While the new R1 Subwoofer is pleasing to the eye, it's the things that you can see that are truly impressive! The R1 is a field replaceable sub that allows you to remove the top basket/cone assembly for serviceability. The cone and dustcap are reinforced aluminum to eliminate cone-radiated distortion caused by flexing cones. Keeping the cone area as high as possible is the High-Roll Santoprene surround instead of the typical wide-roll surround that reduces cone area. The gasket features a press-in “finishing ring” that hides all of the mounting screws whether you mount it traditionally or reversed. The discrete mounting terminals are built into the cast aluminum motor cover for unique aesthetics and secure connections.

The dual mirror-stacked Nomex spiders provide precise control of the moving goodies. Residing within the motor assembly is a 3” aluminum voice coil former. Unlike other dual voice coil windings that are wound over each other, one coil is wound on the outside of the former while the other coil is uniquely wound on the inside of the former, both of which are copper clad aluminum flat wire. This yields a shorter winding length which is necessary for longer linear excursion with an under hung motor design. The reason we chose an under hung design is due to the inherent reduced distortion and linearity.

The magnet and pole piece look like most drivers, right? Above that is where things get interesting. You'll see dual plates that replace a typical flat top plate on top of the magnet. Between the plates is an aluminum heat sink. On top of the top plates is a “bucking” magnet mounted out of phase so as to force more energy into the magnetic gap for higher BL and keep a contact amount of BL thorough out the very high magnetic gap. The following figures show the intensity of the magnetic field within the gap and exactly what the secondary bucking magnet is doing…

Since proper cooling is critical, the R1 Subwoofers sport 6 types of cooling…

• Aluminum Cone, Dustcap and Voice Coil Former are all aluminum for maximum heat dissipation.

• Between the dual Under Hung Flux Plates is a sandwiched Aluminum Heat Sink to draw heat away from the magnetic gap

• The Cone is perforated below the dust cap to allow air to travel within the former and cool the inner coil winding.

• The Pole Piece is vented to exhaust heat under the dustcap and within the former

• The Pole Piece is segmented with small gaps to allow air to cool the inner coil that is wound on the inside of the former

• Cast Aluminum motor cover further extracts more heat from the motor

So, now that you understand why this driver is so special, let's simplify the results that you'll hear in your ride… Most impressive is the distortion rating. 2 nd Harmonic distortion is under 5% and 3 rd Harmonic distortion is under 10% with 74V RMS Power input in Free Air / Near field measurement. In other words, with no enclosure whatsoever, and with almost 700 watts of RMS power, the distortion is way, way below that of typical subwoofers. And it gets much better when installed in a proper enclosure. Generic motors will never achieve this type of performance. In essence, this means that the R1 subwoofers are superior in sound quality over traditionally designed woofers on the market. Yes, they cost more, but they're worth it! Many other generic woofers cost much more money for far less performance. But don't take my word for it, go audition the R1s at your local high-end shop immediately!

For you smart people that are ready to put on in your vehicle already, here are some enclosure suggestions…