Kicker CompVR Owner's Manual

Kicker Comp Subwoofers

Recommended Applications / Version 2.1

April 23, 2002

CompVR Woofer

Technical Manual

Features

! Hemispherical Polymineral Cone with Inverted Structural Dome (ISD) Means high rigidity under pressure for accurate linear control, low enclosure pressure loss to reduce "pump-down", high internal dampening, and excellent sunlight, pollution and moisture resistance

! WARG (Wrap ARound Gasket) Instead of using cork gaskets, which can separate, the Comp VRs have a one piece gasket that wraps around the front and back of the mounting flange. It is more durable and ergonomically pleasing to the eye. The previous cork gaskets could tear off or if you were transplanting the speaker into another box, they could stay adhered to the old box causing you to order another gasket. These problems are eliminated with the new rubber gaskets. They not only look better, but also function better by eliminating the chance for air leaks.(provided the box is built correctly!) We still recommend if you are carpeting the box, to cut away any carpet that is under the woofer mounting flange.

! SSD (Spun Spoke Design) The basket not only looks impressive, but it is extremely functional. This stamped steel basket provides a solid foundation for the motor assembly insuring that all the parts work together in harmony and prevent shifting or misalignment. Without a solid foundation, the speaker’s various parts could shift under extreme excursion causing premature failure and add unwanted noise to the music. If misaligned, the voice coil could rub the inner wall of the motor structure and thus exposing the bare windings, which would cause speaker failure. The same thing happens if the coil former rubs the pole-piece. The damaged former exposes the windings causing speaker failure. When other speakers are pushed to their limits they tend to make noises that add coloration to the music. When you’re LIVIN’LOUD you only want to hear the music the artist intended you to hear, not a bunch of unwanted ringing.

! Perimeter Venting Without the perimeter venting along the side of the speaker, hot air would be trapped in with the voice coil. This will cause the structure to heat up quicker and cause power compression, which results in decreased output, as well as shorter speaker life. Perimeter venting causes a vortex cooling effect around the coil which exchanges the hot air around the voice coil for cooler air outside the speaker. It also releases pressure from under the spider to allow the speaker to work in a more linear fashion. All of this translates into cooler operating temperatures which will allow the speaker to sound and perform better.

! Blackened One Piece Uniplatewith Vented Hyper-Extended Pole

Provides enhanced heat transfer for cool operation and maximum power handling. The heat is transferred from the pole piece to the back plate, effectively acting like a radiator in an engine. This lowers the operating temperature of the voice coil. Note:The increase in temperature increases the impedance of the speak- er. This results in lower output and is referred to as Power Compression.

Reduces non-linear magnetic fields around the voice coil gap for superior cone motion control. The extended pole assures the voice coil is always in the magnetic field when moving peak to peak. When the speaker reaches it’s Xmax, the voice coil is still in the gap between the pole piece and magnet structure due to its extended pole-piece.

Releases pressure under ISD for freer cone motion and enhanced low frequency response. Air trapped under the ISD is forced out though the pole-piece to allow the cone to move freely. Heat and pressure build up under the ISD and need to be released to allow the speaker to function properly.

Kicker CompVR Subwoofers Recommended Applications Page 2

! High-Temp KaptonﬁVoice Coil Former Heat is the primary enemy to the life of a speaker, which is one of the reasons we use Kapton® voice coil formers. Kapton® is a man-made product that is light, durable and heatresistant. The Kapton® former acts as an insulator to keep the heat of the voice coil from breaking down the adhesive that connects the voice coil to the cone. During high excursion and prolonged exposure to heat, the Kapton® former holds it’s shape and does not expand or contract. As a bonus, Kapton® is also a very quiet material during operation and does not discolor the music by adding unwanted sound

! ISD (Inverted Structural Dome

))

Kicker was one of the first companies to switch to the Inverted Structural Dome. We have designed a cone with a groove for the ISD to lock into, further adding strength to the structure. When a cone reaches it’s peak it wants to buckle because it’s momentum keeps it moving out. The ISD provides structural support for the cone to resist buckling. NOTE: When the cone buckles, the output of the woofer decreases. Therefore, the ISD is not just a cosmetic thing, it is an integral part of the woofer to maintain it’s maximum performance.

! Stitched Surround A signature of KICKER woofers has always been the stitched surround. It prevents the sur- round from separating from the cone at high excursions. When the woofer is moving back and forth it puts a lot of strain on the adhesive that is holding the surround to the cone and often causes the two to separate. Stitching the surround to the cone eliminates this from happening.

If stitching were inexpensive, everybody would do it!

