[Kevin P]

As promised, we are going to deliver a new compact sub using Adire Audio XBL Driver technology.   The Apocalypse is going to be a small sealed sub that is going to challenge the best and most expensive products on the market.  

Until now there has always been a trade-off between size and output.       The Apocalypse is going to be a small sub that will fit in almost any living environment with ease.  In addition, it is going to have output levels that surpass the most expensive (and large) subwoofers on the market.  We didn't have to sacrifice musical ability for the output and size.  The Apocalypse is extremely musical with excellent transient response and a total system Qts of around .69 in it's small sealed box.   Music was our first priority and we were unwilling to sacrifice performance in this area for additional output.  With Adire Audio's world-class engineering we were able to design a subwoofer that didn't require that sacrifice.

Some of the features:

*  Small size  (17.75" x 17.75" x 18.5") WxDxH  22" high with feet.
*  Matte black textured finish.  Easy to hide in a room corner.
*  1000W RMS High quality powered Class D amplifier
*  Phase switch, line level input/output, high-level input/output, switchable boost at 25Hz
*  Derivative of the Adire Audio Tumult based driver.  
*  Adire Audio XBL Motor Technology allows massive 34mm one-way linear excursion with EXTREMELY flat BL curve.  Low power compression and exceedingly low inductance are some of the reasons we get MUCH lower measured distortion than a typical driver.   Better subjective performance is related to lower distortion, lower voice coil inductance and use of a sealed box instead of ported or passive radiators that display higher group delay and slower transient response.
*  Weight approx 140lbs !!!!  Wow... that is a lot of subwoofer.  We should have named it The Ball Buster.  


Now for the best part.  
The Apocalypse is going to have an introductory price of
 $1359.00 complete.  The Double Apocalypse is going to run $2399.00 and require a signed waiver for structural damage to your house (just kidding).

Expected availability is March 2003.  We will have limited quantities to start so if your interested please email or call and get on the pre-order list.

[Marbles]

Is the double just two subs, or one sub with two drivers?

Is it a down or front firing sub?

Does the amp include any crossover?

Are there any FR charts to show yet?

[Marbles]

What is the estimated F3 ?



http://www.adireaudio.com/diy_audio/drivers/adire/tumult.htm

Are there any pictures of the amp?

[Kevin P]

Fine looking driver huh?     It is kind of funny... a lot of commercial products are using a $50 driver and charging in the thousands.  We are using a $499 driver and charging just over a grand.      I'm specing our version of the Tumult with just a 4 Ohm tap and different connectors for the amp but otherwise it is identical to the picture.

In room we should get pretty flat down into the teens.  It partially depends on if we use any EQ and if so, how much.   Since it isn't a ported box we won't fall off like a brick wall though.  One of the advantages of a sealed box alignment is that your 6db fall-off matches room gain.    We are doing some testing/measuring next week so once we finalize a couple details I'll post some more information on the frequency response.   I hope to get one off to a third party for some independent testing so that there is no doubt about our performance.  

The Double is just two subs.  It is for the people who just cannot get enough.  Even in a very large room one of these is going to deliver a ton of bass.  Two will get you more obviously and you often get a little smoother in room response due to having two sub locations.  Also you get lower distortion because each sub doesn't have to work as hard.  They are nice and compact so it wouldn't be too hard to stick one in each front corner.

There are two amps in consideration so I don't want to give specifics on the amp until we finalize on one of the two.  Both have the standard plate amp crossovers and functions.    Once the decision is made I'll post some pics and give some more specs.  We are going to run some test on one of the two in consideration next week and if it measures close to the advertised specs we will use it.  Both amps in consideration are 1000W Class D amps.  The one we are testing next week is better quality than the stock AVA-250s used on the RAVA (fit and finish...we shall see on specs).  

The sub will be down firing.  One of the challenges of using a driver with this kind of excursion and weight was that front firing it would blow the grill right off the box.  Also, having the weight and motion of the driver centered on the center of gravity of the box eliminated some stability concerns we had when using it front firing.  

Overall I’m stoked… I think they are going to sell like crazy and the biggest concern I have is shipping a 140 lb. subwoofer.  I think we are going to stick with crating them and using a freight carrier only.

[Al Garay]

Kevin,

This sounds excellent. Will the amplifier have an electronic crossover with variable roll-over points, 60 or 80Hz for example?

Will you need a beta tester? I would love to audition one of these in my house with my Ellis 1801s.  I'm just south of Edmonds in Richmond Beach. I would be glad to journey to Port Angeles to check this out. or perhaps, Adire will have one in their new facility.

How would you compare the performance of this Apocalypse to a sealed sub using the Maelstrom with a Hypex HS200 ... which is now about $550 for parts.

Thanks,

Al Garay
Shoreline, WA 98177

PS. The rest of my system:
Ellis Audio 1801
Aksa 100 Watt monoblocks
Bent Audio TX102 passive pre-amp
NAD T571 dvd

planning on adding an ART DIO soon, then the sub will be next.

