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I recently pulled something out of deep storage that some people here may find fun: an old TC Sounds TC2+ woofer, sold by the long-defunct company "Oaudio." Oaudio had their own a nifty plate amp (maybe 500W/4 Ohms, BASH topology, with a band of analog PEQ) and sold TC2+ woofers. I bought this one as they were clearing out their stocks. It was only used briefly upon purchase and sat for years in its original box (complete with a bespoke hemispherical foam cone protector piece) until last month, when I retrieved it for use. (For further background on why, see the sad story here..)
For some history, TC Sounds was at one point synonymous with "subwoofers." TC2+ was one of the first wave of large subwoofer drivers that had a strong motor and long excursion, but also good inductance control. At the time, I thought the comparatively inexpensive TC2+ were better than TC's other drivers (3HP/4HP, one of which was sold by Stryke - currently Acoustic Elegance - as the "HE15," TC9, TC3000, and others) of the time, because they had much better inductance control. I even preferred them to TC's super-linear LMS/LMT for the practical reason that the flagship had so much more motor than suspension - you could drive the former right into the backplate! - and such low distortion that they gave no warning prior to catastrophe.
I'm happy to report that despite spending at least a dozen years in an un-conditioned Atlanta basement, it seems to work just fine. My T/S measurements were in reasonable tolerance of factory specs (last column below).
(Source: oaudio.com via Wayback Machine. Don't you love the thorough explanation of the specs?)
It has higher Q in the cabinet I'm using (roughly 45L closed box, well-built by Del Won - best known for his work on Philharmonic Audio's early flagship speakers for @Dennis Murphy), prior to retirement) than the Aurasound NS15 did, but it's EQ'able and is more than capable of filling the role I have for it.
If we're honest there has not been a whole lot of progress in home subwoofer drivers since then. (Pro drivers have taken off, by contrast - the hulking neo-motor subs from B&C, BMS, 18Sound, Eminence, and so on did not exist.) I think the biggest change is newer drivers may be longer-lived or able to handle more power due to more extensive and consistent voice coil ventilation. But this old TC2+ had a decently linear overhung motor with well-engineered inductance control, and a suspension that can handle lots of throw. One could do a lot worse.
For some history, TC Sounds was at one point synonymous with "subwoofers." TC2+ was one of the first wave of large subwoofer drivers that had a strong motor and long excursion, but also good inductance control. At the time, I thought the comparatively inexpensive TC2+ were better than TC's other drivers (3HP/4HP, one of which was sold by Stryke - currently Acoustic Elegance - as the "HE15," TC9, TC3000, and others) of the time, because they had much better inductance control. I even preferred them to TC's super-linear LMS/LMT for the practical reason that the flagship had so much more motor than suspension - you could drive the former right into the backplate! - and such low distortion that they gave no warning prior to catastrophe.
I'm happy to report that despite spending at least a dozen years in an un-conditioned Atlanta basement, it seems to work just fine. My T/S measurements were in reasonable tolerance of factory specs (last column below).
(Source: oaudio.com via Wayback Machine. Don't you love the thorough explanation of the specs?)
It has higher Q in the cabinet I'm using (roughly 45L closed box, well-built by Del Won - best known for his work on Philharmonic Audio's early flagship speakers for @Dennis Murphy), prior to retirement) than the Aurasound NS15 did, but it's EQ'able and is more than capable of filling the role I have for it.
If we're honest there has not been a whole lot of progress in home subwoofer drivers since then. (Pro drivers have taken off, by contrast - the hulking neo-motor subs from B&C, BMS, 18Sound, Eminence, and so on did not exist.) I think the biggest change is newer drivers may be longer-lived or able to handle more power due to more extensive and consistent voice coil ventilation. But this old TC2+ had a decently linear overhung motor with well-engineered inductance control, and a suspension that can handle lots of throw. One could do a lot worse.