Dr. Crankenstein

[helotaxi 46]

I'm talking prior to the XTR2s. The NT series took their place. Power handling of 1000w for the NTs.

[cobracommander 0]

I worked at a shop in the early 90's. We sold alot of pyramid gold series/super blue/legacy subs. They were pretty decent. A $60-$80 sub was up to par with a $100-$120 'namebrand' sub I would say. They also had some serious junk too. We also sold some Atomic and Avalanche. Wasnt a huge shop, it was mainly a tv/vcr repair place, audio was just the owners hobby. We sold a chit ton of the old bronze Legacy amps that said Legacy in gold letters on the top. Pretty good mid grade. Learned alot there. I wish CV would make some pink surround subs like the older ones. 2 15's would be sweet in my dd. And not those pos 200w rms subs they just made, something like 5-600w rms would be nice.

[mdexxxiv 1]

The problem is that the surviving companies like Lanzar and Rocky Fuzzgate went to the cheaper mass marketing strategy that sees product made overseas by people who don't even know what the product is, and then it's whored out at Bust Buy!

The industry went from good solidly engineered product to mass-produced blingy flimsy crap you can get on ebay for way under dealer cost. Lanzar went down the chitter when they were bought out. Zapco held together but they quit making their Studio amps. I loved their Studio 500's. I ran 4 of these to 4 Stroker 18's and it BANGED. I want one of these again. With a damping factor of over 900, who wouldn't?

Cerwin Vega as we knew it back in the day is gone. They are around now as a marketing company-(they have nothing to do with the original CV)-that sticks it's name on Chinese mass-production drivers (You can order them yourself from the suppliers listed in Voice Coil Magazine!) I used to sell CV in the mid-90's and having used the old Strokers, the new ones don't compare to them. They suck. The problem is quality is sacrificed for quantity, you can buy this crap everywhere and it isn't really that solid. The big-name companies aren't a presence in competitions anymore now it's the little guys who make top notch stuff like Fi and Sundown, etc that appear to be leading the industry and keeping the spirit of competition from dying out.

[gearstix 0]

The problem is that the surviving companies like Lanzar and Rocky Fuzzgate went to the cheaper mass marketing strategy that sees product made overseas by people who don't even know what the product is, and then it's whored out at Bust Buy!

The industry went from good solidly engineered product to mass-produced blingy flimsy crap you can get on ebay for way under dealer cost. Lanzar went down the chitter when they were bought out. Zapco held together but they quit making their Studio amps. I loved their Studio 500's. I ran 4 of these to 4 Stroker 18's and it BANGED. I want one of these again. With a damping factor of over 900, who wouldn't?

Cerwin Vega as we knew it back in the day is gone. They are around now as a marketing company-(they have nothing to do with the original CV)-that sticks it's name on Chinese mass-production drivers (You can order them yourself from the suppliers listed in Voice Coil Magazine!) I used to sell CV in the mid-90's and having used the old Strokers, the new ones don't compare to them. They suck. The problem is quality is sacrificed for quantity, you can buy this crap everywhere and it isn't really that solid. The big-name companies aren't a presence in competitions anymore now it's the little guys who make top notch stuff like Fi and Sundown, etc that appear to be leading the industry and keeping the spirit of competition from dying out.

Yea it really sucks. I heard my dad talk about these brands he had and now you go look them up and there sold at the dollar store its like what is this world coming to?

[cobracommander 0]

Yea I know CV was bought out I just wanted it for nastalgia purposes. There are a ton of woofers out there. I have been lookin around for some old solobarics, kicker competitions, CV, MTX, etc just because for some reason I feel the need to have another set of 90's woofers lol.

Anyways I think Dr. Crank has their prices set waaay too high when there are plenty of companies with comparable woofers for half that.

[gearstix 0]

Yea I know CV was bought out I just wanted it for nastalgia purposes. There are a ton of woofers out there. I have been lookin around for some old solobarics, kicker competitions, CV, MTX, etc just because for some reason I feel the need to have another set of 90's woofers lol.

Anyways I think Dr. Crank has their prices set waaay too high when there are plenty of companies with comparable woofers for half that.

Yea they do seem pretty high.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

It is interesting about the reaction to US Amps changing, because so many others did the same thing earlier on.

[manbeer 0]

The Cardiac series subs were made by Petras. First really high powered subs I remember were the Orion XTRs with a rating of 800 watts. They were made for a single sub to be run of a 2100 HCCA @ 2 ohms. The other I remember were the GTI subs from jbl which were based on pro audio drivers. Late 80s/early 90s a 400w sub was beefy and few amps were capable of making much more power than that. All amps worth having were pricey.

ahhhh were these the ones with the paper cone and 4 spoke basket that had the JBL logo on the dust caps and said "1000 Watts" next to it? I actually picked up used a pair for a friends install years back (for about 300 bucks in 02 or 03) and i know i used one, but i may still have the other somewhere. now i'm gonna have to check in storage or something

[Tirefryr 1,742]

The Cardiac series subs were made by Petras. First really high powered subs I remember were the Orion XTRs with a rating of 800 watts. They were made for a single sub to be run of a 2100 HCCA @ 2 ohms. The other I remember were the GTI subs from jbl which were based on pro audio drivers. Late 80s/early 90s a 400w sub was beefy and few amps were capable of making much more power than that. All amps worth having were pricey.

ahhhh were these the ones with the paper cone and 4 spoke basket that had the JBL logo on the dust caps and said "1000 Watts" next to it? I actually picked up used a pair for a friends install years back (for about 300 bucks in 02 or 03) and i know i used one, but i may still have the other somewhere. now i'm gonna have to check in storage or something

Actually they had a 6 or 8 spoke cast basket, I can't recall which off hand.

