The Anatomy of an Amazing Car Subwoofer
What makes a great subwoofer sound so good? For Alpine, it's the blend of high-quality materials and acute attention to detail in design. Each part works in harmony with the rest to play your music loudly and clearly.
Take their Type-R subwoofers, for example. They utilize six patented (two pending) innovations in the technology of creating bass to bring you some of the loudest, cleanest-sounding, and longest-living subs in their class. It's not just the up-to-date materials of the individual pieces — it's also the way they're put together, and even their very shapes, that contribute to the production of superior sound.
Air
More cone movement means louder, deeper bass
The High-Amplitude Multi-Roll surround (HAMR, patent pending) allows the cone to move much farther forward and back than a usual round-type surround. This pushes more air, for louder, deeper bass. Its unique shape also lets Alpine put a larger subwoofer cone in the standard-sized frame.
HAMR surround
A HAMR surround unfolds as it straightens, so the cone can move to a very high position. This is called its maximum safe excursion point, or its "x-max."
Ordinary surround
A normal curved surround resists straightening then pops suddenly to a stop, putting stress at its attachment points. The HAMR shape reduces that stress by moving more smoothly as it folds and unfolds.
Plays cool, lasts longer
A subwoofer's voice coil puts out a lot of heat when it plays, which can damage the sub if not taken care of. Alpine's patented "Airflow Management and Heat Transfer System" uses the motion of the sub itself to suck cool air in to flow over the hottest pieces, and force hot air past heatsinks and outside to cool. The Type-R's patent-pending Single-Piece Frame & Shorting Sleeve (part of the voice coil gap) reduces distortion and also contributes to the cooling system, taking heat away from the voice coil, and extending the life of the sub.
Massive magnets control accurate reproduction
The power to create clear and distortion-free music depends on the strength and shape of the magnetic field in the sub's motor assembly. Alpine packs each Type-R sub with a 10-piece segmented magnet made of high-grade strontium ferrite that emits a large magnetic field, while maintaining a compact profile. The shape of the pole piece, including a patented Compound Radius Curvature, focuses the magnetic field in the voice coil gap, reducing distortion. It also doubles as an air vent used in the cooling system.
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