Wanted: Large Subwoofer

[SickPuppy]

LMAO, saw the title and thought of this link:

http://autosound2000.com/gallery/images/Richard3-sml.jpg

Believe it or not that really is a speaker. It was the creation of Richard Clark for IASCA dB competition. It was given the nickname "The Bomb"

The woofer is 5 feet across and is powered by four 100,000 watt amps which are supplied with juice from four batteries used by a 747. The woofer has a throw of six inches and can move back and forth with a force of 2 tons.

The whole thing was put inside a milk truck that was armour plate to the point that it now weighs 8,000lbs.

It was estimated that the system would would hit 180dB but the woofer cone was never able to hold itself together under the extreme sound pressure above 160dB. After a few attempts to make the woofer stronger and still failing to hold together, Mr. Clark retired the milk truck.

That should do the trick---if its retired maybe ya can get it cheap!

[Scp53]

sickpuppy,

wow,omg, holy f#$@ing sh@t. that is one hell of a sub. do you know if it had flat response? how low could it go-freq wise? I should get one but I don't know if my tv and other speakers would stay fuctioning(because of power consumption of sub and huge spl out put)! hum... i think I ll stick with my small 10 inch titanic sub which is very tight. I doubt that the 5 foot driver would be able to play tight bass at all. unless the motor struction had good control over it. but still thats a lot of cone to move back and forth quickly &

percisly(p e r ...?).

[SickPuppy]

All I know about it is what I posted.LMAO I would love to see it operate. Even if it sounded mediocre it would be fun to see it work...and stick my head in the middle.......

[Vettemanfrom1973]

Thanks scp53! Some good info. I went for a demo of the damaged RW-12. I found it too hard to gauge how it would match my room and KLF-30's, they would only give me in-store credit if I returned it so I walked away, it wasn't the colour I was after anyway. $600 Candadian works out to be about $450 US. What DIY would be the equivalent to the RSW-12 or 15?

Hey pretty cool sickpuppy! That is massive but I wouldn't want to have to find mains to match it.

[Scp53]

I looked at the specs at the KLF 30's you have-those are dam nice speakers. I m almost positive that the rw 12 wouldn't keep up with those big towers. actually I know it wouldn't. you ask what DIY/kit would be equal to the rsw 12 or 15- I think your talking spl output right, but quality still obviously.

go to partsexpress.com. they have the titanic kits and they also offer many good seperate drivers. they have a message board and many recommend the dayton DVC 12 or 15 inch. they said it has loud slammin bass and good quality. if cosmetics arn't a big priority then it should add up to:

15" DVC dual vc-350wt rms coil, ea coil 8ohm-----$132.50

amp-500watt rms- many,many featues. alot better than 500 wt amps on consumer subs at audio stores-------------------------$around 300.00

cab,grill,port(s),foam,etc-------------------$25-100

so anywhere from 450 to 550 you could build one based on this driver. but I ll tell you that the cab is on the large side. bigger than a rsw 12 for sure.

is your room on a cement floor or is it off the "ground". trust me, this makes a big difference. my titanic really lacks the feeling in my basement. but in other rooms off the cement floor it is really good. shakes well. i shouldn't say mine doesn't shake a cement floor- it does a little at very high excursions, and you have to be in a piece of furniture to feel it. so depending on this may determine how big of sub you want.

is 450 your limit on a diy project? if you could spend around 600-650 go get the titanic 15 inch kit. has a kilowatt(rms) amp and weighs a ton for its size. I would think it be plenty for you. as long as your not a REAL BIG bass head. this 15 would give you tight control and high spl output. I don't think as good as a rsw15 because that has a passive radiator. but im sure they would be close.

im no pro at this stuff, Im just giving you some ideas...

scp53

[drewzter]

how big of a sub do you want?

i will more than likely be getting rid of my JBL Pro dual 15" movie theater sub. it's just too big for my current setup.

This monster goes easily into the low 20's depending on your room, and can take at least 1000 watts.

I just bought a Carver M400 cube amp from the 80's to run it - 500 watts mono.

The sub is very large and very heavy - will have to ship freight.

I'll be getting rid of both the sub and the amp.

Let me know!

[radiob]

2nd for build one.

