Best 15" Subwoofer

[jason str]

 

The Rythmik down load has more output than almost any commercial sub.  It cost more but, it is simply better.

 

 

Most of that low frequency SPL is port noise.

 

Two ports open is actually pretty good in terms of distortion, it runs all over SVS.  One port though, distortion is literally so far off the chart a little below 20 hz that you can only guess as to what it is.  

 

http://www.data-bass.com/data?page=system&id=51&mset=63

 

 

 

 

 

Probably fine at low volume but you cannot just plug up one vent and expect it to work fine at high volume, the SVS does this also but not as bad.

 

Yes this tunes your cabinet lower but the volume of air pushed through a subwoofer with too small of a port sounds like crap.

 

If you go to your link click one port and multi series chart under distortion you can plainly see it is off the charts, add in port chuffing and its east to see my point.

 

Thank you for posting the link by the way.

Edited April 25, 2016 by jason str

[Scrappydue]

Best 15" inch subwoofer is really 18"

someone has been converted!

[Fracchia23]

 

Best 15" inch subwoofer is really 18"

someone has been converted!

 

hahahahaha 

[jason str]

The BFM direct radiating subwoofer cabinets i feel really are superior in many ways, let me explain why.

 

First there are not mass produced letting the builder pay more attention to detail.

 

Gives you the option not to have your amplifier mounted inside your cabinet witch can lead to ground loop noise.

 

Corner ported, this reduces cone rock under high power levels making for a more linear travel and less stress on the driver.

 

Corner porting also strengthens your cabinet making a less resonant structure for your driver resulting in cleaner sound.

 

Nothing on the market even comes close.

 

If you truly want the best subwoofer consider the option.

[Ceptorman]

The BFM direct radiating subwoofer cabinets i feel really are superior in many ways, let me explain why.

 

First there are not mass produced letting the builder pay more attention to detail.

 

Gives you the option not to have your amplifier mounted inside your cabinet witch can lead to ground loop noise.

 

Corner ported, this reduces cone rock under high power levels making for a more linear travel and less stress on the driver.

 

Corner porting also strengthens your cabinet making a less resonant structure for your driver resulting in cleaner sound.

 

Nothing on the market even comes close.

 

If you truly want the best subwoofer consider the option.

I'm taking notes. Thanks for the info.

[Paducah Home Theater]

I wasn't aware that BFM had direct radiating designs and can't find them even when looking, with the exception of the PA stuff.  

[CECAA850]

Look at the Simplex page.

[mustang guy]

I looked into the Simplex designs a while back. The main difference in them and the BFM horn loaded designs is efficiency. The 15 Simplex sub is a -3db at 25Hz, and yields about 87db at 40 Hz 1 watt. The 24" wide THT is strong from 25Hz also, and is 100db at 40Hz. Also, the THT truly benefits from corner loading as the corner becomes an extension of the horn. Positioned properly, the THT yields 107db at 25Hz with 1 watt of power. It would take the Simplex 15 sub about 120 watts to reach that level.

[jason str]

The Simplexx subwoofers are entry level models but easier to build.

 

Still better than store and online company models in my opinion as mentioned above.

 

Plus if something fails 20 years down the road you will be ahead of the game having T/S driver parameters for the cabinet design and an easy to replace external amplifier, no guesswork involved.

 

The real stars of the show are the Tuba's.

Edited April 26, 2016 by jason str

[Scrappydue]

The Simplexx subwoofers are entry level models but easier to build.

Still better than store and online company models in my opinion as mentioned above.

Plus if something fails 20 years down the road you will be ahead of the game having T/S driver parameters for the cabinet design and an easy to replace external amplifier, no guesswork involved.

The real stars of the show are the Tuba's.

how much do you charge to build a tuba? Shoot me a pm if you want.

[Paducah Home Theater]

The 15 Simplex sub is a -3db at 25Hz

 

He's probably getting those numbers in a room in a corner too, which is seemingly how his horns are measured.  That's just a pretty high tuning for home theater nowadays, you're throwing away a lot of material.  Probably great for music.  Ported home theater subs need to dig a little deeper in my opinion.  That's not much lower than the one note wonder Polk 10's and whatnot.  

Edited April 27, 2016 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters

[mustang guy]

 

The 15 Simplex sub is a -3db at 25Hz

 

He's probably getting those numbers in a room in a corner too, which is seemingly how his horns are measured.  That's just a pretty high tuning for home theater nowadays, you're throwing away a lot of material.  Probably great for music.  Ported home theater subs need to dig a little deeper in my opinion.  

