# Exodus EX-Anarchy Midwoofer



## katodevin (Feb 14, 2008)

Last weekend, I installed a pair of the Exodus EX-Anarchy midwoofers in my doors. No one has really mentioned anything about these drivers and I thought I'd provide some personal impressions and non-scientific feedback. There seems to be a lot of tech jargon associated with these drivers such as an XBL motor (?), aerodynamic design of the spider/pole assembly, etc. If someone could provide some more info as to what these pieces of tech actually do, I'd really appreciate it. I did some reading about the XBL motor, but could only find "sales-ish" documentation about it basically stating it was the next coming of Jesus. I'd love some independent feedback on what the XBL motor acutally is along with its benefits.

DIYCable.com : Intro » Home » Exodus Subwoofers » 

These were on an introductory special for $45 each, and have since gone up in price to $70 each. I still feel that they are a very good value at the $70 price point.

I chose these basically because of their high x-max characteristics, with the expectation of using them only as midbasses playing up to ~ 600hz. I was basically looking for an alternative to shoehorning an 8inch midbass into my doors, but still upgrading my midbass performance. I was not concerned with the ability for it to play any higher than 1khz at the most. When I was running 2-way, I used the Seas reed drivers, which had exceptional performance when crossed as high as 2khz with a 12db slope, but did not have the midbass performance I wanted.

The Anarchy midwoofers are on the medium/large size, but had no problem fitting in my doors unlike the Tang-Band underhung mids that I was forced to return. I mounted them to 3/4th inch MDF baffles, and used foam weatherstripping between the baffles and the doors and the driver and the baffle. The drivers themselves also had a built in foam strip, which was a nice touch.

They are running as part of a 3-way, mated with Hybrid L3's and L1v2's. I am using a JL HD900/5 bridged to push these guys. They handle power VERY VERY well. I was impressed by the lack of motor noise when testing them with low tones, even when they are reaching high excursion. I experimented with several different crossover settings, until I settled on 63hz @ 18db for now. 

I am really enjoying these drivers in my 3-way. They have massive amounts of articulate midbass and the lower crossover point has brought my bass very far forward. Basslines have very good detail, and drums have more "chest-al" impact. I have listened to them at medium-high levels, and feel that this crossover point is manageable for the driver to handle. They remained very clean and without any noticeable amount of distortion or coloration. I think that if you are planning on going for very high listening levels, you may want to bump it up to 80-100hz.

For those of you with 2-ways, I tested them a bit by bumping them up to 2khz and 2.5khz to see how they performed. They were acceptable at 2khz with a steep slope, but I cannot recommend them for use at 2.5khz. The breakup was very noticeable, and was not pleasant for listening. In this department, my old Seas reed's had them beat by a long shot. So unless you have a tweeter that goes very low, or are one of those guys who are running a full range in lieu of a tweeter, I would not recommend these for 2-way use. 

Let me know if you have any other questions or need any more non-scientific feedback  

Thanks.


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## mSaLL150 (Aug 14, 2008)

Sweet! I've been waiting for a review on these guys. Sounds like a great alternative for midbass if you cannot fit an 8" driver.

How much power are you putting to them? They have low sensitivity, so for a midbass only application it seems they would probably eat up gobbs of power.

Here are some tech articles on the XBL motor:

http://www.adireaudio.com/Files/XBL2DetailsPaper.pdf

http://www.adireaudio.com/Files/XBL2TechPaper.pdf

http://www.adireaudio.com/Files/XBL2ExecSummary.pdf


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## rimshot (May 17, 2005)

I believe some were saying due to the specs it wouldn't be very efficient in the doors but you seem to be experiencing very good results with it. Punchy midbass and plays clean down to 63hz, that sounds great. Damn things are 0.1 in too deep for me otherwise id order a pair . How much more output are you experiencing compared to the seas driver? It has nearly twice the linear excursion so I was wondering what that actually translated to in the real world. The review is very appreciated!


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Seems like a suitable replacement for the defunct Mpyers too.


