I hate cars

Unfortunately I haven't recieved them yet but they're paid for and should be in next week. I'm really excited about these subs, can't wait to try them out. Going to start building the baffle now so hopefully when they come in, it will be just a simple 1hr install. I feel like a little kid on Christmas Eve. I'm sure the next 3-5 days are going to go by extremely slow.

About these subs... They have 935cm^2 of cone area so they are actually 16" subs. In comparison, my IB15s have a lot of cone area for a 15" and they have 820cm^2. The IB15s have 18mm linear one way excursion and 25mm one way mechanical excursion (the distance before they bottom out and damage occurs).

For comparison, the ID Max15s have 28mm one way linear excursion and about 44mm one way mechanical excursion.

I didn't really make the change so much for output as I did a change in sound. The Max does not have the inductance treatment the IB15s have that I like so much. They are not as efficient either and those are two things I'm sure I'm going to miss a lot. However, with the additional cone area, judging by how little excursion the IB15s already have for moderate volumes, excursion should be barely visible for normal volume. As the knob is cranked, these will be in their linear range much longer. 28mm of low distortion excursion is great and coupled with the very high cone area it's outstanding. They should get loud and sound very good doing so. With them being IB I have no doubt they will sound good on every type of music.

These are still in their linear, low distortion range where the IB15s are bottoming out. Now, I've never bottomed the IB15s or used all of their excursion so some of this is just me wanting to try something different but there is one flaw that took me nearly 2 years to find with the IB15s.

They do everything fantastic, one of the best subs money can buy no doubt. However, I always liked the 12W6 when used infinite baffle just a little more than the IB15. I finally figured out what it was. The IB15 has a hard punch. They have more punch in the 100hz area than any 10" or 12" subs I've heard but this masked a problem. Sometimes on hard hitting punchy bass I felt like something was lacking. It was so minor I could never put my finger on it. Finally, I realized it was that 40hz thump. I talked to another guy who went from two IB15s to a single IDMax15 and he noticed the same thing. I tried boosting the 35,40,and 50hz range but it just wouldn't bring that punch out. They have the low, low bass covered and they have a ton of output across the spectrum, 40-50hz included but there's just a little punch that's missing no matter what I do with TA, levels, and EQ. It's so minor it took me this long to figure it out.

The guy who switched to the Max15 said the punch was back so I have high hopes. I'll have the potential to get twice as loud, but what's important about that is they will be very low distortion at high levels. The IB15 will almost certainly have lower inductance distortion but if there was one thing I would change is it's suspension. It has a very nice, flat, broad BL curve but the spider is tiny, limiting travel. I'm sure it's designed this way on purpose since this is an IB specific sub. I was trying to wait until the new line of AV15s come out from AE that basically do everything the IB15 does with it's amazing motor but it has the suspension to let it continue on with about 25mm of linear excursion vs 18mm.

So anyway, getting a pair of ID Max15s in soon. Can't wait, and I'm hoping for an improvement in both sound quality with the capability to get serioiusly loud. One guy claims to have hit 145db on a pair of them infinite baffle with 750w total. If that's true, these should be a lot of fun.

I came so close to pulling the trigger on a pair of 13W7s because I know they sound absolutely amazing infinite baffle but I thought I would give these a shot since I've never heard them and wanted to try something new. One cool thing is with the displacement, these can literally take the place of a pair of "normal" 15s for someone that needs to save space.

Review and pictures to come. Here's some other peoples Max 15s IB (non TL):






Not the prettiest from the front but luckily it won't be seen:



Max15 next to an IB15:





I will miss my IB15s. Not going to sell them just yet, just in case. I got the IDMax in a dual 4 ohm version so I can run them in a large ported box for my home audio at 8ohm if I don't like them in the car.

Last, a big thanks to Jerry (Niebur3). As always he hooks it up.

I hate cars

I almost forgot, I'm adding weight and losing trunk space. I'm going from a pair of 17lb subs to 44lbs each and 7" deep to 10.5" deep. Kind of sucks but hopefully it's worth it.

I also came so close to the 13W7s, still kicking the idea around. They not only sound great, they only have 10% less displacement than the IDMax15 due to a ton of cone area for a "little" 13.5" and 32mm linear excursion and well over 50mm one way mechanical excursion. I'm still a little nervous about my decision to go with the Max15 over the 13W7 for sound quality. Still though, I can't wait to try a pair of long throw sound quality 16" subs and while I complain, they will still take up no more space than a typical 8" sub on a box install.

pohljm

and it begins again...............