[Kevin P]

Al:

The amp we will most likely use will have a vaiable 50-100HZ low pass crossover.    I'll know more by the end of the week.  

No beta testers need.  In terms of trials and such I'm undecided how we are going to set the policy.   A return is going to put people out a lot of money as most will have to pay return shipping charges on a 150lb. package.  My guess is that we will have to offer one simply to get over people's fears.   There might be an opportunity to try one at Adire's place but I don't want to make a commitment for them.  They are in the middle of a move and I understand how difficult that can be.

In terms of comparison with the Maelstrom it depends on the box but assuming a sealed box (5 cu. ft) Maelstrom you get much more output, deeper bass and much lower distortion with The Apocalypse.  Comparison for output is based on the ability to move air... just take the x-max and multiply it by the surface area of the cone.  A Maelstrom will give you about 6/10 of the ability to move air of the The Apocalypse when both are pushed to maximum excursion.  The Maelstrom isn't an XBL motor so you have higher distortion, even if they had the same output.  The Fs of the Maelstrom is higher and it really doesn't do the deep deep stuff as well as even a Tempest.  It is great for music though where most of your output it up above the 30HZ range.    For DIYers I tend to recommend the Maelstrom for people interested in music systems.  For HT the Tempest is a better unit because it will really go deep.  The Apocalypse should handle both with about equal ability.

[Jack Gilvey]

Wow, sounds very cool Kevin..can't wait for more details.  

[Kevin P]

Just a quick update.


We have finalized an amp.  We are going to use the Keiga KG-52100 which has the power necessary and is better quality in terms of the power supply, build quality etc... than other options.   It is a monster at about 34lbs and the power rating is accurate.  

There are some problems with the stock version but we can overcome them with a few modifications which we will perform in-house.  The stock unit has a rumble filter with an f3 of around 17-18HZ.  This is undesirable for our application simply because the roll-off of the amp will cascade with that natural roll-off of the driver/box and limit our very low end performance.  We will modify the units to significantly lower the f3 of the rumble filter.

One of the other issues we have been debating is whether to use some EQ to extend the low frequency response.  This is not a free trade-off in that we have to burn some amplifier power to extend the low end.  Doing so cuts down on the headroom above 25HZ and makes it perform more like a 500W amp.  We loose maybe 2-3db of headroom while extending frequency response well into the teens for in-room response.  We are looking at ways of modifying the stock 25HZ bass boost circuit to allow the user to toggle between both versions.  The stock unit has about 5-6db of boost around 25HZ which is useless.   If we can modify it to fit our purpose we should have a kick-butt solution allowing the customer to choose EQ or not, based on their own needs.

Once we have the EQ figured out I'll post some response curves.

[Jack Gilvey]

So...how's this going? Any news on getting rid of the boost on the amp?

[Kevin P]

Jack:

The project has been on hold due to the driver's not being available.  The motors are made out of the country and there was some kind of kink in the supply chain.   The good news is that they are in production this week so the new subs should be available within the next 2-3 weeks.  All of the other parts are in our warehouse with the exception of the feet for the cabinet.  I'm expecting them to arrive about the same time as the drivers.

We have found a way to modify the boost and that will be done on all of the subs.  Once we are back on track with the drivers I'll release all the completed sub information.  

We also have a new speaker kit that should be kick-butt using the XBL motors and a pair of ribbons in an MTM.  These are turning out to be really cool and we expect to release them at VSAC 2003 this year.

[Val]

I think that music lovers would rather prefer a flat and strong response to 20Hz (taking room gain into account) than any deeper response with lower headroom. Also a transparent high-pass crossover filter is a must for a sub of this quality, for it will be paired with resolving speakers like the Ellis 1801 and the GR Diluceo/Criterion.

My two uninvited cents.

So the name is gonna be Apocalypse after all!?

Val

[Kevin P]

Val:

No.... the name is changing.   I don't know what yet but this is just an old post that was dredged up from before the name change.

The first priority is a musical low distortion sub.  The modifications are to the stock bass boost on the amplifier.  We decided that since it is already in place why not modify it so that it would be usable instead of a 5-6db boost at 25HZ where we didn't really need it.  If you don't want to use it you just switch it off.  When it is in use you pick up some low end while sacrificing some headroom in the higher frequencies.  We have plenty of output to play with so I doubt that most people will know the difference unless they are playing low frequency test tones.  

In terms of a high-pass crossover we are stuck with the one in the Kiega amp.  Even with something like the Hypex amps I don't think the high-pass crossover is getting much use.  You would have to run a pair of interconnects (possibly several meters) to the sub, and then another set back to the amps.   I prefer to run the main speakers full range without a high pass filter.  If I were to run a high-pass I think I'd design it into my system elsewhere.  In front of the amplifier would be a good spot.  Almost all the plate amps I've seen have some sort of opamp based filter network using very inexpensive parts and hence the crossover ends up being more evil than just running the mains full range.  

Oh... .opinions are always invited.