Engineering a thin subwoofer enclosure 鈥� one that doesn鈥檛 sacrifice sound quality - is a challenge to say the least. As available airspace becomes smaller, most enclosures suffer. The frequency response might become thinner or get 鈥減unchy鈥� as the power requirements rise to compensate for what the sub cannot do naturally.
KICKER took a different approach, bringing back some hardware that helped make the company鈥檚 name a household one, decades ago: the passive radiator.
鈥淲hile they work in a very similar way, you get better sound from a radiator than you do a port,鈥� says Aaron Surratt, KICKER鈥檚 New Product Development Manager. 鈥淚t sounds cleaner and tighter. Plus you don鈥檛 have to make the enclosure as long, and there鈥檚 no port noise to worry about.鈥� Among several other responsibilities, Mr. Surratt is one of only three people in the company allowed to assess the acoustic signature of their products 鈥� effectively, he is one of the very few 鈥渆ars of KICKER.鈥�
The concept of a Passive Radiator is many decades old, and while there are generic radiator options available, KICKER felt a custom radiator was the best way to get the sound they wanted, in the size enclosure they needed. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a combination of suspension and weight, Surratt explained. 鈥淲e had to fine-tune each size radiator to get the most out of the enclosure and the active sub (the CompRT thin subwoofer is loaded in the TRTP enclosure) it was paired with. We went through five or six iterations before we were happy.鈥�
One of the other challenges was the height, or more accurately 鈥� the lack of it. Standing at barely over six inches tall for the 12-inch version, the TRTP would need to use 陆鈥� MDF. To keep the rigidity of the enclosure up to snuff, Surratt explained that extensive internal bracing was used in the enclosure.
One of the most critical factors to the sound is 鈥渟lot height鈥�: the distance from the down-firing subs to the ground, just a few inches below it. Too close, and the subs might hit the carpet. Too high, and the enclosure wouldn鈥檛 be able to deliver the tight, accurate bass people expect. KICKER鈥檚 answer was to recess both the active CompRT and passive reFLEX鈩� radiator.
鈥淲e made it to fit in the trunk, in the cargo area or in hatchbacks,鈥� explained the Product Development Manager. 鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 down-firing, the sub is inherently protected, so you won鈥檛 need a grille. Plus, you can easily stack things on top of it. All you really lose is some height.鈥�
The TRTP is available in eight, ten and twelve-inch versions with as much as 500 watts RMS. They all come loaded with a single two-ohm terminal.
For more information, visit KICKER's website at .
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