I hate cars

I think this is a great time to do an IB15 vs Pyle 15 comparison.

pohljm

That would be interesting! I am thinking the IB would be the clear winner.

I hate cars

If you ever get bored enough, let me know and I'll ship one to you.

pohljm

What is the mounting diameter? It may just be mount, plug and play

I hate cars

The cutout is 14". I think the outer diameter is 15-5/8".

I'm going to buy the wood today and maybe a router too. Not looking forward to this install. An 88lb baffle is not goint to be fun.

the_tl_man09

thats a big ass sub

I hate cars

Yeah, it's a legit 16". It sucks that it weighs so much and it's so deep. I'm still considering using just one since one will have the same output potential of the two I currently have due to the additional cone area and an extra 1" of linear travel. The only problem is one will require about 4x the power for the same output while 2 will require about double the power for the same output as my current ones. I hate that I'm compromising. Sometimes I wish I had gone with the 13W7s.

I hate cars

It looks like they're going to be delievered today. I have some work cut out for me. Maybe I'll just cut the IB15 holes larger, freehand it with my jig saw until I can get around to building a proper baffle this weekend.

the_tl_man09

I have a fi bl 15 on the way it's going to be a challenge getting that thing in my trunk..its pretty big as well ithink it weighs 59 pounds

I hate cars

These things are insanely huge. The pictures don't do them justice. I even tried taking pictures to post but they just don't show how huge they are.

I hooked one up to power yesterday just laying in the trunk. I've been worried about efficiency, it's been nice with the IB15s being able to get so loud on so little power but these had just as much cone movement when hooked to the same channel with the IB15 and Max15 running at the same time. I think efficiency won't be a problem. One guy hit mid 140s with these infinite baffle on 750w total which is what I have. I'm really looking forward to getting these installed but it probably won't be till the weekend.

the_tl_man09

nice hope it turns out good for ya

I hate cars

So I finally got these installed a few days ago. I ran into some issues but got them solved. I've been nervous and regretting getting rid of my IB15s because they were so nice in every possible way. I've been nervous also because the lack of tech support from the new ID. It reminds me of a place run by enthusiasts but with no real engineering. I was a bit relieved to learn that the 15" Max was mostly designed by Eric Stevens before he left the company.

So with that out of the way, my short term review. Efficiency on the low end is good, right up there with the IB15s. Above 50hz the IB15s walk all over the Max but they walk all over just about any sub or even midbass in efficiency in the 100-400hz range. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. The Max15 plays up to 250hz pretty flat and I don't have to run such a steel lowpass filter to cut out the high frequencies as I did with the AE subs. They play higher flatter than most subs without being excessive.

Excursion is great. I believe they're rated at 28mm one way linear excursion at 70% Bl but I would love to see a Klippel test. Total mechanical excursion is claimed to be over 3.5" peak to peak before damage. Judging by the 12" spider which is bigger than the cone on a typical 12" sub and the massive surround I have to believe this claim.

What's so nice about this suspension and wide flat Bl is even if you're not pushing the subs, they're just cruising in a very linear range where so subs are experiencing more distortion. I have to guess inductance is pretty low too judging by how well it plays into the midbass frequencies and beyond.

I was still worried about the sound quality as these subs are massive and I was worries they were going to be more on the SPL side of things. So after getting a couple issues worked out I got to take a listen. They are better than I could have imagined. They have a slightly warmer sound than the AEs did, more like the W6 sounds. They are just as quick, snappy, tight as anything I've run. Sound quality is great, better than just about anything I've ever run. They blend effortlessly with the fronts. They can be subtle to the point you're not sure they're on but they can be brutal when needed.

They dig down into the 30hz range easily but not as easy as the AEs. I'm told the low end gets drastically better once broken in and people have had to cut the initial boost in the 20-30hz range.

If I was competing for sound quality I would probably stick with the AEs. I feel that they might be a tiny bit more accurate.....maybe. As far as which one is more pleasing, which one brings out the emotion in the music and makes you feel it more, it would be the Max 15. The Mad has more depth, especially in harmonics. A bass guitar sounds more real as do some drums. A pipe organ can be felt as much as heard and as a very low note is played you can hear and feel the standing wave fill the room and it's so effortless. They will get downright brutal when called upon, very W7-like. The AEs were a little softer sounding by comparison.

