Leaderboard

Small Update. Finished my A-Pillars !!! Got a little work to get back on them later. But for now, I LOVE the way the perform !!! After the holidays, hoping to get back to the doors !!! Thinking metal braces !!!

enjoy 1-270amp, 2-370amp

Here’s a pic of the truck

I will say more when closer and all details finalized, but simply my goal was to improve on the Gcon. Well, that is not quite what happened. As I believe it was @altoncustomtech who figured out early on that the previous Gcon was a different take on the original Icon. It was essentially a 90% Gen 1 Icon, just with a different name, keeping in mind our last Icon was about a 150% Gen 1 Icon. That being said, the Gcon was one of our all time best selling subs as it sat right in the sweet spot of performance and price and that people really just loved it, it was a perfect pairing to the Icon at the time and had a great run. a very straight forward design that landed just right. Sadly, we didn't make profit off of the Gcon. It was a break even effort at best. Many who have not run a business don't realize how much is taken out of a mark up on a product when it comes to shipping, taxes, fees, materials, overhead, customer service, marketing, monthly expenses just to keep the websites running, in addition to all the fees taken from each order for transactions etc. etc. No one really knew, but all this time the Gcon (and Dcon for that matter) were kind of a labor of love. We held on to both models here in the USA as long as we could. We were very lucky to have that level of subwoofer still made in the USA. But sadly, it was a poor money move to keep the Dcon and Gcon made in the USA. The market is in a massive race to zero and too many people who have no real background in audio, or experience in it, or have any respect for it, and are seeing it as a quick money opportunity. I just deleted a long rant, but the race to zero is responsible for the downturn in the USA production, which effectively put an end to the Dcon, Gcon, and... well.... Each one of these models you become attached to as they have been apart of your life for a long time and they start to feel like players on my soccer teams I coach. It's very tough to lose one. Again, I have rambled on too much. Back on point, the goal was to build upon the much loved Gcon and make it be a smart business move for once. As I said above, that is not quite what happened. The pile of missed on prototypes at my place is getting nuts, and no, not selling them. Anyway, on paper and by ear, prototyping started out ok. Wasn't super happy with the low end extension and it was missing that warmth and smoothness across the range that has always been a signature to our subs (including the little brute F8L). But wow, did that one peak so much harder than planned, if I was ever to go back and do a modestly priced numbers sub that can play daily, I have one in the kitty. Moving on, a few parts changed, motor design changed, coil adjustments etc. Didn't like the specs. Got some outside help from an ole friend in VA who has had a long history with us and built a lot of our stuff, and things changed again. Motor really gained some size, surround larger, different cooling, longer coil. I am sure you can gather by now what had happened. All the while my goal was to remake and release a Gcon replacement. This had surpassed that somewhere in the middle of the process as I think I got a little carried away. As we have been running with this alphanumeric system of naming (outside of the Evil of course), and I felt it had gone well past the "G" slot in the line up. So "H" names started getting tossed around, my favorite was Hades (greek mythology, god of the underworld, from the depths below, riches from the soil, also called Pluto (my pups name)), this thing is a stout 3" coil sub, 12-spoke etc. all traits shared with Gcon and Icon for example, so you can see how fitting the Hades name is, we also considered putting it in the F8L line, but it just doesn't fit and is not related to the F8L at all. It was some work to launch a new model name in the F8L, luckily the name was just right and people have loved it right from the get go. (More are on the way before anyone asks). While all of this was happening, we held out hope for another missing model to return made here in the USA. After a long lay off of production of subwoofers when at one time, we only had the F8L available (very scary to think about looking back), the Xcon, Zcon, Evil were all overhauled and a new halo sub was introduced, the Team Evil. I am sure, based on the sheer amount of questions I continue to get, that many have noticed the Icon didn't return with its bigger brothers. During this time, there was a little effort to try to redesign the Icon to build upon the existing model while still being an Icon and still making it worth the time for both us and our build house. When I was just out at CES, I spent some time at our build house and tried to hash out a feasible option to make the Icon work here in the USA. No luck. With the capabilities of the build house and the money we don't have, it was looking not so good. With my internal designation of "Gcon replacement" (ala Porsche 996, and knowing it couldn't be called Gcon due to so many changes), we decided to award this with the SSA Icon name! Our longest running model name, 11 years now. I could not let the Icon go away, it is a fixture of SSA and has been the heart of the line up since day 1. What we have in production now is a very stout, heavy abuse tested, smooth response, warm low end sub that takes rated power with great ease. I prefers slightly smaller boxes than that of the older versions, in addition it is a pinch more numbers friendly. We are keeping the rating at 1250w rms. If you want an easy way to get to know this new model, think of it as a slightly smaller version of the NEW Xcon, more so than a tuned up older Icon. As for my comment above about merging two model lines, well, that might be confusing. The internal designation of Dcon replacement had a similar road. But, I think it will possibly be the merging of what was the Dcon and Gcon slots, but we will see. I will get more into that later, as the prototyping stage is done, now it is onto get the funding. I do apologize for not releasing more info sooner, but so much was influx and impossible to give concrete news until now and I have so many projects in the works at once. Due to funding limitations, the Icon is returning in a 12" size first, then followed by 10's and 15's depending on demand and funding. Hopefully that all makes sense and is good news.

