JL Audio & Phoenix Gold A Report From The 2012 CES
I have been to the CES for many years, on and off. More off than on, it was always the indicator of how much you mattered as to whether you got asked or not, as it was always a costly bill for whomever footed the journalists’ trips. I was there in the darkest year of all, when the last bus back to the hotels on the last day was totally empty and the driver asked where I wanted to go like a taxi driver. It was a high powered Las Vegas version of the ‘˜Kid left last at school by a late parent’ syndrome and was utterly miserable.
For I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with the ‘˜burg as my mama brought me up with an inbred hate-aversion for drunkeness and gambling. To find I was forced to walk through the very den of iniquity to get to my room in any hotel in town was a shock. You cannot go from check in to the umpteenth tower with ten thousand yet more rooms in to find your own, without walking along carpet routes through the casino. Lined with slots and the glassy-eyed feeding money into them at all hours of the day and night. Did you know that the slots are the biggest money makers in steady terms in all the gambling? Not the ‘˜Whales’ losing millions but fools slapping buttons to be given a brief frisson. Having worked briefly in a UK fruit machine distribution and installation company, I can tell you lots about how they work and it is truly depressing.
But then there’s the Most Exciting City In The World label and the Greatest Entertainment City in the World one as well and it’s all true. The good, the bad, the nonsense, the Hollywood and the prose. It’s ALL true. My brother has been there to review some of the finest eateries on the planet, too
Yet times are evolving to a new shrunken market of enthusiasts and those we can educate to sell car audio equipment to. A bit like that for gramophones, it is no longer ubiquitous but specialised. All of which adds up to despite being registered for all the press perks of food, shelter, ‘net access and a press bag embroidered nicely with the CEA logo, I wasn’t able to go to the CES this year. I really must work out a way of funding it.
However, just a very few top executives that had to go, did go, even if only for a bonkers two days in town and leave, rather than the more usual stay the four days and have a bit of a hair-let-down while you are there manoeuvre. And companies that had sent droves of people in the past sent fewer this time But I had an inkling that this was to be so and that despite how tough it is here, this year’s show was the advance guard of a trade doing better. They reckon a worldwide trillion Dollars will be spent on Consumer Electronics in 2012 and the CEA had 153,000 attendees at the CES, with 30,000-odd from overseas. The best I recall was 144,000. Awesome.
I would have gone bonkers and tried to report on it ALL. Not being able to, I badgered said execs going, into doing some work for me. Primarily to point a video camera at Steve Turrisi of JL Audio and Eric LeClerc of Phoenix Gold and ask them to introduce themselves, say they were reporting for Talk Audio TV and then to give us the SP on whatever we were looking at. Eric from Phoneix Gold is clearly stoked with excitement at some amazingly powerful and sexy amplification, built with real smarts and solidity, yet Steve Turrisi is a legendarily cool presenter.
The hall was fabulously noisy and my cameraman, Mark Baker, was a foot or two too distant perhaps in this first clip, as the voice of Steve Turrisi of JL Audio is only about six decibels above the background roaring hubbub of the LVCC North Halls during CES time, but if you turn it up, it’s all hearable. Here’s Steve telling you about the new W6v3 subwoofers:
And here’s some stuff from their press release about them:
Key Improvements of JL Audio W6v3 over W6v2’s:
. Larger, more powerful motor systems 12W6v3: 20% larger 10W6v3: 26% larger
. Greater linear excursion capability: 12W6v3: 14% more than W6v2 10W6v3: 23% more than W6v2
. More durable rubber surround
. Improved cooling circuit design (patented)
Overview:
. Small sealed enclosure volume requirements
. Very long linear excursion capability: 0.74 In / 18.8 mm, one-way
. High power handling
. DMA-optimized motor designs
. New, patent-pending pole cooling system and patented elevated frame cooling
. Patented ‘floating cone attach method’ technology
. Plateau reinforced spider attach (RC)
. Cast alloy frame
. Jacketed lead-wire system
. Injection moulded, mineral-filled polypropylene cone
. Rubber surround
. Precision-built in USA at JL Audio’s Miramar, Florida factory
A cut-through image of JL W6v3
Next, we have the Terribly clever TW3 thin-mount subwoofers:
And again, they tell us this:
Building on the core technology of our TW5 thin-line subwoofers, the new TW3’s deliver a powerful combination of shallow mounting depth and excursion capability. In fact, they are capable of greater excursion than the W3v3’s.
