# Image Dynamics IDMAX15v4D2 - Unboxing Review



## 68962 (Aug 19, 2013)

*Product:* Image Dynamics IDMAX 15" Driver
*Model #:* "IDMAX15v4D2"
*Author:* OneSpiritBrain (Michael)
*Credentials:* Eyes and ears for quality, love for the audible world, love for car audio, passionate love for music production, 6 years working with industrial electricity, and loads of effort put in to being as knowledgeable about car audio as possible. 

*Introduction:*
The IDMAX is well known for it's ability to accurately reproduce sub frequency bass at high output levels. It, along with every Image Dynamic product, is also known to be a quality piece of equipment that one can rely on performing. The IDMAX15 has been in the works for a very long time and it is finally here. On a personal level the IDMAX means a lot to me. It was the first SQ sub I bought after becoming interested in SQ over SPL. I looked for the "best SQ sub ever" and the searched yielded fine results; the IDMAX. It continued to embolden my switch from SPL oriented setups to SQ oriented setups therefor it holds a special place in my heart.

*First Impressions:*
Holy hell the damn thing weighs a ton...! and the box is huge! Haha no but really the thing weighs 44lbs without the packaging which I'd say weighs at least 10lbs (well exactly 12.5lbs). I am going to commentate the photos which cover most everything so read on.

*Posted Technical Specs:*

IMP:.. Dual 2 Ohm Nominal Impedance
Re:... 1.4 Ohms DC Resistance
Fs:... 29.9 Hz Resonant Frequency
Qes:.. .65 Electrical “Q” 
Qms:.. 1.87 Mechanical “Q”
Qts:.. .48 Total “Q”
Vas:.. 3.67 cuft(104.03 liters) Equivalent Volume
Xmax:. 44 mm Peak Excursion
Sd:... 934.79 cm2 Piston Area
SPL:.. 88.20 dB Sensitivity w/m
BL:... 17.36 Tm Force Factor
Pwr:.. 1200 RMS Power


*Speaker Dimensions/Volume:*

Speaker displacement:.. 0.26 cuft (7.36 liters)
Mounting Depth:........ 264 mm (10.40 in)
Cut Out Diameter:...... 376 mm (14.80 in)
Screw Hole Diameter:... 394 mm (15.52 in)
Outside Diameter:...... 412 mm (16.22 in)


I'm not going to include the box response curves as one should always use WINSID to calculate curves on a box you build yourself anyway.

*Availability:*
Got mine on CACO! The Soundworks (AWESOME SELLER)

*Price:*
MSRP$679

Okay on to the good stuff!











> The new box looks sharp! Black satin finish with some brief info on the IDMAX and Image Dynamics













> Something I noticed upon opening the boxes was that the spec sheet and foam seals were placed neatly in the box. This testifies to the attitude I believe exists at Image Dynamics where every aspect of what they are doing is important and done nicely and carefully.













> There was actually a third box bigger than these two.













> Everything used for protection during shipment. Beefy!













































> Good pic of the unique single layer spyder. Neat material!













> I really love the exclusion of chrome and the black basket! I love the sexiness of this woofer.













> You see how the wings of the emblem on the cone are aligned with the VC leads. That just screams "I CARE ABOUT THIS THING!!!" to me





















> Clean glue lines and what seems to be even amounts of glue.





























> Here is the beautiful 4-layer flat copper wire wound aluminum(I THINK) voice coil. Coil resistance measured 1.4-1.9ohm


Okay so these are the problems I found. Keep in mind these are NOT cookie cutter pieces of equipment and are handcrafted here IN THE USA by people and not machines.



















> These small little chips are all that I could find, hah!













> Okay so the terminal on the left sticks due to the terminal itself rubbing the basket. I would like to fix this. DonH did you do this???? hahahahahaha how neat to ask the man who crafted this thing!


*Summary:*
I am going to go insane waiting to purchase the rest of what I need to get this guy oscillating! No really though, what a piece of artwork! Truly a sexy woofer. The physical quality is apparent and really nice. I am so glad I made this purchase! Now I just have to deal with waiting until tax season to complete this system...!

Please let me know if I made any mistakes and also if I left something out you would like to know about.

Michael


----------



## rexroadj (Oct 31, 2008)

Thanks for taking the time to show pics and write up what you have already written. 
It does look great! I am very anxious to hear about the new 15 Max!


