A Mini RE Audio XXX 15 Review

[a1161979 3]

A Mini RE Audio XXX 15 Review

Ok well i have been lucky enough to have the chance to play with an origional RE Audio XXX 15. I once had this in the boot and passed on the opportunity to buy this exact driver and i now regret that but ill come back to that.

First a little bit about the driver. This particular model dates back to 2005 and is radically different in design to the current generation of RE Audio XXX's. The current design uses a split coil while the first generation were a XBL motor design. While it is hard to find information on these drivers the first generation used an XBL^2 motor design. Following a fall out between RE Audio and Dan Wiggins (owner to the Patent of XBL^2) RE Audio redesigned the XXX. This is the first generation of RE XXX's which had an XBL^2 motor . It seems that these original XXX's are fairly sought after drivers and they are hard to come by.

What is XBL and why is it beneficial? XBL^2 is a traditional underhung motor design. The design gives a very flat BL curve over the drivers intended frequency range which translates into excellent motor control of cone movement throughout the operating range of the speaker. XBL^2 motors are extremely good for SQ, even at high excursion, which makes it a good """"SQL"""" speaker motor design.

I have not experimented with this driver ported, only sealed. And to be honest i see no point in building a ported box for this driver. In a sealed box you can achieve a very linear sounding response that is capable of very respectable musical output. I started with a test enclosure that was roughly 2 cubes. This was not ideal. Very tight but the extension seemed limited. Despite being a recommended sealed enclosure prior experience has taught me that very few 15 inch drivers will perform well in 2 cubes, its simply too small.

The Driver: 2005 RE Audio XBL^2 15 inch driver. The motor is double slugs with a large chrome top plate. The basket is a standard 12 spoke basket that is common to lots of drivers. Medium foam surround. Dual 2ohm coils with felt pads on the back side of the cone to stop tinsel lead slapping at high excursion.

The 2 cubes test box, very rough enclosure but that's the point of a test box. This was some time ago hence the Hertz HP1KD amplifier for power.

Next enclosure was roughly 3 cubes, i was much happier with the drivers performance in this box.

Last but not least properly installed in a carpeted 3 cube sealed enclosure with light polyfill stuffing. The driver is mounted inverted to highlight the chrome bottom plate and allow for extra motor cooling at higher output levels. The amplifier is a Digital Designs M3a wired at 1ohms.

Now onto Listening impressions

Morning Glow by Mayuko Aoki (Final Fantasy 12 Vocal Collection)

This is an interesting track with a very prominent and hotly mixed bass line that incorporates low notes with tighter bass hits. It is actually a hard track to get sounding good as its very easy for it to become muddy sounding or the bass hits lose some of their punch and tautness. Its also a good indicator of sub bass gain as systems with slightly hot sub bass end up sounding like street beat systems playing this song. The RE Audio XXX had no problem with this song, the lows were accurately produced without sounding overblown. I was highly impressed with this track, not quite headphone perfect but the closest i have heard this track from a car substage.

Urban Uppercut (Blood on the Asphalt [street Fighter II Rearrangements])

There are some seriously low drops throughout this track, hard to guess but id say into non audible range (sub 15Hz). You can only just hear them but it is more of a sensation. Tracks like this is where 30mm Xmax become very noticeable due to the air being displaced. Once again no drama's at all with the XXX. Not only can you hear the drops but you can feel the wave inside the car. Other drivers i have listened to a lot such as the Mach5 IXL10 have been able to reproduce such content but not with such authority. The best way to describe it is effortlessly and without strain.

Black Coffee by Liz Tobias (A beautiful Friendship)

A smooth jazz track with some beautiful female vocals from a local Adelaide jazz artist Liz Tobias. A good track to gauge double bass and kick drum. Not overly hard content for a driver to reproduce, ie not overly dynamic or low yet more often than not a driver will fail to sound musical and articulate. Its hard to describe but the sound is just not right. Again no complaints for the XXX. Musical articulate sub bass that integrated nicely with the mid bass drivers and added just the right amount of depth to kick drum and double bass. The thing that comes to mind when listening to such music with the XXX is that of an Iron fist in a velvet glove. It really is surprising that such a large brute of a driver is able to reproduce the finer delicate detail in a lot of music so convincingly.

Angel by Massive Attack (Massive Attack Collected)

An eerie and almost disturbing track. I think its best to describe the bass line as a pulsating foundation to the track with a slow bass guitar introduction followed by a deep kick drum and a very full body electronic bass. Yet again the XXX surprised me with good extensions and dynamics.

