Making an impressive comeback
Although Fusion was started by Stuart and Kurt McNall during 1998 in the land of the long white cloud, over the past couple of years the company seemed to have been a little quiet in the local market. This struck me as a little unusual because Fusion has always offered quality products at affordable prices and after all; is this not what the majority of consumers desire? It was a relief therefore to recently hear about Fusion’s return and the exciting new ranges that have been developed.
When asked what Fusion product I’d like most to review the reply was simple; the top of the range subwoofer. See, I’ve always held the opinion that Fusion subwoofers are among the best ‘bang for the buck’ subwoofers out there. They certainly aren’t the most expensive and probably won’t take myriads of records, however they do exert very acceptable sound quality, and thump hard too. The top end of this ideolgy is where the new PowerPlant PP-SW120 subwoofer fits in.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE
The PowerPlant range of products have been around for a while now however, Fusion has made some improvements to this latest series to coincide with technological advances in this rapid-changing electronic world. First the new PowerPlant subwoofers had to produce earthshaking bass (resembling the old Jonah Lomu series). Second they had to remain controlled doing so and thirdly they had to extend right down into the bottom octave. The PP-SW120 is designed for use in both ported and sealed enclosures however looking over the initial specs (such as a Qts of 0.416, Vas of 71.142 liters, Fs of 37Hz amongst others) I would lean towards the latter.
They’re a dual 2-ohm coil configuration, and while there is a acceptable amount of technical data available in both the book and on the website, I’d much prefer a full Thiele/Small read-out (a few test enclosures and the associated graphs wouldn’t be a bad inclusion either).
As you unpack the subwoofer you’ll see the black cone and the Fusion logo embossed in the center. Surprisingly, it’s not the trademark bright green we’re used to seeing on Fusion products but rather a dull silver colour. From the decorated frame surround to the biological symbol which also adorns the center dust cap, it’s a nicely presented unit. The cone itself is made from reinforced fiberglass which looks gloss-black when viewed from underneath. The front end of the cone has been coated with a carbon fibre sheet to offer a very stiff surface and a ‘Fast and the Furious’ look and feel.
Around the edge of the cone is a wide butyl rubber surround which gives way to a large retaining collar – again not the usual bright green but dull silver to match the Fusion logo. Moving to the rear end of the driver, the large cast alloy basket is powder-coated black and very nicely presented with the Fusion and biological symbol continuing over from the front. The logos are actually milled into the surface which makes for a more professional appearance than mere stickers. The large motor sits neatly within the rear of the basket and machined black top and bottom plates hold everything in place with the aid of socket-head cap screws. The overall depth of the PP-SW120 is nearly 200mm.
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