----------



## RNBRAD (Oct 30, 2012)

Thanks for the write up. My only complaint is the push pins designed for banana plugs now don't go all the way through. Because of that I was unable to use my banana plugs. It just pinched the tips and they popped off before I could drop the woofer in the box.


----------



## BuickGN (May 29, 2009)

Looks nice. I still wish ID would rate their xmax using the 70% BL or whatever it is that most use. Maybe it's the overhang method, I don't know. But some standard so we can compare to other subs. The published xmax isn't much better than my 15s and mine aren't exactly known as a high xmax sub. This thing probably has 25-29mm one way xmax. Cone area is excellent. If I ever try something other than what I have and it doesn't have the JL logo it had better excel in one area and having significantly more xmax and cone area might make me a potential future customer.

How long until this thing is up and running? I'm waiting for a good detailed and honest review in a sealed or IB setup to get an idea of how musical they are. It looks like they would do well in pairs in a trunk and retain a somewhat low Q. I would love to have a pair of 15s that would give a .5 Q in the trunk and these might do it.


----------



## miniSQ (Aug 4, 2009)

BuickGN said:


> Looks nice. I still wish ID would rate their xmax using the 70% BL or whatever it is that most use. Maybe it's the overhang method, I don't know. But some standard so we can compare to other subs. The published xmax isn't much better than my 15s and mine aren't exactly known as a high xmax sub. This thing probably has 25-29mm one way xmax. Cone area is excellent. If I ever try something other than what I have and it doesn't have the JL logo it had better excel in one area and having significantly more xmax and cone area might make me a potential future customer.
> 
> How long until this thing is up and running? I'm waiting for a good detailed and honest review in a sealed or IB setup to get an idea of how musical they are. It looks like they would do well in pairs in a trunk and retain a somewhat low Q. I would love to have a pair of 15s that would give a .5 Q in the trunk and these might do it.


i wish i could make this full size


----------



## edouble101 (Dec 9, 2010)

Looks like a very nice driver. I am anxious to read reviews. I am sure there will be many 

What alignments do you plan on testing this driver OneSpiritBrain? A comparison between sealed and ported would be great!


----------



## BuickGN (May 29, 2009)

miniSQ said:


> i wish i could make this full size


If you had half a brain you could see I'm saying they're underrating their drivers and you would be able to make the image full size. It would be nice to not do that for comparison purposes.


----------



## miniSQ (Aug 4, 2009)

BuickGN said:


> If you had half a brain you could see I'm saying they're underrating their drivers and you would be able to make the image full size. It would be nice to not do that for comparison purposes.


 yeah but you are saying it in every ID thread...THEY ARE AWARE OF YOUR DESIRES.


----------



## G POUNDER (Sep 2, 2013)

WOW!!! ABSOLOUTELY BEAUTIFUL!! Ordered 2 of them last week and scheduled to arrive on Thursday. Can't wait to hear your testimony as I've got a few questions that need answers and seeing as u may be up and running before me, it would be a great chance to see how they perform. Keep the info coming!


----------



## BuickGN (May 29, 2009)

miniSQ said:


> yeah but you are saying it in every ID thread...THEY ARE AWARE OF YOUR DESIRES.


I said it in one thread and the vast majority of my posts were trying to figure out why there was the discrepancy from old to new. Once we finally got that resolved I mentioned they were basically screwing themselves with the ultra conservative rating. That was one thread. Now I'll probably mention it in every ID thread. I may even start a thread about it.


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

great write up. im very sorry that one of the terminals is hitting like that and sticking. What serial number is this driver? please pm me all details. This should have been caught.

great write up!

also please check my most recent post in the V4 thread about XMAX ratings. i went ahead and posted @85% of bl and @70% of bl XMAX ratings.


----------



## BuickGN (May 29, 2009)

28.6mm one way linear and 935cm^2 of cone area. Thank you! That's some serious displacement for any 15", much less a SQ oriented one.


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

BuickGN said:


> 28.6mm one way linear and 935cm^2 of cone area. Thank you! That's some serious displacement for any 15", much less a SQ oriented one.


 and its only the begining my friend! ID is on a resurgance!


----------



## 68962 (Aug 19, 2013)

edouble101 said:


> Looks like a very nice driver. I am anxious to read reviews. I am sure there will be many
> 
> What alignments do you plan on testing this driver OneSpiritBrain? A comparison between sealed and ported would be great!


Actually I do plan on making a removable baffle for the 4ft^3 @27hz box that I am going to build. I will see what I can do for a db meter so I can illustrate the curves. The IDMAX is going in my trunk so it will be a nice real world test for those who go the same route.