Spent the V-day at the spa and worlds largest natural hot springs pool! 104 degrees!!Of course looked more like this as it was cold outside and snowing.

Play the sub alone and listen to it. I would be suspect of the settings....any shop that tells you about box rise but forgets to tell you about box fall is confused. He is just regurgitating something he doesn't understand. To explain, all drivers have an impedance response and this response can change based on the environment it is mounted in. This response is a curve, it does not only rise but also falls at differing frequencies. Subs are specified in thermal and mechanical power handling to deal with both the response of the driver and the box it is in. Having the installer "scare" you that you aren't getting power because of rise is completely irrelevant. To make matters worse, implying that you would hear a difference in a 1500w amp as compared to a 1000w is asinine. Go enjoy your setup. Your installers comments take with a grain of salt. Since you have to take them with a grain of salt I personally would double check everything he did.

The SSA Demon is now enroute to us.

Baby Penelope!! She arrived just in time for dinner!

A new side project we have had going for a few months now on the side. At this time, they will only come in our SSA Testarossa red and come fully loaded options wise, as these are meant to be premium units. They have Japanese Koyo bearings for super long life, as well as 6 phase hairpin stators. Some will have billet cases, all will have a machined pulley cover. As of now, the SSA Testarossa's have been selling via word of mouth and at a killer intro period pricing. The first SSA Testarossa is in our family RX330 and has been going really strong since day one. 370 amps. Here are two of the first 25 models:

With the Dcon >> Demon, this would be our Gcon >> Hellion. If you read the Demon topic, it will explain about how the Gcon had a similar life as the Dcon. As of March of this year, the Gcon 12 was our all time, best selling subwoofer. The Gcon, in a simplified explanation, was very close to the original SSA Icon, for a pinch less. A very well balanced and accurate, while also efficient sub that can could take some power while being flexible and composed in different enclosures in both home and car. So the Gcon was our affordable all around subwoofer for many different installs. As with the Dcon, our build house said it was no longer feasible to be made here in the USA. Moving forward, we knew we had to bring back something really strong in the void that was left by the Gcon, as not everyone has the power for an Icon. This Hellion is going to be that next step in the timeline of the Gcon. Both in reaching back to the original Icon and Gcon sound, while stepping forward at the same time. In relation to the Gcon, the Hellion will have improved cooling, more Xmax, available 18" model, option of additional spider and upgraded leads, possible flat wound coil for more high output needs, a pinch more motor force, higher power handling, and a chromed motor finish. With the Hellion, we will be offering 10's through 18's, as well as a few options (something we have not really been able to offer in the past) as the Hellion will be made to order here in the USA. The good news is, the lead time will be substantially faster with the Hellion compared to our past build house. Some quick info: Aluminum 4-layer 3" voice coil (optional flat wound coil) Heavy duty Pulp Fiber cone Dual progressive spiders (with option for 3rd) Woven Tinsel Leads (with optional upgrade) Double stacked magnet motor, with pole vent and rear motor venting Double layer hybrid foam surround Push terminals 12 spoke basket

Coached a 7-2 and 7-1 win today. Both my boys scored.

My turkey vulture got his other wing yesterday!

Still need to install the door and button everything up, but here is with the grout and sealer done! woot woot.

I recently came across a steal of a deal for an SSA ICON 12. So I had some free time today and put some goodies in. I just put this in for now as it will change as I get more time. Here is what my current mess looks like. Batcap in a wire mess The $150 ICON powered by the SSA mono block.

Updates will come slowly. New SSA amps going in and the sundowns are coming out. I am also adding and xstatic batcap 400 along with the battery already there. Little progress today. As you can see the footprint difference a good amount.

A lot has been said, but don't forget about connections. Poor connections are the number one source of heat due to increased resistance. This can be as simple as a loose screw, poorly crimped terminal, or a bad solder joint. Always use the proper tools and techniques and re-check your connections often. Keep in mind, you have so many dissimilar metals and this is THE recipe for corrosion.

