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Prototype 6.5" Mid/bass

22K views 158 replies 53 participants last post by  cotdt 
#1 ·
Some very preliminary info on the prototype 6.5" mid/bass...



Keep in mind this is only a prototype and cosmetics/specs may change.

Pic of the front... Note the paper cone, alum phase plug, and large foam surround.



Pic of the rear... Note the very heavy cast frame, large ventilation windows under the spider, and the tall top plate... hmm I wonder what kind of motor this could be :) Driver mounting depth is 3" exactly.



Frequency response in free-air:



Very smooth and extended as you can see, from 50hz to 8khz, with a nice 12db rolloff on both ends. Slight dip around 200-400hz, to compensate for the extra boost you get in most cars at that frequency which tend to muddy up the lower midrange. Most cars also have a 12db boost which picks up around 50-60hz... so in your doors these should play flat down to 20hz without a problem.

I chose to go with a slightly higher "q" driver, hence the slight bump at 60hz. I feel it gives these mids more impact in the bass. Efficiency ~88dbwm. Needless to say, these are made for door/free-air mounting. They will work in a sealed kickpanel, but without the same sensitivity in the low end.

Frequency response with the mid/bass located in the driver side door, measured from the driver side headrest. Notice the flat bass response down to 30hz in car (no highpass filter). Very impressive top end response, when you consider the driver sits nearly 80 degrees off axis!



And here's the same frequency response with a big cut at 200hz, a slight boost at 3khz, and a 12db highpass at 80hz. So smooth and extended....



Non-linear distortion test against the Seas Excel W18, which Imho is one of the most detailed, realistic sounding mids around. Test was conducted with the drivers mounted in the car door. Short story, below 80hz the prototype was cleaner. At 80hz and 200hz the distortion was very similar with the Excel ahead by a very small amount. At 800-1khz, the distortion was a good bit higher on the prototype. Above 1.5khz, the prototype was noticeably lower than the Excel. Overall not a bad performance.

Here's a sample pic at 200hz:



Again at 800hz:



The most noticeable subjective differences were in terms of sensitivity and bass output. The prototype was easily more dynamic, and had a very strong and violent impact in the bass. Midrange was more extended, and a tad bit fuller and warmer sounding. I'd say it's a step up in detail from the Seas CA18RNX, but not quite Seas Excel.

The Seas on the otherhand was just a bit cleaner and more realistic sounding. It's not a difference you'd pick out unless you had the best of installs and the drivers side by side, but to my ears which are accustomed to the sound of the Excels over years of listening it was fairly noticeable. Not exactly a bad thing, as some people prefer a warmer, fuller sounding midrange. The Seas Excel also didn't have the sheer dynamics, or as hard of a midbass impact... this could be due to the lower sensitivity and lower qts of the driver. However, I felt the Seas bass was a bit more natural and easy to listen to. The prototype just hit too hard and violently... and perhaps it was a bit exaggerated... but otoh it was alot of fun to listen to. With a higher crossover point or steeper slope I'm sure it could be tamed.

Last but not least... the 13mb excursion video:

http://diymobileaudio.com/pics/proto.avi
 
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#3 ·
demon2091tb said:
Holy God..........Umm first question i have is what kinda power does that monster like......as well as a good price point........wow i want one.
It's pretty efficient... should be satisfying with a 50 watt amp. Pricing? Lol... not sure yet. It's a workhorse of a driver and built like a tank... not much in the way of looks. I'm thinking of keeping it as cheap as possible, but if there's enough interest we could work on spending more to improve the cosmetics.

Either way... expect a pretty good introductory discount :)
 
#5 ·
I'm not too much on driver looks, this driver looks rather beefy though, You mentioned something about the type of motor, more details if you don't mind disclosing on this prototype. I don't know much about motor designs and advantanges and disadvantages of one over the other, but that driver just looks sexy to me......lol. This driver would be ideal as it looks for me as well, AS you've said it takes the cake in IB doors, driver size is 6.5", which would fit easily in my doors. Only other spec needed really to know if it would fit is driver depth.

With that kind of excursion i'm sure it would get plenty loud for any daily driver. can't really tell the excursion potential from the video but i'd say its in the 10mm or so xmax....just a guess though.

Ok well i'll stop asking questions and making assumptions but that driver looks awesome to me. I just hope its in my affordable price range. Power would not be a problem at all, i have up to 160rms @ 4ohms available from my 2ch, and a little over 80rms x 4 @ 4ohms from my 4ch.

newtitan said:
when are these coming out? approximate 1 month/2 months?
???
 
#6 ·
It is a 4 ohm driver.. don't know if I mentioned that yet. I would expect about 1-2 months to release, once the details are finalized.

Xmax isn't verified yet, but should be in the 10-11mm range 1 way. Xmech ~25mm p-p.
 
#13 ·
Wow, I love the driver npdang. I have to ask one more question, is it possible to get an 8 ohm version down the road? I want to try it in place of the L18.

I know you say it is 6.5" in diameter, is that from the outisde of the mounting holes or the diameter outside of the surround?
 
#18 ·
I agree with Vibrator, Something rather affordable that sounds extreemly detailed, built for IB use. Thats one thing that has stopped me on drivers in the past, actual IB use, where the drivers are not designed for that use.

Anyway any more details on the drivers Dang that you wouldn't mind disclosing :)?
 
#19 ·
<Homer>Mmmmmmmm, underhung mid/bass</Homer>

Got faraday? :wink:

Looking good sir! If this driver measures well for you, I'm sure that in time you will get a lions share of the diy car audio market.

The Cheap Audio 6.5 has a nice ring to it. :lol:

Oh yeah, don't worry about the asthetics. Looks great as is.
 
#23 ·
Welp, there goes my plans for the CA18.

If dang is close to his target date, these may be available just as I am finishing the "procurement" phase of my next install.

YAY!!!!!
 
#25 ·
daitrong said:
i know this is a prototype and cosmetics will change ( i hope they do ) but it looks really ghettoo. Sorry, had to point out the obvious. :D
Yeah... if it's going in a door though I don't know how much more people would be willing to spend to make it look a bit nicer. The cast frame is very heavy and rigid, and the driver as a whole is very functional. Custom tooling for a nicer frame, a more exotic cone material, a nicer one piece top plate (like what you see with Brahma, Avalanche, XXX, etc.) costs alot more money.

We'll see though. Hopefully it can at least be a bit more attractive without going overboard.
 
#26 ·
A few questions for you sir!

Firstly, is that really using an underhung motor?

Secondly, will you ever be making a midbass-only version, maybe something with a rubber surround/metal cone?

Third, does that dip you intended in the 150-300Hz region sap away midbass impact?

And last of all, what's the qts of that mofo?

/me waits anxiously for benchmarks against the excel
 
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