G POUNDER said:


> WOW!!! ABSOLOUTELY BEAUTIFUL!! Ordered 2 of them last week and scheduled to arrive on Thursday. Can't wait to hear your testimony as I've got a few questions that need answers and seeing as u may be up and running before me, it would be a great chance to see how they perform. Keep the info coming!


Like I said, it's going to be a while before I am able to purchase the rest of my system. I am sure you will be up and running before me unless your in the same boat. 

As soon as I am up and running I will be sure to post my thoughts. Of course I will dedicate a thread to the build as well.


----------



## G POUNDER (Sep 2, 2013)

OneSpiritBrain said:


> Actually I do plan on making a removable baffle for the 4ft^3 @27hz box that I am going to build. I will see what I can do for a db meter so I can illustrate the curves. The IDMAX is going in my trunk so it will be a nice real world test for those who go the same route.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well I'm fortunate enough to have most all that I need except amp and box. Will push them off my sundown for now but prob won't do any in depth review without sufficient power to them as i'm sure proper power will truly show their worth. That being said, I should be up and at 'em in about a week with proper amp the following week so I will definitely post my thoughts as soon as this occurs.


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

We even hand heave the tinsel, hand glue the tinsels etc. everything about our q and max drivers screams attention to detail and i trully do take pride in every single driver i make


----------



## 68962 (Aug 19, 2013)

DonH said:


> We even hand heave the tinsel, hand glue the tinsels etc. everything about our q and max drivers screams attention to detail and i trully do take pride in every single driver i make


I believe that 100%


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

find a way to get some free air testing done  btw measure the cone, its really a 16" haha


----------



## 04silverz (May 28, 2008)

Let me start by saying I'm a huge id fan. Owned several variations of v2 and v3 max's and cx mids, and max v3 is my favorite sub ever

That said, receiving a sub with chips in magnet and a terminal which binds on basket is defective and needs replaced. No reason a brand new sub, both version and purchased, should have defects. I don't care if they're purely cosmetic or have an affect on the sound. 

I'd be looking at returning that thing or asking for a replacement. 

Maybe it's just me, but I've owned dozens of subs and can't think of any that had those issues. 

Regardless, I'll be snagging a v4 sometime in the next year or so. Gonna try out Dayton ho 12s for a while


----------



## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Just out of idle curiosity, where would one look to buy one of these please ?


----------



## 04silverz (May 28, 2008)

WoofersEtc.com - IDMAX15 V.4 D2 - Image Dynamics 15" Dual 2-Ohm IDMAX V.4 Series Subwoofer

I think sonic has them too
Not sure any of our guys on here selling them yet, though I could definitely be wrong on that


----------



## 68962 (Aug 19, 2013)

Coppertone said:


> Just out of idle curiosity, where would one look to buy one of these please ?


Find "The Soundworks" on CACO. And tell Brooke I sent you.


----------



## bluewave (Apr 2, 2011)

we are a dealer for ID and would be more then happy to help you guys out. 

Don give me a call
210-689-2282 we gotta talk


Steve


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

bluewave said:


> we are a dealer for ID and would be more then happy to help you guys out.
> 
> Don give me a call
> 210-689-2282 we gotta talk
> ...


will do


----------



## sirbOOm (Jan 24, 2013)

We just got one of these - of course it's in a box but I almost cried a little. 

Now that I've seen photos of it I've now had to go change my pants... literally.


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

sirbOOm said:


> We just got one of these - of course it's in a box but I almost cried a little.
> 
> Now that I've seen photos of it I've now had to go change my pants... literally.


please provide us with feedback on the product! if there are any improvements we can do to make them better let us know, as we want the best product on the market out there!


----------



## S.A.-K.I.D. (May 27, 2013)

Cool looking & interesting subwoofer w/solid potential. For me, its not. Too heavy & too deep, similar to the whole line of maxs for me. I still can see a lot of people getting them because of the exceptional history & the long awaited anticipation. Many will come.

DonH, I have a question. Are you guys still building the Q line w/composite or will stamped(maybe cast now) baskets prevail? Thanks for any info & may we all live long w/healthy hearing to really appreciate the music of choice...


