Pelican – Peerless 830869 x2 Bass Bin

Peerless 830869 8″ HDS Nomex Woofer

I’ve struggled with this woofer since the day I bought it. While the specs look promising, I’ve never been able to get the sound that I want. I tried it in a 2-way but it just doesn’t excite me. I thought perhaps using it strictly for bass would make it shine. Sadly, that’s not to be. There simply isn’t enough dynamics and detail to set it apart from the competition.

Out of desperation, I decided to use two units in a 60 liters bass reflex to see whether there will be an improvement. The sensitivity went up obviously but the bass is still not up to my expectations. As a last resort, I tuned the alignment to an over-damped response and finally, the bass tightened up. It is nowhere close to a Scanspeak 15WU but at least, it’s better than your average 8″. 

Fig 1 – 2 units of Peerless 830869 in 60L with Over-Damped Alignment

The Black plot in Fig 1 is the simulation of of the Over-Damped Alignment that I used. As a reminder, this is for 2 units of 830869 as shown in the photo at the top. They are wired in parallel, so make sure your power amplifier can take 4Ω or lower loads. Internal box volume is 60 liters. Tuning is with 2 pieces of 2″ PVC tubes of length 7.66″.

Fig 2 – Single 830869 in 35L with Over-Damped Alignment

The Black plot in Fig 2 is of 1 unit of 830869 in a 35 liters bass reflex tuned for an Over-Damped Alignment. This smaller box is suitable for a conventional 3-way. Tuning is with 2 pieces of 1.5″ PVC tubes of 7.65 length.

Whether using 1 or 2 units of 830869, I recommend a crossover frequency of 250Hz for optimal performance.