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NHT 1259 Replacement woofers.......


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Anyone use these to replace the AR 12"(Steve F would be proud :) ) woofers in their TSW/AR3/9 etc.?? Just curious. Layne audio has them listed as a direct replacement. I'll bet they are incredible, but so are their prices (150 each?), wow!!!

Chris

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I vaguely recall speaking to Stephen about this a long time ago .. I think he mentioned these would only be appropriate in cabinets with relatively large internal volume, so the AR3/a would be out but some of the 9 series may be appropriate? Anyone considering this upgrade should definitely run it by him first. I think there are comments in my 9 section about this as well.

Mark

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The NHT 1259 works optimally in a sealed enclosure that is at least 3 cu ft internally. This would require 6 cu ft for two 1259's. The AR 9's are only about 4 cu ft, so the cabinet is less than optimally sized for such a situation.

On top of this, the bass equilazion network that is built into the AR 9's is specifically tailored to the electrical characteristics of the OEM 12" driver. Dropping in 1259's would either require removing this circuit from the crossover or re-designing it for proper operation with the 1259's. Since the 1259's have a lower impedance than the factory 12's, you would also need an amp that was capable of sustained drive into a load that would probably drop below 1 ohm at various points and would present a "nominal" 2 ohm load as it is.

I know all of this as i'm currently rebuilding a pair of 9's from the ground up. I've also discussed this with Mr Tidwell a while back. After truly optimizing the system that the 9's are in and owning several NHT 1259's, i don't think that the added work to make them work "right" in this sized cabinet / speaker design is worth it. The factory 12's are capable of POUNDING with incredibly tight and extended bass IF the rest of the speaker and system are up to the task. Sean

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>So Sean, it sounds like I may LOSE bass response, assuming I

>have a stable amp?

>

>Chris

Yes, and worse you would loose the flat frequency response of the AR system (speaker). It is a system, and needs to be treated as such, making a change affects the whole.

Nigel

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In this instance, i agree with Nigel 100%. You would be better of tinkering with any of the other drivers before messing with the woofers / bass network of the 9's. It is a LOT more complicated than what most people recognize. Sean

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>The NHT 1259 works optimally in a sealed enclosure that is

>at least 3 cu ft internally. This would require 6 cu ft for

>two 1259's. The AR 9's are only about 4 cu ft, so the

>cabinet is less than optimally sized for such a situation.

>

Not to mention the fact that the NHT1259 does not have the truncated frame, necessary to properly mount in the AR-9 cabinets if I remember correctly. You would have to butcher the cabinet. I think, however, that the 1259 and the original AR 12-inch woofer are not terribly apart in terms of free-air resonance, etc. There are probably more similarities than differences, but the 1259 has about twice the excursion. I'm in here a bit late, and I have not read all the threads, but I'm thinking that using the original woofers will give bass response that is about as good as it gets, so why even think of changing woofers?

--Tom Tyson

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