Dual Long-Throw Voice Coils A speaker can obtain extreme Xmax only when the voice coil is long enough

and can sustain the stress.

! High-Power Lead Wires Resist lead breakage and power robbing resistance losses under demanding condi- tions. When a speaker is being pushed to it’s limits there is a lot of strain being put on the leads. Sleeving tinsel leads help strengthen them to resist breakage.

Spring-Loaded Nickel Plated Terminals On a Performance speaker like the CompVR you would expect nothing less than a Performance terminal. They allow the installer to use the maximum gauge wire to minimize power losses for the ultimate Ground Poundin’ system.

Features cont.

Kicker CompVR Subwoofers Recommended Applications Page 3

Kicker CompVR Subwoofers

Recommended Applications

Page 4

CompVR Cutaway View

Hemispherical Mica-Loaded Polypropylene Cone

High rigidity under pressure for accurate linear control; stops enclosure pressure loss to reduce "pump-down"; excellent sunlight, pollution and moisture resistance.

WARG (Wrap ARound Gasket) Provides greater durability and resistance to separation while providing a superior seal.

ISD (Inverted Structural Dome)

increases cone's resistance to flex under pressure.

Signature Feature

Double Stitched Surround It prevents

the surround from separating from the cone at high excursions

Patent Pending

Tough, flexible surround With

long-throw, positive-roll design controls extreme cone excursions and is highly tear resistant.

Ribbed Ensures linear cone motion.

SSD (Spun Spoke Design)

Enhances the cosmetics and provides a solid antiresonant foundation for the motor assembly.

Patented

Durable resin-impregnated poly-cotton spider provides

precise coil alignment and critical cone motion control.

Perimeter vents Create a vortex cooling effect around the voice coil.

Rubberized boot Protects massive magnet structure from chipping or breaking.

One-Piece extended Pole, invented by Stillwater Designs, creates a broad, symmetrical magnetic field for superior power handling, precise voice coil control, and minimal deep bass distortion.

Deep bumped back plate Lets voice coil reach maximum excursion without bottoming-out.

High-Power Tinsel Lead Wires

To resist lead breakage and power-robbing resistance.

Dual Voice Coil and Kapton® former Create superior magnetic

field and effectively dissipate heat.

Venting in the pole piece eliminates noise and distortion caused by huge amounts of airflow created by extreme cone excursion.

Spring-Loaded nickel plated terminals

For solid connections with large gauge speaker wire.

Thank you for your support of KICKER products. Once you have had a chance to see and experience the capabilities of the new KICKER CompVR subwoofers, we believe that you will be as excited as we are about these speakers! The CompVRs truly set a new standard for bass performance.

This latest revision of our KICKER CompVR Subwoofers Recommended Applications/Enclosures Technical Update brings together all of our Kicker CompVR woofers into one manual.

The enclosure recommendations in this paper supercede any other previously published recommendations.

Especially when used in sealed enclosures, the new KICKER CompVR will achieve maximum bass performance after they have been broken in.

Approximately one to two weeks of daily playing will allow the suspension to soften, and reach its optimum equilibrium. This time period may vary depending on the amount of play time, volume level, and type of music you listen to. More play time, with medium volume levels and more bass content, will break in the subwoofer most quickly. The broken-in sub will exhibit stronger bass performance, smoother response, and greater low bass extension.

For those of you with more sophisticated audio equipment, the CompVR woofers can be broken-in on the test bench overnight with the following procedure.

KICKER CompVR Freeair Break-in Procedure

1. Connect the speaker to a power amp of about fifty watts or more. The speaker should not be mounted in any enclosure - just freeair.

Please make sure it will not walk off the bench while it is playing!

2. Connect an audio generator to the input of the power amp, and adjust the generator to approximately 39Hz for the C8

VR, 31 Hz for the C10VR, 25 Hz for the C12

VR, 20 Hz for the C15VR

, and 17 Hz for the C18VR.

3. Now adjust the gain on the amplifier and generator so that the cone is moving to Xmax. This can be determined visually by looking at the “blur depth” of the logo on the ISD. A close approximation will do. On the C8

VR this will be

about 3/4”, on the C10

VR about 7/8”, on the C12VR about 7/8”, on the C15VR about 1”, and on the C18VR

about 1”.

NOTE: Keep in mind that as the speaker is used under normal conditions the break-in will continue, so if you don’t have time for the complete break-in period the speaker will still break-in itself under normal usage.

