Test Bench: Volt RV3143 Studio Monitor Woofer

The driver for this month’s Test Bench explication comes from the UK. Volt sent the 12” RV3143 Studio Monitor woofer, which is probably the most uniquely designed woofer to come across my desk in a while — there is no frame on the back side of the driver! The Volt Radial Technology consists of a front-mounted eight-spoke proprietary cast aluminum frame that is mechanically coupled to both the back plate and to the top of the pole structure/phase plug, in contrast to a normal rear frame that is only coupled to the motor front plate. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, December 2017.

FaitalPRO, the renowned Italian manufacturer of professional loudspeakers, officially celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2018. Continuing the brand’s tradition of quality and innovation, FaitalPRO introduced three new products at Prolight+Sound 2018, starting with two 6" drivers for midrange and low-mid frequencies, the 6RS140 and 6PR160 respectively, together with the 18XL2000 18" Super Woofer, designed for the lowest frequencies.

This month’s Test Bench samples came from US OEM, Dayton Audio. I received a home audio 6.5” woofer, the DSA175, from the brand’s popular Designer Series of aluminum cone woofers. Each product in this line incorporates proprietary stamped steel frame with a thin mounting lip that enables front mounting without insetting the driver (surface mounted), high relative XMAX, with paper cones for the DS series and aluminum cones for the DSA series. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, December 2016.

The transducer I examined in this edition of Test Bench came from Italian Pro Sound OEM manufacturer B&C Speakers, who sent the neodymium motor 21DS115, a 21” high power handling woofer. The B&C 21DS115-8 is rated at 1,700 WRMS with a continuous power handling rated at 3,400 WRMS. The 21DS115-8 weighs in at a modest (for an 21” woofer!) 32.8 lb. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, August 2016.

In this edition of Test Bench, we characterize the SB42FHCL75-6, a 15” home audio subwoofer from OEM driver manufacturer SB Acoustics. The SB42FHCL75-6 has an impressive feature set, with a stiff 15” cone, NBR high-excursion surround, and 6.5” diameter flat cloth spider, driven by a 3” four layer voice coil. The motor system utilizes two stacked 20-mm thick ferrite magnets sandwiched between a polished 8-mm thick front plate. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, April 2016.

This Test Bench characterizes the 10N501, a distributed neodymium magnet motor 10” woofer from Ukrainian pro sound OEM manufacturer MAG Audio. The MAG 10N501’s removable self-centering motor system is comprised of 12 28 mm × 8 mm polished neodymium slugs sandwiched between an 8 mm front plate and a two-part, cleverly designed T-yoke. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, January 2016.

This Test Bench characterizes Scan-Speak's 10" aluminum cone subwoofer, the 26W/4558T00, a high-end home audio driver from the Danish brand's Discovery lineup. Scan-Speak obviously spent a lot of time designing the cone for this woofer, made with a thick black flat profile anodized aluminum, with an articulation that should add considerable stiffness. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, February 2011.

In this edition of Test Bench - already from Voice Coil’s archives, originally published in September 2010 - Vance Dickason measures the WF120BD04 midbass woofer from Wavecor, part of a complete range of 4¾” transducers, including the WF120BD03 (4 ohm version), which he found to be well-crafted drivers. Both were designed as high performance bass and midrange units for very compact monitors and high-end hi-fi speakers and feature a Balanced Drive motor proprietary structure.

Eminence sent a 6.5″ driver from their lightweight Professional Neodymium Series, the Alphalite 6A, which, along with the Kappalite and Deltalite series, makes up the neo woofer/midrange offering from Eminence. The Alphalite 6A is described as a lightweight pro audio mid/bass driver, designed for sealed, vented, or infinite baffle applications. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, June 2010.

This month, I am going to review Celestion’s 18” CF18VJD pro sound woofer. The CF18VJD is a high-power handling woofer rated at 1,600 WRMS (AES standard) and weighs a hefty 50.6 lb. The CF18VJD’s features include a proprietary seven-spoke cast aluminum frame. Celestion’s approach for this model uses a vented front plate that exhausts toward a series of peripheral vents located on the top of the back plate with a cone assembly of carbon and Kevlar loaded paper cone and large dust cap. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, November 2013.