodus Subs - Resurrection

I just wanted to let the cat out of the bag. I'm resurrecting the Exodus Audio lineup with subwoofers returning to market in 2013.

This has been an unplanned change of events. My tolerance for risk has significantly changed since suffering through the events of two years ago. I wouldn't be undertaking this without a partner who is basically willing to shoulder the risk with me and whom brings significant design experience/relationships which make building high-end subwoofers in limited volumes possible.

My partner's background is in the pro-audio space and hence there are many design tweaks that will reflect his influence in the new models. These designs are not exact copies of the old designs so we will develop new product names for all models. Pricing and design targets are going to be somewhat upscale of where I priced the old Shiva/Tempest/Maelstrom models. They should still represent a good value based upon the fact that they will be direct to consumer pricing model rather than a distributor mark-up model.

The first model back in stock is a close relative of the Shiav-X, my old 12" subwoofer. I'll have updated parameters and measurements in Feb 2013. The 15", 18" and possibly 21" models will be following later in the year with a successful launch of the early models.

If you have any questions fire away.

Thanks Scott...I've poked my nose in here occasionally but my time has been pretty limited.

There has been price inflation in materials that would have occurred had the old line survived and the other factor is that I'm spending more money on design features and producing these in smaller runs. I don't have fixed numbers at this point but I'd expect the Shiva replacement to come in around $275-$300ish each.

This model was originally used by one of my OEM customers (who is now my partner) and he specified a single 4-ohm coil. We changed the coil/former design based upon his experience in maximizing power handling in the pro sound market. Otherwise it is much like the Shiva with an XBL^2 motor, same basic design scope. Cosmetically it is slightly different because we are using his manufacturing partners and not all the soft parts (cone, surround, spider) made the transition. The motor structure is essentially unchanged.

Good to hear from you! Give me a call when you get a chance and we can chew the fat.

I don't.... at this point. We are starting with a fresh sheet of paper on everything. We have more flexibility in design choices than I had when I created the originals so each format will likely use unique motors and I'd expect the 15", 18" & 21" to all utilize larger diameter coils and target smaller box sizes.

We will probably target the same general output levels. It requires so much power to utilize 25-30mm of stroke in reasonable sized boxes that adding more gets very expensive both in terms of the transducer itself and the required amplifier to drive it. We will focus more on optimizing what we have and improving quality. Of course I reserve the right to change my mind.

The discussion in general has been towards improving the suspension/motor ratio such that we increase safety margin when overdriven. All will feature fairly low native inductance and some unique shorting coil/ring designs to optimize inductance to the extent possible.

What will make them unique in the market is their inductance control and they will capitalize on my experience (the good, bad and the ugly) on how to design high-stroke subwoofers.
Edited by Kevin Haskins - 12/26/12 at 7:16pm

LOL... I'll take a Godfather reference as a compliment.

First off.... it gives me the warm and fuzzies to see how everyone has responded to the news. I'm glad that after the train-wreck I had with the Maelstrom failures that I still have some support in the community.

Second, I've not finalized any details with the 15", 18" or 21" designs. In fact... we have a clean sheet to design from for everything but the new 12" (because it is already built) and the Anarchy, which while I could improve, there is value in keeping the design consistent and not changing the product simply because I can.

So.. my concept of how we design them is totally open to input from my most important audience.... DIYers. Obviously I cannot please everyone and what may be "coolest" isn't necessarily what I can sell profitably. But other than the fact that we will roll one design at a time (or maybe two) I'm pretty open to input on design goals and I'd be happy to share the development ideas and concepts as we move forward. Collaboration with my audience is key to success!

Mike... I'm sure whatever you come up with will be more interesting.

I've not dug into your email because I'm juggling two jobs at the moment. I'm sorry to say the 12" is pretty much done so while a TH optimized version isn't going to happen right away although I think what you modeled with the original Shiva was a beast. I'd be surprised if our changes will not drop right in but I'll measure the production run when we get it and let you play.