Hey guys manzkea back at it again! Lol. Finally got some equipment in. Excited to finally get this project I’ve had in mind for a while rolling . Gonna attempt a blow through in my single cab 2001 ford ranger long bed. Gonna make pods for the doors to house the 6.5s and replace the stock one with a 6.5 or if possible an 8” driver. All powered off the ssa ic150.4. As for subs I’ll be using a 15” sp4 v2 I got from a friend for a deal. A taramps 5k will be used to push it. Unfortunately the evil mids I wanted was unavailable in 4ohms. So I went with these prvs. Well I’ll I’ll be updating this as I get it going. Possibly next week or so, really busy with work at the moment. Well here’s a pic of some goodies the mail man dropped off. Cheee. Btw got something extra special in those two ssa looking boxes behind the ranger gear. But that’s on the back burner at the moment.

Deadener came in so I got started on that. Decreased the areas I applied it. I even foamed some of the parts I could lay deadener. Just for some more support I’m sure I’ll get when I install my sub. Also since I removed everything I painted the panels black.

When the F8L 8" subwoofer first was announced, I knew I had to try one right away. I asked my good friend Bruce (wrench guy) for some help building this enclosure. We went with the recommendations that SSA lists on the website: 0.55 cubes @ 31hz (after displacement) Mounting Depth: 6.5" The plan was for this box to be able to be moved from vehicle to vehicle for testing purposes. I would also like to bring it inside and hooked up to my home stereo for music purposes. So the boxed had to be light (birch) and is painted with bed liner material for durability.

I got the 4 Focals installed ( I'll take pics once the pie plate snow flakes stop falling) if I had a chance to listen to both the Audiofrogs and the Focals before I purchased I would have picked the Focals ...they sound deeper , handle more power , better output and are more ridgid on the note separation .. the cones on the Focals are VERY acoustically dead , they dampen extremely well ... they have a unique sound to them

A brief introduction to the all new SSA Demon, but first a farewell to its predecessor. Our very long running SSA Dcon has ridden off into the sunset, or at least taking a breather. The SSA Dcon was our second subwoofer model we ever launched. At the very beginning, we had the Icon and as it gained traction we saw there was a need for a pure SQ sub of more modest power rating than that the Icon. So in early 2008, the first SSA Dcon was launched. (The Xcon followed shortly after). That being said, the Dcon was almost an immediate hit, with a long 2" copper coil (rarity to have one made in the USA) triple stack motor, rear vent. The Dcon was very affordable, well made, quite efficient, clean across the entire range, and flexible with enclosure demands. It is interesting as there are some SSA Family members who swear by their Dcon and will not give it up ever. (It even became a favorite of some of the home audio crowd). All that being said, the Dcon evolved a bit for its second generation, we made a leap forward in motor force moving to what is best described as a scaled down Xcon motor, with a large single slug, solid pole, and deeply bumped back plate, while beefing up the suspension and leads. We were able to bring the power handling up 33% while not hurting the sound that made the Dcon successful. There was a stretch of a few years, before we ran out of stock, that the SSA Dcon 12 was our all time best selling subwoofer. So its existence was very important to SSA. Well with changes in the market (read:customer demands and amps getting much cheaper), as well as sky rocketing material costs, building the Dcon in the USA no longer was an option, so production stopped early 2017 for both the Dcon (and Gcon) and inventory ran out later that year. Late last year, due to the long lay off with out the Dcon (and Gcon), we started development of an updated Dcon at a new build house. The quality and performance of our SSA Evil1 tweeters were above our expectations, so we decided to send more production to that same build house. As we saw that the market slowed overall for modest power rated subs due to power getting cheaper and people wanting higher power handling subs, so the market began to really start heating up in the 500 - 1200 watt range, I knew we needed to address it. There is an 8" model developed, but it will not make it this first production run. The new model had to handle more power and have more xmax while not sacrificing the balanced and clean sound the Dcon had established for nearly a decade. That meant larger motor, larger coil, more suspension, larger leads, thicker cone, taller surround, etc. In the end, all of the changes that happened to the over all design, we could no longer call it a Dcon. In sticking with the theme of the Evil, a model name that has become so well known, while respecting the Dcon, the Demon name was selected. The Demon is a great blend of the previous Dcon and Xcon, both in design and appearance. In prototype testing, the SSA Demon thrived smaller to mid-sized ported and mid-sized sealed enclosures. Quick SSA Demon stats: 2.5" copper coil Aluminum former Aluminum Shorting ring Solid pole, non-vented bumped back plate Large single slug motor Pressed pulp cone Tall roll surround Push terminals Dual Nomex progressive spiders Stitched tinsel leads Large dome dustcap I will list T/S specs and enclosure recommendations shortly. We are very excited about the SSA Demon as it bringing back to our line up a pure sound quality subwoofer that will be affordable, while still having the characteristic SSA warmth and output.

I don't normally bore you guys with my art, but wanted to show of my painting! LOL My fat ass for size referance. Hopefully get it clear coated tomorrow! Woot!

Here are some good shots.

Working on the tweeter pods for the evil 1s