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## s4turn (Jun 17, 2009)

they look like DDW 6.5 mids? from the pics?

awesome price for midbass drivers though


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## katodevin (Feb 14, 2008)

rimshot said:


> I believe some were saying due to the specs it wouldn't be very efficient in the doors but you seem to be experiencing very good results with it. Punchy midbass and plays clean down to 63hz, that sounds great. Damn things are 0.1 in too deep for me otherwise id order a pair . How much more output are you experiencing compared to the seas driver? It has nearly twice the linear excursion so I was wondering what that actually translated to in the real world. The review is very appreciated!


It's really hard to compare them directly to the Seas, since they play a LOT lower. If I had a gun to my head, I'd say they were at least 2 times louder than the Seas at the 80-60hz region. The Seas were EXCELLENT drivers, but a bit weak on the low end, which is totally understandable, as that is more subwoofer duty.

If its only .1 in too deep, then make a thicker ring


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## katodevin (Feb 14, 2008)

mSaLL150 said:


> How much power are you putting to them? They have low sensitivity, so for a midbass only application it seems they would probably eat up gobbs of power.



The JL ratings are a bit funky cuz of the RIPS system (maybe mrsmith could clarify), but I _believe_ that when the 900/5 is bridged, it puts out 200 watts @ 8 ohms.

Either way, its waaaay more than enough. I'd have to upgrade the rest of my speakers to keep up with these suckers if I pushed them any louder. So I don't think power/efficiency is really an issue unless you're running a small amp, or are running REALLY loud tweeters/high mids/sub.

BTW, I'm running a BM MKIII along with the Hybrids.


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## Electrodynamic (Nov 27, 2007)

s4turn said:


> they look like DDW 6.5 mids? from the pics?
> 
> awesome price for midbass drivers though


The basket, cone, surround, and motor look completely different from the DDW unless I'm completely missing something? About the only thing they have in common is a single magnet slug.

Thanks for the review though! I've been wondering if anyone on this forum was going to pick up a pair of these monsters for their midbass duties. They're a bit deep for car use, but that hasn't stopped DIYMA members before! With XBL^2 I knew they'd do well up to at least 1k, and 12mm of Xmax was going to be sufficient for kick-ass midbass. Good job going into detail about the crossover points too.


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## s4turn (Jun 17, 2009)

taken from nzice - cheers fokker  (maybe its an older model DD)


















I guess I should of said they look similar to 'me'
edited** but yes I do see the differences there 

I was looking at getting the exodus speakers.. but i think shipping would of been more than the actual cost of the drivers to be sent to NZ


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## [email protected] (Jun 12, 2008)

s4turn said:


> taken from nzice - cheers fokker  (maybe its an older model DD)
> 
> 
> 
> ...


They look nothing alike to me, different top plates, bottom plates, magnet, cone, dust cap, basket, and different spiders


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## katodevin (Feb 14, 2008)

Yah, the only similarity I see is that they both look like they've been eating a lot of oreos.


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## fredk (Dec 27, 2008)

Yup, nice driver. I'm using a pair in a small (.5cf) mini-monitor with a 38Hz -3db point. At $45, I picked up an extra to use as a sub in my car at some point.

FWIW, in a tapped horn, this driver will play flat to 25Hz, though it won't be particularly loud at that tuning.


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## fish (Jun 30, 2007)

Nice review. I also read your review of the "ID" OEM 2.5 midbass. If you don't mind, could you give some comparisons between those two?


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## katodevin (Feb 14, 2008)

fish said:


> Nice review. I also read your review of the "ID" OEM 2.5 midbass. If you don't mind, could you give some comparisons between those two?


The Anarchy's have less motor noise, and can get louder with less distortion. The ID's have a bit more "punch" (perhaps due to their much tighter suspension?). I'd say that the Anarchy's sound a bit more true to the original program content. The ID's are a bit shallower, but are just as beefy, weight-wise as the Anarchy's. I think that either the ID's or the Anarchy's would be a very good choice for the bottom end of a 3-way, and I think that I would be hard pressed to differentiate between the two in a double blind test while listening to normal music output from the full system.

BTW, those pics of the "DD's" look VERY VERY similar to the ID 2.5's. I'd almost guarantee that they were made @ the same factory.


