Subwoofer XTZ Cinema SUB 3X12

The 3X12 was only built for one task: To make you experience the world of true cinema not only with a clean, dynamic sound but also as a physical experience. It creates an atmosphere that will blow you away! Maximum power for maximum home cinema pleasure is the main idea behind this outstanding subwoofer. As one of the most powerful cinema/hi-fi-subwoofers in the world, the 3X12 is able to achieve an unbelievably high sound pressure level, even in the lowest frequencies. But it’s not only the subwoofer’s volume that is astonishing, it’s also how smooth it sounds and the ease with which this subwoofer is reproducing the entire bass frequency range.

The Cinema 3X12 has three advanced High-Speed Ultra-Long-Stroke driver developed by XTZ’s R&D team. Thanks to their low weight and extreme rigidity, any desired impulse is delivered with maximum speed and precision. Each of the 3 drivers is driven by a Claridy Class-D amplifier with 500W RMS and 900W peak power, making a total of 2700 Watts available. The Class-D amplifiers have a perfect clipping characteristic, thereby ensuring maximum headroom and extreme dynamics. Deep and powerful bass has never sounded this authentic before.

The Cinema 3X12 has several configuration options that allow a perfect adaptation to the room and taste. The lower frequency limit is an incredibly deep 16Hz. For this reason, the subwoofer is equipped with a special room-gain EQ to reduce the influence of room modes. In addition, the bass reflex tube can be closed with the attached plug. Thus, it is even possible to change the sound characteristics of the 3X12 so it behaves like a sealed subwoofer. This allows each owner to adjust the 3X12 to suit the needs of any installation.

In order to maintain resonances within the housing to a minimum, a specific trapezoidal shape for the cabinet has been selected. The outer walls are made of 25mm deep MDF, which is reinforced with 40mm thick stiffeners. The front wall and the bottom of the housing are each a total of 55mm thick. Rear-radiated sound is absorbed by means of using generous amounts of insulation material. All these design elements together with the precisely sized cabinet ensure the subwoofer’s sound is accurate and controlled at any sound pressure level.

To avoid disturbing light reflections on the surface of the Cinema 3X12 when using a video projector, a special anti-reflection coating is used for the front panel. This matt black special paint is thereby applied in 8 layers to provide an optimal result. The side walls are painted with a Nextel coating which also minimizes reflections and optimizes the handling of the subwoofer.

The rear terminal supports connections using either an RCA or XLR cable. An XLR output allows the XLR input signal to be forwarded, for example, to a second subwoofer in multi-subwoofer configurations. Crossover frequency, phase and volume can be adjusted precisely here and the Room EQ Gain can be activated or deactivated to customize the sound to the room and personal preference.

The Cinema 3X12 has its own magnetic front panel for each of the three drivers. The inserted black acoustic material is opaque and completely transparent to sound. It protects the drivers from potential damage. The XTZ Cinema logo is magnetic so it can be placed on the subwoofer where preferred.

Further Information

The 12 Bass driver of the Cinema Series is called advanced High-Speed Ultra-Long-Stroke with the use of a very light cone material and a very strong motor (magnet) structure. We choose fast and light drivers to give both high speed and maximum dynamic sound. The bass drivers are able to perform the ultra-long strokes with a maximum of linearity and we also developed a special NBR (Nitrile Butadiene Rubber) surround to complement them. The requirements of the drivers mean that to achieve the highest SPL even down to the lowest frequencies the boxes need to be big. This is just pure physics. An optimized volume for the driver gives the perfect air resistance to the driver. This leads to the highest SPL in low frequencies with maximum head room from the amp. Boxes that are too small or too big lead to over damped or underdamped subwoofers that have increased distortion. A box with an optimal volume has low distortion and the widest frequency response possible enabling the subwoofer to deliver the lowest and deepest bass with a sound that is still clean yet has a lot of headroom for the amplification. We required our subwoofer to provide very high sound pressure levels yet remain precise and true to the original music. We met this challenge by using the specially developed low-mass long throw driver. The 12” cone consists of a very strong, long fiber pulp blended material optimizing the diaphragm’s stiffness to weight ratio. Our custom designed drivers have several more advantages to achieve the perfect bass:

• FEA Optimized magnetic field design incorporating a tightly focused „T” pole design;
• Advanced level of large signal motor and suspension refinement using a KLIPPEL laser-based test system;
• Large aluminum shorting ring to minimize inductance and further lower non-linear distortion;
• Ultra-high temp aluminum voice coil with Airflow Maximizer Design;
• Special NBR rubber surround with maximum linearity throughout its excursion range;
• Spider fabricated from a unique blend of poly-cotton and pure NOMEX

This completely new amplifier, specifically developed for the Cinema subwoofers, has an extraordinarily high power output of 500W RMS and 900W in peak wattage whenever it is needed. The Cinema SUB 3X12 uses one Claridy mono-block for each driver for a total of 1500 W RMS / 2700 W Peak. Class D amplifiers work in a different way than A, B, or A/B amplifiers. Since Class D („switching”) amplifiers can turn fully on or off, they can dramatically increase the mid and bass output power while minimizing the loss of power, making for a highly efficient amplifier that is very suitable for subwoofers. It eliminates the need for huge power transformers, banks of output transistors, and huge extruded aluminum heat-sinks. Class D amplifiers are remarkably compact for the amount of power they produce. The technology is very effective and a good illustration of the efficiency of Class D amplification is to imagine a chip-sized module that is 3” wide, 5” deep and just 1.5” in height, producing up to 500 W all while delivering 90% of the power it receives to the loudspeakers. Class D technology is also environmentally friendly due to its energy efficiency. In the past, most Class D amplifiers had a lot of distortion challenges but not anymore. By using state-of-the-art Claridy Class D amp technology with near ideal clipping characteristics, we ensure maximum headroom capability by minimizing the use of limiting circuitry. This results in a precise sound that is noise and distortion free and a never before experienced amount of detail. These achievements and the amplifier’s powerful performance are the result of the many years XTZ has invested in perfecting the design.

To provide optimal sound quality adapted to various room sizes and listener tastes, the SUB 3X12 offers many tuning options for sound adjustment. Since the SUB 3X12 has its -3dB point at a very deep 16Hz, we decided to add a special Room Gain EQ that takes the room gain into account. Additional adjustments can be done by closing the slot bass port with the provided plug. So the 3X12 offers perfect bass for any home cinema environment. Further refinements can be made by adjusting the volume, phase, and crossover frequency.