Ordering process and packaging.
I posted in a topic at SSA asking if they were available in D4 coils because they only listed D2 the places I looked. Nick told me they could do D4 and to email him if I was interested. So following various threads here and other places I decided to go with the Flatlynes because I like to be different and not to many people have them. I emailed Nick(Incriminator) on the 22nd of December and got a reply within a half an hour. I sent payment 10 minutes after I got a reply and an hour after that he emailed me and told me they were added to the list. After all the holidays he emailed me on the 5 of January and told me they were going out that day and I received them on the 7th of January.
Upon receiving them I was impressed by the outside of the package, fragile tape and stickers letting the handlers know to be careful with the packages. I like the foam cushion protecting the top of the woofer and the woofer was in a plastic bag as well. The motor was sitting in a half box lined with foam to prevent it sliding around. Each woofer also came with a little care package consisting of a sticker, pamphlet showcasing their product line up and mission statement, a user manual for the woofer consisting of wiring diagrams, enclosure recommendations, and warranty info, and a disclaimer sheet explaining hearing loss and the air driven cooling used.
Build quality.
This driver is heavier then it looks, shipping weight is 30lbs and I believe that is all driver. I couldn't imagine the top assembly being more then 5lbs leaving about 25lbs for the motor. The surround on the sub feels to be really heavy duty just from the feel of it and I punched through some of the mounting holes which was a little resistive for a tiny screwdriver. The cone appears to be very rigid having a smooth feel to the back and a textured fiberglass feel on the front. The dust cap on the driver is very tasteful not flashy(which I like, not a flashy person at all). The dust cap is also very shallow not a big convex shape also referred to as boob cone. The drivers suspension is stiff only moving about a 1/4 inch when pressing firmly. The driver has stitched leads which is a nice touch and the coils all measured in spec of 2.8 per coil. The ADC is an interesting feature on their lines which raises the basket about 1/4 inch from the motor assembly. Playing the drivers free air you can really tell it works, just playing a 30Hz tone for a minute at ~75watts the motor seemed a few degrees cooler after playing. That means the coils should have stayed cooler then without it. And last the motor assembly, it is about 8 & 1/4 inch in diameter with a top plate of 1 & 1/4 inch tall, about 1 inch tall magnet, and a bottom plate that is about 3/4 of an inch. Almost forgot about the beautiful "black chrome" finish on the motor.
Listening impressions
Some of the test music included. There was just to many to list.
Trick Daddy - F**kin Around
50 Cent