Have you gone from a direct radiating sub to a horn loaded one?

[Thaddeus Smith]

I'm still very pleased with my SPUD clones, and they way they slide in behind my TV/mains on the front stage is just the icing on the cake. I have them EQ'd as the bottom end in an active 3-way stereo setup and everything just blends really well. I'd rather no sub at all than go back a direct radiator.

[wuzzzer]

42 minutes ago, Thaddeus Smith said:

I'm still very pleased with my SPUD clones, and they way they slide in behind my TV/mains on the front stage is just the icing on the cake. I have them EQ'd as the bottom end in an active 3-way stereo setup and everything just blends really well. I'd rather no sub at all than go back a direct radiator.

 

The bass from the THTs is definitely completely different than a direct radiator, either sealed or ported.  Having so little distortion brings out so much more detail in everything the woofers produce.

[Dave MacKay]

I just added a THTLP subwoofer to supplement my La Scalas today. It'll be one of a pair, but the other THTLP won't be finished until sometime next month.

 

The THTLP is the third subwoofer I've mated to my La Scalas. The first was a low-end Klipsch unit, the second was an SVS SB 1000 Pro. The Klipsch unit was underpowered and couldn't keep up with the La Scalas, but the SVS SB1000 Pro was a nice piece of gear. However, it couldn't keep up with the La Scalas either --- the bass was a bit anemic; there was no "feel" from it.

 

Even with just a few hours listening to the THTLP, I can attest that it's in a whole different league. It's output is clean and distortion-free. Even at moderate volume (65 to 75 dB), you can feel the bass. The THTLP is pretty efficient too: I have a 250W plate amp driving it, and that's likely way overkill --- I doubt that I'll ever use more than 50W.

 

There are some downsides though:

• you have to build the THTLP yourself (or hire someone to build it)
• it's enormous. I built the smallest possible size but it's still 72"H x 15"W x 18" D.

But then perhaps a washing machine-sized speaker deserves a refrigerator-sized subwoofer. 🙂

 

[SWL]

Make sure that THTLP is firing within two feet of a boundary. A corner is best. Makes a big difference.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

[SWL]

Congrats on your sub!

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

[RRR]

Good choice on the THT, you will need to adjust the volume as the driver breaks in and to get the most out of your new subwoofer I recommend a MiniDSP or equivalent and calibrated microphone.

 

[Dave MacKay]

Thanks for the feedback.

 

The THTLP is as close to a corner as I can get it. It's about 10" from one wall and about 3" from the other.

 

I was keen to sort out how to "tune" the THTLP for my peculiarities of my room and my restricted options for placement so that I was interested in using a DSP with it. I considered two alternatives:

1. a MiniDSP 2x4HD with an external amp
2. a plate amp with built-in DSP (Dayton SPA250DSP)

 

To support the MiniDSP, I had considered using a Crown XLS1002 amp with the THTLPs. But, in reply to a question I posed on the BFM forum, Bill Fitzmaurice recommended getting a plate amp instead of the Crown since the Crown was way bigger (1100 watts into 4 ohms) than what the THTLP would need. 

 

If I'd gone with a Crown amp, I wanted to use a MiniDSP 2x4HD with it for the THTLPs. But I wasn't at all clear on how I would feed the MiniDSP from my Yamaha R-N803 receiver. I figured I'd have to forgo the simplicity of LFE, send the MiniDSP a "full range" signal, and then just work with the frequencies that would be applicable to the subwoofers. Also, I was concerned that doing so would would likely render the Yamaha's YPAO ability useless.

 

In the end, I went with the SPA250DSP because:

• it was simpler
• it was less expensive
• it provided a DSP capability
• making the THTLP a powered subwoofer gave more flexibility in placement

The SPA250DSP plate amp provides 260W at 4 ohms and deals with frequencies from 10Hz to 200Hz. I'm feeding it via the LFE output from my Yamaha R-N803 receiver. Since I'm crossing over at 100Hz (with, I believe, a 12 dB slope), it shouldn't see much signal above that frequency. 

 

Figuring out how to configure the DSP has been a puzzle. Actually doing the config is easy, but knowing what to set the config values at seems like a black art (for now, at least).

 

I have a UMIK-1 microphone and have been playing with REW. It's pretty complex software about an area (acoustics) that I'm not terribly familiar with. I've seen several Youtube videos about REW. However, my background hasn't been sufficient for me to have gleaned much from them. But I'll keep trying.

 

Even at the rudimentary settings I'm using now the sound is magnificent. That's very encouraging.

 

[wuzzzer]

I would probably wait until you get both built to dive in to REW and all that.

[charok]

Does not hurt to play with the DSP, get used to how it works and how the settings affect the results. When I first went to a DBX Venu360 in hindsight I had a poor optimization but over time and learning the system I could not see not using it. Part of the fun is the learning process! This on a Kpt-904/K510/30"THT.

 

[wuzzzer]

My wife was out of town most of last week so I watched some movies a bit louder than normal.  While I had Avengers Endgame on, I went into our laundry room adjacent the TV room in the basement and could hear a loud rattling noise.  I found it was coming from some paneling next to a closet door and when I put my hand against it I swear the paneling was vibrating about half an inch in and out.  😅 

I should set up my UMIK some time and see what kind of dB levels I'm getting.

[diamonddelts]

On 10/12/2021 at 6:33 PM, wuzzzer said:

If so, post your impressions between the two.

I'm picking up dual THTs Saturday.

 

 I owned over 30 direct radiating subs. Then I switched over to a pair of devastator subs last year.  They were the best subs I've ever owned for music. Quick transient response with no bass decay.

 

 However they did not have the super deep, violent bass with movies I crave so I sold them.  My favorite pair of subs so far were my previous set of Stereo Integrity 24" subwoofers.  They excelled with music and movies.

[ClaudeJ1]

On 1/11/2022 at 11:11 PM, Dave MacKay said:

I just added a THTLP subwoofer to supplement my La Scalas today. It'll be one of a pair, but the other THTLP won't be finished until sometime next month.

 

The THTLP is the third subwoofer I've mated to my La Scalas. The first was a low-end Klipsch unit, the second was an SVS SB 1000 Pro. The Klipsch unit was underpowered and couldn't keep up with the La Scalas, but the SVS SB1000 Pro was a nice piece of gear. However, it couldn't keep up with the La Scalas either --- the bass was a bit anemic; there was no "feel" from it.

 

Even with just a few hours listening to the THTLP, I can attest that it's in a whole different league. It's output is clean and distortion-free. Even at moderate volume (65 to 75 dB), you can feel the bass. The THTLP is pretty efficient too: I have a 250W plate amp driving it, and that's likely way overkill --- I doubt that I'll ever use more than 50W.

 

There are some downsides though:

• you have to build the THTLP yourself (or hire someone to build it)
• it's enormous. I built the smallest possible size but it's still 72"H x 15"W x 18" D.

But then perhaps a washing machine-sized speaker deserves a refrigerator-sized subwoofer. 🙂

 

Glad to see you did it RIGHT. I have been preaching this very thing over and over for 12 years, almost to the point of becoming a platitude!

[billybob]

Amen...

[ClaudeJ1]

On 1/12/2022 at 1:11 PM, Dave MacKay said:

Even at the rudimentary settings I'm using now the sound is magnificent. That's very encouraging.

 

Adding high passed channels to the LaScalas, with your MiniDSP, will lower the Intermodulation distortions that are already low and make them even lower. Also adding, Time Delay of about 7-8 milliseconds to your LaScalas will improve the sound even further.