SRX718 to 'what powered/active sub?'

M

Matt Vivlamore

Senior
Jan 11, 2011
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Southern MD, USA
www.meerkatsound.com
I am looking to switch to the powered subs at the beginning of this year and for the past 3 years, I have been using the SRX718s and Itech8000 with JBL/Crown presets loaded. I don’t have any complaints with these subs; they have done everything that I have asked them to do. So, naturally I thought of the VRX918SP to fill my needs.

But before I buy the VRX918SP, is there any sub that I am missing and should look at? I do have a few basic requirements to meet:
- PowerCon
- Under 100 pounds
- Accept a pole mount for SOS rigs
- Under $2500 (advertised) a box
- Stackable (interlocks some sort of way to prevent shifting)
 
Re: SRX718 to 'what powered/active sub?'

Matt Vivlamore said:
I am looking to switch to the powered subs at the beginning of this year and for the past 3 years, I have been using the SRX718s and Itech8000 with JBL/Crown presets loaded. I don’t have any complaints with these subs; they have done everything that I have asked them to do. So, naturally I thought of the VRX918SP to fill my needs.

But before I buy the VRX918SP, is there any sub that I am missing and should look at? I do have a few basic requirements to meet:
- PowerCon
- Under 100 pounds
- Accept a pole mount for SOS rigs
- Under $2500 (advertised) a box
- Stackable (interlocks some sort of way to prevent shifting)
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What about subs that compare to 3x of these - assuming higher per-box price? A better question - how many total subs are you looking for? How many do you typically use per gig?
 
Re: SRX718 to 'what powered/active sub?'

Caleb Dick said:
What about subs that compare to 3x of these - assuming higher per-box price? A better question - how many total subs are you looking for? How many do you typically use per gig?
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Typically I use 1-2 subs per side; I do own 6 total. I like versility of the SRX718s over the SRX728.

Before I sold off all my MRX, any show under 150 people I brought in 1x SRX718 perside. Anything above that, I would bring out the QRx212 and I stacked 2 on top.

This past year I was involved in the Wedding/Pirvate Party scene and the smallest wedding was 75 people but the party was 400 people in a ballroom (any crowd bigger than 600, management sub contracts out Racks & Stacks). I still provide for the bar bands and work in 150-300 person rooms.
 
Re: SRX718 to 'what powered/active sub?'

Jeffrey Knorr said:
RCF maybe?
RCF - TTS18-A

Or DB Tech?
=228&tx_amdbt_pi1[product]=790]dB TECHNOLOGIES: Active Subwoofers DVA Subs DVA S1518N Accessories
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Last time I looked the best price that I could get on the TTS18A was $2800 ($3200 advertised) and that was a year ago. At the same time when I looked at the TT25A as a replacement to the QRx212 and it wouldn't have been a good swap.

I have been watching the dB Tech S1518N, but these haven't hit North America yet. And pricing hasn't been released, if it’s anything like the T12, S30N & S1521N; they are going to be in the $4K range.

I have been looking at the dB S10, as these are priced at $2650.
 
Re: SRX718 to 'what powered/active sub?'

Marjan Milosevic said:
Matt, dont get me wrong here, but isnt it a step back going from SRX718 to JBL VRX918. I never actually looked close to that box and this topic made me look whats inside that box.
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There seems to be a lot of disagreement on that subject, the 918SP uses a different driver (same driver as the 618XLF), but some people claim that they are equivalent performance wise.
 
Re: SRX718 to 'what powered/active sub?'

According the JBL specification 918SP has 1500W peak amplifier inside and produce a maximum of 126db peak SPL.
On the other hand 718 is 3200W peak power producing 130db of max peak SPL.
That gives a 4db difference that is not a small difference.
 
Re: SRX718 to 'what powered/active sub?'

Marjan Milosevic said:
According the JBL specification 918SP has 1500W peak amplifier inside and produce a maximum of 126db peak SPL.
On the other hand 718 is 3200W peak power producing 130db of max peak SPL.
That gives a 4db difference that is not a small difference.
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No one is going to actually provide those with 3200W peak so your point is moot. Account for the 3dB (ish) difference between 1500W and 3200W and things are shed in a much more similar light.
 
Re: SRX718 to 'what powered/active sub?'

Yes you have a point there Silas. My initial urge to look whats in the box actually surprised me. I was hoping to see a bit more robust driver inside.
so however you look at it both a actually not a very loud subs.
So while you wont be pushing 3200W peak to the 718, i am sure you will power it with at least 1KW RMS amp. Which is again much more then 1500W peak amp.
No real headroom there. Not at all.
 
Re: SRX718 to 'what powered/active sub?'

Marjan Milosevic said:
Yes you have a point there Silas. My initial urge to look whats in the box actually surprised me. I was hoping to see a bit more robust driver inside.
so however you look at it both a actually not a very loud subs.
So while you wont be pushing 3200W peak to the 718, i am sure you will power it with at least 1KW RMS amp. Which is again much more then 1500W peak amp.
No real headroom there. Not at all.
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I believe this has been discussed before also: JBL rated these in whole space for some reason. They are very good subs for the money, I don't really care what the specs say.
 
Re: SRX718 to 'what powered/active sub?'

Ok so they are both rated the same. Whole space. One has an amp that has 1500w peak, meaning about 500W RMS. The other box can really be pushed to up to at least 1200-1300W so at the end will be louder. It is not limited to the internal amp that is actually underpowering the box.
This being my entire point of not seeing the 918 as an upgrade from 718.
 
Re: SRX718 to 'what powered/active sub?'

Marjan Milosevic said:
Ok so they are both rated the same. Whole space. One has an amp that has 1500w peak, meaning about 500W RMS. The other box can really be pushed to up to at least 1200-1300W so at the end will be louder. It is not limited to the internal amp that is actually underpowering the box.
This being my entire point of not seeing the 918 as an upgrade from 718.
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Marjan, I know you build speakers. Have you ever measured average power vs peak power vs actual output? In reality, being able to exceed 500W RMS long-term means nothing other than you make some more heat. Power compression negates any benefits.

In my not overly humble opinion, I want as much peak power as I can get, and I'm perfectly content to have maximum continuous amp power at or a little below the actual thermal capacity of my drivers.

I'm surprised amp manufacturers haven't caught on and offered amps with conservative continuous ratings and 10dB more peak power. Something that actually makes sense that no one does!

Edit: if you really care how your subs perform, start comparing port area. It is far more important than a few hundred watts of input power.
 
Re: SRX718 to 'what powered/active sub?'

All valid point. Just that more amp mean less stress to the amp and much better control of the cone movement.
We are maybe slitting hairs here but at the end, changing the boxes to get a new one that are even 5% inferior is not a wise move.
 
I don't know TBH. I'm not trying to discount your experiences, just trying to clear up some facts about the spec sheets that have been discussed in detail in the past (PSW discussions if memory serves me correct).
 
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