10" Fi BL(daily loaded) and 10" RD Alpha v3

[1sashenka 0]

I was looking at the specs of both subs and they appear similar. I was wondering if these subs are in the same ballpark in terms of goals and design. This is for a daily groundpounder on 1500 watts in a ported box(1.2 cubes) tuned to 33hz and LP at 80hz with subsonic at 30hz/24db.

Wondering what the pros and cons are and peoples opinions on which sub is louder and which is cleaner unless either sub is just better in both aspects for this type of set-up. Your opinions are highly valued and appriciated even from those who have no direct experience with both to compare. I listen to mainly house and trance music.

Thanks

[Kanaworm$ 292]

Fi BL ftw!

Reputation alone makes Fi a better choice, plus the design, engineering and hand built to order options make it hands down the better choice.

[1sashenka 0]

Closer look at the specs revealed they are not really that much alike as I thought.

Alpha v3 is not the same sub as v2. It appears that the specs seem to be alike on Alpha v2 and the BL.

It seems that BL might just be louder than the Alpha v3, but soundwise it seems Alpha will take it. I just dont know how bad or decent BL sounds. It also seems Alpha v2 is louder than a v3 of the same power, but v3 could be pushed further and might have better low end extention. I am not sure how official the new Alpha specs are, cause I got them off this review page, and RD Audio site is not updated, and they dont look right to me, but who knows.

BL10

DUAL 1 | DUAL 2

Fs: 37.1 Hz | 37.1 Hz

Re: 0.7 Ohms/coil | 1.4 Ohms/coil

Qms: 4.62 | 4.62

Qes: .23 | .23

Qts: .22 | .22

Mms: 191g | 191g

Cms: 0.96mm/N | 0.96mm/N

Sd: 310cm^2 | 310cm^2

Vas: 13.0 l | 13.0 l

Spl: 86.2dB 1W/1m | 86.2dB 1W/1m

Bl: 16.6 N/A | 22.7 N/A

Xmax: 18mm | 18mm

Rms: 1000W * | 1000W *

Sealed box: N/A cuft | N/A cuft

Ported box: .7-1.5cuft | .7-1.5cuft

Sub OD: 11.000” | 11.000”

Cut ID: 9.250” | 9.250”

Mounting depth: 6.250” | 6.250”

Displacement: 0.16cuft | 0.16cuft

Alpha v3 10

Re = 1.1973 ohms

Fs = 42.7766 Hz

Zmax = 22.6219 ohms

Qes = 0.4517

Qms = 8.0836

Qts = 0.4278

Le = 1.2721 mH (at 1 kHz)

Diam = 193.6750 mm ( 7.6250 in )

Sd =29460.2886 mm^2( 45.6635 in^2)

Vas = 7.9966 L ( 0.2824 ft^3)

BL = 12.3304 N/A

Mms = 213.4334 g

Cms = 64.8583 uM/N

Kms =15418.2373 N/M

Rms = 7.0965 R mechanical

Efficiency = 0.1302 %

Sensitivity= 83.1640 dB @1W/1m

Edited November 23, 2009 by 1sashenka

[Kanaworm$ 292]

Another option you may want to look at would be the XCON from SSA. It's a sound quality driver that can handle a lot of power.

[1sashenka 0]

Another option you may want to look at would be the XCON from SSA. It's a sound quality driver that can handle a lot of power.

Yes, Xcons are supposed to be great. I have two 15's sitting in the basement waiting to be unraveled. I will probably get to one of them in about a month. Right now I am breaking in Mach 5 IXL 15" before I hand it over to a friend, who allowed me to toy with it for a while. I am curious what folks would have to say about the Alphas and BL's. Not getting much yet. We'll see what happens in the next few days. I mainly posted this to get opinions on these two subs, as I am curious, and I have googled pretty much all there is on Alphas and I believe most on BL's, but still not satisfied with the results, and thought someone would just drop a gem on me. I also thought about which forum would be most neutral about them, cause as you know some forums have their favourite "boner" subs...

The more I think about it, the more I think RD took a step toward the more SQ oriented Alpha with v3 over v2 according to some specs, but what I dont get is the high fs rating, and that makes me suspicious about how true these recent unofficial specs are. And I do realize that the v3 is just way too new, so maybe what I should have asked how v2 compares to the BL, and see what people would say.

[Kanaworm$ 292]

Another option you may want to look at would be the XCON from SSA. It's a sound quality driver that can handle a lot of power.

Yes, Xcons are supposed to be great. I have two 15's sitting in the basement waiting to be unraveled. I will probably get to one of them in about a month. Right now I am breaking in Mach 5 IXL 15" before I hand it over to a friend, who allowed me to toy with it for a while. I am curious what folks would have to say about the Alphas and BL's. Not getting much yet. We'll see what happens in the next few days. I mainly posted this to get opinions on these two subs, as I am curious, and I have googled pretty much all there is on Alphas and I believe most on BL's, but still not satisfied with the results, and thought someone would just drop a gem on me. I also thought about which forum would be most neutral about them, cause as you know some forums have their favourite "boner" subs...

The more I think about it, the more I think RD took a step toward the more SQ oriented Alpha with v3 over v2 according to some specs, but what I dont get is the high fs rating, and that makes me suspicious about how true these recent unofficial specs are. And I do realize that the v3 is just way too new, so maybe what I should have asked how v2 compares to the BL, and see what people would say.

I don't have any experience with either driver but have worked with an Fi SSD 18" and it was a great woofer. You will probably get more positive feedback on the BL than the Alpha!

[curse1022 3]

The xcon is a very muscial subwoofer and it handles a great amount of wattage, ive heard them myself I'd definitely go that route if youre looking for a loud, but well sounding, daily driver.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

The xcon is a very muscial subwoofer and it handles a great amount of wattage, ive heard them myself I'd definitely go that route if youre looking for a loud, but well sounding, daily driver.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Another option you may want to look at would be the XCON from SSA. It's a sound quality driver that can handle a lot of power.

Yes, Xcons are supposed to be great. I have two 15's sitting in the basement waiting to be unraveled. I will probably get to one of them in about a month. Right now I am breaking in Mach 5 IXL 15" before I hand it over to a friend, who allowed me to toy with it for a while. I am curious what folks would have to say about the Alphas and BL's. Not getting much yet. We'll see what happens in the next few days. I mainly posted this to get opinions on these two subs, as I am curious, and I have googled pretty much all there is on Alphas and I believe most on BL's, but still not satisfied with the results, and thought someone would just drop a gem on me. I also thought about which forum would be most neutral about them, cause as you know some forums have their favourite "boner" subs...

The more I think about it, the more I think RD took a step toward the more SQ oriented Alpha with v3 over v2 according to some specs, but what I dont get is the high fs rating, and that makes me suspicious about how true these recent unofficial specs are. And I do realize that the v3 is just way too new, so maybe what I should have asked how v2 compares to the BL, and see what people would say.

Just looking at the specs, the BL looks to be much more at home in a ported box.