Hunting dinos with M&K's Indominus X

The flagship model in M&K's upgraded X+ Series is the first of its subwoofers to be certified THX Dominus. Steve Withers hires a forklift and checks it out

- Steve Withers

ALL SPEAKERS OPERATE on the same basic principle of generating sound by physically moving air. The bigger the driver, the more air being shifted and the lower the frequencies. At the end of the day there's no replacement for displacement, so if you want big bass you need a big woofer.

M&K Sound's X+ Series of subwoofers perfectly encapsulate this philosophy. The new lineup, which builds on the platform of the earlier X Series, features three new THX-certified subwoofers - the X10+, the X12+ and the X15+. While the first two are upgraded versions of existing models, the flagship X15+ is a completely new design and the company's first woofer to be certified THX Dominus.

All three use a push-pull driver configuration, aiming to reduce distortion and increase bass potential output. With the X15+ sporting a pair of 15in woofers, there's no prize for guessing the size of those found in the X12+ and X10+.

M&K Sound's drivers are a new 'ground-up' design, engineered, we're told, to match the X+ Series' (also new) amplifiers. Cones are hewn from carbon fibre for improved strength and rigidity, allowing them to handle increased power and excursion; CNC-machined, extruded aluminium 'Distortion Killer Shorting Rings' are deployed within the driver motor assembly for further control; surrounds have been uprated from polymer-coated foam to nitrile rubber; and the aluminium voice coil is a monster 75mm diameter design. There's a lot going on behind the scenes (or in full view actually...).

Driving the X+ Series woofers are ICEpower Class D amps. Opting for high-efficiency Class D, rather than Class AB, makes complete sense when the desired power output is 700W (RMS - with peaks up to 1,400W), as it is here.

Smoothly does it