RCF SUB 18-AX

The SUB 18-AX is a high-power, 18” portable active subwoofer for live sound applications with full processing, color touch panel and Bluetooth® remote control. The latest generation woofer combined with a powerful class D amplifier offers sound pressure levels up to 135 dB with exceptional clarity and headroom. The SUB AX series subwoofers are designed for small and medium-sized environments and are ideal for portable applications. The SUB 18-AX is the ideal complement for speakers with 10“, 12” or 15” woofers: speaker management is centralized inside the subwoofer, with dual crossovers, 8-band equalizers, routing, delay, configurations for cardioid setups and recallable crossover presets. The all-wood polyurea-coated cabinet is equipped with a waterproof powerCON TRUE1 TOP connector.

• 2200 Watt Class D amplifier
• Max SPL: 135 dB
• 18” woofer in bass-reflex loading
• Digital crossover with presets
• Plywood with polyurea coating
• LiveRemote app
• Dual input combo XLR/TRS + Link, dual output Xover XLR
• Bass Motion Control for optimized cone excursion
• waterproof power connector powerCON TRUE1 TOP

Advanced subwoofer with Preset Crossover for RCF speakers

The key to optimizing your sound system is a precise match between your subwoofers and their satellites. This not only improves sound quality, but also enhances low-frequency response, offering your audience the highest sound quality.

Advanced subwoofer with crossover preset for RCF speakers

The key to optimizing your sound system is a precise match between your subwoofers and their satellites. This not only improves sound quality, but also enhances low-frequency response, giving your audience the highest sound quality.

Thanks to the optimized crossover presets for RCF speakers, your audio system is ready for the show in a few simple steps. Just connect the satellite speakers to the SUB AX, select the crossover preset from the user interface and you're ready to play. The FiRPHASE linear phase is extended to match the phase of the subwoofer down to the lowest frequencies.

Thanks to the crossover presets optimized for RCF speakers, your audio system is ready for the show in a few simple steps. Just connect the satellite speakers to the SUB AX, select the crossover preset from the user interface and you're ready to play. The FiRPHASE linear phase is extended to match the phase of the subwoofer down to the lowest frequencies.

Color touch display

• 2.4-inch color touch panel
• Knob/button encoder
• Swipe gesture for fast navigation

A powerful DSP for your system

• Eight recallable Snapshots
• Full-range 8-band parametric EQ
• Delay up to 45 meters

Precision tuning

• Top/Sub alignment (meters/feet/ms)
• Cardioid function and L/R balance for 2.1 systems

LiveRemote app

Whether you're a musician, DJ or professional sound engineer, the RCF LiveRemote app (the same app used with ART 9 AX) is now available with SUB AX models. From the rear of the SUB you can control crossover preset selection, system EQ and delay adjustments, and individual crossover settings. When two subwoofer models are paired, they can be configured for 2.2 operation. Available for Android and iOS smartphones and tablets.

RCF cabinets are made of high-quality plywood and protected by a tough polyurea coating in black (or white). Lightweight and stackable, they have ergonomic handles with rubber grips and are designed for easy assembly and disassembly. The M20 threaded pole insert on top of the cabinet supports various sizes of RCF speakers. Inside the powder-coated front grille, a special transparent sound-absorbent foam lining helps protect the transducers from dust. The SUB AX series subwoofers are built to last and are equipped with waterproof powerCON® TRUE1 TOP power connectors, so you can be sure they will withstand the rigors of use and transportation.

The industry-leading subwoofers

Light and powerful, RCF woofers represent a benchmark in terms of high-level performance. The electro-acoustic engineers at RCF Precision have developed scaled-down magnets and specific profiles to optimize the magnetic flux while maintaining a low weight. The topology of the magnetic circuit is able to provide the highest and most balanced level of performance in three specific areas: maintaining a uniform and highly integrated magnetic flux gap, exceptionally low distortion and efficient integration of the magnetic circuit in a design with minimum weight. The T-pole design is optimized to generate the minimum flux modulation in the magnetic assembly during the typical movement of the voice coil inside the gap.

All the energy of the bass

With a power output of 2200 Watts, the integrated Class D amplifier is capable of extreme sound pressure levels, with ultra-fast attack, realistic transient response and very low thermal dispersion. The low-distortion stereo input circuit is equipped with an advanced protection limiter that preserves the signal character at any level. RCF amplifiers are designed according to EN62368-1 standards for maximum safety and have a switching power supply section that combines high efficiency and low weight.

Bass Motion Control

While researching how to improve low frequency performance, RCF engineers removed the high-pass filter and replaced it with a new approach. BMC (Bass Motion Control) is an innovative solution for managing woofer excursions. The speaker equipped with BMC is able to manage the lowest audible frequencies without affecting the stability of the transducer, thus providing extended linearity and better sound integrity.

The BMC method works by creating a complete map of the woofer's dynamic behavior to generate a customized algorithm that limits only over-excursions. This gives the transducer total freedom to reproduce the signal. Normally, high-pass filters protect the woofer from potentially destructive movements, but they change its phase behavior: the new BMC algorithm breaks this rule.