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Energising bass
A fast track to pushing air.
By Max Christoffersen
January 2001
Energy e:XL-S12 subwoofer. $1799
Heard
one sub, heard 'em all right? Wrong.
Having had the luxury of several subs come through the system recently proved a basic point: God is in the details when it comes to subwoofer performance.
Whatever new or 'revolutionary' design approaches the various manufacturers take to subwoofers, the outcome is never quite the same as each other. The sonics of bass do vary and it can be very different from manufacturer to manufacturer.
This is never more true than with the Energy e:XL-S12 subwoofer. Energy have long enjoyed a high profile in New Zealand and for good reason. Their products are well built, soundly engineered and cosmetically, they simply look like a million bucks! Kiwis have bought a lot of Energy products because they offer good value for money in key performance and cosmetic aspects.
Typically, all of the above description fits with this new revamped 12" sub from Energy. From the brilliant gloss lacquer cabinet to the abundant range of controls (including on board equalisers, auto-on function, phase controls and variable crossovers) to the external crossover and line level and speaker inputs, the Energy is not quite the same as other subs. I've never seen a sub with its own EQ before! The simple reason is that the subwoofer market is extremely competitive and manufacturers have to come up with something that sets them apart from the subwoofer also-rans.
For Energy this translates into a newly revamped 12" subwoofer with 'increased motor structure' 'higher SPLs' and the ability to 'handle the high output voltage signals from new generation receivers.' And unlike the previous Energy 12" it has a rear port and a new driver with a larger (1.7kg) magnet. Combine that with a 2 inch (52mm) voice coil and you might just reach the claimed 20 Hz bottom end.
In my view, Energy is right in their design priorities. To my ears, the required bass outputs have been steadily increasing over the years to genuine speaker damaging levels. And the future looks to be set with more of the same. I fatally damaged my own sub thanks to the huge power of Saving Private Ryan, a genuinely high SPL bass weighted film (as is The Haunting and parts of Toy Story 2).
There seems to be a trend towards more and deeper bass from Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks which all place additional strain on drivers and amps at all parts of the reproduction chain. You have been warned!
If I was looking for a new sub I would want reliable high powered amplification, genuine bass extension, amp clipping/safety controls, the ability to tailor the audio performance to my own room and servo or current sensing designs.
Well, the Energy achieves almost all of it. In performance, this is a very very good 12" subwoofer. From the opening notes of Chris Isaak's Lie To Me (is there a better produced bass in rock music?) to the solid introduction to Toy Story 2 the Energy handled it all and did so with a mix of musicality and gut wrenching bass extension.
Other highlights included Sarah McLachlin's I Love You; The Blue Nile's Tinseltown in the Rain; Mike Oldfield's Summit Day; Creed's Higher; Tracy Chapman's Fast Car and Living Colours Solace of You. All have bass extension with slightly different textures and the Energy was adept enough to bring out the colour of each - no 'one-note' bass here!
The Energy showed that it is capable of plenty of room filling bass from its ported design, but at genuinely high levels of extension (and cone travel) there is high levels of 'chuffing' going on from the port. The Energy was expelling so much air, so fast that it'll blow out a lighted match from half a meter!! It is pushing that much air.
In day-to-day use, the Energy would never be required to go to such lengths, but is reassuring to know if it is pushed hard, it can do it.
To help the Energy get a grip on things, I chose to use the floor spikes provided (nice detail Energy!) to give it a good launch point. In theory, this is not unlike the starting blocks used by track sprinters to give them a better 'point of push!'
When fed music from the acoustic performance from Guitarisma 2 the room filling bass was prodigious. What was even more pleasing was it achieved it from a place in my room which had proved problematic for other subs. Placement in relation to wall boundaries is crucial not just to provide enhanced output but to ensure the timing of the bass signals is consistent with the other drivers in your room. It is one thing to get great bass extension, it is quite another to get quality integration! So experiment until the signal blends with your main satellites in a convincing and seamless way.
In summary, it was very very impressive to have such a sense of extension from such a relatively small driver and cabinet. And at the price of $1799 - so much the better.
This is subwoofing with a some style and finesse. I like it!
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