NPdang's SSA ICON 12D2 REVIEW

[Mark LaFountain 1,054]

Thank you to ANT for purchasing and donating the driver for test!

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My first impression upon receiving this sub was that finally, someone came out with a reasonably sized design. Unremarkable in appearance compared to the latest drivers, nonetheless all the hallmarks of a high end driver are present. Large progressive roll spider, large 4 layer voice coil, aluminum former, cast aluminum basket, venting under the spider, and a massive pole vent in the rear. A nice added touch is the tinsel leads appear to be covered in a non-conductive braiding. May I also add, this driver smells like fiberglass resin? Also note: Moving the driver's cone by hand is not recommended. The dual spider suspension is extremely stiff, which should bode well for small box applications. My only concern construction wise would be that it's very easy for the large pole vent to suck in debris or box stuffing. Otherwise, a very solidly built driver at an attractive price.

T/S parameters. Maybe something with my woofer tester, but I double checked the calibration and retested about a dozen times, and these are the results. I would think they are fairly accurate, because if I import the published lower BL spec it would give the driver an xmax of about 8mm 1 way. Also they seem to jive pretty well with the measured frequency response, AND this driver was measured HOT. So there you have it.

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A distortion vs. nearfield frequency response plot. An inductive hump centered at 50hz is noticeable. Ignore anything below 20hz, or above 400hz.

And lastly the Klippel results. (Sorry Jeff, last one I promise!)

Looks like 1-way xmag of ~19mm, close enough to rated specs. Very nicely centered curve, with good symmetry. Not as extended of a plateau as you might see with the best designs, but a terrific example of a textbook overhung motor. Typical Le curve for a motor without a faraday ring/sleeve, with inductance increasing in the rearward stroke. Appears as if suspension was perfectly mated to the capabilities of the motor. All in all, good results. I didn't observe any excess mechanical noise either during the test, which is a good sign.

Overall, a good driver that I believe is comparable to earlier versions of the TC-9, as measured and construction wise. Appears to be quite solid and able to handle a good amount of power, and small signal parameters suggest a small sealex box driver with a good amount of kick without too thick or bloated of a low end.

original: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33953

[mrogowski 6]

Very nice.

[Mark LaFountain 1,054]

we would really like him to take more reading from the sub after it's broken in. They come very very stiff from the factory.

[denalilvr 0]

nice review man..so far still have not read 1 thing bad about these and im starting to doubt i ever will..lol

[Accordman 0]

mine hella smells like resin also and i second the very stiff from the factory comment

[johnecon2001 82]

The ones that are in Mark's SUV are still

[///M5 2,833]

And when I was there a couple of months ago, they got a beating so I can't imagine. That poor truck.

[Mark LaFountain 1,054]

mine hella smells like resin also and i second the very stiff from the factory comment

It's not resin, it's something entirely different. I contractually binded not to say what though

The ones that are in Mark's SUV are still

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

If the drivers can stand up to the abuse testing mark does and the listening testing I do, it will do well.

[ramos 2]

we would really like him to take more reading from the sub after it's broken in. They come very very stiff from the factory.

You got that right . The suspension is stiff as a board from the get go