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Room setup/Tuba subwoofer questions


hcnelly

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The room is rectangular- along the left wall the foundation sticks into the room about 5 1/4"... Its 3' 10" above the floor...so the ledge  runs all the way along that wall. The width of the room above that ledge is around 13' 2 1/4"....
The width of the room with the ledge is around 12' 9", and that's where my speakers are at.
 
The length of the room is about 27' 9", and there's a little hallway further back that goes to the laundry room and upstairs.
 
My ceiling isn't quite 8' tall- it's around 7' 8"
 
My speakers, center to center, are spaced about 9' 7" apart... They're pulled forward from the back wall into the room about 9" or so and are both toed in
 

 

 

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Long Post!!
 
Hi guys, just curious about your opinions and advice on my setup. Any help is greatly appreciated, as I have very limited knowledge with room acoustics, subwoofers, bass traps, speaker placement, and basically everything else with audio. I'm just trying to get the most out of my setup, with the room given.
 
I have to have my speakers along the far back wall, and I know it's crowded up there. I have 2 young kids as well that need a playing area, so this leaves the most amount of space for everybody, and gets the wife's approval.
 
Right now I have a Hsu research vtf 15h subwoofer up front, which actually doesn't sound too bad with the Belles, but I will most likely be selling it. I would like to build a horn loaded subwoofer, that will integrate better with my speakers than the Hsu. My system is for music- I don't really use it for movies .
 
I'm limited where I can put the subwoofer, so I'm wondering if I could place a smaller tuba ht that's standing up in the corner, or maybe a long table tuba, firing toward the ceiling. I probably have around 19" of space width wise, once I move the hsu sub out of there. My father in law would be helping me with the build, and he has good wood working skills.
 
 I'm also wanting to raise my speakers up to get the tweeters and midrange at ear level. I know I'd be losing bass doing this- that's why I want a tuba sub . I'm just wondering what the best option would be.
  1. Putting the speakers on top of cinder blocks to elevate them?
  2. I'm accumulating a lot of records these days- what if I built some risers under each speaker, that's capable of holding records? The records would weigh down the  riser and fill up empty space, making a nice foundation for each speaker 
  3. Would building tapped horn subwoofers, and placing the speakers on top be an option? 
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I guess I'm just wondering, what would be the best tuba subwoofer for my space?

 

What would be the best way to go about raising my speakers up? And

 

What sort of room treatments should I consider, and where do I really need them in my space?

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Low profile tuba for sure... THTLP. it can be placed horizontally or vertically and perform extremely well. Low frequenciesare omni directional by nature so it can be placed behind, next or in front and be effective.

 

I'm not a huge fan of boundary gain/reinforcement as a way to enhance lower spectrum frequencies so I always pull my speakers away from corners and walls... but that's a personal choice.

 

Where did you manage to get a NBS?

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Awesome, thanks guys, I will start looking into purchasing the plans for a low profile THTLP.

 

Schu, I purchased the NBS from breakdown7 (David) I love it!

 

Khornukopia, I thought about putting some of my gear on the wall, so I could purchase a smaller entertainment center for my stuff. The speakers stick out a bit too far, so it would make my equipment hard to lean over and reach on the wall. I also dont think my wife would approve...I have my current entertainment center because it is big enough to hold my stuff, and the doors protect some of my stuff from the kids.

 

Jason str, once I purchase the plans, how much, on average, would it cost me to build this subwoofer? Would it be front firing, standing up, with the opening located at floor level or at the top of the sub?

 

Avguytx, I'm extremely paranoid about my kids being near my equipment lol. I have a 3 year old boy, and an 8 month old girl. After many arguments with the wife, she won, and they have a play area downstairs in my space. I am looking into childproofing my equipment. I don't play my tube gear when the kids are around. I switch to my Marantz 2275 that's behind a glass door. I just need my turntables and tube gear, on top of my entertainment center, protected when I'm not using them. Any ideas?

 

I see you can purchase dust covers made out of kevlar like cloth, but that probably wouldnt protect the tubes of my amp or the wood, if they throw a heavy toy.

 

I see you can order some acrylic boxes, to size, from a few places, but they are pretty spendy. They would look really sharp and it would probably be a lot cheaper to make them myself,  but I don't know how to work with acrylic.

 

I also thought about building some sort of boxes out of wood, stained, and padded on the inside, to put over each component, but that could look bad, if it's not done right. I know my speakers will probably take some hits, but I'll just have to deal with that unfortunately. My equipment remains unscathed for now, but I need to get everything protected really really soon, or it's going to be a real heartbreaker...

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2 hours ago, hcnelly said:

Awesome, thanks guys, I will start looking into purchasing the plans for a low profile THTLP.

 

Schu, I purchased the NBS from breakdown7 (David) I love it!

 

Khornukopia, I thought about putting some of my gear on the wall, so I could purchase a smaller entertainment center for my stuff. The speakers stick out a bit too far, so it would make my equipment hard to lean over and reach on the wall. I also dont think my wife would approve...I have my current entertainment center because it is big enough to hold my stuff, and the doors protect some of my stuff from the kids.

 

Jason str, once I purchase the plans, how much, on average, would it cost me to build this subwoofer? Would it be front firing, standing up, with the opening located at floor level or at the top of the sub?

