It’s been over a year since Sony launched their first Mobile ES subwoofer – the XS-W104ES. The big brothers to this amazing driver are now available in the form of the 12-inch XS-W124ES and XS-W122ES drivers. Rated to handle 500 watts of power and designed to sound great in either sealed or vented enclosures, these are a perfect solution for those who want an audio system that delivers impressive bass.
Design and Performance-Enhancing Features
The XS-W124ES and XS-W122ES are the same drivers, except for the 4- and 2-ohm voice coil impedance options. These subwoofers are based on a heavy-gauge, five-beam, stamped-steel basket concealed behind a custom-tooled shroud. The shroud forces air from under the spider mounting plateau down across the magnet and out of the bottom of the speaker in what Sony calls their Dynamic Air Diffuser design. There’s a custom trim ring around the mounting ledge to conceal the hardware and give the driver a clean, tidy look once installed.
Like all the speakers and subwoofers in the Mobile ES Series, these 12-inch drivers use Sony’s Lightweight Rigid Cellular woofer cone. The cone design balances rigidity, mass and resonance damping to ensure that unwanted harmonic distortion isn’t added to the audio signal. Sony notes that their LRC cones are 10 times as rigid as conventional injection-molded polypropylene speaker cones. The cone is attached to the outer edge of the basket with Sony’s proprietary Separated Notch Edge Surround. This rubber surround includes angled notches that allow it to stretch and compress smoothly to improve linearity at high volume levels. The notches also prevent the surround itself from resonating and coloring the music produced by the driver. Finally, a rigid inverted dust cap in the center of the cone keeps debris out of the voice coil.
The Sony XS-W124ES and SX-W122ES drivers use two progressive-rate spiders to deliver excellent efficiency and appropriate damping at high excursion levels. The tinsel leads are sewn to the upper spider for quiet and reliable operation. The terminals will accept cables up to 10-AWG in size for efficient power transfer from your amplifier.
Sony rates these subwoofers as capable of handling 500 watts of continuous power in compliance with the CTA-2031 standard. Using the older IEC 60268-5 standard, the continuous power rating is 400 watts. Peak power is listed as being 2,000 watts.
Sony Mobile ES Car Audio Subwoofer Applications
Sony suggests that these subwoofers can be used in sealed enclosures with an internal volume of 0.84 cubic foot. In this application, the Qtc is up around 1.0 and the F3 is about 45 Hz from either model. For those craving serious low-frequency output, the suggested 1.34- or 1.6-cubic-foot enclosures from the owner’s manuals both deliver a boost in output of just over 6 dB. That means a single driver in a vented enclosure will play louder than two drivers in a sealed enclosure at all frequencies above 20 Hz. If you have room for the vented design – we highly recommend going that route.
Not surprisingly, these woofers are well-matched to the power production capabilities of the new Mobile ES amplifiers. A pair of XS-W124ES subwoofers wired in parallel is ideal for the XM-1ES monoblock. You could also use these with the 750-watt subwoofer channel on the XM-5ES five-channel system amplifier.
Experience the Elevated Standard of Car Audio with Sony Mobile ES
When the time comes to add deep and accurate bass to your car audio system, visit your local authorized Sony Mobile ES retailer and ask for a demonstration of the XS-W124ES or XS-W122ES 12-inch subwoofers. We know you’ll be impressed. To learn more about Sony Mobile ES and the rest of its impressive products, follow Sony Car Audio on Facebook.
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