In early 2005 the first-ever iteration of the Z motor was launched. It forever changed the way people thought of a high-performance subwoofer and pushed the limits of car audio to new extremes. Over the years, many versions of Zs have been produced and this spirit of experimentation has driven us to constantly improve and innovate... This sub rightfully takes its place as one of the most dominant competition subs of all time even though it wasn’t actually designed for competition. The motivation behind the Z was simply to build the best sounding high power handling driver of all time; to that note DD Audio considers the Z mission accomplished.
Z-Present
There have been a couple of different iterations of the Z4 over the years, and due to the limited number of pieces that have been produced it has gained almost mythical status in the subwoofer world. In its current form, the Z4 is a grade 52 neodymium open motor design. By increasing the surface area of the voice coil, the size of the magnetic gap, and its heat dissipating abilities, the Z4 is able to be driven just as hard as the Z3, but with increased long-term high power handling. All the moving parts are USA made from the finest materials and manufacturing methods available. All parts are then assembled and QC’ed in our OKC facility. The bottom of the motors are engraved with the DD Z logo and series. All steel motor parts use black painted gloss finish that provides excellent corrosion and heat resistance, while minimizing coating thickness and maximizing energy transfer between motor parts. To further compliment the Z’s striking motor cosmetics the aluminum quick-change top plate, and shorting ring both feature red anodized accents. You’ll notice the standard TS parameters are missing for the Z subs. This omission is on purpose because each Z is custom built to order allowing for Zillions of possible parameter sets making one static set of specs very prone to inaccuracy. The reason we build Zs custom to order is it gives a system designer the utmost freedom to design for their specific application. The Z Series subs also feature our Evolution Subwoofer Package (ESP). ESP equipped drivers sport larger diameter suspensions and deeper frames than standard subs and exclusive surround and cone designs. ESP subs are truly built to maximize performance in their designated size class. The Z Series comes standard with an oversized dry finish black composite dust cap, red logo, and treated pulp cone, but it can be optioned out with custom suspension configurations, alternative composite dust caps, composite cones, powder-coated frames, and a multitude of logo options to give your sub a personalized look and/or added performance for a specific application.
Z-Future
DD Audio will continue down the path of global transducer domination via the sledgehammer of the subwoofer world…
THE Z
Each run of DD AUDIO Z Subwoofer is unique and subject to cosmetic differences from the image shown.
This product is Made in the USA. It’s comprised of as many US made parts as could be reasonably sourced in America, including essential components fabricated in-house at the DD headquarters in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma where it was assembled by experienced hands.
Whether you’re in the lanes going for an SPL world record, or you’re out to impress judges with a completely customized classic, DD AUDIO’s competition grade equipment has been performance built to take your ride to the next level.
The advantages of Neodymium are mostly dependent on the design and use. For most speakers it’s about getting more force out of a smaller, lighter unit. They’re very powerful and conveniently compact. That smaller size helps when designing for high-temp usage, especially in subwoofers where the added cooling potential can produce exceptional performance.
