Just ordered my first (car) sub ever!

[AustinKP]

I decided to go with Ascendant Audio's Atlas 12. I just ordered it this morning! Yay! I'll get it Wednesday. I'll give the full report once I get a chance to give it a good listening-to. Cody, you should have given me your address. I was going have it sent to you, but I didn't know where to send it. Now you'll just have to wait :)
-Austin

[exalted512]

im not sure if you posted it before, but do you have a link with the specs? if i wasnt on dial up id attempt a search but 28.8 isnt something i like to go roaming the internet on. hope you like it!
-Cody

[MacLeod]

Originally posted by exalted512
i if i wasnt on dial up id attempt a search but 28.8 isnt something i like to go roaming the internet on.
-Cody

Damn son, time to join the 21st century! :D

[neomagus00]

or at least try to catch up to the last bit of the 20th...

[nadams]

http://www.ascendantaudio.com/Atlas%2012.htm

[MacLeod]

That looks like a hoss.

Cant wait to read the reviews of how it sounds.

[exalted512]

living out in the country this is as good as it gets...high speed isnt offered in the boonies...
-Cody

[AustinKP]

It's HERE:
http://www.et.byu.edu/~austinkp/atlas/closedbox.jpg
http://www.et.byu.edu/~austinkp/atlas/subinbox.jpg
http://www.et.byu.edu/~austinkp/atlas/subshield.jpg
http://www.et.byu.edu/~austinkp/atlas/outofbox.jpg
http://www.et.byu.edu/~austinkp/atlas/topdown2.jpg
http://www.et.byu.edu/~austinkp/atlas/side2.jpg
http://www.et.byu.edu/~austinkp/atlas/bottomdown.jpg
http://www.et.byu.edu/~austinkp/atlas/bottom.jpg
It has a little felt pad to avoid tinsel slap
http://www.et.byu.edu/~austinkp/atlas/tinsels.jpg
http://www.et.byu.edu/~austinkp/atlas/suspension.jpg
I'm building the box for it tonight. I'll let you know how it sounds.
-Austin

[PolkThug]

Nice sub!

Cool thing about it is no cheesey logo on the dust cap. Are you listening Polk?!

[exalted512]

sweet! the basket and everything looks like a mini-brahma. very nice
-Cody

[exalted512]

http://www.soundillusions.net/Forum/forumdisplay.php?f=50
i think you might find that informative
-Cody

[MacLeod]

Is that a foam surround?

[AustinKP]

Originally posted by exalted512
http://www.soundillusions.net/Forum/forumdisplay.php?f=50
i think you might find that informative
-Cody don't know if that was directed at me, but I've been spending a good bit of time there lately as well.

Let me tell you guys, Chad Kuypers, the owner, is seriously a great guy. I've called him a couple times now. Once to order and ask questions, we talked for like 20 minutes. He made sure to answer all my questions and was very helpful. Never made me feel like he was too busy to talk or anything. Second time, I was wondering about if a grill from partsexpress would fit. He said it would, and if it wouldn't fit, he'd buy it from me! I've been very impressed with him.
-Austin

[AustinKP]

Originally posted by MacLeod
Is that a foam surround? Yep. Just like the Brahma, XXX, and all other drivers I've seen with XBL^2. I dunno why, but they're supposed to last just as long as a rubber surround. It comes with a 3-year warranty.
-Austin

[MacLeod]

I new the Brahma's used them but I didnt think too many others did. They may be coming back in style! ;)

[AustinKP]

the W7's have foam surrounds too, don't they?

[exalted512]

foam surrounds supposedly offer better sound quality and are better for long-excursion drivers
im still skeptical on their endurance though...but theyve gotten better since the early 90s
-Cody

[MacLeod]

I agree with Cody. I would prefer rubber surrounds for longevity. I have a hard time believing there is much sonic difference between rubber and foam. But I upgrade once a year it seems so longevity isnt that big a concern. ;)

[exalted512]

well i dont plan on changing my subs for a long time! so ill let you know. plus living in texas, the weather doesnt get much more diverse.
-Cody

[MacLeod]

Thats true. You get 110 degrees in the 9 months of summer out there but during the 3 months of winter you get down to the 80's. Now thats diversity! :D

[exalted512]

lol, at my house temps ranged from the 40s-120s
and it snowed at my house on christmas last year!!
-Cody

[AustinKP]

Originally posted by MacLeod
I agree with Cody. I would prefer rubber surrounds for longevity. I have a hard time believing there is much sonic difference between rubber and foam. But I upgrade once a year it seems so longevity isnt that big a concern. ;) Well supposedly, foam is lighter than rubber with the same strength so you get better response or something...
Plus, with the new ways they have of treating foam nowadays, it's supposed to last just as long as rubber.
-Austin

[AustinKP]

I got the box built last night. I was planning on doing around 1.25 ft^3, but ended up going with like 1.8. Apparantly, I didn't get one of my terminal cups completely sealed so I can hear it leaking air a bit. I'll give you guys a full review once I have it totally done.
Until then, I'm completely amazed at this thing. Once I got it, I just set it on my back seat and ran it free air to test it. All I can say is HOLY CRAP that thing MOVES! I ran a sweep from 1-80Hz and it really moves down low. I sure wish I had some kind of camcorder so I could get some excursion vids. So far, it gets plenty loud and is dang accurate. I played some Dream Theater. I can't remember which track, I think it's track 2, where it starts with Mike Portnoy going nuts on the bass drum. It didn't miss a beat. No rumbling or lag, it just played every beat quickly and accurately. I was very impressed. That's about it so far.
-Austin

[neomagus00]

cool, can't wait till it's done!

foam also, apparently, damps the cone resonances no one talks about. this makes me happy. so does higher efficiency (less mms).

