New R-115SW / SPL-150 owner, couple of questions

[jedi]

Hey there,

 

after a couple of years of DIY subwoofers with most of which I was only partially satisfied I wanted something with serious low end extension and decent SPL while still sounding precise at lower volumes. The R-115SW or SPL-150 seemed perfect for that after reading the reviews and the price was also quite OK. I went for the R-115SW because I prefer its looks and spec wise they are virtually identical.

 

After receiving it, after making sure it works, I had to remove the screws from the amp and take a look at it just to make sure it's the revised model and I don't have to worry about the 820 Ohm resistor overheating the surrounding components. Luckily it seems to be the revised model from 2018, the same board that is also used in the SPL-150.

 

SQ wise I am quite satisfied and while it can go quite loud, it doesn't overly so, certainly not enough to shake your neighbors' floors as advertised, but quite decent for its size and weight and real 20 Hz is something I've been looking for for quite a while.

 

While burning it in, I noticed an odd smell coming from the port, which I suspect coming from the voice coil, but can't tell for sure. Is this normal when pushed to the limit for the first time or should I be worried? The amp seems to have a limiter since it was not getting louder beyond a certain point, so it should be protected against overpowering I guess? Or do I have to be more careful with the volume? Luckily everything still seems to work. I had a power meter connected and it didn't seem to go above 280 Watts or so. Shouldn't it draw at least 400 Watts when maxed out?

 

 

[pankeka]

I just purchased a Subwoofer Klipsch R-115SW, and saw in your post above that you opened the sub to check if it was the revised 2018 model, so I ask you, how do you know if it's the revised model? Thank you!

[jjptkd]

15 hours ago, pankeka said:

I just purchased a Subwoofer Klipsch R-115SW, and saw in your post above that you opened the sub to check if it was the revised 2018 model, so I ask you, how do you know if it's the revised model? Thank you!

 

Amp boards typically have production labels / stickers on them with serial and or batch numbers and dates I'm assuming if you remove the amp plate you'll see it right away. I'd be careful though they are usually sealed quite well might tear the gasket removing it if the glue is stuck not sure if this is an issue with these models but I've experienced it before in the past with other subwoofers.