SPL President Posted May 23, 2003 Share Posted May 23, 2003 Hi guys, Now i got a big quesiton here. I´ve heared that Downfireing Subwoofers are the best way to get the best "Bass Performance" than direct way (front fireing). So my Hifi dealer says to me, -I DONT KNOW- ?!??!!? iám going nuts what i got to buy!! now iám testet a direct fireing subwoofer from my friend he has the "Jamo D6-THX-Ultra" with an direct fireing bass-driver(front). these Subwoofer has no bass-port, but the sound is very clean ! but i´ve missed somethink....the deep bass !! what a mass... there are some other problems, i´ve heared. that you have to placed that suboofer idealy to get the goodest bass reproduction... (what is that ?!?!!) and more problems. the best bass reproducion is when you exactly sit only in the "best sitting" position. so now, whe testet a downfireing subwoofer "Klipsch KSW-12". and the diverence was unbelivebl... you can go to any sound position what you want, walk in the room and so on.. the bass is everytime clean,deep. (that for shure). Result: i find the downfireing Bass Technology is much impressiv than direct wave system. try it ! or help me what i have to buy.... BTW: i got a room with 47qm² Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin B Posted May 23, 2003 Share Posted May 23, 2003 There is no difference between front firing and down firing (if the rest of the allignment is the same). Bass wavelengths are too long. Its just that not all drivers can be used down firing (some sag too much). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted May 23, 2003 Share Posted May 23, 2003 "There is no difference between front firing and down firing (if the rest of the allignment is the same). Bass wavelengths are too long. Its just that not all drivers can be used down firing (some sag too much)." Yep Also... The myth is dowfiring woofers create a larger impact,this is just a myth.As the woofer's cone creates changes in pressure and these changes will "shake" so to speak the walls,floors and any larger surface.True sub bass is non directional so front firing or down firing does not change the output or impact much. Drivers with soft suspension do suffer from sag,drivers with light cones and very stiff spider(s) and sourround can be mounted in up or down position with almost no negative effect on cone travel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted May 24, 2003 Share Posted May 24, 2003 Here is a thread on the Sound and Vision forum that has asked the same question regarding down firing vs. direct/front firing subwoofers. The responses posted there should also give you more insite into that little delima. The general consesnous there is also that it does not seem to make any real difference. Personally, I woudn't get to hung up whether a sub is down firing or direct firing. Whatever one sounds best to you for your particular installation and your budget is the one you should go for - regardless which way it fires. The REL Storm III sub I have in my system is a downward firing sub and to me, it is an excellent sounding sub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted May 29, 2003 Share Posted May 29, 2003 Here is my opinion but i am no pro. Ive own a few subs and i found that front fireing subs are a little more musical and the down fireing just plain slam the floor which is great for movies like jurassic park i havent had a sub that truly rocks my house watching that movie unless it was a down fireing one. The only drawback is i dont think their that musical. Now i am talking about subs that are pretty economical so the expensive ones might perform the same. Because i did own a front fireing velodyne once and it came close to my down firing acoustic research. The velodyne was defenitely superior. But i tell you that acoustic research would feel like a truck ran into my house but the music was a little sloppy. I miss the ar for the fun factor in movies just shut the thing off for music and your good to go and its cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin B Posted May 29, 2003 Share Posted May 29, 2003 I dislike this notion that a rumble boom box makes for a good HomeTheater sub. For most music, yes a lower Q sealed enclosure that can't play the last octave can be good. But a boom box is no better for HT than it is for music. After you've heard a sub that qualifies for that most mysterious of terms, "musical", but can also shake the house down into the bottom of the last octave, you no longer have this notion that all a HT sub requires is the ability to shake things. The other interesting part of this type of sub is that it's also good for all types of music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted May 29, 2003 Share Posted May 29, 2003 "rumble boom box" good one Rumble in the jungle boom boxes are for deaf teenagers who pile up a few dozen stickers on their punny cars.These yougsters have under 200HP and stickers claiming top fuel like output! LOL A real subwoofer lays the foundation in music and HT use,and does not take any "muiscality" from the rest of the system.Rumble boxes boom like Actoustic Me$$ band pass bass modules and dont add much besides IRRITATING BOOM(read harmonics on cabinet resonance and amp clipping). