Hybrid Audio Technologies Imagine-Series, Imagine I6SW, Imagine I8SW, Imagine I10SW Installation Manual & User's Reference

Imagine-Series Subwoofers

Installation Manual & User’s Reference

Contents

Welcome and Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3

The Imagine Subwoofer – A Brief History ........................................................................................................................ 4

Imagine Subwoofer Attributes ............................................................................................................................................ 4

Basket/Frame .................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Motor and Voice Coil ....................................................................................................................................................... 4

Suspension, Cone, Tinsel Leads, and Terminals ........................................................................................................ 4

Summary ............................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Imagine Subwoofer Specifications .................................................................................................................................... 5

Imagine I6SW Enclosure Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 6

Imagine I8SW Enclosure Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 6

Imagine I10SW Enclosure Recommendations ................................................................................................................ 6

Imagine I6SW Mechanical Drawing .................................................................................................................................. 7

Imagine I8SW Mechanical Drawing .................................................................................................................................. 8

Imagine I10SW Mechanical Drawing ................................................................................................................................ 9

Warranty .............................................................................................................................................................................. 10

Thank You! .......................................................................................................................................................................... 11

Welcome and Introduction

Congratulations on your purchase of high performance Imagine-series subwoofer loudspeakers, and
welcome to the world of Hybrid Audio Technologies, where high-end mobile audio loudspeaker
development is our passion! When installed and set-up properly, the Imagine drivers you have
purchased will make a remarkable improvement in the sound quality of virtually any mobile audio
sound system and give years of superior performance.

Thank you for going “on line” to read and download your User’s Manual. Our offices are located
amongst the evergreens in North Georgia USA, and we happen to like trees. Aside from the obvious
aesthetic benefits, trees improve our air, protect our water, save energy, and improve economic
sustainability. Additionally, it is expensive to print and distribute thousands of copies of an owner’s
manual; we’d rather invest our production dollars into an incredible line-up of speaker systems for
your listening pleasure. With online resources becoming the main source of information for more and
more people, we are pleased that you’re here, reading this manual on line, verses having a print copy
which might get read once and put back into the gift box, or worse yet, discarded.

With the publication of this user’s manual and reference guide, it is our goal to assist the “do it
yourself” enthusiast and professional installer alike in getting the highest level of performance out of
Imagine subwoofer drivers using straight-forward installation advice. Keep this manual handy
throughout your installation process, and any time you go to improve your audio system with other
Hybrid Audio Technologies products, or perhaps to take advantage of our lifetime guaranteed value
trade-in program. We are confident that if the principles explained in this manual are exercised in your
own installation, you will be ecstatic with the sound quality outcome!

We realize that you have a choice in loudspeakers, and are thrilled that you have chosen the Imagine
series subwoofer drivers. For more information about Hybrid Audio Technologies, our philosophies
regarding high-end mobile audio, to learn more about our lifetime guaranteed value program, and for
information about our other products, please visit us online at www.hybrid-audio.com.

Thank you, and happy listening!

Scott E. Buwalda
Founder – Hybrid Audio Technologies

Imagine User’s Manual ©Hybrid Audio Technologies Page 3 of 13

The Imagine Subwoofer – A Brief History

The Imagine I6SW was the first subwoofer ever offered by Hybrid Audio Technologies. Originally
designed to suit saddle-bag installations on touring motorcycles, the efficacy of the design was
quickly proven in a wide variety of installations in virtually any automobile, where a small vented
enclosure subwoofer could be used where space was at a premium. In Spring 2009, the first I6SW
prototypes were developed by company founder and lead designer Scott Buwalda, and the concept
of an Imagine subwoofer line-up was born.

All the while the I6SW had been developed and launched to an enthusiastic reception of enthusiasts,
custom installers, and motorcycle and ATV riders, we were working on the larger counterparts to the
Imagine I6SW, the 8-inch Imagine I8SW and the 10-inch I10SW. In January 2011, final prototypes
were approved for production after a long and strenuous program of evaluation by several Hybrid
Audio specialty retail dealers for their use and assessment in the field. The combined efforts of our
dealers and our own R&D team affirmed the design concept for a budget-friendly high-end sound
quality subwoofer, and the I8SW and I10SW product was commenced. Production began in August
2011, and was completed in October 2011, after an in-process change was made to the reverse-roll
surround to ensure reliability and longevity operation. The Imagine I8SW and I10SW were launched
in late November 2011 and complete the Imagine subwoofer offering.

Imagine Subwoofer Attributes

The Imagine subwoofers compliment a wide variety of front stage system designs. The following are
general Imagine subwoofer design attributes:

Basket/Frame

The basket of the I6SW, I8SW, and I10SW is a stamped steel design with semi-gloss black powder
coating. The frame includes spider venting for improved thermal power handling. The frame includes
reverse-roll surround tooling proprietary to Hybrid Audio Technologies, allowing for close-tolerance
flush and iso-mounting for easy grille clearance and locational clearance (such as underneath a seat,
in a touring motorcycle saddle bag, or in a center console enclosure).

Motor and Voice Coil

The motor of the Imagine subwoofer is conventional dynamic with a large, high-grade ferrite magnet
assembly with bumped and vented pole piece. The voice coil diameter for the three subwoofers is
51mm (2-inch) for elevated power handling, dissipation of heat (thereby lowering power
compression), and maximizing the size of the magnet around the voice coil for enhanced motor
compliance. The voice coil is a four-layer, high-purity aluminum, which is superior to copper for heat
dissipation, as well as significantly reduced moving mass. The result is an extremely light weight
winding, with low inductance and good power handling.

Suspension, Cone, Tinsel Leads, and Terminals

The inverted surround is butyl rubber which is highly consistent, and does not suffer the variance of
natural rubbers. This rubber surround terminates mechanical vibrations well, having a low stiffness for
positive damping of resonances. The spider material was chosen for optimal performance; the spider
is a 90/10 cotton/Nomex blend with single-dip low viscosity phenolic. This material provides the

Imagine User’s Manual ©Hybrid Audio Technologies Page 4 of 13