 

It's actually a half space measurement. The box is actually tuned to 35Hz, which is what happened to work best for his design. All of the Simplexx graphs are here: http://billfitzmaurice.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=20963

[CECAA850]

You'd think he'd go a tad bigger and at least get the HT subs flat to 20 Hz.  They could still be simple to build.

[Paducah Home Theater]

 

 

 

I guess I don't see what the point would be for home theater.  What are you gaining over a single sealed 18?  It's a larger box, the rolloff slope is steeper, it's a lower sensitivity, F10 is probably worse and best case being about the same, you're probably going to have to use a high pass filter, you'll be struggling to produce 20 hz material much less infrasonic stuff even if you add more subs, it's tuned so high that you're not going to get any benefit from lower distortion in the lowest octave, a single sealed ultimax from about 31 hz and up only has 3-4% distortion even at very high SPL, which this design isn't going to beat... just don't see the point

Edited April 27, 2016 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters

[mustang guy]

Not even the THT is capable of 20Hz with any gumption (-15db). 22Hz is about it in my testing... If you wanted to tune a horn to 20Hz, it would be rather a big sub.     14' for quarter horn, or about 3' longer than the THT, with a huge mouth. You would end up with a sub the size of the T-60 or even bigger in your HT room.

Edited April 27, 2016 by mustang guy

[jason str]

These are half space measurements, factor in room gain and these easily reach flat to 20 Hz.

 

Large room for THT ? Just build a wider cabinet for flatter response, small room (under 15 Ft long) build a smaller version.

 

Large room for Simplexx ? Build the ported version, small room (under 15 Ft long) build the sealed.

 

As for the 18" Dayton Ultimax it is used in the 18" version Simplexx HT version.

 

If you want low distortion you do not build any direct radiator period.

 

Unless your room is huge (Mustang guy)  the room gain dictates your lowest frequency responses, build the right model for your space and you are good to go.

Edited April 27, 2016 by jason str

[mustang guy]

Yes, my room is huge.  

[derrickdj1]

For the most part good direct radiator sub have very low distortion and distortion is not a factor in sub selection.  The LMS, UM 18, SI subs to name a few have very low distortion.  Database.com likes numbers under 10%.  Most people can't tell the difference at 10% and when you drop down to 5%, 99 percent of people can't hear it in the subwoofer passband.  Also, the distortion number don't go high with  subs until very high spl are pushed.  Most of us are not listening at 120+ db everyday. I do agree that you must pick the right sub/s for the job and most of us don't know how to do that when we first get into this hobby.  Which is why some of us have been thru a few subs.

 

An interesting thing is to incorporate a 2 way bass system for HT or even music.  Due to the room, ect. a MBM can feel in some hole for increase dynamics.  The problem with subs that get low is that they struggle higher up in the passband due to impedance.  The problem with subs good for music is they struggle down low.  An MBM will over lap this region to an extent for either sub type and increase dynamics.

[Paducah Home Theater]

For the most part good direct radiator sub have very low distortion and distortion is not a factor in sub selection.  The LMS, UM 18, SI subs to name a few have very low distortion.  Database.com likes numbers under 10%.  Most people can't tell the difference at 10% and when you drop down to 5%, 99 percent of people can't hear it in the subwoofer passband.  Also, the distortion number don't go high with  subs until very high spl are pushed.  Most of us are not listening at 120+ db everyday. I do agree that you must pick the right sub/s for the job and most of us don't know how to do that when we first get into this hobby.  Which is why some of us have been thru a few subs

 

http://www.axiomaudio.com/distortion

 

This was actually a scientific experiment.  They found that people just can't tell the difference when it comes to sub-bass frequencies.  

 

"At 40 Hz, listeners accepted 100% distortion before they complained."

 

Think about that.  Then realize we're talking about the idea that less than 3% distortion at 40 hz, at 117 decibels, just isn't anywhere near good enough.  

Edited April 27, 2016 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters

[Paducah Home Theater]

Large room for Simplexx ? Build the ported version

I guess I just don't understand why you would purposely get a cabinet that is tuned way higher than a huge chunk of the material you'd be listening to, forcing it to cover most of the bottom octave with the driver being unloaded in terms of the port, then stick it in a big room and call it "the best". Port tunings for home theater are commonly below 20 hz nowadays. That Simplexx design is going to have a hard time keeping up with that.