Another plus is with the incredible displacement (935cm^2 and 28mm xmax) one will be enough for he vast majority of people so you have to factor that into the price as they're actually pretty cheap if you go by dollar vs displacement.

Overall I'm incredibly happy with them. Efficiency is good. Sound quality has surpassed all expectations. They will get stupid loud to where I got the fiancée to do hair tricks with a 20hz tone off of 750w total. I would highly recommend them to anyone for both SQ and SPL. I hear they do very well ported as well.

I still think the AEs and the W6/7s might be a tiny bit better in one or two areas but these new subs are about the best overall I've heard and I can't wait to see what they're capable of when I double the power with another 750/1. These have enough excursion that I don't have to worry about hurting them with 1500w at any frequency even infinite baffle.





I realize there are a lot of spelling issues, but it would take too long to correct from my phone so please excuse it. This phone is so awesome it even replaces correctly spelled words with the wrong word.




Also, that punch I was after is back. It's not overbearing or fake but it's definitely better. Maybe the AEs are closer to how things are supposed to sound as I hear car systems tend to have an exaggerated punch. These don't sound exaggerated, they sound great but it's possible the AEs are more accurate in that area. I like the punch of the Maxes better.

pohljm

I am guessing they are going to break in nicely.

I hate cars

So after having more time and adding double the power temporarily I think I'm still in love with these subs.

My system is setup for sound quality first and foremost and I'm not going to trade sound quality for output. Luckily I haven't had to. I doubled the power which is only a 3db increase in output but if I didn't know better I would put it closer to 6db plus. Maybe it's because it's the difference in the amp shutting down and not shutting down. They handle the power effortlessly and I just ordered a pair of Alpine amps that will give me 1,200w each which seems perfect for these. According to others it will push them just past xmax. I' also found out that they have a full 4" of peak to peak mechanical excursion, not the 3.5" of the 10" and 12" Maxes.

It's a different kind of bass than I'm used to. I can put in a well recorded song or even classical music and the subs had a warmth and a little punch to the bottom end. It sounds like a pure SQ setup and you might think I had a single 10" in there if we're going by stereotypes. But when there's something with bass including dubstep or even organ music, it makes me feel bad for my car. The steering wheel flexes like crazy. It blew my windshield seal out on an organ passage that extended down to 18hz. I don't know if the seal is leaking or if the rubber that covers the windsheild, the part between the windshield and the roof just came unglued. I had to put it back in it's groove with some glue.

I'm not into this kind of output, it's not my thing but it's nice to be able to do it once in a great while, while also having just about the best sound quality I've ever experienced from a sub.

My Dyn 182 9" midbasses seem to be the perfect match for these subs as well. They compliment each other with very little work where before with the AEs I always felt like they were competing against each other.

Again, I would probably use the AEs in competition because I feel that they have certain qualities a judge would like better. They have less punch than the Maxes no matter how much you try and EQ them but to be honest I think the punch of the Maxes is just a little exaggerated just like 99% of car subs are. In the end I had to go with what I liked best, not what would get me more points since I don't plan to compete.

In retrospect, I would probably just do a single sub and call it a day. These subs have so much displacement, a pair is just not needed except for the most serious sound quality enthusiast (lower distortion with the pair) or for a bass head. They will take 1,200w IB which I'm not sure is good or bad. They seem to have about the same output as the AEs below 50hz so I know they're plenty efficient in that range. Maybe I'm just not used to a sub with this much excursion and maybe 1,200w to hit xmax isn't that crazy. I was hoping for a setup like my 13W7 where it would have a solid 2" peak to peak excursion with 300w but I think these are still just as loud with the same power applied. It does make me wonder how these subs ever hit their claimed xmax in a sealed box. If they're struggling to hit it IB, it seems like they couldn't hit xmax in a sealed box.

I'm really big on that, I must be able to at least hit the sub's xmax so you're not leaving low distortion, linear output on the table. Otherwise I might as well have gone with something like an IDQ instead. So in that respect I'm a little disappointed it requires 1,200w each to hit it but oh well. They're stupid loud with only 750w each right now.