Description

LFE meets accuracy and control

FV18 is our answer to the need for a high power home theatre solution that retains the dynamic and accurate bass that we have become known for. Correctly integrated, our vented subwoofers can achieve the tight bass normally associated with a sealed enclosure, yet with greater low frequency output. We recommend this subwoofer for systems in which home theatre has a high priority.

Direct Servo Technology

All our subwoofers use our patented Direct Servo technology. The servo enables precise control over the cone which is essential for tight, dynamic and accurate bass. It also counteracts many different driver non-linearities and allows us to use lighter drivers which avoid the need for excessive amounts of amplifier power.

Some of the benefits of Direct Servo include:

  • Dramatic boxy sound reduction of the re-radiation of bass from inside the box
  • Thermal compression are eliminated under normal operation
  • Higher efficiency allowing output which would normally require a more powerful amplifier
  • Deep bass extension can be achieved using a low mass driver with superior transient response
  • Mechanical creep memory effects are reduced, further improving transient response
  • The effective driver Q value is 0.1 resulting in much tighter and accurate bass than non-servo drivers with typical Q value of 0.3-0.5

HX1000XLR3 Amplifier and DS1820 Driver

FV18 comes with a grille. The above photo is shown with grill taken off. It uses our new high power HX1000XLR3 servo amplifier and the standard metal cone DS1820 driver. DS1820 features anodized aluminum cone, a 3″ voice coil, and 240 oz magnet. Its linear excursion range is +/- 20mm.

The sub comes with standard screw-in rubber feet. Chrome spike feet are sold separately.

Paper Cone vs Metal Cone and Independent Lab Test Results

Standard FV18 version uses metal cone DS1820 for its stiffness and low distortion. The independent test lab site www.data-bass.com has published the max distortion numbers for our metal cone FV18 and F18. The F18 has lower distortion and yet more output than Velodyne DD18+ for 1/3 of the price. Paper cone like the one used in Velodyne DD18+ can be made lighter than metal cone and therefore improve outputs above 50hz by up to 3db with the sacrifice of slightly higher distortions. For those who are after the maximum headroom in HT application may consider the paper cone version FV18SW (with paper cone SW1825).