# Need sub advice from some of the older members



## kennyg (Jun 23, 2007)

OK, so my favorite subs of all time are these ancient Orion XTR Series 2's. I've had ALOT of subs over the years, and I can't seem to find a damn thing that compares. If I wanted to find something thats going to sound very, very similar, and hopefully specs very, very similar - where would I look??


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## OldSkool_08 (Jun 6, 2008)

T/S parameters for the Orion XTR Series 2?


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## benny (Apr 7, 2008)

XTR Series 3s.


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## kennyg (Jun 23, 2007)

benny said:


> XTR Series 3s.



Series 3's were a joke, thats when Orion started to go downhill, and their buildhouses started fvcking with them (anybody remember the last pre-DEI HCCA's that went up in smoke on a regular basis??). IIRC, spec'd closer to the newer post-DEI XTR 10/12D's, than it did to the Series 2's. Wouldn't handle as much power, didn't quite sound the same, and would never take as mucn abuse. 

Besides that, I meant for a new driver. I'll post the .pdf of the T/S's I have on the XTR2 when I get home from work tonight.


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## benny (Apr 7, 2008)

Ive run original XTRs, an SXTR DVC, and currently have a pair of XTR3 10s in the garage. I dont know what your talking about, other than power handling, my XTR3s sound just like my SXTR did.


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## kennyg (Jun 23, 2007)

Attached is the spec sheet for the XTR Series 2. Discuss. Thanks guys!!!


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## kennyg (Jun 23, 2007)

For comparisons sake, here is the spec sheet for the Series 3, as well as a Pioneer TS-W304C, which was a huge forum favorite at one time, and honestly a sub I really enjoyed. Not as well defined, and definitely not as loud as the Orion, but had a similar sound.


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## kennyg (Jun 23, 2007)

Damn, they're askin ALOT of money for them  I emailed the seller anyways, those (2) 12" DVC's would be AMAZING. Hard to justify hundreds of dollars for 12+ year old drivers, but.....

In all reality though, if I wanted to purchase a driver that was new with a warranty, what would I look at that would be as comparable as possible to these?? Just looking at a couple sites, the Image Dynamics ID subs look like they spec very, very similar, just not nearly as efficient.


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## ratten46 (Nov 16, 2008)

kennyg said:


> OK, so my favorite subs of all time are these ancient Orion XTR Series 2's. I've had ALOT of subs over the years, and I can't seem to find a damn thing that compares. If I wanted to find something thats going to sound very, very similar, and hopefully specs very, very similar - where would I look??


I'm with you on this. I had a pair of XTR10's back in the day when you could buy these new in the store, had only 50 watts to each of them...and damn they hit hard. Haven't found anything to match it today....even with more power on tap, cannot get the same sound.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

ratten46 said:


> I'm with you on this. I had a pair of XTR10's back in the day when you could buy these new in the store, had only 50 watts to each of them...and damn they hit hard. Haven't found anything to match it today....even with more power on tap, cannot get the same sound.


Things were a lot different then as far as manufacturing, everything is dirt cheap in China and it shows 

KennyG,

just spend the money and get the sound . . . it's really that simple.


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

See if any of these match up, they made some brand name subs here in the past.
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diy-mobile-audio-sq-forum/82780-usa-made-subs-imagine.html


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## dohckiller808 (Sep 15, 2009)

might want to look at atomic quantum series.


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## kennyg (Jun 23, 2007)

a$$hole said:


> Things were a lot different then as far as manufacturing, everything is dirt cheap in China and it shows
> 
> KennyG,
> 
> just spend the money and get the sound . . . it's really that simple.


Spend the money on what? Thats what I'm asking, lol.


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## Team Bassick - Kimo (Sep 15, 2009)

I jumped in this thread because i thought I would be able to give some advice but, after seeing what your comparing too I have to agree with a lot of what everyone is saying above. It is really going to be hard to find something as efficient and clean as an older pair of subs like those. I just tossed a 12" XTR3 DVC the other day was kind of sad. However, I guess the real question would be is what is your ultimate goal?

Construction and Materials of new speakers today changes a lot of the sound characteristics that older speakers had. For example I'm running an older pair of MB Quart speakers in my SQ set up which was mainly made of a paper cone instead of composite and Titanium tweeter instead of silk. Now compared to a newer pair of components which to the ear is more pleasant and smooth in reality there are some details and warmth missing. A lot can be said for a pair of sub woofers as well. There are plenty of older speakers out there so you may just want to pick up an older set of subs and see. M&M, G&S, EV, Cerwin Vega (old school), RF (Series 1). If you are going to go new school I'd have to plug in DC Audio - Home. Hit up Rusty and discuss your specifics you want the woofer to have and he can build something for you. I use a 12" DC LVL 3 for the Low end of my SQ set up.


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

Most subs are tuned lower today for a smaller enclosure and more power, and have lower spl. This is ideal in many cases, except IB or a larger box. Some of the lower lines of well known makers are similar to the older subs. Yeah I like paper cones too I remember when the early cheap poly subs had a lot of cone noise and a few still do, but nominal mass produced subs are far better now with poly.

These cheap pyles kind of remind me of the old days with heavy paper cones and all, but I have no idea how they stack up. Simply figured I don't need huge output and a pair of 15s is overkill...so they don't need to be special subs. I stuck a bass music CD in yesterday and dialed the level up, output is beyond what I can use.

All that said, there are piles of subs available today....do some hunting and you have to be able to find something comparable.


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