Vibe in Vegas!
OK, as I write, it is the small hours of the morning in Las Vegas and I have got some Day One stuff from Midbass, before Mike is even awake!
Also distributed by Metra Electronics in the USA, Midbass are exhibiting for the third time at CES in support of Metra, after the storming year when they took their awesome bass tunnel truck to the USA to introduce themselves. It must have made an impression as British Bass is selling well to the Americans!
You can read about the Vibe Minis from a previous CES here link but this year they have a pick up truck demo vehicle built in the USA by the guys from Metra, as against them being a Rich Laker pre-production ( with Rob Gurney bass designs) to perfect-fit the cars when the parts get shipped in, like the Minis were done.
Four folks from Vibe have gone to run the stand and do the International Business thing and we are assured, will be partying with the guys from Connects2, as fellow Midlanders.
New stuff on show includes the entire Vibe range to launch the 2011 products, of which some of the most exciting are new Slick Active enclosures, including twin driver models with slot ports, tuned to 35Hz. In the BlackAir range, there are two new BlackAir12 vented ‘˜Black’ edition enclosures, one passive and both with slot ports and black cones, with beefed up motors. I can tell you that Rob Gurney, Acoustic Alchemist at Vibe, loves them!
Also, there are two new Vibe under seat enclosures in the LiteAir range, a seven inch active and an eight inch passive uniquely for an under seat, the very first with labyrinth slot ports, based on the inverted surround LiteAir eight inch sub, although further engineered for this application.
On display ( ‘and I hope to god it has arrived’ said Rob Gurney) is the world premier appearance of the new Black Death ‘˜Bubonic’ fifteen inch subwoofer. It has a flat-wound four inch voice coil, well four of them, with 0.75 Ohms of load shown at each set of terminals. Rated at a WHOPPING Six Thousand, Five Hundred watts, RMS THAT’S CONTINOUS!!! ‘It’s a big old puppy, weight around fifty kilos’ again revealed Rob Gurney.
Expect some crazed installs with these, as the peak to peak excursion is 70mm, which is just a shade under three inches. (2.755 to be exact as an Aerospace engineer pointed out to me after publishing this wrongly!) Holy Moly. The ruddy magnet on its own is 540 Ounces! Dual NASA-developed Conex spiders, semi-pressed paper composite paper cone, designed using Finite Element Analysis. Triple roll classic Linen surrounds. These were all chosen as being the loudest for the application. It will even be reconeable for the psychos this product will attract.
The Bubonic’s partner in crime is a huge one Metre long amplifier codenamed ‘The Reaper’. It outputs more than a Kicker Warhorse’s 10Kw by offering 11,600 Watts at 1% THD but at ‘˜real world’ or ‘˜other maker’s’ standard of 10% THD (deemed acceptable for a bass amp) it puts out 14,500W RMS, which is a record as far as I know.
This is the most powerful car amplifier in the world that can actually pass the CE safety standard as others emit huge RF!
In support of this bass mayhem, there are also some new Pro Audio derived bullets and eight and ten inch midrange drivers, as well as a twelve inch horn-equipped ‘˜co-ax’! All designed to let you be the loudest on the show ground! I can’t help but be keen to learn more and will report as we get it.
You heard it here first