Kicker CompVR Subwoofers Recommended Applications Page 5

Kicker CompVR Subwoofers Recommended Applications Page 6

Sealed Enclosure Applications

The KICKER CompVR woofers are real performers in sealed enclosures, producing the tight, defined, and accurate bass response you would expect from a KICKER. They will operate in larger sealed enclosures for ultra sound quality (SQ) applications without significantly sacrificing their power handling. This extra bass extension and smoothness can be obtained by simply using a larger sealed enclosure. The box can be “sized up” all the way to the maximum SQ enclosure, which has a very flat response, with greatly extended sub bass. These sealed enclosure SQ recommendations will give the smoothest response with the most energy at really low frequencies, around 20 to 30 Hz.

The recommended Compact sealed boxes are in line with our traditional CompVR enclosures. They deliver massive amounts of high impact bass. And small size means they can fit just about anywhere.

These versatile subwoofers are equally at home in a small Compact enclosure as they are in the larger SQ enclo- sures. As the sealed enclosure volume is increased, the response begins to shift from high impact bass to a smoother and more extended low bass response. Some of the impact is diminished, but the deep bass is actually enhanced.

Recommended Enclosures

- Moderate Efficiency -

Model

Compact SQ

VR .40 cu.ft. Power Handling = 200W 1.8 cu.ft. Power Handling =140W

11.3l 60.0l

C10VR .8 cu.ft. Power Handling = 300W 3.0 cu.ft. Power Handling =300W

22.6l 85.0l

C12VR 1.0 cu.ft. Power Handling = 400W 4.6 cu.ft. Power Handling =300W

28.32 l 130.3 l

C15

VR 1.8 cu.ft. Power Handling = 500W 5.2 cu.ft. Power Handling = 500W

51.0 l 147.2l

C18VR 2.2 cu.ft. Power Handling = 500W 5.4 cu.ft. Power Handling = 500W

62.3l 152.93l

NOTE: All sealed boxes should be 50% filled with loose polyfil. Allow about two weeks break-in time for the Comp woofers to reach optimum low bass performance.

Characteristics of Sealed Enclosures

The most basic and simple of all speaker enclosures is the sealed box or acoustic suspension design.

The acoustic suspension design has several advantages; it is easy to build, easy to tune and offers high power handling, tight response and extended low end output. Acoustic suspension enclosures produce lower bass because they roll off at 12 dB per/octave. Cone motion is better controlled at all frequencies because of the constant pressure on the back side of the cone. This enables you to run more power to the woofer. They are called acoustic suspension enclosures because the air inside the box acts like a viscous brake to control the woofer. That is why the box needs to be sealed tight. If there are any air leaks the woofer cannot function properly because there is very little force being exerted back on the woofer.

ros 1 - High power handling capability 2 - Extended low frequency response and smooth roll off (12 dB/octave). 3 - Excellent transient response. 4 - Tolerant of minor enclosure size variations. 5 - Easiest enclosure to build.

Cons 1 - Not as efficient as other designs.

Kicker CompVR Subwoofers Recommended Applications Page 7

C8VR

C10VR

C12VR

C15VR

C18VR

16-5/16

13-3/4

10-15/16

9-5/32

Sealed Box Response Curves

C8VR .4cu.ft./1.8cu.ft.

C10

VR .8cu.ft./3.0cu.ft.

Kicker CompVR Subwoofers Recommended Applications Page 8

C8VR Compact Enclosure Response Curve C8VR SQ Enclosure Response Curve

Graph 1 > Acoustic On Axis Response: SPL, Phase dB

10 Frequency 50 100 Hz 500 1K

C10VR Compact Enclosure Response Curve C10VR SQ Enclosure Response Curve

Graph 1 > Acoustic On Axis Response: SPL, Phase dB

10 Frequency 50 100 Hz 500 1K

C12VR 1.0cu.ft./4.6cu.ft.

Sealed Box Response Curves

C15

VR 1.8cu.ft./4.2cu.ft.

Kicker CompVR Subwoofers Recommended Applications Page 9

C18VR 2.2cu.ft./5.4cu.ft.

C12VR Compact Enclosure Response Curve C12VR SQ Enclosure Response Curve

Graph 1 > Acoustic On Axis Response: SPL, Phase dB

10 Frequency 50 100 Hz 500 1K

C15VR Compact Enclosure Response Curve C15VR SQ Enclosure Response Curve

Graph 1 > Acoustic On Axis Response: SPL, Phase dB

C18VR Compact Enclosure Response Curve C18VR SQ Enclosure Response Curve

Graph 1 > Acoustic On Axis Response: SPL, Phase dB

10 Frequency 50 100 Hz 500 1K

Ported/Vented Enclosure Applications

Ported CompVR drivers incorporate massive slot loaded ports with ultra low air velocity for ground pounding street bass that will make your hair stand on end (if you have any left)! These are the enclosures of choice for outrageous street bass and SPL contests.

