SB Audience Sealed 18SW500 Alternative Drivers Subwoofer Owner’s Manual

SB Audience Sealed 18SW500 Alternative Drivers Subwoofer

Specifications:

• Net volume: 90L
• Various driver options available with different performance levels
• Prices ranging from $309.95 to $689.95
• Additional bracing   recommended for more powerful drivers

Product Usage Instructions

Enclosure Design:
The net volume of the enclosure is 90L, suitable for all driver options. Only the main baffle/face and rear baffle need adjustments for different driver dimensions.
For the 18SW1900D, add extra bracing by cutting 6-8 small brace pieces and spacing them around the cabinet to handle the increased pressure.

DSP Settings:
Adjust DSP settings according to the new driver used. Fine-tune settings for a good balance between extension and SPL. It’s recommended to take measurements and adjust to suit your room.

FAQ:

• Q: Can I use drivers other than the recommended ones?
  A: While the guide focuses on specific drivers, other options can be explored. Contact us for simulations to determine suitable DSP settings.

• Q: Do I need to adjust enclosure dimensions for different drivers?
  A: Only minor adjustments to the main and rear baffles are required for different driver dimensions. The net volume of 90L remains constant.

• Q: How do I know if the bracing is sufficient for my chosen driver?
  A: For more powerful drivers like the 18SW1900D, it’s recommended to add extra bracing. If unsure, consult with us for guidance on bracing requirements.

SEALED 18SW500 – ALTERNATIVE DRIVERS

Alternatives Overview:

After I wrote the guide for the 18SW500, it dawned on me I might be able to make other 18” drivers in the SB Audience range work. We did briefly touch on the 18SW450 in the original guide which we will revisit here, but there are a couple other drivers worth looking at that only require us to switch out the baffle and rear baffle. The 18SW500 is still the simplest of the builds and the best bang for buck vs ease of build, but if you’re a little more capable with a router and willing to spend the money, the extra driver options we have below will get even more performance out of your subs.

The Alternative Drivers:
The alternatives we have to the 18SW500 are the following:

• BIANCO-18SW450: Arguably a better performing driver, especially for the money but does require a “recessed” baffle due to the thinner wall on the driver face. Still part of the “BIANCO” range from SB Audience which is their budget range of drivers. The driver is $309.95 and can be purchased here:
  https://nbaudio.com.au/products/sb-audience-18-bianco-subwoofer-bianco- 18sw450

• ROSSO-18SW650: A step up from our 18SW500 as we now enter the mid-tier range of drivers from SB Audience, the “ROSSO” series. With this upgrade, we get a little extra sensit, power handling an xmax. The result is slightly deeper extension but SPL does fall a little shorter. The driver is $429.95 and can be purchased here:
  https://nbaudio.com.au/products/sb-audience-18-rosso-subwoofer-rosso-18sw650

• NERO-18SW1900D: Now we’re starting to get into some serious upgrades over the original design. The 18SW1900D is part of SB Audiences “NERO” series, the flagship of their range. We get significantly more power handling and double the Xmax of our 18SW500 driver. We do lose out on sensitivity but this is more than made up for in the power handling/Xmax of the driver. The driver is $689.95 and can be purchased here:
  https://nbaudio.com.au/products/sb-audience-18-nero-subwoofer-nero-18sw1900D

SB Audience do have a few additional 18” drivers that will work with this cabinet but they aren’t a basic circle so are difficult to flush mount. As such we have excluded them from this guide. If you wish to give them a shot, let us know and we can do some simulations to determine DSP settings.

The Enclosure:

The overall enclosure design remains largely unchanged as all drivers work with the net volume of 90L. The only thing we change is the main baffle/face and the rear baffle to suit the slightly different dimensions of the various drivers. We have included updated drawings for the different parts at the end of this guide. The recess does vary slightly for each of the drivers but we’re talking a difference of 0.5mm so not worth stressing about!

The one thing we do recommend is adding slightly more bracing, especially if going with the 18SW1900D to account for the extra pressure produced by the more powerful driver. Simply cut another 6-8 small brace pieces and space them around the cabinet. The volume lost as a result of the increased bracing will have a minimal effect on the subwoofers.

