18 Sound 15NLW4500
18 Sound 15NLW4500: 15″ woofer with neodymium motor, 4.5″ voice coil and 14.5 mm Xmax – according to the manufacturer, for bass reflex, bandpass and horn subwoofers.
Current · Last checked: 2026-11-13
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General data
Link to section “General data”- Type
- Subwoofer driver
- Nominal size
- 15″
- Nominal impedance
- 8 Ω Manufacturer
- Minimum impedance
- 6.7 Ω Manufacturer
- Sensitivity
- 96.3 dB 2.83 V / 1 m Manufacturer
- Frequency range
- 40 Hz – 1,000 Hz Manufacturer
- Voice coil Ø
- 115 mm Manufacturer
- Winding height
- not available
- Gap depth
- not available
- Flux density
- not available
- Magnet
- neodymium
- Weight
- 11.4 kg Manufacturer
- Baffle cut-out Ø
- 356 mm Manufacturer
- Overall diameter
- 393 mm Manufacturer
- Mounting depth
- 199 mm Manufacturer
- Displacement
- not available
- Recommended enclosure volume
- 50 – 50 L Manufacturer
Sensitivity is referenced to 2.83 V at 1 m, i.e. to 1 W only at exactly 8 Ω. According to the datasheet, the Thiele-Small parameters were measured after preconditioning at high level (20 Hz sine). The manufacturer does not state Cms; the value is left empty here.
The manufacturer gives 45 Hz as the tuning for the recommended 50 L enclosure.
What can this driver do?
Link to section “What can this driver do?”Simulation from the datasheet values above. The suggestions are calculated, not stated by the manufacturer.
The EBP is above 100 – by the rule of thumb, this points to a vented enclosure (bass reflex). This is based on an EBP of 129.
- Net volume
- 50 L
- Tuning frequency
- 53.5 Hz
- F3 (−3 dB)
- 51.9 Hz
- F6 (−6 dB)
- 46.7 Hz
- F10 (−10 dB)
- 41.3 Hz
- Sensitivity (2.83 V / 1 m)
- 96.2 dB
- Max. SPL at 51.9 Hz
- 125 dB
- Max. SPL at 104 Hz
- 128.1 dB
- Xmax limits below
- 40.8 Hz
- Ports
- 2 × 125 mm
- Port area for 17 m/s
- 503 cm²
- Max. port velocity
- 34.8 m/s
- Port length
- 42.1 cm
- at 1,500 W
- Maximum SPL (limited by Xmax)
- Power into 8 Ω (nominal impedance of the wiring).
- Flattest alignment: lowest F3 without the response rising more than 0.25 dB above the passband level or dropping more than 0.5 dB at 2 × F3.
- The 17 m/s limit (about 5 % of the speed of sound) is a common rule of thumb against port noise, not a standard. Rounded port ends allow higher values.
- Lumped-element Thiele/Small model, Half space, 1 m, chamber losses QL 7, Le as a plain inductance, no room influence. At high levels (heating, non-linear Bl and Cms) real results are lower.
Thiele-Small parameters
Link to section “Thiele-Small parameters”Small-signal parameters as stated by the manufacturer. They change with temperature and level.
Plausibility check
Link to section “Plausibility check”We recalculate dependent values from the datasheet. We flag deviations above 3 %.
| Check | Formula | Datasheet | Calculated | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qts from Qes and Qms | Qts = Qes · Qms / (Qes + Qms) | 0.26 | 0.261 | consistent |
| EBP from Fs and Qes | EBP = Fs / Qes | 129 | 129.63 | consistent |
Power handling
Link to section “Power handling”- Continuous power (standard not stated)1,500 W
- Programme power3,000 W
18 Sound tests rated power handling for two hours with pink noise in the range Fs to 10 × Fs, free-air mounted, referenced to the minimum impedance. Programme power is defined as 3 dB above rated power handling – i.e. a calculated figure.
Build plans with this driver
Link to section “Build plans with this driver”Sources
Link to section “Sources”-
Tier A · primary source
18 Sound 15NLW4500 (8 Ω) – Product page with Thiele-Small parameters
Eighteen Sound S.r.l. · accessed on 13 November 2026
The linked datasheet PDF (…/15nlw4500.pdf) contains the same values and additionally notes that the Thiele-Small parameters were measured after preconditioning with a 20 Hz sine.
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Tier A · primary source
Application Note – High Performance Compact Mono 15'' Subwoofer (KIT MONO15_15NLW4500.pdf)
Eighteen Sound Srl · 20 May 2026 (Date from file metadata) · accessed on 13 September 2026