To allow this remarkable feat to be achieved, JL Audio’s patented thin-line woofer technology compresses the architecture of the TW3’s using a ‘concentric tube’ structure built into the injection-molded cone body. This structure supports the voice coil and a full annular spider, while permitting the placement of the large motor structure further forward in the speaker than with conventional designs.
TW3’s are optimized for small enclosures and offer our tab-ear mounting design to maximize cone area within their mounting footprints. We know you’re going to love working with these amazing subwoofer drivers.
Deep, powerful and accurate JL Audio bass is now possible in more applications than ever
A TW3 woofer, yesterday..
Then, Mr Turrisi was keen to explain about the new Microsub„¢ compact enclosures, sons of the CP108 box with the single eight in it. Well, they loved CP108 so much and JL’s fans were so impressed with what the box could do that it was decided to extend the idea both up and down! There’s a single SIX inch speaker subwoofer box as well as making a double version of the eight and different shaped one to better fit behind pick up truck seats. (Jeremy Clarkson recently revealed that the biggest selling vehicle in the whole world is the Ford F150 pick up truck)
I could just kiss Turrisi-san when he referred to ‘˜Fans of the Show’ for lil’ old Talk Audio TV, on-camera. He’s the best reporter TATV ever had, too check these out:
And some of the skinny:
MicroSub„¢ Subwoofer Systems
The classic MicroSub„¢ name returns in 2012 for our amazing little subwoofer systems (we think it’s fitting).
Those who have used the CP108LG-W3v3 have found it to be an incredibly versatile, high-performance solution for tight-space installations. The secret to its performance lies in the carefully engineered ported alignment, tuned by Lucio Proni to extract maximum performance from the 8W3v3 driver.
In late 2011, we added the dual 8-inch version (CP208LG-W3v3), which delivers awesome performance in sedans and hatchbacks. This model is quickly becoming another runaway success.
For 2012, we are adding a third MicroSub„¢: the positively tiny CP106LG-W3v3, featuring our 6W3v3 6.5-inch subwoofer driver. We think you will find it to be just as magical as the 8-inch version.
Your secret weapons when you need excellent bass in tight space, cost-conscious installations.
Not just a box but a braced and thoughtfully made enclosure a Microsub„¢:
And here’s Mr Eric LeClerc who is product development and head trainer for Phoenix Gold’s USA owners, AAMP of America, despite him saying he was from Talk Audio. This video was in a very high traffic zone and the guys kept on having folks walk right through the shootI explained that next time, don’t fret about that, just carry on! So excuse a couple of jumpcuts and just check out what the dude is explaining. These amplifiers are over-engineered in a way only the very best pure Americana ever is. Absurd, up to 30% more power than rated so a 3,200 watt RMS behemoth is actually a four kilowatt traffic warden-kill-capable monster! He clearly loves the stuff he’s talking about!
And not least but last:
‘The Elite amplifiers feature only the finest in audio components such as Burr Brown op-amps, Monolithic signal capacitors, and dual-package Sanken output transistors. This result is unparalleled sonic performance in a mobile audio amplifier. The sheer breadth of the Elite amplifiers’ dynamic range conveys a musical realism that transcends standard amplifier designs. With seemingly unlimited frequency response and smashing dynamic range the end result is the finest sounding amplifier Phoenix Gold has ever built, period. Oh yeah, they are also built like a brick house and drive low impedance loads without breaking a sweat.’
And here, in a lovely swishy slideshow, are some well-taken stills, also by the talented Mark Baker of Celsus
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