# My experience with the CSS SDX7



## Guest (Dec 14, 2007)

I have received a number of pm's and emails from friends and strangers alike asking to hear more about the CSS SDX7 after I wrote about them on AudioJunkies.com. Just to give you a little background, Bob from CSS sent these to me with a pair of Extremis' in the hopes that I would be able to supply some measurements for both the SDX7 and Extremis. Unfortunately, I ran out of time and haven't captured any FR, THD, IMD, etc. But what follows is my opinion based on a few excerpts from earlier posts I made.

Almost forgot...you can get the SDX7 from www.creativesound.ca for $100. I imagine they'll be available from Kyle at acoustic-visions.com in the near future as well, but I believe he's still out of town at the moment.

Pictures and full thread.



> The first thing you'll notice is that though they are similar in approach (and motor topology; they both use XBL^2), they are very different. They feature very different motors, for starts. The Extremis' motor is considerably larger and utilizes a pole vent, while the SDX7 uses 8 1/8" circular vents into the gap itself.
> 
> They both feature cast aluminum baskets that appear to be from the same parts vendor. However, they are very different in terms of their design. The Extremis has very little venting except for four evenly spaced and narrow windows just above where the frame mounts to the top plate. The SDX7, on the other hand, has a very open frame with significant venting below the spider. As far as mounting is concerned, the SDX7 has six mounting points, whereas the Extremis has 4. The mounting flanges are roughly the same.
> 
> ...





> Alright, so testing fell through due to time constraints, but I figured I should post my thoughts on the SDX7 directly compared to the Extremis.
> 
> First, I thought the Extremis set a pretty good standard for bass output from a 7" driver. The SDX7 meets and exceeds that standard. Not only is it capable of more output and a little more low frequency extension, it is also MUCH more detailed. It is significantly cleaner than the Extremis through a good chunk of it's bandwidth. Noise (both aerodynamic and assembly related) on the Extremis is quite high, whereas the SDX7 is very quiet.
> 
> ...


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## Geoff St. Germain (Dec 18, 2006)

Thanks for posting. I've been pretty interested in this driver, but any experimenting with it will have to wait until I finish my Dayton RS projects.


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## Exocer (Apr 19, 2006)

Geoff St. Germain said:


> Thanks for posting. I've been pretty interested in this driver, but any experimenting with it will have to wait until I finish my Dayton RS projects.


Right there with ya.

Excellent looking drivers..although I have a few upgrades planned (possibly natalie p to seas modula mtm to start). Looking forward to seeing some projects with these drivers


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## titch-- (Sep 15, 2006)

When you say "Drop in for the Extremis" do you mean like pull the extremis out of the, say like the Kit641 and replace it with the SDX7?

thx


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## Geoff St. Germain (Dec 18, 2006)

Raw acoustics said that the SDX7 is a drop in for the Extremis in their 3-way designs. It was in a thread at Audiocircle.com.


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## titch-- (Sep 15, 2006)

I remember reading that, but I wasnt sure if they changed anything on the crossover or not. I would really like to get acouple of those Apex kits. :yikes:

I just have the Kit641 for mains and KitLCR for center, so I was just wondering about this new driver here if I could just throw it in instead of the Extremis without changing anything eles. :scratchhead:

thx


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## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

Thanks for posting. I really like the looks of that driver, but I think you saved me a couple hundred bucks. 

I was going to try a variant of the Adire DDR using this, but now I think I'll stick with my 3 way design using my existing drivers (Dayton, HiVi, and BG)


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## Guest (Dec 24, 2007)

Anthony said:


> Thanks for posting. I really like the looks of that driver, but I think you saved me a couple hundred bucks.
> 
> I was going to try a variant of the Adire DDR using this, but now I think I'll stick with my 3 way design using my existing drivers (Dayton, HiVi, and BG)


I'm torn on exactly what DDR variant I will do...have considered various ribbons as well as the FR125's from CSS. This is extremely attractive to me because I liked the DDR...and the SDX7's sound even better than the Extremis.


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