I see specifications for Alpine Type X in 10" and 12", but not 15".
Do you have a link or TS parameters for a Alpine Type X 15"?
Sorry, my mistake. The Type X is indeed available only in 10 and 12 inches. A friend of mine who does a lot of car audio installs told me that the IDQ12 is better than the Type R, but the Type X is better than the ID. That's why I settled on this particular driver.
Of course, his perspective is from a car audio point of view, so if it's different on the home audio front, please correct me on my choice.
Of course, his perspective is from a car audio point of view, so if it's different on the home audio front, please correct me on my choice.
Surely the jbl gt5 is better? Half the price, higher xmax, higher actual power handling. I've seen them take 1kw and have powered them at 500w without trouble
Unless being used in a tapped TL/horn and/or with a < ~60 Hz XO, then as a general rule, car audio woofers are ill suited for high SQ HIFI/HT apps due primarily to excessively high inductance [Le], especially ones that don't list this spec, and to having a very low Vas [low Qms] spec.
I assume there's exceptions, but price wise probably more on a par with the better low Fs prosound drivers.
GM
Matt,
The stamped steel basket JBL GT5-12 is rated for 275 watt RMS, 1100 w peak has 14 mm Xmax. Advertised on line for $99.95.
The cast aluminum basket Alpine SWR-1223D 12" is rated for 600 watt RMS, 1800 w peak, has 20mm Xmax. Advertised on line for $119.99
The extra $20 is worth the additional performance and finish quality.
The SWR is the Type R, S Types are SWS. Type Rs are an improvement over GT5s, the Type S is not.
In the UK a GT5 can be had for £40-50 whereas an SWS 1243D is £100
In the UK a GT5 can be had for £40-50 whereas an SWS 1243D is £100
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The GT5-12 goes for 60$ on amazon USA right now - going purely by Vd (Sd*xmax), two of them beat the SWR-1223D by about 3dB - however not sure how well they fare in the real world in high power situations.
Around here in Germany I've seen the GT5-12 for 49€ - the SWR is four times the price. Value leader depends on where in the world you are.
Bad, I just noticed the JBL GT5-12 lists a 1.26 mH. This is quite good for a mainstream woofer, especially at the current USA price, and plenty good enough for a 80-120 Hz XO point, though I have to wonder how accurate this is.
Two of these + two 15" PRs in a bipolar layout might make for a poor man's Contra-bass. I did this with some original basslist Avatar/Adire 12" Shivas and its PRs in the late '90s in a Servo-Drive CB size, layout cab tuned to ~16 Hz and for the day it handled any source at THX reference and them some when set near a corner.
GM
I assumed as much, but for a HIFI/HT app I'm further assuming that folks aren't going to use a high power, 1 ohm stable amp.
GM
GM
Right, but ImmortalZ was asking about the 12D4, which to get a low Le requires the VCs be wired in parallel and the need for a 1 ohm stable amp.
The main point though is what's an acceptable Le value in a HIFI/HT app regardless of the driver brand/model and for me the limit is <1.5 mH, with the lower the better if not being using in an alignment where a high Le is desirable.
GM
The main point though is what's an acceptable Le value in a HIFI/HT app regardless of the driver brand/model and for me the limit is <1.5 mH, with the lower the better if not being using in an alignment where a high Le is desirable.
GM
The 12D4 is 4 ohms per coil. Wiring them in parallel will give an impedance of 2 ohms, not 1 ohm.
The combination of Re*Le is a better parameter to look at however than just Le alone. And even more important than that for Hi-Fidelity use is how much Le actually varies with stroke. With the motors on the new Type-R series, it varies very, very little.
Patrick, what is the highest XO point will you recommend for this woofer if the low in BR is 35hz?
Today I measured one of my Alpine SWS-10D2s
I've had these for about ten years, so it might provide some insight into what the specs look like when these subwoofers are old.
Here's my measured specs versus the published specs. If you're going to buy a set of these, I'd recommend you use a "blend" of the two data sets, as I generally find that my DATS measurements tend to exaggerate QTS.
my measurement / published measurement / average
FS : 36.1 / 35 / 35.55
QES : 0.70 / 0.52 / 0.61
QMS : 7.86 / 7.54 / 7.7
QTS : 0.65 / 0.49 / 0.57
VAS : NA / 25L
RE : 3.89 / 3.6 / 3.75
I've had these for about ten years, so it might provide some insight into what the specs look like when these subwoofers are old.
Here's my measured specs versus the published specs. If you're going to buy a set of these, I'd recommend you use a "blend" of the two data sets, as I generally find that my DATS measurements tend to exaggerate QTS.
my measurement / published measurement / average
FS : 36.1 / 35 / 35.55
QES : 0.70 / 0.52 / 0.61
QMS : 7.86 / 7.54 / 7.7
QTS : 0.65 / 0.49 / 0.57
VAS : NA / 25L
RE : 3.89 / 3.6 / 3.75
Too bad these aren't as cheap as they used to be anymore. Volume to volume, the Ultimax series is about the same cost right now.