Due to the different specs of the drivers, we do end up with different QTC values in a 90L enclosure. We tidy up the response with DSP anyway so it doesn’t have much of an impact but it’s worth noting the differences.

• Original BIANCO-18SW500 – QTC = 1.06
• BIANCO-18SW450 – QTC = 0.973
• ROSSO-18SW650 – QTC = 0.861
• NERO-18SW1900D – QTC = 0.701

We do see the NERO-18SW1900D get closer to “perfect” alignment of 0.707 but again, this doesn’t have a huge impact on performance once we factor in DSP.

DSP up in this bitch…again.

With new drivers, you’ll need to adjust your DSP settings accordingly. For the 18SW500, we’ve found a good balance between extension and SPL, but we recommend taking measurements and fine-tuning it to suit your room. If you’re looking for a simple “set and forget” option, these settings will work well.

BIANCO-18SW450

• Filter 1:
  • Frequency = 40hz
  • Q = 2.4
  • Gain = 7.5db
• Filter 2:
  • Frequency = 75hz
  • Q = 1.00
  • Gain = -2.0db

ROSSO-18SW650

• Filter 1:
  • Frequency = 34hz
  • Q = 2.00
  • Gain = 11db
• Filter 2:
  • Frequency = 80hz
  • Q = 1.00
  • Gain = -2db

NERO-18SW1900D

• Filter 1:
  • Frequency = 32hz
  • Q = 2.0
  • Gain = 10db
• Filter 2:
  • Frequency = 80hz
  •  Q = 1.00
  • Gain = -0.5db

Alternative Driver Performance:

What you’ve been waiting for! How the different drivers perform against the 18SW500 in the original design. The SPL graph below does most of the talking but we’ll summarise and make a few notable points for each driver.

BIANCO-18SW450

The 18SW450 arguably outperforms the 18SW500. So why did we opt for the 18SW500 despite the 18SW450 being more affordable and having a slightly better response? There are two key reasons. First, availability: at the time of writing, the 18SW450 is on backorder for over six weeks, and we wanted to offer a design you could build right away. Second, ease of construction: the 18SW500’s faceplate is about 18mm thick, allowing you to cut the baffle straight through and mount it easily. In contrast, the 18SW450 has a 13.5mm faceplate, requiring you to cut a recess into the 18mm MDF using an adjustable depth router for a flush mount.
If you’re willing to wait for the 18SW450 to restock and don’t mind the extra effort (and tools) needed to create the recess, the 18SW450 might be a better choice for your build.

ROSSO-18SW650
The 18SW650 extends deeper than the 18SW500 and 18SW450 but we do it at the cost of a few db in SPL. Given these subwoofers are quite loud already, you may prefer the deeper response vs the extra loudness.

Neither are significant so in this design, it’s probably not worth the extra $80-$120 per driver. It also requires more power to achieve this SPL meaning the NX1000D is not really an option if you want to utilise the full performance of the driver.

NERO-18SW1900D
This is where we start having a little more fun. As we can see by the graph, the 18SW1900D is not only louder across the full frequency range, but it also extends significantly deeper before it starts to roll off. This is mostly due to its larger Xmax.

The trade off is it does require a lot more power to achieve its increased performance. The NX1000D is well and truly off the table with this one. You’ll need a NX3000D in bridged mode which will utilise the full approx. 1500W RMS and peak power handling of the driver at 1900W.

At $689.95 each, these drivers are nearly double the cost of the 18SW500, adding nearly $700 to the overall cost of your build. Given 10db is deemed “twice as loud” with regards to perceived loudness, the 7db gain we get once both drivers equally roll off is a significant increase in performance.

SPL GRAPH

References

• NB Audio
• SB Audience - 18" BIANCO Subwoofer - BIANCO-18SW450 – NB Audio
• SB Audience - 18" NERO Subwoofer - NERO-18SW1900D – NB Audio
• SB Audience - 18" ROSSO Subwoofer - ROSSO-18SW650 – NB Audio

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