Chase HT SS18.1 Measurements

[Ricci]

The test results of this guy are done and made public. No surprises really...High sensitivity and very easy to drive. Soft bottom driver makes it durable and tolerant of abuse. Sounds good as long as it is not asked for too much low bass. Low bass output is decent due to an 18" driver cone but limited by the available driver excursion. The top end will rip as long as there isn't significant sub 30Hz energy (music). Multiples would be the way to go for HT but the vented VS18.1 is a better option IMHO.

[nube]

Thanks for finally getting this one measured.  It looks about like what was expected by most reasonable folks.  The driver seems suited to a large ported config, as the sealed design's performance below 30Hz is not what I would consider worthwhile - an L/T would eat up this guy's excursion quickly.  Maybe it's better as a midbass module in sealed configurations?  Any reason not to go for their ported offerings, assuming you can stomach the large enclosure?

 

When reading the first sentence of the overview, I thought you meant that the driver sold for $475, but then saw that the entire passive sub was sold for that price.  Can it be inferred from your comments about the driver noise that the usable one-way excursion is actually 18mm, or is it somewhat less?

[Ricci]

Yeah that price is for the whole sub. It may have even sold cheaper for awhile. They changed the price a lot so I just picked what seemed to be in the middle of the range.

 

Yes an LT or low bass boost will eat this drivers headroom up quickly. It's not a bad driver by any means. It's actually suprising what it can do when you consider the parts list. It just can't move the air like the big 30mm xmax monsters. Back calculating the driver excursion required to produce the CEA-2010 scores below 30Hz puts it between 12-14mm one way give or take. It's ok till about 15-16mm one way but distortion rises quickly and the suspension and motor is completely done around 20-23mm one way. It is not sounding good at that point. The coil overhang is probably like 10mm and the motor force is dropping off so much by that point that the excursion is highly non linear and the output compresses quite a bit. it just isn't made for that much excursion with any kind of linearity. However the good part is it makes some bad noises but nothing mechanically bottoms and otherwise the driver will be fine if you beat on it a bit too hard. It's got a lot of inherent idiot proofing. I definitely think the vented cab shines a bit more where it can be efficient and utilize the available exucrsion more effectively.

[Bossobass Dave]

Absolutely no surprises. The early posted model matches LilGator's close mic matches Josh's GP.

 

Shout out to Larry for making this available to measure because when stating the facts of the matter in the case of using a ported pro sound woofer driver as a HT subwoofer driver in a public forum, it bites the onions to be called a liar with an axe to grind. It also sucks to see these desperate principals spouting this vitriol while posting pure bullshit about the subs performance to defend themselves and their products.

 

I also believe there should be a disclaimer about the power amp used to test this sub. People who bought the original with the Dayton amp had a result from a max 500W amp with early roll off and a generic 4dB bump at 25 Hz. feeding the sub 25W at 25 Hz to end up with the amps maximum after the 4dB boost is a far cry from feeding the sub 300-400W at 25 Hz from a far cleaner amp, never mind feeding it 8,000W at the top end.

 

With 500W there was no chance of using a Linkwitz Transform as the bump at 25 Hz was being referred to as.

 

Sealed, signal-shaped, wide bandwidth subwoofers is what I do. I've been doing it for 12 years in earnest. When I read posts that talk about how simple it is, I chuckle a bit and cringe a bit. Although the formula is simple, and that's only after one has a firm grasp on the formula, it was not simply arrived at.

 

And, the execution is far from simple. The hardware gets its ass kicked and in the wrong hands a dumpster is a required accessory. It takes a world class enclosure of very specific volume, world class drivers of very specific design, very specific signal shaping, very specific care taken to observe the rest of the signal chain, and a world class amplifier that's plugged into the correct mains supply, among other things.

 

Claims were made that this sub used a L/T and had the same output as the RE XXX with 1/4 the power. Claims were also made that this sub had the same FR as the SubMersive within +/- 1dB. Claims were also made that you could just run Audyssey and get flat to single digits in-room. Claims were also made that this subs native response was -14dB at 20 Hz. Claims were made and defended at all costs, including a lot of mud-slinging, name-calling, libel and physical threats to my person.

 

At this point, I admire you guys for the diplomatic approach in trying to word your assessments in a way that might show some little redeeming qualities in this product. All things considered, I have a different opinion... The SS-18 is/was a piece of shit that did nothing it was claimed it would do. It looked pathetic, performed pathetically and missed its stated performance by light years. It evolved daily while the changes were being made in secret while publicly the product was being defended as though no changes were necessary.

 

Thanks for the data. I only wish you had used the little Dayton amp that couldn't.

[laugsbach]

Thanks Josh for taking your valuable time to test this sub...I really appreciate having the data!

 

Thanks for the shout out Dave...

 

I appreciate your above post as it really explains what I went through while consuming the Kool-Aid that CC was serving on a daily basis. You are so right about the Dayton amp and the initial system that CC delivered to all of us had no chance to deliver the stated claims...as you said - a POS! I am making the system work with a different amp in a music only system for my wife...at least it is out of the landfill.