[KU40 173]

Weren't those JBL's that said 1000 watts on the cone the........Power Series I think? The GTI, at least the last version I saw, used the spaceship looking basket. Sorta like the Alpine Type R's.

[cobracommander 0]

I remember those. Pretty much a pro audio woofer

[manbeer 0]

ok that sounds like the ones i was thinking of but it's been a while, they definitely were before the power series, i remember when those came out, and i also remember the 5 ohm power series they had out for a short period. these ones had large flat spokes on the basket, probably 6. i wonder if i still have it lying around. I was 4 ohm SVC iirc and pretty heavy

[mdexxxiv 1]

What sucks is that of all those '90's subs, pretty much NONE of those units have survived to this day. Maybe a dozen old Lanzar LC's exist, I have the last LC18 on the planet. Subs just don't last and it's impossible to repair them economically or restore them when the lines are discontinued or changed. How much of the SSA stuff made this year will be around in 10-20 years? None of it. It's a supplantable item like everything else.

[Tirefryr 1,742]

The JBLs were the first GTI drivers and they were a derivative of the Pro drivers.

[manbeer 0]

Stumbled upon this website and it was kind of a throwback to the "good old days" for me. I figured a few of you would appreciate it:

http://www.fortunecity.com/skyscraper/black/438/subs.html

[cobracommander 0]

What sucks is that of all those '90's subs, pretty much NONE of those units have survived to this day. Maybe a dozen old Lanzar LC's exist, I have the last LC18 on the planet. Subs just don't last and it's impossible to repair them economically or restore them when the lines are discontinued or changed. How much of the SSA stuff made this year will be around in 10-20 years? None of it. It's a supplantable item like everything else.

pics?

[cobracommander 0]

Stumbled upon this website and it was kind of a throwback to the "good old days" for me. I figured a few of you would appreciate it:

http://www.fortunecity.com/skyscraper/black/438/subs.html

thats pretty cool, thing is if you really really want some old ass kickers you can still buy them from Credence. With a high price tag.

[Tirefryr 1,742]

Stumbled upon this website and it was kind of a throwback to the "good old days" for me. I figured a few of you would appreciate it:

http://www.fortunecity.com/skyscraper/black/438/subs.html

thats pretty cool, thing is if you really really want some old ass kickers you can still buy them from Credence. With a high price tag.

Those aren't that old actually.

[helotaxi 46]

Weren't those JBL's that said 1000 watts on the cone the........Power Series I think?

The Power and Grand Touring series had a similar look at one point but the GTIs were the first that had that look.

The GTI, at least the last version I saw, used the spaceship looking basket. Sorta like the Alpine Type R's.

Those are the new GTIs. The old ones are not even similar to the new ones. We're talking more than 15 years ago here.

[KU40 173]

Oh, well I wouldn't know about those then. That's before my time. But JBL was one of the first brands I saw when I got into the game like 8 years ago and I thought the "new" GTIs had that look back then. but maybe not.

[manbeer 0]

Oh, well I wouldn't know about those then. That's before my time. But JBL was one of the first brands I saw when I got into the game like 8 years ago and I thought the "new" GTIs had that look back then. but maybe not.

These the ones you are thinking of?

the ones i was referring to are a paper cone with a beefy cast frame, nice size mags. probably weighed 20-25 lbs, and had an older looking logo but also said "1000 watts." I'm not positive but it MAY have also had a triple roll style paper surround, basically looked like a beefier version of what was in my JBL 4311 monitors, but black

[KU40 173]

oh, nope. definitely not what I was thinking. The cone looks like the Power series that I remember, but the motor and basket are different. JBL must have radically changed the lines in the mid 90's.

[Kanaworm$ 292]

Sounds like they are being built in the Emince buildhouse

I think the new Dr. Crankenstein is being built by Credence. Not sure though.

Build looks similar to the new Credence line along with the high price.....

http://credencespeakers.com/

[JimJ 11]

Subs just don't last

I'll disagree with that, but I have to go now so it'll wait until later

Edit: As long as the surrounds stay away from lots of direct UV, you'd be amazed at how long speakers can last and still be very playable condition. I have a friend that has a pair of Altec cabinets with 2 15" midbasses, they were made in the early '50s...other than one hole in a surround due to a mouse that was living in one of the cabinets, they all worked

[MikeS 0]

Here's a ad I pinched from a May/June 1991 issue of Car Stereo Review.

Looks like a pro sound driver.......pleated cloth surround, treated paper cone, and probably a four inch voice coil I would guess. They pretty much say it's a pro sound driver....

Edited October 4, 2008 by MikeS