jjptkd Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Just purchased a pair of these subs, hoping they will blow away my RSW-15 for movies and music. I plan on driving them with my Samson SX3200 at 750 watts per channel at 8 ohms crossed over at 80 hz. I'm going to have to stack these next to my buddies Dayton UM-18 and see how they do as well. Should be fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Sounds like fun. Let us know what you think and how they stack up against each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I am easily confused. First, what is a KL-120 sub? It doesn't come up. Second, if this is a THX sub, why do you need a pro amp? Shouldn't it have it's own plate amp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjptkd Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 I guess they're called the KW-120's, sorry. I just bought one off eBay today and he had it listed as a KL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjptkd Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 Here's a link: http://www.klipsch.com/kw-120-thx-subwoofer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 So the THX stuff doesn't have amps? I never knew that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 (edited) OIC, Klipsch sells a 1kw amp (they call it). Is that sub a 4ohm? If so, you will be running 1100 watts per sub. The specs on the Klipsch amp say it will output 1000 watts at 4 ohms and drive TWO of your subs. Be careful, you will be more than doubling that with your amp! edit: the sub is 8 ohms. However, the amp they sell for it is rated at 4 ohms 1000 watts. That may be 500 watts at 8 ohms divided by two subs. That's 250 watts per sub. second edit: I bet they wired two subs parallel so the amp draw would be 4 ohm, and thus get 500 watts per sub. This makes me hypothesize they are 500 watt 8 ohm subs. Edited October 14, 2014 by mustang guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjptkd Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 I believe you're correct at 500 watts each sub with the Klipsch amp. I'm going to give the Samson amp a try since I already have it. I was originally planning on building my own cabinets similar to these KW-120's and using Some JL 12W6's. A friend of mine just built (or I should say assembled, he ordered a flat pack) a 5 cu ft ported box for a Stereo Integrity 18 but that blew up in about a week, voice coil rattles something terrible to the point that its not usable. He replaced it with the Dayton UM-18, that's the sub I'll be comparing the new pair to. The 18" sub literally blows away my RSW-15 in every way except for maybe the higher bass notes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 You'll need a Speakon connector to hook it up. I'd put an Ohm meter on it and get the nominal impedance for a baseline as to what amp will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I believe you're correct at 500 watts each sub with the Klipsch amp. I'm going to give the Samson amp a try since I already have it. I was originally planning on building my own cabinets similar to these KW-120's and using Some JL 12W6's. A friend of mine just built (or I should say assembled, he ordered a flat pack) a 5 cu ft ported box for a Stereo Integrity 18 but that blew up in about a week, voice coil rattles something terrible to the point that its not usable. He replaced it with the Dayton UM-18, that's the sub I'll be comparing the new pair to. The 18" sub literally blows away my RSW-15 in every way except for maybe the higher bass notes.funny how easy it is to damage a driver in a ported box if you don't know what you are doing at all. Stereo integrity at 600 rms doesn't need much. I feed mine 750 in sealed boxes but much safer in them boxes. I prefer them in home theater. Less to worry about. More or less just have to keep an eye on clip lights from amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjptkd Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 We were driving the SI pretty hard for several hours and it just got too hot. The thing that I found odd was we had turned down the music to a reasonable level (able to talk over it anyway) for at least an hour before the sub started making noise. I can understand a sub blowing up when you crank it too loud or give it way too much power but this one just seemed to over heat. When we pulled the driver out of the cabinet the magnet was easily hot enough to burn flesh, in fact it stayed too hot to touch for well over an hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Yeah I'd say you were running the piss Out of it then lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 (edited) Sealed boxes take more power and genrate more heat than a vented box. They both have pros and cons, pick your posion, lol. I suspect something is wrong with that driver if you turned it down for over an hour before the funny nosie. ? Driver damage. The Dayton UM 18 should not be in a 5 cu ft. vented box: that is way to small. I use the UM 18 in a box that is 9.5 cu ft. An 11 cu ft. box is recommended. Edited October 14, 2014 by derrickdj1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K5SS Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 If you are cooking steaks with speakers, PM me. I am in Kirkland;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 The KA 1000 has some parametric eq in it as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 The KA 1000 has some parametric eq in it as well. I would have guessed that but didn't know for sure. Normally proprietary amps do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I believe you're correct at 500 watts each sub with the Klipsch amp. I'm going to give the Samson amp a try since I already have it. I was originally planning on building my own cabinets similar to these KW-120's and using Some JL 12W6's. A friend of mine just built (or I should say assembled, he ordered a flat pack) a 5 cu ft ported box for a Stereo Integrity 18 but that blew up in about a week, voice coil rattles something terrible to the point that its not usable. He replaced it with the Dayton UM-18, that's the sub I'll be comparing the new pair to. The 18" sub literally blows away my RSW-15 in every way except for maybe the higher bass notes. I just sent back one of my Ultimax 18's just yesterday, voice coil is fried, but, they were like that the minute I took them out of the box. You could press on the cones and it sounded like sandpaper. Hooked it up and it worked but this muffled buzzing sound kept getting worse and worse. I don't think the quality control of these Chinese speakers are what they ought to be. If you put that ultimax in that box I'd plug the port. You can try it but they need at least 8 for ported. I have mine in 5 cubic feet sealed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I just sent back one of my Ultimax 18's just yesterday, voice coil is fried, but, they were like that the minute I took them out of the box. You could press on the cones and it sounded like sandpaper. Hooked it up and it worked but this muffled buzzing sound kept getting worse and worse. I don't think the quality control of these Chinese speakers are what they ought to be. If you put that ultimax in that box I'd plug the port. You can try it but they need at least 8 for ported. I have mine in 5 cubic feet sealed. Post some pic's of your sub. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 (edited) Post some pic's of your sub. Thanks! Don't want to post the whole setup here right now due to everything being a mess, but here is one of my subs. Had a KL-650 sitting on top at the time. Bad idea. Rattle rattle. Plus it looks dumb. I have two of these powered by an iNuke 6000 which is supposed to be feeding them 2,200 watts rms each, which I believe as the subs have been bested up to 1,400 watts rms, easily handling 1,100, yet I can bottom them out even in a sealed box and can easily trip a breaker if the amp is on the same circuit as my receiver, I have to run two separate circuits. Had them up front at first but was strangely more mushy than I expected. I moved them to the sides and they seem to like living there pretty good. Made these out of 18mm baltic birch, 5 cubic feet after driver displacement and bracing, stuffed with 5 pounds of poly fill. Finish is Behr paint+primer enamel in matte black, which is friggin amazing. The walls are their flat interior paint but it marks up badly if you touch it plus looks chalky. It is super dark when the lights are out though. The matte is darker, doesn't mark up as badly, and hides imperfections better. Probably reflects a little more light but the other positives probably outweigh that. It is also a near perfect match for the DIY matte SEOS horns, the horn just blends right in to the cabinet. Edited October 14, 2014 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjptkd Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 The 18 UM is a friend of mines sub. I told him before he ordered it that his cabinet was a lot smaller than recommended for that driver but he ordered it anyway. He basically said that's the driver he wanted and if it sounded bad in the cabinet he already built than he'd build a new one. So far it seems to sound OK, excellent for home theater as it still shakes the hell out of everything. I think the SI sub sounded better and went louder in that cabinet though but he seems happy with it. Does anyone have any driver or amp specs for the KW-120 setup? Should I try and locate a Klipsch amplifier or would an INuke work for these subs? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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