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danechristian Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 ok... i can answer this question pretty ok. i have a downfiring sub and a 2 front ones. downfires are really good if your sub is hidden in a certain back corner of my room. like in my set up.. my downfiring sub is is hidden in the back corner and the waves are blocked by the sofas and desks. waves are being blocked but still have the great deep frequency bass. front firing are designed to be put ONLY in front and in the center at all times. although some manufacturers are trying to reduce that kind of problem. overall front firing are really good and working hard if placed in front corner. ACTUALLY deep frequency bass are heard away from the sub. and that makes the listening position vulnerable. on that kinda postion you can hear the low down freqeuncy effects. although front and down are good AND THE SAME. they always rumble my floor. and my sofas. conclusion.. u should have atleast 1 of each type. my system consists of 2 velodyne cht 15(2001 model front firing) placed at each front corner, and 1 yst sw-1500 yamaha down firing sub. on this case. the cht 15 velodyne is very accurate on the 23-28 hz frequency/ and the yst-sw1500 is very accurate on the 17-22 hz frequency. that makes a good sub. it helps if only you know how to tweak the controls at the sub.. the cht 15's are in a normale phase. and the yst-sw1500 are in a 180 degree phase. OHH front firing.. rumbles the sofas . the downfiring rumbles the floor. makes a good COMBO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin B Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 The differences you are hearing are not caused by the different driver orientations, but by the different allignments of the subs. If you could take each of those subs, not change the allignment but change the driver orientation you wouldn't hear a difference. Bass wavelengths are just too long for the orientation to have an effect. 100hz wave is almost 12ft, 20hz wave is almost 60ft. Unless your sub has dimensions larger than this, where you place the driver on the sub won't matter. Carpet won't absorb bass and couches will absorb a tiny amount of deep bass. Put a front firing sub behind a couch facing the wall if you want, the orientation of the driver won't affect the sound (provided there is enough space to the nearest surface, typical bass driver needs 2.5-4.5 inches). What will affect the sound is the position of the driver relative to the room. Position within the room can cause some huge swings in output (well over 10dB). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 Dustin said it as it is here. Now about this claim... "and the yst-sw1500 is very accurate on the 17-22 hz" What are the distortion figures,max sustained output at 20Hz even with the mic placed 1 meter from the woofer? I heard and tested the smaller Yamaha and it was insignificant at 20Hz,I doubt the larger unit has any real serious output at 20hz. Just my two cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danechristian Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 i dont know about the distorion right now. but i didnt test the sub through a mic or sumthin' but through my EARS. well if you are wondering how, i know what a 17 hz sounds like and other frequencies that ive mentioned. listening is always the KEY. ive tested alot of subs with my system.. OHH i have a sub CD album title is "GO DOWN." cd is made by a FILIPINO DJ. and yes title tracks are named by freqencies. NEEDED for this test.. a high quality CD PLAYER. i agree about the alignment.. best suggestion for down n front fire subs. ALWAYS EXPERIMENT.lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 ---------------- On 6/4/2003 1:46:09 AM danechristian wrote: i dont know about the distorion right now. but i didnt test the sub through a mic or sumthin' but through my EARS. well if you are wondering how, i know what a 17 hz sounds like and other frequencies that ive mentioned. listening is always the KEY. ive tested alot of subs with my system.. OHH i have a sub CD album title is "GO DOWN." cd is made by a FILIPINO DJ. and yes title tracks are named by freqencies. NEEDED for this test.. a high quality CD PLAYER. i agree about the alignment.. best suggestion for down n front fire subs. ALWAYS EXPERIMENT.lol ---------------- Yeah, I know what a 17Hz sounds like too.... listen...... hear it? NO? Unless you are a genetic freak of nature, you don't HEAR 17Hz at all. You know it's there if it's there, but you don't hear a dang thing...or sumthin' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 "and the yst-sw1500 is very accurate on the 17-22 hz" The above should send alarms off! LOL The Yamaha is not capable of low distortion at any realistic level below 20Hz,a Velodyne HGS18 would be.A larger,lower tuned SVS is,a Paradigm Servo-15 is.Next week I plan to confirm this,I will borrow the SW1500 and test it side by side with my master subs,he he he.I hope the Yamaha survives If the Yamaha even hopes to stand a chance with the big boys it should pass the Pomp & Pipes track 4 test. Reference Recordings Pomp & Pipes track four will expose any non sub and speparate the serious subs from mere glorified bass modules. The only subs in my arsenal that passed this test are the HGS18,B15,SW12 and Signature(almost puked its PR).The rest failed(RSW15,Mark II(was close),Super Junior,RSW10,Knight Shadow(gave a hint)) In the subs I dont own but tested the SVS Ultra(dual),Wilson Watch Dog,B&W ASW4000 passed the test,The Ultra and the WatchDog being the most at ease. Yamaha,Sony,PolkAudio,Monitor Audio,Velo CHT and countless others failed miserably.I could torture the amp/driver to the point one had to give. All the so called super bass mega CD's have nothing on Pomp & Pipes,to reproduce the giant pipe organs it takes serious subs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danechristian Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 that would be cool EAR. my only point is the yamaha sub was accurate and capable of reproducin that.. and i didn't say it is the best.lol and also can pls. dont compare small boys to the big boys. small boys are somewhat in the cheap and affordable price. big boys are for the serious consumers. somewhat, i think there is a difference in their performance right. one suggestion compare it on the same price range.. ty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.