Yorkville LS1208 Woofer Upgrade?

Douglas Cyr

New member
Sep 23, 2022
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Frederick, MD
Hello everyone,

I've been doing live sound for several years but have never built/customized my own cabinets.

I have four Yorkville LS1208 horn loaded subwoofers. I'm wondering if I would get any increased performance (low frequency extension) by upgrading the driver. I opened one cabinet up and measured the driver with DATS V3.

I've heard that changing the driver in a horn can be questionable. they're currently loaded with what looks like an OEM'd B&C ferrite magnet driver with an F(s) of 44Hz.
I talked to someone before who said he replaced his with B&C 18TBW100's and got better low end response.

I've also heard that neodymium drivers aren't well suited for horn loading because the magnets are more sensitive to heat.

Are either of those statements true?

Link to Subwoofer Product Page: https://yorkville.com/subwoofers/elite/product/ls1208/

Pics of cabinet, driver, and DATS response in and out of box: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/nmml3781l6z1ckkj045av/h?dl=0&rlkey=2lxsgwc14h5i88zlv8i41swk6

So far I've looked at these drivers:
B&C 18TBW100
LaVoce184.03
FaitalPro 18HW1070

I appreciate any feedback,
Thanks!