The Orion HCCA Challenge consisted of the 12" Orion HCCA Subwoofer vs. five leading competitors' subwoofers.

Test Methodology:

Testing was conducted by a neutral third-party: Syndicate Automotive Concepts in San Diego, a leader in the vehicle customization business.



Cliff and his team have been building show-stopping, award-winning rides for their VIP clientele for over 15 years.

Identical Crown I-T8000 power supplies were used, along with identical Fluke 87 multimeters to monitor voltage.

All the enclosures were sealed and built to the manufacturers optimal performance specifications.





The VIDEOS of the Tests:


JL Audio W7


MTX 9500


Rockford Fosgate T1


Kicker SoloX


Cerwin Vega Stroker

For the actual test results and more information go to:
http://www.orioncaraudio.com/Promos/HCCA_C...ge_Results.aspx

Orion Car Audio encourages their competitors to take the HCCA Challenge!

Want to know more about the Orion HCCA Subwoofer?
Go to: http://www.orioncaraudio.com/Products/Subw...rs/Default.aspx

Interesting that the Rockford tested was the T1 not the T2... a little puzzling really it is a $700 sub, some of the other subs are worth $2k in that test.

time to sell my jlaudio w7

Really? The test shows a 750rms rated woofer to fail mechanically after 7min at over 3000rms, no kidding that would happen, It holds up pretty well considering the VC is fine after such abuse.

The HCCA looks nuts though.

Ah...... old school stuff! I Love it!

Hmm, wonder how my subs would go against the HCCA?

I must say the soloX held up pretty well.

Yeah funny that RF didnt use the T2... since all the others are top leading sub in each brand.

I believe the test would be more better if the subs were given their rated power, not just double.

The T2 has been known to survive indefinate power input from a power point in a suitable ported enclosure



The Rockford guys in Europe and the USA do it for a laugh

My thoughts exactly Adam. Wrong woofer chosen for the comparison, the T1 is regarded as an all rounder leaning towards SQ, the T2 would be the correct competitor, or the Team RF. I would think the the W7 would be more of an SQ based sub also. The video is produced by Orion, we know nothing about the testing procedures. Of course the Orion sub will come out on top.

I think they didnt use the RF T2 because they needed to compare it to the W7, maybe.

They werent given double it varied, the RF held up close to the best out of all the woofers other than the HCCA, rated 600rms given slightly under 3000rms down its throat and held out for 3min. Thats around 400% more than its rated at.
The SoloX was pretty average in the test IMO failed at 1h and 12min being given only 40% more than its rated at, umm wow

Its hard to make anything out of the test, but one thing is clear the winner of taking the most power vs time was the HCCA.

Under those conditions with that much power it was, Also with the sealed enclosures there would have been a lot more heat soak than with ported enclosures a lot of those woofers are designed to work best in a ported enclosure, however if the Orion didn't have the mechanical strength to be able to cope with 3kw in a ported enclosure I can see why they chose to put in in a sealed enclosure and put the compeditors woofers in sealed enclosures too (rightly or wrongly)

Agree, to be fair the test needs to include the test done in a ported enclosure for all woofers and then we need to know what they are trying to achieve,
- The most power it can take (this is a good way to prove which woofer is the most inefficient)
- The loudest in the manufactures recommended enclosure
- The one that plays the lowest at the loudest frequency relating to real music.

The point is what does it achieve? Is the cerwin vega louder off its rated 2000rms than the HCCA at 6000rms which will kill it. We don't know? But we do know that in a sealed enclosure recommended by the manufacturers that the HCCA can take the most power. Is this good or bad? Is it the most inefficient woofer in town?

Being able to handle a lot of power doesn't nessacerily mean that the woofer is inefficient!

Yes I know, they weren't real questions. What the test tells me is that the HCCA can be abused, not a great deal more.

whoops sorry, they weren't given twice their rated power, just only... 3000W peak.. so thats.. 1000WRMS..2000WRMS?

But anyways the test is somewhat flawed.. obviously, and anyone in the right mind would know that this test is bias..

I pretty sure MTX did a similar test with the 9500 vs other brands.

