those tests are so bougus! there is absolutely no comparison to the w6v2 and the ID max! plus they tested two of them in ported enclosures and two of them in sealed. I will tell you if they ran the idmax in a vented tuned to about 25htz it would have desimated the competition! while were on the topic of CA&E did anyone see the new JL clean sweep? I wonder how it works compared to a normal LOC?.
and to answer your question ID is a much better built sub then Infinity! to correct myself up there there is no comparison between the w6v2 and the IDmax SPL wise not SQ wise. although the w6v2 is a great SQ sub in my opinion the IDMax is still a better SQ sub and a much better SQL sub.
ID all the way I got 2 12" IDQs in my trunk right now and they sound amazing and they can absolutely pound if i want them too, and they're power hungry
"while were on the topic of CA&E did anyone see the new JL clean sweep? I wonder how it works compared to a normal LOC?." It's designed for integrated factory systems like the crappy Bose systems that have head units with a permanent equalizer in them. The Cleansweep automatically straightens out the equalizers so that you get a nice flat signal to the amplifier(s).
... speaking of ID - does anyone know how to get peak performance out of and IDMAX10v.3D2. Mine was doing alright for a couple of weeks, but now, I get this scary click sound when the bass hits... what is it? (Sorry to interupt, not trying to be rude or anything)
To help answer question, Grmn: I have a new IDMAX. This forum helped me come to that decision, so I'm assuming you'll pretty much get the same advice that I did. Go to image dynamics web site, check it out for yourself.
yes. Give the sub a few minutes of good bass, and there it goes... then it clicks at all levels (except really low ones of course) ever heard of this happening before? You're so awesome for helping... thanks.
For lack of a better explanation - descriptive words that come to mind are: a click, snap, crackle, or static type sound. It's heard WITH the bass. And it sounds so depressing...........................
Were you pushing the sub hard beforehand? Nothing touched the sub cone or pushed on it? Make sure, like sean said, that all your grounds and other connections are solid. One thing at a time, just making sure everything is intact. After that if the problem persists, you can give ID a call about the noise. That particular subwoofer has a very tight gap to retain linearity, so if you have voice coil scraping, misalignment, unraveling, and so forth, it's easier to notice. Since it seems to happen after the sub has warmed up a little while, I'd guess it's an issue with the coil since metal tends to expand after heating up. It's just a guess, though, and that's to be determined by ID and will be covered under warranty, assuming it is an issue with the sub and not other things.
If it is a voice coil unraveling or misalignment, it will be covered under warranty, BTW. If you fried it, it won't be. But it doesn't seem as if you fried the coil as you didn't mention a burnt smell, amp going into protection, and so forth.
bear in mind, that the various woofers were DESIGNED for different enclosures.
i've NEVER seen a carbon fiber woofer recommended for a sealed enclosure. i'd bet a nickel that a sealed enclosure would shatter a brittle carbon fiber cone.
yes... it was an "apples and oranges" comparison, but 1. each woofer was compared to another operating in the same mode 2. all 4 STILL scored within one point of each other overall and 3. the image dynamics was up against "THE" most popular competition woofer brand JL audio.
i consider a woofer that scores about = to the "safe respected" brand operating in the same (sealed) mode to be worthy of notice provided the reviewer doesn't have tin ears, like say sam tellig from stereophile who admits that he can't hear anything over 15KHz! LOL yeah... someone who can't hear treble should be rating full range speakers where the treble is THE trait that is most important for imaging and clarity in general.
NEVER trust ANY review. trust your own ears. i bought a pair of mission minimonitors because they got several rave reviews... but hated their overly bright treble and excessive box resonances (1/2" mdf!) and have went back to my trusty NHT superzeros even if they are a little laid back in the treble.
with ANY audio variable... there are diehard advocates on EITHER side of the fence... analogue vs. digital tube vs. solid state ported vs. sealed and so on. train your ears for what YOU like and take everyone elses opinions with a grain of salt.
You can make a carbon fiber woofer work sealed, that's not a problem. Ported boxes actually have higher internal pressure than sealed boxes do, it's commonly thought that ported boxes are "loose", while really they have higher mechanical control and internal pressure than sealed anywhere at and above tuning (assuming you're not talking about a super small sealed box, to the point of being useless).
but the port acts as an exhaust port. in a sealed system... the air acts as a spring both pulling and pushing a woofer depending on which way it's traveling.
a port allows the air to move much more freely.
try making an airtight sealwith your mouth and humming into a plastic bottle just then try b it without a seal. the airtight seal will stress the bottle alot more and you'll feel the vibrations alot more.
ports are like pressure valves for air.
i'd like to see the science behind your claim. it sounds totally wrong to me.
