SNG Audio Pro Series SQL-15

A fifteen inch subwoofer with a lofty urge; the design intent was for this model to be as accurate, tight and high sound quality as possible, while still pushing enough air around to be called ‘loud’, hence SQL. From the Pro Series by SNG Audio, (the bigger brother of the Jatt product already tried) it is in a standard 12 spoke cast chassis (as used by many other makers) but the innards are all specified by SNG’s designer. Described as having close-tolerance engineering applied, the spider has some cooling vents underneath for the three inch voice coil. This beta-example we looked at has no branding upon it as yet, whereas the finished Jatt model was all shiny diamond-cut Aluminium with branded-up trim rings and cone. The toughness-with-lightness needed for this tough task comes from the use of costly Carbon Fibre for the front and Kevlar reinforced paper for the back, along with the same secure double-stitched-on method as Kicker use of affixing the large top roll surround to the cone assembly. A simple wrap around soft plastic ring is used around the top edge to act as gasket and finish off the top. It was tested with a JBL GTO 24001 monoblock amp in a sealed trapezoidal enclosure of around two cubic feet.
– Frequency response: not quoted
– Power Handling: 1,000w RMS
– Carbon Fibre faced cone with Kevlar reinforced paper back
– 12 spoke die cast Aluminium chassis
– Dual stacked 100 Oz, 25mm deep Ferrite ring magnets
– Bumped and vented rear plate, vented pole piece with 12mm deep front plate
– Spring loaded 4mm speaker terminals
– Dual 4 Ohm voice coils
– Voice Coil Diameter: 3 inch (high temp rated to 220 degrees Centigrade)
– Dual stitched Santoprene cone surround, edge enclosed by gasket ring
– Nomex spider for linear excursion with stitched-in tinsel lead wires
– Mounting depth: 195mm
– Efficiency: 87dB 1w/1M
– Electrical Q Value, Qes: 0.56
– Mechanical Q Value, Qms: 3.66
– Total Speaker Q Value, Qts: 0.49
– Free Air Resonance, FMS: 19 Hz
– Handmade in the USA
Review by Adam Rayner
Sent for review in a fit of beta-test enthusiasm, the designer really wanted to know about any flaws I could find in this, the woofer intended to be that toughest of all things, an SQL device or Sound Quality, Loud! I fired it up directly with a posh track from the Focal Spirit of Sound #6 CD. This is the disc I lost but re-burned from a lossless rip I took of it. It’s become one I know horribly well on a lot of systems and has a good choice of different challenging tracks.
Immediately I knew that this was not going to be treading on any toes of the posh boys. The Morel Ultimo subwoofer was the sub that gave me a definitive rendition of the tight and subtly varying bass on the track I used and that was six hundred pounds, had a vast voice coil and was also a twelve. This sub does have a big powerful magnet/coil motor but it cannot compete with the serious hard-suspended high SQ models from Morel or indeed the sexy accuracy of say, a JL Audio W7.
But I do have a fifty quid less woofer to try from JL in the shape of the 15W0, so you will be able to compare to such dustbin lids. Sadly, the overhang from the big heavy fifteen inch cone’s high power engineering has not been overcome by the amount of brute motor strength available.
But I really wouldn’t worry about that as we are talking about a woofer rated at a cool one thousand watts. That’s a Kilowatt, or enough to toast bread. I immediately pulled a face and realised that a seriously high SQ was not on the cards, so slapped in the next disc, a real evil job called More Bass, More Boom, More Bottom, by an outfit who called themselves Power Supply. I cranked the crap out of the rig and the result was simply thunderous
Many big audio bad boy woofers simply go ‘boon, woon, foon’ and kind of do their own thing along with the music. Some owners like the fluffy floomping noise and fondly imagine it’s cool. This woofer however, is like a Range Rover Sport. Big bold, well made and a bit bloody cumbersome versus a Lotus Exige, but get it on the motorway and it’ll overtake the Exige by driving right over the roof at around 120mph on the way to 140!
The SNG Audio Pro Series SQL-15 can hold and vary bass line with a grip of soft firmness like a hand in a kid glove on your scrotum. It HAS full control but it isn’t like an un-gloved, naked-skin thing where you can feel the individual finger nails. (Apologies for mind-bleach grade analogy but it works for me!) So not fit to partner thousand pound components but a really savage air shifter with fat-arsed power handling and a deliciously wobbly suspension that meant that no matter how low the stupido-zurd Bass CD dropped it to, the woofer wobbled down that low. It didn’t give a shit about the ‘Woofer excursion test’ track.
She doesn’t have the refinement of a really costly job and I wouldn’t go on too much about fancy footwork but the woofer can take all you will throw at it and make a rich, satisfying street throb that’ll earn the respect of any true hard case that feels it.
I do want to see how pretty the finished items will be, though.
Sound Quality 7.0
Build Quality 8.0
Power Handling 9.0
Efficiency 7.0
Value For Money 7.0
Overall rating 7.6