Peavey BWX Driver Series 1808-4 SPS 18" Black Widow Loudspeaker, 35Hz-1kHz, 2000W Peak Power, Single

The 1808 BWx driver series represents a new level of power and performance for Black Widow loudspeakers. Power handling is increased by 40% over other comparable models, along with reduced distortion and higher overall sound quality. This series consists of four specially designed 18" drivers, suitable for high performance sound reinforcement and musical instrument applications.

Design
The 1808 series uses a new cone that is a variation on the existing Kevlar impregnated cones used on all Black Widows. The new cone is stronger and tougher, highly water resistant and has a specially designed deep roll accordion surround. The dustcap is also made of the same extremely strong material. Voice coil assemblies on the new drivers use thermoset insulated aluminum or copper ribbon wire, bonded onto an incredibly durable, heat resistant polyimide composite former.

The coil wires are solderless diffusion welded to which are embedded inside the former assembly and soldered to the tinsel leads with high temperature silver solder. The solder joint is then coated with a special thermally conductive silicone adhesive for encapsulation and heat dissipation. The voce coil assembly is bonded to the Kevlar cone and new super tough nylon composite spider using a thermoset epoxy originally developed for attaching nose cones on ICBM missiles truly an aerospace grade adhesive.

The spider and surround are bonded to the frame with a high strength adhesive. The magnet structure includes subtle changes to its geometry that improve power handling. While it appears the same as the standard structure and replacement baskets from the '08 series will fit on standard BW magnet structures, the improved power handling will be compromised if the standard structure is used. These new drivers also adhere to the familiar features of Black Widow products: Cast aluminum frames, replaceable basket assemblies, Rubatex gaskets and high reliability spring-loaded terminals are all used.

Applications
The 1808 sps, cu and he drivers are excellent choices for a wide range of sound reinforcement, high level playback, sub woofer, musical instrument and other low frequency applications. The 1808-8sps driver is a traditional 18" PA speaker design, requiring a fairly large enclosure but producing very deep bass at high sound pressure levels. It has a warm midbass character and works in both vented and single reflex bandpass designs. The 1808-4sps is similar to the 8 Ohm version, but in a 4 Ohm impedance. It is an excellent choice for keyboard / bass guitar / drum monitor use.

The 1808-8he works in moderately sized enclosures and has extremely high efficiency. Vented and properly designed dual-reflex bandpass enclosure is suitable for this driver. It is also an excellent choice for keyboard / bass guitar / drum monitor applications. The 1808-8cu is designed to work in small vented enclosures with surprising bass extension and very high output. Its low frequency response isn't quite as deep as the 1808-8sps, but performance in small enclosures is outstanding. The midbass balance of this driver is generally neutral.

Enclosures
To assist with the growing interest in home built enclosure designs, Peavey includes complete parameter data on these drivers and also provides the user with several recommended enclosure designs. Strength of the completed enclosure has a great effect on the bass performance of the finished system. Box panels that aren't stiff enough will vibrate cancelling bass produced by the woofer and creating undesired sounds of their own. If your box vibrates or you don't think the box panels are stiff enough, add more bracing.

Vents shown in the examples require standard Schedule 40 PVC pipe for vent construction. The pipe should be dadoed tightly into the back of the baffle and glued firmly in place with high quality epoxy or high strength industrial grade hot glue. Roughen up the outside of the pipe to improve the glue bond. Be sure to allow for the displacement of the vent, bracing and woofer in your enclosure design before building it or it will be smaller than its intended volume. This can reduce bass output and mis-tune the enclosure. Accurate enclosure volume is particularly important with bandpass designs.

Line the inside of the enclosure with polyester fiber batting such as quilt stuffing. For bandpass loosely fill the sealed side, leave the vented side empty and place the low Rider's magnet in the vented side for cooling. The batting material should conform to California bedding fire codes. Attach the batting with spray adhesive or staples and keep material away from the end of the vent tube where it can be pulled in by air flow. Handles, protective corners, cabinet covering, grille materials and crossovers are available through Peavey Accessories.

When building a bandpass enclosure, design a panel or door to be removable for access to the woofer. Use foam weather-strips to seal the panel along with enough screws and bracing to prevent leaks and buzzes. For single reflex designs, fill the sealed volume loosely with polyester fiber but leave the vented volume empty. Dual reflex designs leave both vented volumes empty. Place the magnet of the woofer in the vented side of a bandpass enclosure for improved cooling. These instructions are a general guideline for design.

Proper construction techniques, good planning and common sense will result in a reliable, high quality, high performance system. Peavey in no way accepts liability for any damage, accidents or injury that may result from design, construction or operation of enclosures using this information. Due to Peavey's continuing efforts to improve products, features and specifications are subject to change without notice.

Parameters
Thiele-Small parameters for Black Widow 1808 BWx drivers follow. This data is for use in designing enclosures. Numerous software packages are available that use this data to simulate the response of the driver and enclosure together for optimum performance in any application. Specifications are subject to change without notice.