[formica]

There are almost as many DIY options as there are manufactured sub options. For DIY, I'd recommend a 15" driver... based on your mains and "bang for the buck".

You'd then have to decide on the size/cost/performance balance that you are willing to live with. Plugging a bunch of drivers into WinISD design software will give you a better idea of what I mean. You're in Canada? You may want to look at Adire Audio's offerings given they are available on this side of the border www.creativesound.ca

Here are the most popular drivers, and a summary of their characteristics...

Adire Tempest 15" (large enclosure, efficient, $)

Dayton 15" DVC (large enclosure, efficient, $)

Stryke AV-15 (mid-sized enclosure, mid efficiency, $$)

Dayton 15" Titanic (mid-sized enclosure, mid efficiency, $$)

Blueprint Desings 1503 - 15" (mid-sized enclosure, mid efficiency, $$)

Adire Tumult 15" (Small enclosure, inefficient, $$$)

Obviously the less efficient drivers have the added cost of a more powerful amplifier to drive them. As you can see from my sig, I definitely believe in DIY subs... but there is no free ride if you calculate your time into the costs.

Later...

Rob

[Vettemanfrom1973]

Thanks!!! Lots of good tips and suggestions. I guess it might just be a waiting game until something good shows up.

I have come to the conclusion that I will only by a 15". Now I have to figure out the model. I haven't heard any recommendations about the JBL Pro. I'm certain I would be very happy with the RSW-15 but since its twice as much as I had budgeted it doesn't appear to be an option right now, which sucks. I thought about returning a Velodyne CHT-15 on the 29th day of a 30 day money back guarantee (Future shop has free shipping). I need to do alot of listening sessions and I'm pretty limited on getting all these different subs a listen, especially in my room with my system.

Really, how dependent would my HT room characteristics be when your comparing 3 different 15"subs. If it is a big factor what tips would you guys offer when building next house, plan HT with similar dimensions etc? My current HT room is approx. 14 X 35. It is in a finished carpeted room in the basement of a raised ranch. I plan on building another house within 5-10 years and I am planning on making that HT room 20 X 35'.

[dantfmly]

if you go with somebody besides klipsch. i have a 15 inch sub that is within your budget. mtx sub15 i got mine from the same place. $329 after shipping. the price went up. but it is still near your budget. It is great for that price. here is the link to manufaturer website. mtx sub15 stats

[Vettemanfrom1973]

Well I finally broke down and I won an auction on a CHT-15 for $400US. I really haven't heard anything bad about them, yet, read a few good reviews from people using the KLF-30's. The shipping was absurd (84lbs), so I'm driving to Pennsylvania (800 mile round trip) to pick em up. No biggie $50 US for gas, $50 US 2 nights camping = $100 trip as opposed to the $200 shipping. I also got an email from a guy 1.5 hours away with a KSW-15 for about $400 US, right now its NA unless the CHT deal falls through.

As long as its substantially better than the PS-1000 I'll be happy. From what I've read so far the CHT-15 is in the same level as the RSW-15, Paradigm PW-2200 and Servo15 although its at the bottom of that class. The PS-1000 was far away from that level as far as I'm concerned.

ANYWAY, thanks for all those tips etc, big help and hopefully I won't be shopping for another subwoofer for a while. Thanks again!!!

[dantfmly]

I havwe heard that sub is outstanding for the price range that it is in. That is a great price. I would have bought one if i could have found one for that price.

[Vettemanfrom1973]

5 more days! I'm just curious as to which way I'm going to figure out best placement. I would guess that the sub should ideally be put at the front of the room beside the KLF-30's by room is only 13' wide! It will most likely go on a side wall 5-6 feet in front of the mains.

I figure I was going to try placing the sub in my listening position and then walking around with the SPL meter. I am not sure which way I should have the sub facing (CHT-15 is forward firing with port in the front) and should it be right where the damned lazy boy is, or just in front (there's a coffee table 2' in front of lazyboy. The room actually is almost cluttered with furniture for its size (2 couches, lazyboy and a bar).

I figured the price was okay. Here in Canada at the Future Shop the sub cost $1199 plus 15% tax! I'm dying to see if it blows away my old PS-1000 which was a great sub and I miss it.