Use a car woofer for home audio cabinet.. any downside?


QUESTION—I need a replacement 12” woofer for a large volume enclosure. A REL Britannia B1

I know the T/S parameters of the old driver which is helpful. I have been shopping and see a huge range of prices from $40-$1000. Seems like a suitable replacement is $400+ if I were to go with a home audio driver.

What I was wondering is what about CAR stereo woofers? I see a ton of 12” car stereo woofers that are extremely well built (sometimes better than home audio), have good parameters, and are at a lower price. The only downside is that they are DUAL VOICE COILS, DVC. I know a DVC would have to be wired in series thus taking 2 ohm to 4ohm for example. Is there any downside to a car audio woofer? Any downside to merely connecting the 2 voice coils?

 

Thanks for your thoughts!


stevethe4th
Hello Steve, Have you called REL in Berkley CA? I would because the replacement driver for that speaker is now upgraded (beefier) and only costs around $400 (guessing). Replace with the new updated REL driver and keep your Britainia Series sub working great! I have a B2 and replaced mine for around $350 :-)


(510) 990-6005 REL in Berkeley Ca.


Matt M
stevethe4th

I concur w/ Matt M. The REL B series is very sweet indeed. You will want to replace an exact driver for best outcome. Keep us posted on this project.
Happy Listening!
Matt, how long ago did you replace it?
I have contacted REL...From my understanding Sumiko (who bought REL) no longer services the subs, and no longer has any parts.....