Just FYI, and this is old so you may already know, prepreg Carbon Fiber has the perfect amount of resin in it. More resin just makes it heavier, not stiffer, the weave weight is what determines the CF stiffness with each layer. People put extra resin on CF to make it pretty and glossy, the resin itself isn't the strength of the product.
And this video is a great example why I am going to be purchasing a set or a sub from you in the near future you plainly know your stuff very well and dont use false advertising to help your business, the simple honesty and straight forward attitude you have gives me great confidence in your products! I will be a customer and a proud customer at that.
Good video, though with the full-cover dust caps and the growing popularity of carbon fibre cones, and thich alu cones for high excursion subs, might be worth a revisit in the not too distant future. Also, from what I've "heard", kevlar woofers for home hifi sound excellent, though once again could be down to extra effort put into the design in other areas.
The "dry looking" CF that 6.5" is made with is just like the cone on my 18" sub. My question is what is the normal application that its made for? SQ? SPL?
I love how brutally honest this guy is!!! Next time I'm in the market for a sub it's going to b a emf emergert! As of right now I got this lovely b2 audio rage 12 sounds fuckin amazing!
Well this video was very right... I also got a jl w6 and its plastic and also got focal kr2s witch is really kevlar.. crazy material man so strong but so light tapping it with ur finger it has an amazing tone no other material i heard can make
I have some Massive Audio Hippos. They claim to have Kevlar impregnated cones. The back is definitely a non-pressed ridged paper, the front has some type of sparkly looking stuff, and the dust cap looks like a carbon fiber weave. Idk.
I know what you're talking about, I suspect that shiny stuff is fiberglass. If the dustcap actually is carbon fiber, it's a thin single layer pre-preg. If you push on it, it bends in easily doesn't it?
It slightly gives but it's pretty stout. I'm pretty sure it's just a layer of graphite-grey fiberglass sheet with a small amount of resin on the back side. My friend had a 15" AQ HDC3 that looked pretty similar. .
cody heathcoat I have the hippo xl 15 which is the version that came out after the one you have. It looks way different and I believe truly is kevlar rienforced, I think they call it. Either way... hippos get dowwn lol. I'm selling mine now tho. Don't need it I bought a HCCA 15
Of all the cones, which is the most rigid for the weight? I find that I like the sound of paper, just because it doesn't have frequencies where it has a tendency to ring. I've tried aluminum cones, and polypropylene cones, and polypropylene tends to flex, which doesn't give a very good piston motion. It's also very heavy. aluminum sounded like aluminum. Never tried it as a subwoofer, but I hated it as a midrange. I have NO experience with carbon fiber cones.
You don't have to worry about the consequential tones on subs as much as mids. Physical distortion from flexing is another story. Paper with a mix in the pulp seems to be the best mix, but there is a point where it still isn't strong enough so you're forced to use something a little heavier but much stronger. I don't like polypropylene cones on subs at all, aluminum seems to be too delicate unless it's to the point it's too heavy.
@@EMFAudio I've observed exactly the same thing, though, I don't have experience with magnets nearly as large as you have now. That extra motor strength can expose weaknesses that weren't manifest, back when 50 Oz was considered a "big magnet". Another question: are you experimenting with edge wound aluminum voice coils, or are you sticking with copper on the standpoint of DC resistance, BL, and weight? I would thing flat wound oxygen free copper would be the best on the standpoint of slot fill, and maximum BL per Ohm of DC resistance, but, it would add reciprocating mass to the drop-in assembly, but is that a factor anymore with today's massive magnets?
nope. If JL audio uses plastic then its great. JL audio has some of the best sounding subwoofers you can buy. Just do some research before you buy a sub to see if it will work for your application.
could you take the cone before you recone it with a recone kit that comes with the cone and spider/former separate an add like fiberglass resin just itself without the fibers to the back of the cone without harming it to make it stronger, maybe more ca glue or something else adhesive wise if you could help me out with this I'd really appreciate it thanks
You can, and that has been done, but fiberglass resin on it's own isn't that strong unless it's really thick. I have a method of strengthening paper cones before assembly that works well, which I don't share.
I made my cone from Asbestos® Fiber™. It's actually fire proof for when sparks fly when I'm using my 500 watt sub with my 20kw amp on low gain because it puts out 20000 watts straight away all the time.
In that it's made of Kevlar, yes. In terms of the cone itself, the angle of the cone is different and our cone doesn't have a foam core like the DD cone does. There is a reason we went with that cone specifically, it will last longer and won't invert.
Hi thanks a lot for the excellent and very informative video. There is at least one famous Harbeth speakers designer who states that the cone material is what gives the sound "signature" to a driver. I wonder if this can be agreed upon and therefore which material sounds best. He goes along saying that "untreated" plastic cones, for instance, sound muddy, confused, muffled ... not very good after all. His brand has developed a special plastic based material with some kind of additives added during the moulding process. Another audio expert said that a very promising material would be the one of which the old computer floppy disks were made. Cit. "The plastic used to make 3.5 inches floppy disks was mainly Mylar , one of the commercial names of poly(ethylene terephthalate) or P.E.T coated with little iron oxide" That material seems to combine perfectly the need of stiffness and mechanical damping. However i am not aware of any commercial cone made with that material. Thanks again. Kind regards, gino
I have 2 JL 13.5 w7...the come is plastic and it's really thin...surprising its lighter than paper cone I have seen and handle in the same power range. u should mention in it review....its not just a simple plastic cone....its design has been tested and it can with stand a lot of pressure for its weight... comparable to paper or any other come in its power range
Cone strength is not determining factor of power handling. Their "power range" is 1,000 watts, which isn't hard to handle the amount of pressure inside a box when the motor is that weak. The shape of the cone effects strength, regardless of material, so it's "not simple" in the same ways paper isn't that simple. I've personally seen those cones shatter when used in SPL applications with 2,000 watts per sub, ported box.
@@EMFAudio For sure.... I was mistaken. That was a Z. 2016 finals on Scott's bella. The reason I thought it was yours is because the Yolo was in there soon after.
I might have to break out a microscope to find that out for sure. I feel pretty confident based on how easily it cuts (another reason I know it's not Kevlar) it is likely fiberglass. Fiberglass is also a much cheaper material than carbon fiber or Kevlar.
COMPASBASSCLUB CHICALI I don't know why they call it something it's not, probably to hype it for sales. I would rather be honest and at least know what my product is.
Aluminum I don't see used too much anymore. If it's thin enough to be light, it's thin and fragile causing distortion. When it's strong enough it can be heavy and less efficient. I've only seen it used on low power handling subs intended for sealed enclosures. There is a sub a long time ago that was a total flop that you could touch the cone and put a dimple in it.
I have a black Kevlar cone for a 6.5" and it looks the same as yellow Kevlar just different colour here's where I bought it from www.speakerbits.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=146&category_id=1039&page=shop.browse&limit=20&limitstart=0
It feels like Kevlar and it's hard to bend or to but it out of shape is there a possibly of dying the Kevlar black or other colours instead of the normal yellow. I built a 6.5" woofer for a project using neodymium magnets only using the north side and used a 3D printer to print a speaker basket and standoffs for the neodymium magnets. it works well but I made 1 mistake I dident push the voice coil down enough to line up even with the magnets if I push down on the cone while playing it gets louder and plays cleaner. I can always fix it later :)
