# ScanSpeak Discovery 30W/4558T 12" Sub



## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

A few days ago I began searching for a replacement for my much used (and much abused) Hsu ASW-1201 sub for my car, which is an 06 Lincoln Town Car (don't laugh; I have been driving "old folks" cars for 25 years - now I fully qualify for them!). The Hsu had been in storage for a couple of years and I never could get it to sound like I remembered it should. Hsu stopped selling the ASW subs a couple of years ago - their supplier went out of business - so a new ASW was not available.

Since my teenage years are well behind me, I could care less how much the sub "hits." I wanted smooth and extended response with good sound quality. When reading reviews of some of the well known car subs, the emphasis seemed to be how hard it "hits," which to me means good power and transient response in the 50-80Hz or so range, maybe even FR peaks in that range. Then I read this review on the ScanSpeak Discovery 30W/4558T 12" Subwoofer in which the reviewer sounded like he found what I was seeking - "many many awesome sounding low frequency notes and sounds are coming from my music and radio":

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...anspeak-discovery-30w-4558t-12-subwoofer.html

This looked promising, so I looked at the specs:

http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.co...s/scanspeak-discovery-30w/4558t-12-subwoofer/

Hmm, Fs of 17Hz and a rather large Xmax. I plugged the numbers for the Hsu and the ScanSpeak in this simple box calculator, with my existing 1.5 cu ft sealed box:

http://www.diyaudioandvideo.com/Calculator/Box/

The F3 of the Hsu was in the mid 60s; the ScanSpeak was in the mid 30s. So, out the credit card came. It came in today; a very serious rubber surround - cone excursion is gonna be rather nice! Overall weight seemed a little less than the Hsu.

I put it in the box, hooked it up to the Rockford Fosgate 350W amp, re-ran the calibration on the MS-8 and took a listen. All I had in the car was some R&B, and some Electronica - nothing with very low bass (and no, no Andy Williams or Lawrence Welk, either). However, I could immediately tell the difference. On what low notes there were, there was noticeably more energy. When the MS-8 was running the sub cal sweep, I noticed much more low freq energy that with the Hsu. Guess I need to pull out the pipe organ CDs tomorrow The car may limit the LF response, tho, with the sub in the trunk firing thru the back seat. I do have about a 10" diameter hole in the package shelf where the OEM sub was, so that helps a little.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know about this sub, since many folks don't think of ScanSpeak when shopping. Plus, a couple of them in a nice sized box would make a decent HT sub.


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

I have read a lot of good things about this sub myself and your experience only confirms what I read.

I hope you picked it up from Madisound... (sponsorship pending) :T


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

Yep. Very fast service.


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

So, I pulled out some of the "good stuff" this morning - Telarc CDs of organ music and their Sampler Five Plus - the one designed to "destroy" really good home subs.

First off, nothing on the Saint Saens 16Hz organ notes. No surprise there; no telling how much the Ford HU is rolling off, plus the 20Hz non-defeatable subsonic filter in the MS-8. Besides, 16Hz is tough for decent HT subs. But, 32Hz notes were nice and strong. Then Frederick Fennel's Sousa march CD - very nice impact from the bass drum; very deep and "quick."

Then there was the Telarc Sampler torture test. The fireworks sound effects were deep and well defined. But when I got to the cannon shots (the ones they recorded for their 1812 CD), things started falling apart. The R-F amp was clipping big time (or it could have been the input section of the MS-8 clipping - we are talking serious LF energy here; there is a warning track before the sound effects telling you to turn the volume down.) Once I backed down on the volume, it sounded really good, but certainly no match, of course, to my Hsu Quad ULS-15s in the HT.

So, since I don't plan to play 16Hz organ notes or cannon shots in my car  I am very well pleased with the ScanSpeak's performance. Highly recommended for those who want more than "hits" from their car sub.


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