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## Jroo (May 24, 2006)

I was also looking for an alternative for the mypre midbass. It sounds like these dont have any issues playing IB in a door. I assume as long as the door is damped well I could place these on a baffle in a door and go. I only have about 150 rms to use. Is that fine or do they need more or less?


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## WLDock (Sep 27, 2005)

katodevin said:


> For those of you with 2-ways, I tested them a bit by bumping them up to 2khz and 2.5khz to see how they performed. They were acceptable at 2khz with a steep slope, but I cannot recommend them for use at 2.5khz. The breakup was very noticeable, and was not pleasant for listening. In this department, my old Seas reed's had them beat by a long shot. So unless you have a tweeter that goes very low, or are one of those guys who are running a full range in lieu of a tweeter, I would not recommend these for 2-way use.Thanks.


 I almost bought a set of these myself at the entry price in hopes that the response was out to 3KHz. My thoughts changed after seeing the reviews around. Still, I was going to try them at 2K-2.5KHz with the SB Acoustics tweets. DIY cable claims that the 4K breakup should not need a notch with a 3rd or 4th order slope.

I still would like to see what these can do in a 2-way. Would be interesting to compare against the SB Acoustics mid mated with the SB tweets.


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## katodevin (Feb 14, 2008)

Jroo said:


> I was also looking for an alternative for the mypre midbass. It sounds like these dont have any issues playing IB in a door. I assume as long as the door is damped well I could place these on a baffle in a door and go. I only have about 150 rms to use. Is that fine or do they need more or less?


Yeah, my door is very well dampened. I have several layers of rammat and ensolite. I also have put a lot of open cell foam on my door card along with additional rammat. I am still getting a bit of rattles and will be tackling them soon.

It's really hard for me to say for sure if 150 RMS is enough. This is due to the fact that I do not know how much of my 200 RMS I am using, and also due to the fact that I have no idea how loud you want your music, and @ what crossover point.

If I were to guess, I'd say that 150 RMS is plenty and that you should give it a shot if you're really looking for a good midbass to use in a 3-way.


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## katodevin (Feb 14, 2008)

Just an update. I've settled on 63hz @ 30db slope for my lowend cut off. I'm still loving these guys and have actually ordered another pair before they go up even more in price.


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## Jin4g63 (Sep 14, 2010)

the price is at 75 dollars a piece now planning to order shiva and the anarchy would these sound bad if i was to run these 2way i dont have any tweeters in mind but i hear good things about hybrid never heard them but seems like my taste but so expensive im gonna be low on funds after i buy these speakers it would be sweet to run 3 way like your set up maybe later when im more expereinced and richer haha but any good tweets to match these for 2way? sorry for bumping a old thread


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## Cruzer (Jul 16, 2010)

i see them listed as $85 a piece.

these are perfect for 3 way, and i talked to them and they say they will play from 20hz up to 5k so it should perform nicely in a 2 way, but i would cross higher than 20hz and lower than 5k for the best results imo.


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## Jin4g63 (Sep 14, 2010)

yeah they are 85 i got switrched up with something else


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## Jin4g63 (Sep 14, 2010)

Cruzer said:


> i see them listed as $85 a piece.
> 
> these are perfect for 3 way, and i talked to them and they say they will play from 20hz up to 5k so it should perform nicely in a 2 way, but i would cross higher than 20hz and lower than 5k for the best results imo.


ic well ifound these they look alright i guess 1500-40000hz

Vifa XT25BG60-04 1" Shielded Dual Ring Radiator Tweeter | Parts-Express.com

never mind thats to expensive i thought that was for the pair haha


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## Cruzer (Jul 16, 2010)

Jin4g63 said:


> ic well ifound these they look alright i guess 1500-40000hz
> 
> Vifa XT25BG60-04 1" Shielded Dual Ring Radiator Tweeter | Parts-Express.com


im using vifa XT25 tweeters. no complaints. they did fairly well on the poll on here. 3rd most votes

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...1559-diymas-favorite-budget-tweeters-1-a.html


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## Jin4g63 (Sep 14, 2010)

Cruzer said:


> im using vifa XT25 tweeters. no complaints. they did fairly well on the poll on here. 3rd most votes
> 
> http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...1559-diymas-favorite-budget-tweeters-1-a.html


Sweet thanks cruzer for the help


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## cirodias (Dec 12, 2008)

Good review!

congratz


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## Deafabove30Hz (May 21, 2014)

Just inquiring about the Exodus Anarchy woofer to see if anyone has ever found what the rms rating is for each? I have been digging around and found nodda, even Erich at DIY Sound isn't sure. It would be good info to include with the spec sheet IMO, and would really help to plan out a system. If anyone has run across this info could you share it? Thx in advance!


