Carvin TRX218N Good Deal?

[Defiance]

Have a chance to buy a pair of these for $300 a piece. Never owned Carvin. Would be used in a small bar/club.

TRx218N
System Type: Dual 18-inch Sub, bass-reflex
Frequency Response: 24 Hz – 265 Hz (-10DB)30 Hz – 150 Hz (-3 dB)
Coverage Pattern: omni
Crossover: Low PassCrossover Frequency: 150 Hz
Power: Continuous / Program / PeakFull Range 1600w /3200w / 6400w
Recommended Amplifier Power: 2000 – 3200w
Sensitivity (1w @ 1m): 102dB
Maximum SPL: 134dBLF Driver: Dual 18-inch Neodymium 4-inch VCNominal Impedance full range: 4 ohmsEnclosure: 18mm Multi-Ply Hardwood
Dimensions (H x W x D): 23.5 in x 40 in x 22.75 in600 mm x 1020 mm x 580 mm
Net Wt: 109 lb (50 kg)

[conanski]

The original 218 was a decent box.. used eminence ceramic pro series drivers but there is no indication that I can find where these Neo drivers came from so this version is a bit of an unknown. If these are name brand drivers this could be anywhere from a good buy to a steal but if they are chinese copies of name brand drivers not so much. That's not to say chinese drivers are weak by default some a quite good it's just that there may be no recone kits available and that would mean replacing pairs of drivers should any of them fail and that would not be so cheap.

[light-o-matic]

There was a lot of discussion of the TRX line on the ProSoundWeb forum when they first came out. I think someone who worked on the product was posting there and may still be an active member there. You should search their current posts as well as the archives there, you'll find it.


Basically the TRX was an attempt by Carvin to build a somewhat more pro speaker that would be taken seriously, whereas up till then they had a rep of being a weekend warrior band brand kind of like Peavey. Solid but not particularly glamorous.

If I remember correctly they were said to be good speakers but the brand image thing did not work out.

[Defiance]

There was a lot of discussion of the TRX line on the ProSoundWeb forum when they first came out. I think someone who worked on the product was posting there and may still be an active member there. You should search their current posts as well as the archives there, you'll find it.


Basically the TRX was an attempt by Carvin to build a somewhat more pro speaker that would be taken seriously, whereas up till then they had a rep of being a weekend warrior band brand kind of like Peavey. Solid but not particularly glamorous.

If I remember correctly they were said to be good speakers but the brand image thing did not work out.

I'll take a look thanks!

I ended up picking 1 up for $325 and he threw in a Behringer 3400 Crossover too. It will eventually hooked up to a peavey pv1200 or a crate spa1400, so pretty underpowered. I tested it on my Crown XTI1000 and it worked great. I did notice there is a circuit board inside the speaker but it has no crossover, any indication to what that might be? The seller sent me the picture, so I didn't actually see it myself.

I'm crossing my fingers they last. The guy actually had the TRX setup. 2 of the dual 18 subs, 2 of the dual 15 tops and 1 single 15 top. His friend has the second half of it. I might pick up the second dual 18 if it works out but I am out of amp power at the bar these would be going in.

[conanski]

I did notice there is a circuit board inside the speaker but it has no crossover, any indication to what that might be? The seller sent me the picture, so I didn't actually see it myself.

Post up the picture. The spec sheet indicates the presence of a 150hz low pass filter but that usually just means a single inductor.. something I'd suggest removing if it exists. Sometimes these are fastened to the rear of the input connector plate sometimes elsewhere in the box, open it up and take a look you're not gonna void a warranty now.

[Defiance]

Post up the picture. The spec sheet indicates the presence of a 150hz low pass filter but that usually just means a single inductor.. something I'd suggest removing if it exists. Sometimes these are fastened to the rear of the input connector plate sometimes elsewhere in the box, open it up and take a look you're not gonna void a warranty now.

I'd have to take the plate off myself, he was just showing me pictures on his phone when I bought it. No worries on warranty these things are probably 10+ years old