Scan Speak Discovery 30W/4558T00

Choosing a woofer for this project to fit my needs made me look at the Scan Speak 30W. I needed a pair of small subwoofers, about 40 x 40 x 40 cm, that could augment my arrays in the bottom end. After reviewing many possible drivers that could potentially reach my goals, I went with the Scan Speak. For the arrays I had chosen the Vifa/Peerless TC9 FD 18-08 and one of the reasons for picking that driver was that it was designed in a period that the Vifa/Peerless brand was still very much a part of Scan Speak Denmark. Despite its low price it is a very good driver with an honest spec sheet. Those measurements are confirmed by several third party measurements through the years.

The Scan Speak Discovery 30W/4558T00 is another affordable gem. For a long time it was the biggest subwoofer in the Scan Speak line up. These days there is a bigger and better 32W woofer line available, however that one does come at a higher price of entry. Peerless has a woofer line that is comparable to the 30W, like the Vifa TC9, it was originally created by the Scan Speak engineers. An older model from that Peerless line with a paper cone was the one used in Siegfried Linkwitz’s TOR subwoofers.

For my specific needs the 30W would add 2 times the volume displacement capacity to the arrays own volume displacement. It is a woofer that can perform in a rather small sealed enclosure (with a little help from EQ and the room). I looked for a driver with low enough Fs and not too much moving mass. This woofer simply is a good fit for my project and is related to the full range drivers I used in the arrays.

Look at this test from a German HiFi magazine: Scan Speak 30W/4558T00. Compare it to it’s bigger brother here: Scan Speak 32W/4878T00. Even in a direct comparison, it certainly doesn’t look bad. Even though we’re talking about a woofer from the (budget) Discovery line, not a Relevator or Illuminator, you’ll be surprised where these Discovery woofers turn up. Take a closer look at the Bang & Olufsen Beolab 90, in this video right here… 

Isn’t that a Scan Speak Discovery 26W we spot there? They do use 3 of them!

It is quite remarkable where they turn up, let’s look at another example. A photo posted on Facebook and Instagram showing the woofers from the Goldmund Logos Highsub, shown here and here…

This woofer does look familiar, doesn’t it? Goldmund uses it together with it’s passive radiator.

So choosing a woofer like the Scan Speak Discovery 30W/4558T00 , it seems we’re in pretty good company. Aside from it being a solid choice it does help that it resembles the Vifa TC9 in looks. Sound quality comes first, but I do think the looks deserve some attention as well.

The specs:

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