The following chart shows three recommended ported enclosures for each CompVR driver.

Compact has increased bass efficiency over a sealed enclosure, yet can still fit in tighter applications. It is the smallest design that will work well for each woofer. Although it is the smallest ported enclosure the output from 30 to 80 HZ will be considerably higher than that of a sealed box. This smallest vented design is for places where you can only give up the room normally taken up by two CompVRs in the normal small sealed boxes. The two other ported designs have proportionately more output in this region.

Street Bass is a medium sized enclosure that will kick out bass that can be heard for blocks away. And it does go LOW!

Finally, SPL / Deep Bass is a large enclosure that has it all. It is high efficiency and will deliver the output needed to win SPL contests, yet low frequencies go all the way down to the basement - with power that will shake the foundations! We’re talking truly awesome.

If space is not at a premium and you want to get the most from your Comp driver, try one of these designs. You won’t be disappointed. Note: You must add the port volume to the volume of the box! See the cut

sheets.

Recommended Ported Enclosure

 High Efficiency 

Model Compact Street Bass SPL / Deep Bass

.80 cu.ft. + port, 1.0 cu.ft. + port; 1.2 cu.ft. + port;

1.5x8" port, 20.75" long 1.75x8" port, 20.5" long 2.0x8" port, 19.125" long

Power Handling = 75W Power Handling = 75W Power Handling = 75W

C10

1.25 cu.ft. + port; 1.5 cu.ft. + port 1.75 cu.ft. +port;

2.0x10.5" port, 20" long 2.5x10.5", port 21" long 2.5x10.5" port, 20" long Power Handling = 200W Power Handling = 200W Power Handling = 200W

C12

1.75 cu.ft. + port; 2.0 cu.ft. + port; 2.25 cu.ft. + port;

2.5x12.5" port, 20" long 3.0x12.5" port, 21.5" long 3.0x12.5" port, 20.5" long Power Handling = 300W Power Handling = 300W Power Handling = 300W

C15

3.0 cu.ft. + port; 4.0 cu.ft. + port; 5.0 cu.ft. + port;

2.75x15.5" port, 25.75" long 3.0x15.5" port, 22" long 3.0X15.5"port, 22"long Power Handling = 500W Power Handling = 500W Power Handling =500W

C18

4.0 cu.ft. + port; 5.0 cu.ft. + port; 6.0 cu.ft. + port;

3.0x18" port, 24.25" long 3.0x18" port, 23" long 3.0X18"port, 20.75"long Power Handling = 1000W Power Handling = 1000W Power Handling =1000W

NOTE: The use of a subsonic filter is necessary to insure the life of the woofer in a ported enclosure.

Kicker CompVR Subwoofers Recommended Applications Page 10

Characteristics of Vented Enclosures

A vented enclosure is not much more complex than a sealed box. It consists, basically, of a box with a hole in it. However, despite its simple design, vented boxes are considerably harder to get good performance from than sealed boxes - although many times the extra effort can be worth it.

The vent in the enclosure interacts with the volume of air in the cabinet and with the driver to help increase output and reduce cone excursion at and around the tuning frequency. In fact, at box tuning, almost all the bass is produced by the vent - NOT the woofer.

The trick in building a vented box is to get the right size enclosure and the right size vent. You can’t be too far off on either of these factors or your speaker’s performance will suffer. In particular, using a too-small box or a toohigh vent tuning frequency can eliminate bass instead of increasing it. Porting a sealed box that is too small usually does nothing to improve frequency response. The vent placement within the enclosure is also important. You must leave at least the equivalent of the vent’s diameter between the vent and any inside wall. For example, you would not place a vent with a -3” diameter within 3” of any wall. The same is true for clearance between the vent opening and the bottom of the enclosure.

Pros 1 - Reduced cone excursion and reduced distortion around vent tuning. 2 - Increased output capabilities around vent tuning. 3 - Vented boxes give you that extra “Bump” that is preferred in certain types of music.

Cons 1 - Total loss of cone control below vent tuning, which can result in high distortion and driver mechanical failure. 2 - Midrange sound coming from inside the box through the vent can produce unpleasant sound coloration. 3 - Vented enclosures are more sensitive to changes such as temperature, humidity and driver fatigue. 4 - Enclosure design is more complex and the enclosure itself must be more solidly constructed because internal pressure at frequencies around vent tuning can be nearly twice as high as a sealed enclosure. 5 - Vented enclosures usually don’t sound as fast as sealed boxes because of the resonant effects of the vent tuning, which is always slightly out of phase with the driver’s output.

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