 

Avguytx, I'm extremely paranoid about my kids being near my equipment lol. I have a 3 year old boy, and an 8 month old girl. After many arguments with the wife, she won, and they have a play area downstairs in my space. I am looking into childproofing my equipment. I don't play my tube gear when the kids are around. I switch to my Marantz 2275 that's behind a glass door. I just need my turntables and tube gear, on top of my entertainment center, protected when I'm not using them. Any ideas?

 

I see you can purchase dust covers made out of kevlar like cloth, but that probably wouldnt protect the tubes of my amp or the wood, if they throw a heavy toy.

 

I see you can order some acrylic boxes, to size, from a few places, but they are pretty spendy. They would look really sharp and it would probably be a lot cheaper to make them myself,  but I don't know how to work with acrylic.

 

I also thought about building some sort of boxes out of wood, stained, and padded on the inside, to put over each component, but that could look bad, if it's not done right. I know my speakers will probably take some hits, but I'll just have to deal with that unfortunately. My equipment remains unscathed for now, but I need to get everything protected really really soon, or it's going to be a real heartbreaker...

 

The mouth will be in the front firing towards the floor, just follow the front firing option towards the back of the plans or follow the end firing directions and aim the mouth upwards.

 

If the budget is tight look at this driver. <Here>  Its perfect for the slim design and saves you some cash.

 

Try to purchase an amp with DSP options such as <this> for best results out of those horns. No need for big power in these designs, they are super efficient.

 

If you have any more questions or need help along the way i will be back after the new years parties are over.

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3 hours ago, hcnelly said:

I'm extremely paranoid about my kids being near my equipment lol. I have a 3 year old boy, and an 8 month old girl.

 

You need a physical barrier to protect your turntable tone arm and tube amp from flying objects. Can't blame the kids if something in that room gets damaged.

 

3 hours ago, hcnelly said:

Khornukopia, I thought about putting some of my gear on the wall, so I could purchase a smaller entertainment center for my stuff. The speakers stick out a bit too far...

... I also don't think my wife would approve...

 

Congrats on getting the okay for a THTLP.

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14 hours ago, Khornukopia said:

 

Have you thought about building some stereo equipment shelves or cabinets above your Belles, to free up the space between the speakers for your big subwoofer?

Yeah, even a modular with glass shelves two tracks wide would free up about 2 feet it looks like. 

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If you toed in your speakers more, bumped them up against the side walls, pulled them away a foot from the back wall, you might free up a few inches more of space width wise in between the speakers, plus, the pulled out, toed out corners create a pseudo-barrier to run a baby fence across. I tend to preach PWK's belief in toeing in your horn speakers, it increases depth, warmness, and the stereo sweet spot. Please don't be intimidated by my technical drawings, years of training...;-)

 

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https://www.amazon.com/Regalo-192-Inch-Super-Adjustable-Mounts/dp/B003VNKLIY/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1Q8VYM65FPIAK&keywords=baby+guard+fence&qid=1577828848&sprefix=baby+guard%2Caps%2C195&sr=8-4

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Jason str, thanks for the recommendations and links to the amp and woofer. Ill have to see where I'm at with my funds when the time comes. Once I get going with this, I'll definitely be in touch with you.

 

Khornukopia, I will have a talk with my father in law about shelves down there. Most importantly, I'll have a talk with my wife about it. Getting that entertainment center out of there would be really nice. It takes up a lot of real estate. With that out of the way, it would be easier to get to the audio gear on the walls, keep equipment out of the kids' reach, and let the speakers breathe. I have a lot of equipment, so the shelves would need to be longer for sure. 

 

MechEngVic, I will try pulling the speakers out and toeing them in more. Do you know how far the sweet spot would be from the speakers, toed in like that? I would have to measure, but my main listening spot is probably between 11'-13' from my speakers. Baby netting would be sweet, if it's easy to fold up and get out of the way. I've thought of a baby gate like the pic, but I don't know if it would be tall enough. Maybe I should put a volleyball net across the room :D lol. Really, its not a bad idea

 

 Thanks guys, I really appreciate all of your suggestions!

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40 minutes ago, hcnelly said:

Do you know how far the sweet spot would be from the speakers, toed in like that? I would have to measure, but my main listening spot is probably between 11'-13' from my speakers.

 

Baby netting would be sweet, if it's easy to fold up and get out of the way. I've thought of a baby gate like the pic, but I don't know if it would be tall enough. Maybe I should put a volleyball net across the room :D lol

PWK advocates 45 degrees of toe in, I would say at least 28-30 degrees. My setup is near-field, they are on either side of my desk, 7 feet apart, 45 degrees toed in, and when I am sitting at my desk I am about a foot in front of the speaker-centers, I get amazing imaging and midrange crunch right from this spot. The toeing in creates a wall of stereo sound that travels back so anywhere behind them will be image-rich, meaning the sweet spot comes together at a closer distance but continues basically as far back as your room is deep, it doesn't shift the sweet spot, it enlarges it. Also, off axis imaging is better because you get the far speaker pointing towards you and the near speaker slightly muted because it is pointing slightly away from you, giving a balance to far and near channels. For the kids, maybe some of that orange construction netting...:D

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