No it was peak rms. Because music is dynamic that meant that the amp set to do 3000rms would only give the subs a peak of 3000 on certain notes and the rest would be below that, this means there would be no clipping (we assume).

marketing gimmick - no real scientific experimentation done

Would also like to know how it compares to a DD woofer

thats all good, but how does it sound?
or is it a pure spl sub?

110V, plus rise @ 60Hz.........

Phil

Well the HCCA gear of old was SQ gear (I believe), but being Orion they had the ability to go loud aswell (for the day and age)

Thas some pritty kewl results........
go orion.......

I'm kinda new here and may get well flames for this but off the above critics i'd be interested to know who has a a comercial interest. I really dont care as im a total newbie but a lot of people here seem closer to products then just being end users would it be fair if we knew who they were.

Cheers

Oh it has the mechanical strength to be able to cope with 3kw in a ported enclosure.

My main critique would be that the "optimum" enclosures recommended for these vehicular woofers are "optimum" for in vehicle use, not sitting on a warehouse floor.

If someone asked me for a box design for a warehouse floor, it would be vastly different to one I'd recommend for use in a vehicle......

I know the Orion woofer was faced with this "handicap" also, but enclosure design and woofer loading has a lot to do with mechanical power handling.

Phil

yeah i agree whats th overall point of this test?

power handling is a good thing but not if it sounds like ass doing it. unless its purely an spl test-which takes other factors into account-like phil said about warehouse to car enclosure comparison.

Is it just me? Or does kicker, mtx and cerwin NOT Recommend sealed enclosures?

Most of the current high end woofers are designed for optimal performance in a ported enclosure.

It is mainly woofers with weak mechanical suspension that are not suited to ported enclosures.

seems like a total waste of time to me,(just my opinon),its really a test to see which one can be overpowerd and not which sounds best or puts out highest db,



With the optimum box design, it it optimum for the subwoffer not what the surrounding are ,ive never seen a subwoffer manual say you need a boot or room of whateva meters lol..



Im sure most companys test there subs to other companys subs but crazy to see how a sub last totally maxed out .



Just my 2cents

That's because all cars are more similar to each other than say, a warehouse.

The room (or vehicle) plays a big part in box design.

Phil

In the flesh. This is the 12" weighs 35kgs.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

35kg for a 12? fook me...

The coolest thing in those pics is the grab handles cut into the MDF!

Getting some of the heavy ass subs out of the shipping crates can be a real PITA, good idea!

Must admit Adam that the grab handles are a great idea.



But not the coolest thing in the pic by far!!!

Is it triple or quad stack?

nice test, as pointed out, gives a general idea only.

even mounted in a sealed enclosure, the loading of a closed car plays a big part in the power handling of a woofer.

Who designed the driver? Pat Turnmier?
Who is building the driver? In house or SGX in Cal?

It is the pressures of asymmetric enclosures that determine the wattage required for a given SPL. In a sealed enclosure (reflex enclosures are even worse, you can get twice the internal pressures at resonance) the pressure dominates the stiffness of the system. The suspension (compliance) of the driver is relatively small unless the volume is 2 times Vas or over. Larger volume enclosures require less power for a given stroke, and this is why you can't really say a speaker always requires X Watts for full output unless you know the enclosure volume.

there was a hcca orion sub @ autobarn spl/sq day in VIC.



DAMN!!!!



its massive!!!!!!!!

Looks great, I was talking with Gav yesterday about them. Very cool.

Being a Directed product, you can be assured of fantastic after sales and backup service. Also the products availability is always second to none.

I have dealt with Directed many times, always have been extremely happy with them.

I have found quite the opposite myself.

Gavin seems like a god bloke though.

Have the 12 in stock now. Awesome looking driver.
Client wants the 15 and should be in stock this week. I'll let you know how it sounds. It will be 3 to 4 weeks before the install is complete.
I had a quick look at specs and well, I think it will be an interesting driver to model up in LEAP.
Wewill be using a mono block on a single 15, vented of course. 2500W/RMS SHould go off!
Cheers

what's the rrp of one these orion subs?

10" $949

12" $1099

15" $1299

so in Aus, it's in the ball park of:

DD 35 series
ID Max
Boston SPG555

and others. who's going to put it up against these?

- Stooge007 out

I'd put it closer to the 95 series, well in regards to price anyway.