Lo Rider 18 TH/FLH

[bubblersound]

Does anyone here have experience with the Peavey Lo Rider 18 subwoofer? More specifically, in front or rear loaded horns or tapped horns? It looks to be a very good driver for the price.

[TransNova]

I've used them in simple ported boxes and found the performance was very good. Outstanding performance for the money. I would also be curious how they would perform in a TH.

[wg_ski]

If you're using it for pro sound don't horn load 18's. You'll shred the cone before you hear distortion. PV specifically warns about this. You'll usually get better performance out of 15's anyway - they're usually a better match to a horn. If you'e using a low power tube amp, well you probably couldn't hurt it.

[sumaudioguy]

Yah watch that voice coil size to cone size. Many use the same motor on 15s and 18s so the 15s would always be a better choice for horn. All, and I mean ALL, curved cone 15 inch woofers flip phase about 200Hz. I look for the phase flip and usually put the crossover there. Low rider is quality product from a build point of view and has easily replaced voice coil cone assembly which is a real big plus. Check the xmax and make sure it is less than anticipated for the horn you have in mind.

[Rademakers]

It seems to be more in it's place in a rear loaded horn or a tapped horn then in a front loaded horn. A front loaded horn would probably require a larger then average rear chamber. What's your intended bandwidth?

Best regards Johan

[bubblersound]

40-120hz. The 12's under $200 runs out of xmax in my Tapped Horns. The 18's seem to work better because of the larger surface diameter.

[Rademakers]

OK, 40-120 Hz sounds very reasonable. 120 Hz is about as high as you want to cross any 18", horn loaded or not imho.

Keep the compression ratio around 2:1 for an 18" tapped, rear or front loaded horn, a tapped horn might actually allow a little bit more. A lower compression ratio is easier on the cone at high power inputs.

Do you have any size constraints? Give the bandwidth, an increase in size means more output. Minimal size would be somewhere near 8-10 ft^3, to get a decent output beyond a reflex.

Best regards Johan

[NEO Dan]

--- mechanical ---
Fs          37.454E+00 Hz       Free air resonance
Qms          8.614E+00          Q mechanical
Vas        237.769E-03 m^3      Suspension compliance
Cms        110.594E-06 m/N      1/(suspension stiffness)
Mms        163.269E-03 kg       Moving mass
Rms          4.460E+00 kg/s     Mechanical resistance
Xmax **      0.000E+00 m        Maximum acoustic linear motion
Xmech**      0.000E+00 m        Mechanical displacement
Dia        396.900E-03 m        Piston diameter
Sd         123.723E-03 m^2      Piston area
Vd   **      0.000E+00 m^3      Displacement volume
--- electrical ---
Qes        555.789E-03          Q electrical
Re           5.873E+00 ohms     Voice coil DC resistance
Le           1.958E-03 Henries  Inductance @1 kHz
Z           17.668E+00 ohms     Impedance @1 kHz
BL          20.150E+00 Tm       Motor force - Newtons/Amp
Pe   **      0.000E+00 W        Max Electrical Power
--- electro-mechanical ---
Qts        522.103E-03          Q total
no           2.167E+00 %        1/2-space ref efficiency @ 1m/1W
1-W SPL     95.358E+00 dB       sensitivity at 1m on-axis 
2.83V SPL   96.700E+00 dB       sensitivity at 1m on-axis

[Rademakers]

Wow, those are quite a bit different from the spec sheet!

Suddenly small enclosures are pretty much out of the window.If you don't mind 20 cu.ft. enclosures, I would personally prefer a PWH for this type of speaker if maximum output is the desire, otherwise just a large reflex. If you want portabilty other drivers are more likely suited.

Best regards Johan

[sumaudioguy]

Originally Posted by NEO Dan

--- mechanical ---
Fs          37.454E+00 Hz       Free air resonance
Qms          8.614E+00          Q mechanical
Vas        237.769E-03 m^3      Suspension compliance
Cms        110.594E-06 m/N      1/(suspension stiffness)
Mms        163.269E-03 kg       Moving mass
Rms          4.460E+00 kg/s     Mechanical resistance
Xmax **      0.000E+00 m        Maximum acoustic linear motion
Xmech**      0.000E+00 m        Mechanical displacement
Dia        396.900E-03 m        Piston diameter
Sd         123.723E-03 m^2      Piston area
Vd   **      0.000E+00 m^3      Displacement volume
--- electrical ---
Qes        555.789E-03          Q electrical
Re           5.873E+00 ohms     Voice coil DC resistance
Le           1.958E-03 Henries  Inductance @1 kHz
Z           17.668E+00 ohms     Impedance @1 kHz
BL          20.150E+00 Tm       Motor force - Newtons/Amp
Pe   **      0.000E+00 W        Max Electrical Power
--- electro-mechanical ---
Qts        522.103E-03          Q total
no           2.167E+00 %        1/2-space ref efficiency @ 1m/1W
1-W SPL     95.358E+00 dB       sensitivity at 1m on-axis 
2.83V SPL   96.700E+00 dB       sensitivity at 1m on-axis

That total Q is to high for any use really except as HUGE box- wait someone already said that. Look for a softer suspension and lower Q...under .383 for any application. Also the high efficiency means probably a low Xmax. Short voice coil makes high efficiency and low Xmax. Fs is pretty high also. Here is a 15 that looks pretty good and not to expensive:

Parts-Express.comayton DVC385-88 15" DVC Series Subwoofer | subwoofer dvc385-88 15" subwoofer dvc dual voice coil dayton subwoofer dayton dvc dayton 15" woofer subwoofer dayton dvc coils COIL bandpass auto 8 ohm 15" woofer 15" subwoofer special-2-