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

S.A.-K.I.D. said:


> Cool looking & interesting subwoofer w/solid potential. For me, its not. Too heavy & too deep, similar to the whole line of maxs for me. I still can see a lot of people getting them because of the exceptional history & the long awaited anticipation. Many will come.
> 
> DonH, I have a question. Are you guys still building the Q line w/composite or will stamped(maybe cast now) baskets prevail? Thanks for any info & may we all live long w/healthy hearing to really appreciate the music of choice...


The v4 q's do not have the composite baskets any more! they are a thing of the past now. Stamped steel baskets with the same look are now used.


----------



## BuickGN (May 29, 2009)

I just noticed something after looking at this old thread. Have the spiders changed from the first Max15s to the slightly newer ones? 

I noticed the spider in these pictures looks to be a different/lighter color. I know the flash was used in some of them so I took pictures of mine with a flash and they still come out completely black.

The other difference is mine looks to have 2 more pleats in the spider. I want to say the pleats are deeper on mine but it's too hard to tell from a picture.

Just wondering if the spiders have been changed for better or for worse. Also, does anyone know if these are linear or progressive? I thought progressive had unevenly spaced pleats toward the outside but I can't remember for sure.


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

BuickGN said:


> I just noticed something after looking at this old thread. Have the spiders changed from the first Max15s to the slightly newer ones?
> 
> I noticed the spider in these pictures looks to be a different/lighter color. I know the flash was used in some of them so I took pictures of mine with a flash and they still come out completely black.
> 
> ...


I havent been at image for almost 9 months now and I can tell you that parts changed. We had to REJECT close to 60% of the spiders that came in due to over heating/burning of the spiders. thanks China.. (oops did I say that?) I hope they didnt go with cheaper material. 

About it beign progressive, the guy who re-designed it was a joke IMHO. I wont say his name but he was NOT a damn speaker engineer. When I built them I did a few tweaks to the driver to make them better BUT the spiders have a very very slight progressive roll. un-noticeable to the naked eye.


----------



## BuickGN (May 29, 2009)

DonH said:


> I havent been at image for almost 9 months now and I can tell you that parts changed. We had to REJECT close to 60% of the spiders that came in due to over heating/burning of the spiders. thanks China.. (oops did I say that?) I hope they didnt go with cheaper material.
> 
> About it beign progressive, the guy who re-designed it was a joke IMHO. I wont say his name but he was NOT a damn speaker engineer. When I built them I did a few tweaks to the driver to make them better BUT the spiders have a very very slight progressive roll. un-noticeable to the naked eye.


Thanks. Are these tweaks reflected in the T/S parameters? When entering the parameters in WinISD I get nearly 16tm on the dual 4ohm version which is significantly higher than the factory spec. Moving mass is 320g, is this about right? I'm glad you guys rejected the bad spiders instead of using them. I hope QC is what it should be. Every time I get close to 1" of total excursion on mine I get a burning smell from both of them and they're IB so 1" doesn't require a lot of power.

Are there any visual things I can look for to determine if any changes have been made to mine from the original.


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

what serial number do you have? I built approx 250 D4's and about 300 D2's ( why I remember this is I put those damn stickers on )


----------



## caraudiopimps (May 4, 2016)

DonH said:


> great write up. im very sorry that one of the terminals is hitting like that and sticking. What serial number is this driver? please pm me all details. This should have been caught.
> 
> great write up!
> 
> also please check my most recent post in the V4 thread about XMAX ratings. i went ahead and posted @85% of bl and @70% of bl XMAX ratings.


Hey don! You're the man, I'm running the IDQ12D2 v.4 In a vented enclosure, PHENOMENAL SOUND, and build quality too! I grabbed a set of the ctx6.5cs (not installed yet but I'm excited to hear them!) until I can afford the HAT 3 way set I want (no offense). 

I'm looking for some more output though, I like my bass, but sq comes first. So I've got a couple quick questions for ya, since you're the best equipped to answer!

My idq is running in series at 4ohms 750w off a Zapco ST-1650XM, could it handle a bit more power (my amp's gain isn't even close to maxed and I'm pretty sure it won't distort til near full)?

If I were to grab the d4 IDMax 15, would my sq suffer much running the coils in parallel at 2ohms (if any).

I'm running a Zapco ST-1650XM so I should be fine running 2ohms up at the 1200rms (or more) of the 15 IDMax, and I have plenty of room for a nice big box, but I'm also curious how much more output I could expect (on top of the deeper lows) if I upgrade. 

Thanks a TON for your time, I really love your company, thanks for being a member here! 

P.s. I'll be posting a full review on the idq when I have some serious time listening and writing.


----------