"but the port acts as an exhaust port" Nope, it's a tuned resonant device that leverages the driver. It only vents off pressure below tuning, where the port becomes ineffective. A port isn't a simple hole in a box, it's a tuned device that performs as a solid mass.
Plug it into WinISD if you want a visual, look at the cone excursion charts. Yes, the sealed box acts as a spring. The ported box does NOT perform as an exhaust vent, a valve, or a hole in a box, it's not that simple. It is a tuned mass of air that performs as a solid object, the friction of the air mass (determined by port crossarea and length of port) determines the frequency where the port reacts. The box volume and the port volume interact, and just like when you're breathing, when the sub moves outward, the pressure inside the box decreases and air moves into the box to equalize the pressure, and vice versa for rearward motion. That's the science, the internal pressure of the box will level with barametric pressure. That's the reason of more cone control. The port itself is a resonant device that becomes increasingly active as you approach the tuned frequency, and once you're at tuning, the port sucks energy so forcefully through the internal air pressure that it loads the active driver and severely limits cone excursion (friction of the port taking place). During this process it uses the cone as the fulcrum to bear the force of its own acceleration, limiting the active driver's excursion and transferring the greater output to its own opening or surface. Above tuning, the air mass becomes too slow to react to instant changes in direction, so it doesn't suck any energy off the driver and it becomes ineffective since it doesn't move when the change of direction is so rapid. So basically the box performs as if it were sealed.
i have little to no respect for CA mag's competitive reviews. as a kid i would look forward to boosting it out of kroger every month (when they were twice the size). but now they maintain a completely political approach to their reviews so as not to disuade manufacturers from investing in the mag. plus, they have ties to companies. particularly JL audio. anyway, the technical specifics and my personal opinions have already been shared by a couple of James' previous replies. and the midrange, in perspective, is "THE trait that is most important for imaging and clarity in general." not the tweeters.
Upper midrange is generally percieved as treble, I have to agree with you mike. I could live without 10-20khz more easily that losing midrange clarity. Actually I think it would be better if poorly recorded material eliminated 10-20khz altogether as static, distortion, and excessive treble is quite annoying .
so... basically... you're saying that "outside of the resonant frequency, the air in a ported enclosure offers more resistance"
is that right?
i was MOSTLY going by the fact that every carbon fiber woofer i've ever seen has been specked as a ported woofer combined with the way i picture air in a box acting. i definately know that carbon fiber is very brittle.
i haven't ever seen kevlar or aerogel specked for sealed boxes either.
Wow. Thanks alot for the suggestions of possible problems... I'll be contacting ID ASAP. I'll let you guys know how it goes. I know for sure I didn't fry it (like you said - no burnt smell, no burnt fuses) And, I've blown a couple subs already, so I know the characteristics well. Still, it seems kinda distressing to me. Maybe if I get a new sub I should go with the 12 instead of the 10??? Advice on that, maybe? Thanks again! This forum is the best!
so... basically... you're saying that "outside of the resonant frequency, the air in a ported enclosure offers more resistance"
A ported box offers the most cone control at it's resonant frequency, unlike a sealed box which sees higher excursion at the resonant frequency. Above that frequency, there will be a gradual increase in excursion until it approaches an excursion level equivalent to what a sealed box would offer. In some cases the excursion may be slighly higher than sealed at a higher frequency (outside the tuned region), but not by a margin worth mentioning. WinISD will give you a good visual on that, you can look at the excursion charts to see the effects of port gain on excursion, at tuning a ported box can be around 1/2 to 1/4 of the excursion that the sub would be at if it were sealed. Depending on the tuning, you'll see how wide of a frequency range the tuned port affects. That's the basis of SQ tuning, limiting excursion at lower frequencies so that you don't stress the driver and it remains linear, and then by the time the port begins becoming inactive, the frequency is high enough that the excursion won't be as high anyway. If you're talking about an extremely linear driver, like XBL^2 drivers from Adire Audio and Resonant Engineering, the effects of a ported box won't be as substantial because those drivers retain high linearity at higher excursions. But the fact is that most drivers have a parabolic BL curve and have a lot more distortion once you start moving past a couple of millimeters of excursion or so. Sure, ported boxes aren't as accurate in terms of transient response or phase response, but high distortion at higher volumes is much more apparent than a minor phase shift.