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## Beckerson1 (Jul 3, 2012)

Deafabove30Hz said:


> Just inquiring about the Exodus Anarchy woofer to see if anyone has ever found what the rms rating is for each? I have been digging around and found nodda, even Erich at DIY Sound isn't sure. It would be good info to include with the spec sheet IMO, and would really help to plan out a system. If anyone has run across this info could you share it? Thx in advance!


Well its really subject to your crossover point. A higher HP crossover point will result in increased power handling. Basically a driver can say handle only 50Wrms with a crossover at 50hz but if that is increased to 80hz you may be closer to 80Wrms out of it. You have to listen to what the speaker is telling you. Distortion, ect...

I ran them off of 70Wrms and I felt they could handle more so starting off I would say 100Wrms with a HPF at 80hz no problem. IIRC before Erich bought these I remember seeing a rating at 125Wrms... But I can't recall where the crossover point was to figure this... Please keep in mind this is a assumption. I am in no way responsible for damage to the driver.


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## Deafabove30Hz (May 21, 2014)

Thx! I had a channel open at 145 rms and was looking for a way to incorporate a nice dedicated midbass that would round out a 2-way setup I already had that were great in the mids/highs and so-so in the lower midbass. Thx for the lesson, it makes perfect sense regarding the crossover point I just didn't have to intuition to see it for myself. <---NOOB. What a revelation, I have an amp under-powering some components by 10w rms and getting pretty warm, perhaps I run the HPF up another 10-20Hz or so that might help take off some stress and solve an issue. Besides, these Anarchy woofers will take over the low duty from here on out and let the components focus on what they do best. Thx again!


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## Jroo (May 24, 2006)

power is something you dont have to worry about with the anarchys. Search some of the install using them, some have placed over 200 rms to them. Certainly you dont have place that much on them, but they do like power. One thing to really think about is your install and having a dead panel or some type of enclosure for them. Great driver but will certainly bring to light any issues your install has.


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## HTX (Aug 7, 2007)

I just recently installed a pair of these in my car, and they are phenominal! I am running them as 8 ohm load into my ppi bk800.4 and the midbass on these are crazy. Its like subs in my door, oh my door is heavenly deadened too.


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## Deafabove30Hz (May 21, 2014)

You have them running IB and not in any enclosure? Cool. 8 ohm and still pounding out midbass heh? I am getting way too excited about getting mine now. I almost feel like I am going to be choking them off crossing them at 250, but that is where my 3-way crossover takes me. I was originally going with a $30 Dayton Audio SD215A-88 8" DVC Subwoofer which had decent specs for what I wanted, but I have been convinced to build up some cash for the Anarchy instead. I hope I can get mine to sound as good as yours.


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## Jroo (May 24, 2006)

250 down seems about perfect. Some run them higher, but that is about the sweet spot. Dont worry about the 4 ohm/8ohm thing. Remember until the revamp, they only came in 8 ohm and I never saw a complaint about them. Again, these are very install dependent. Panel or door has to be treated and these also do very well in an enclosure if you can make that happen.


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## Beckerson1 (Jul 3, 2012)

Freq response for the 4 ohm Anarchys. As you can see its quite decent to 1k and gets a little rough after that point but overall very capable of crossing into the higher range.


2006 Civic Si doors heavily dampened and solid baffle to door skin contact. Dip from 150 to about 900 is most likely due to my leg. Test was done with driver side mid playing only. I current dont run the anarchys but will when I get my a pillars done.