Kaleidscope by Harmonic 33 (Extraordinary People)

I remember using this track and naming it specifically in my review of the IXL10. And i will quote from that review "For all the ground pounder guys who are sick of chopped and screwed bass CD's go hunt down this song, the bass line comes from nowhere 48 seconds into the song. The lows are very prominent and dig very deep, you not going to reproduce such lows with budget subwoofer or ported enclosures tuned in the traditional 35-40Hz range. Reproducing the low notes with reasonable volume is difficult but the real challenge comes from doing so while remaining clean and tight with low group delay. To be honest this song is probably the song that made me begin to really appreciate what the IXL10 is capable of. Without a doubt the best reproduction of this track I have yet experienced in my car" The XXX is as good as i remember the IXL10 being. The difference however is that the IXL10 would play cleanly to about 130db before sounding strained while the XXX will just keeping going as the volume is turned clockwise.

I could keep listing different songs but i think the theme will be the same and that is that i cannot fault this driver. Its not perfectly integrated with the mid bass but in my car that's a limitation of the mid bass drivers and a lack of processing. Even when it comes to output its very impressive for a sealed driver in a boot that is almost sealed from the old SPL days (ie sealed up parcel tray). im not going to speculate on a DB level as i have not measured it but its certainly loud enough to outrun the fronts without breaking a sweat. I think its also a good example to highlight the age old car audio myth that larger drivers (15s & 18s) are not as capable of tight or fast bass due to the weight of the cones as being false.

If i had to list the cons of this driver it would be weight and power handling. I think you really need an amplifier rated at 1000 watts as a starting point for this driver and the larger the amplifier the better. This comes at a cost in terms of partnering equipment.

Pros:

- Output capability

- Linearity

- Detail

- Extension

Cons:

- Physical size & Weight

- Large sealed enclosure requirements

- You will need a good electrical system & amplifier to make the most of this driver

So to summarise. This is a beautiful driver. Im disappointed that i passed on the opportunity to buy this driver when i did. The build quality is high, the glue joins are neat. The cone is tasteful as is the XXX logo. The chrome motor looks amazing and its an XBL^2 motor design. Its certainly not a driver for everyone and it requires a powerful amplifier and in turn a solid electrical system. Its heavy and large. But providing you make these concessions i doubt anyone would be disappointed with its performance. I could not fault its performance and it managed to play loud while remaining musical without distortion or physical limitation. Having said this i do think its overkill for a daily music system. Im sure there are other drivers out there that are as musical without being as large or needing as much power but when the volume levels get high they are not going to be able to match the clean output that the XXX is capable off...

Edited June 1, 2012 by Samuel

[SS Teacher 177]

Thanks for the great review, I gotta admit I'm a sucker for a great sealed driver.

[todd.brust 29]

Great review. I am jealous of the fact you got to play around with a first Gen XXX. It's rare to see those these days.

[Impious 1,476]

What is XBL and why is it beneficial? XBL^2 is a traditional underhung motor design.

Not sure if this is a typo, but XBL² is not a traditional underhung motor. It has a notch in the top plate and pole piece which creates two independent gaps through which the coil passes. It's not really underhung or overhung as the coil is shorter than the overall top plate thickness but taller than either of the gaps individually.

I liked the look of the boob cone version a little better than those. Great drivers regardless.

[Tirefryr 1,742]

Great review. I am jealous of the fact you got to play around with a first Gen XXX. It's rare to see those these days.

That's actually a 2nd gen. The first gen had XXX on the cone, a boob cap, and different motor.

[Tirefryr 1,742]

[Julian 641]

http://www.adireaudio.com/Files/XBL2DetailsPaper.pdf

Xbl2 info if anyone is interested...

[95Honda 486]

I have owned about 10 drivers with that motor (Tumults and XXXs). I have a pair of the 18s sitting in my basement right now waiting to be installed in the H/T. Awesome drivers...

[Godsmack 360]

I've been trying to find a working edition of this for a few years now. Every time I see an ad I am either a day late and a dollar short, or its blown.

Great review BTW.

J

[Impious 1,476]

Here's a picture of my old 15" boob cone XXX next to an Illusion Audio ND-12 (the original shallow mount driver). The XXX was taller than the ND-12 + a pop can

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Nice review, well done on music choice.

[Sencheezy 689]

really nice review!

[a1161979 3]

What is XBL and why is it beneficial? XBL^2 is a traditional underhung motor design.

Not sure if this is a typo, but XBL² is not a traditional underhung motor. It has a notch in the top plate and pole piece which creates two independent gaps through which the coil passes. It's not really underhung or overhung as the coil is shorter than the overall top plate thickness but taller than either of the gaps individually.

That is indeed a Typo, ill edit that. I'm not sure how i missed that/made that mistake.

Great review. I am jealous of the fact you got to play around with a first Gen XXX. It's rare to see those these days.

That's actually a 2nd gen. The first gen had XXX on the cone, a boob cap, and different motor.

I did not realise it was a 2nd gen, RE drivers are quite rare here in Australia, i was under the impression it was a 1st generation. Seems i was incorrect.

Nice review, well done on music choice.

really nice review!

Thanks for the kind words guys. I really enjoy writing reviews and i do as often as i can for my local Australian forum. Ill post more up here in future

[edouble101 314]

Classic driver. Thanks for the write-up.