sundownz

The amps are in the USA ; so all we are waiting for now is unloading, customs inspection, and delivery to us. Will keep this updated.

Progress is same as last update; the final prototype is being made and then we'll release expected pricing, specs, etc. Depending on how final mechanical testing goes rating will be 600-750 RMS.

http://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/157471-sundown-x-10-x-15-x-18-prototypes-here/page__st__20#entry2270382 Post #33

In the video all I can hear is the tone and air movement from the venting.

Okay I got the pricing in for everything on these drivers and ran the numbers : Z v.4 Pricing : Size // MAP price from authorized dealer 10 -- $500 12 -- $530 15 -- $585 18 -- $610

The rating is not a requirement ; they are softer than most subs in their class as the suspension travel is so enormous they don't have to be terribly stiff. Should sound fine.

In all but the absolutely worst conditions shouldn't be an issue.

Unlikely that we'll make many of them -- as they will not go in the cut-out with speaker wire attached.

We are working on the actual final prototype then ETA will go from there.

A range from 0.5 to 1.0 works for the v.2 models depending on your power. I run closer to 0.5 in my VW golf on three tuned to ~30 Hz and it peaks at 29 in-car

The grills are a press fit so if they are bent in at all around the edges may become loose -- you can try bending out the edge of the mesh grilled at the base. You could also use any adhesive strip or tape to make them snap in tighter.

Thanks for the review

We rarely made Z v.2 10s -- the gap is very tight and the 10" 12-spoke doesn't lend itself well to coil stability. Most of the Z v.2 10s floating around were DIY. But what does usually work is an NS v.1 style kit with a Z v.2 coil -- which is same price as a Z v.3 10" kit. If you could possibly re-cone to a 12" you would be better off, IMO.

Both Brandon and I will be out of town from the 5th to the 14th this month (January 2013) for a business trip that involves CES and several other sub-trips while we are on the west coast. Debbie will still be here on the phones and e-mail to process as many orders as possible (paperwork-wise). We will also still have Thomas in here in the build room and also the rest of our shipping and packing crew will still be here. Some advanced or tricky questions / orders may be delayed while we are away but most "standard" work should be handled without much issue. Both Brandon and I will do some e-mailing in the evenings from our hotels; as much as possible. We are both still a bit behind from Christmas and New Years as well. If you have an e-mail that is more than ~5-6 days old, though, please re-send it and we'll try to get to it ASAP.

The SD-2 8" is our shallowest model and is optimized more for sealed than any of our other 8s plus is under-hung (more SQ style). The E8 v.3 is definitely out best value for output in a ported box.

FS is up around 5 Hz or so with the Z style spider and stiffer surround ; so I think that will get us where we need to be with these. I was happier with how it acted free air and on the specs. So that means the X series will have a 4-layer spider and the Z series will have a 5-layer spider (previously NS stiffness) -- then the NS will have a 6-layer spider.

I have a revised stiffer surround for the 10" frame in stock to test -- working on re-building an X-10 motor. As I don't have all of the new parts available in bulk yet this X-10 will get a Z v.4 coil and spider -- and I'll compare CMS to the Z v.4 10" I made. As CMS is the only figure I really need to know to figure out if the surround is stiff enough. Here are a few pics of the X-10 soft parts and motor that haven't been show yet : * Original parts; 60mm long 3" D4 coil * Fun pic with parts upside-down on the motor and frame * Very tall pole extension to keep the coil from smacking into the top plate when it leaves the gap (as the suspension allows that much throw) + the top plate has a small bevel on it as well as another safety measure. The tall pole extension also gives us more linear x-max. * Frame on the motor. One thing about the new motors with the tall extensions is that they won't work on "standard" frames as the pole extension would be too tall -- unless, of course, one machined customer spacers to get the basket higher. Other coils will work on the gap but other frames aren't practical to use (except other tall frames like the Ti style).

It's all good -- just having a conversation about the different type of responses and how they work / are perceived It's what makes this fun; there are 1000s of ways to make a quality speaker and different folks like different things -- keeps it interesting. Ours are designed for a certain type of sound; which is really what I personally like -- not everyone will think it's the best type of sound but there are 1000s of other speakers to try

You can try cleaning the knobs and buttons with contact cleaner; sometimes dirt and dust can do that.

One would imagine when spending nearly 3x the money on something like the Hertz XL performance would increase a bit Surely a fine product as most things from Hertz are. We haven't gotten into making our higher end sets yet; but stay tuned for that. Also; the SA-6.5CS set is designed specifically to have a very smooth -- some folks prefer a bit sharper sound; in which case they may want to look into something with a composite cone material and/or a harder tweeter dome material (the Hertz isn't a "hard dome" but is a bit more rigid than silk). A smoother sound is experienced as not as loud as well : * Fletcher-Munson curve of hearing sensitivity. Specifically a smoother sounding driver typically exhibits a bit less output / break-up modes across the 3k-8k range which your ears are very sensitive to. Some of this smoothness is attributed to softer materials damping those resonances ; which is technically slightly less accurate but a preferred and more pleasing sound to most (less fatiguing to your ears). In any event -- glad to hear the OP likes them; overall response has been 99% positive on them. Components and mids / tweeters do get very tricky as the materials used have such a huge impact on the sound -- where subwoofers are more a product of the purely measurable distortion characteristics and parameters. Most of our mids and tweeters with favor a smoother sound ; but I will likely put some out later that have a sharper sound for those that prefer it.

That is the crossover slope setting. Most folks will want to leave it at 12 dB

"This is our upcoming 1250 RMS line being tested free air with nearly 3x their rated power level -- I took it up a bit too far just as an example =) This was taken with a bit newer camera than previously used -- Canon Powershot Elph 16.1MP. The excursion looks a little weird in this video compared to other videos so not sure which camera I'll keep using in the future -- but hope you all enjoy !" From the video caption.

The X-12s are out for magnetizing right now; haven't shipped the 10,15,18 yet so here are some pics of their depths : * X-10 * X-15 * X-18

I'm not at work today but IIRC the 15" model was around 13" depth -- either way I'll get all the data posted up as we get closer to production.

The production magnet will be 10mm narrower than the SA-12 magnet so it won't be as much hassle to mount.