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## T3mpest (Dec 25, 2005)

This is an XBL^2 driver, once the coil leaves the gap, motor force drops very fast.  Mechanically bottoming these will be nearly impossible. You'll fry the coil thermally before your'll do any real damage from to the coil or suspension mechanically. That's true of any properly designed XBL^2 driver.. 

IIRC when Kevin first launched these he reccommended about 125 watts RMS for these.. They aren't super effecient since they are designed to play low and were more for MTM combos in the home, so I'd say the more power the better. Just remember your not likely to bottom them out when pushing them too hard, so listen for excess distortion in the midrange and try not to run them full bore with a huge amp for super long period.. 200 watts RMS should be more than enough to get you near their limits, and safe if you keep the signal squeaky clean. 125 would be safe for daily and even driven into a soft clip with they take that just fine.


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## Beckerson1 (Jul 3, 2012)

T3mpest said:


> This is an XBL^2 driver, once the coil leaves the gap, motor force drops very fast. Mechanically bottoming these will be nearly impossible. You'll fry the coil thermally before your'll do any real damage from to the coil or suspension mechanically. That's true of any properly designed XBL^2 driver..
> 
> IIRC when Kevin first launched these he reccommended about 125 watts RMS for these.. They aren't super effecient since they are designed to play low and were more for MTM combos in the home, so I'd say the more power the better. Just remember your not likely to bottom them out when pushing them too hard, so listen for excess distortion in the midrange and try not to run them full bore with a huge amp for super long period.. 200 watts RMS should be more than enough to get you near their limits, and safe if you keep the signal squeaky clean. 125 would be safe for daily and even driven into a soft clip with they take that just fine.


Very true. The Anarchy Horns play down to the mechanical limit of the driver (right around 20hz). Even that low your looking at a comfortable 70W rms before you unload to much and get some unwanted noise out of the driver. Amazing little drivers and one reason I'm going to do a HT build with them as the star of the show.


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## plcrides (Mar 21, 2014)

where can you buy a set of 6.5 anarchy's at? i was searching last night and didn't find any for sale.


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## Beckerson1 (Jul 3, 2012)

plcrides said:


> where can you buy a set of 6.5 anarchy's at? i was searching last night and didn't find any for sale.


Home page DIY Sound Group

8 or 4 ohm


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## plcrides (Mar 21, 2014)

thanks,so the monsters have to be built like some sub woofer companies do,thats crazy fun


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## Nismo (Jan 10, 2010)

I wanted the 4 ohm originally when Kevin was still making them, but never had the money and kicked myself when they were discontinued. When I found out that Erich was getting them started again, AND were getting them in 4 ohm, I bought 6 of them (2 for my brother).

Mine are still in boxes, and I can't wait to get these going. If it weren't for the 2nd baby and wife having to take a lot of time off work, I'd be close to putting these in!

Eric


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## Beau (Oct 8, 2005)

Nismo said:


> I wanted the 4 ohm originally when Kevin was still making them, but never had the money and kicked myself when they were discontinued. When I found out that Erich was getting them started again, AND were getting them in 4 ohm, I bought 6 of them (2 for my brother).
> 
> Mine are still in boxes, and I can't wait to get these going. If it weren't for the 2nd baby and wife having to take a lot of time off work, I'd be close to putting these in!
> 
> Eric


A wife with a new baby has a way of keeping her husband from putting things in, thats for sure.


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## Valdemar (Aug 19, 2014)

Not to revive an old thread but I'd like to chime in here. I have 4 in my car; 2 per door. I fiberglassed custom sealed enclosures for these at around .3 cubes or so. Not ideal. But these things are tough! I have the sub outs on a pair of jl hd running these parallel at 2 ohm. They handle power like a champ. Obviously gain at min until I set them properly but I've only ever felt them warm once in the middle of summer. Currently they're a dedicated midbass crossed at 300 to l3se's. They love it. I like to go higher though maybe 500. I've used 1000 and while it wasn't bad I don't have too much experience. They are usual set at 65 ish and don't mind unless I turn it up, they start to strain. Currently without a high pass (yes, all the way down) they are great for moderate listening. easy to make them sound like poo this low though. No sub is getting old.


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