[MacLeod]

Originally posted by AustinKP
I played some Dream Theater. I can't remember which track, I think it's track 2, where it starts with Mike Portnoy going nuts on the bass drum. It didn't miss a beat. No rumbling or lag, it just played every beat quickly and accurately.

Yes that would be track 2 - This Dying Soul -.

There is a little more going on there. During the double bass, hes also doing alternate quarter notes on the toms. Its hard to hear on car systems. See if your sub picks them up, although your mids should too.

[MacLeod]

Oh, and Dream Theater rules by the way!

[AustinKP]

so I gave it another two hour-long listen last night and another hour this morning. Lil John, Pety Pablo, and Late Nite Tip hit DEEP and hard. But it's still quick and razor-sharp. The 4th track on Dream Theater's Train of Thought, "Honor Thy Father" starts with lightning-quick double kicks and it doesn't miss a beat. I've heard this song on other subs, and I didn't even realize he was hitting the kick twice until I heard it on this.

My favorite part so far - I was playing test tones and got out of the car to see how loud it was outside. Very little to no bass escapes the car. I could hear the muffled vocals and highs of songs, but hardly any bass at all. Also, there are very few rattles inside. Hopefully that won't change once I put it in the trunk. Right now, it's in my back seat until I finish painting on all this dang vibration damping. I've got like 3/4 gallon to go.

Anyway, so far I'm VERY pleased with how it sounds.

-Austin

[MacLeod]

Im a drummer so Ive gotta get nitpicky. That isnt lighting fast double bass. Those are quadruplets sort of. 4 strikes on the toms (16th notes) followed by 2 stikes on the bass. This is one of Mikes signature moves. It makes the roll seem faster and the double bass kicks give it more punch as opposed to just straight rolls on the toms.

[AustinKP]

Originally posted by MacLeod
Im a drummer so Ive gotta get nitpicky. Well I ain't (a drummer), so I ain't (nitpicky). :)

Anyway, I was talking about exactly what you described. I've always been able to hear the toms hitting, but I didn't realize the (LIGHTNING FAST)double bass strike was actually a double. And aren't those more like 32nd notes? Unless they're playing in cut time or something. They change keys and time signatures faster than I can shake a stick though, so it's hard to keep track.

Oh, and to answer your previous question, yes I can hear the toms in the beginning of This Dying Soul. It's mostly in the mids though. I think they're higher than my sub is crossed over.

-Austin

[MacLeod]

No those would be 16th notes.

With drums the value of the notes counts the number of stikes per beat. A quarter note is one strike per beat, an 8th is 2, 16th is 4 and then 32nd would be 8 or 32 beats per measure (assuming 4/4 time).

That is the extent of my drum theory knowledge. I never studied that stuff, I just played! :D

[PoweredByDodge]

I have no idea why - but I've noticed that foam surrounds do offer a slightly better SQ experience - but then again it may be that they're usually attached to paper/pulp cone woofers (which are sonically superior to polymer / composite material cone woofers - where you normaly find rubber surrounds).

As far as the basket goes - its hte same basket as an MTX 8000 also - it's a generic basket widely used in the market by MANY companies.

Reasons - 1 - rigid as hell, 2 - cheap because they make so many of them due to high use (which came first, chicken or the egg), 3 - the design offers flexibility for cone design due to the dish effect (rather than a conical sort of shape to it).

[neomagus00]

Originally posted by PoweredByDodge
...which came first, chicken or the egg...
chicken

[Brian Owens]

Dan Wiggins has posted a couple of times on using foam surround with the Brahmas. Along with what has already been said foam apparently is much better for "suck back" that happens to the surround caused by the pressure inside high excursion sub enclosures. With UV protection used now on foam, it will last for years. I have drivers that are 10+ years old that the foam surround still looks new.

Chad is making some GREAT products. I have run the AVA 15 and 18 in my vehicle and I currently have (4) AVA 15's in my HT. they are awesome.

Brian

[neomagus00]

you do have a point... that foam is thick... and i was proud of 1 15 in my house! :D

[Vr3MxStyler2k3]

Polks reason for using Foam surrounds in their home subs was it was near impossible to mold rubber into a surround with such a round roll (a huge surround) with rubber as it was with foam...

Foam isnt near as heavy as rubber either, so it may be faster.

And most of these subwoofers with foam surrounds are incredibly thick surrounds...

That is an awesome sub! Congrats!

[audiobliss]

You mean this is your first car sub? Wow.....congrats on finally gettin' one! A nice one, too, I might add. Looks real nice, and sounds like it really does the job well. For $145....I just might be looking at one myself.

[AustinKP]

Originally posted by audiobliss
You mean this is your first car sub? Wow.....congrats on finally gettin' one! A nice one, too, I might add. Looks real nice, and sounds like it really does the job well. For $145....I just might be looking at one myself. Yes, this is my first car sub. I've waited oh-so-long to get one, but now I'm happy. It has yet to disappoint me.
-Austin

[simon]

Is one Atlas enough?

[AustinKP]

Originally posted by simon
Is one Atlas enough? depends on what "enough" is to you. WinISD says that a single Atlas 12 in 1.8 cubes sealed will put out around 120 dB, IIRC. It'll be louder in the car w/ cabin gain. I could probably use another one, or I'd just go with the Avalanche 12. However, for normal listening, the one Atlas is definitely plenty.