DuubleJ Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 First time poster, long time reader (3-4 months) My wife and I have moved into a new slightly used house and it has a theater room(20x14,riser,acoustic paneled walls/ceiling - see previous owner pic attached)which only came with the 65" TV. I've recenty bought the 7 setup all the way around and a couple outlaw 200 amps. Now I have about $1400 remaining in theatre room allowance for the short/medium term. I see the JBL sub as the weakest link and I have my wife on board we need to upgrade that area. I've read a ton on SVS,HSU,RSW15 and one sub or two and one sub or some kind of tactile deal. I would appreciate any recommendations the best way to go among those thoughts. Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 What are the size and cosmetic constraints for your new sub? Also, is DIY an option? Basically, the best advice is to find the biggest cabinet that will work in your situation. No matter the company, bigger cabinets = better bass (Hoffman's Iron Law). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northshore Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 DuubleJ, Very nice room you have there. Can you tell me if the center stand was with the home or did you already have that one? If you already had that one could you tell me where it came from? it is exactly what I had in mind for the RC 7 that I own. Thanks **Also, welcome to the forum family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuubleJ Posted June 29, 2005 Author Share Posted June 29, 2005 Not too many size and cosmetic constraints, but I'm sure the wife would prefer to have the sub/subs look good, or be hidden or maybe work as an end table, etc. I don't know a lot about DIY, I've see the IB Cult site and there could be a couple options but I've never heard one and havent seen detailed instructions. What kind of DIY did you have in mind? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuubleJ Posted June 29, 2005 Author Share Posted June 29, 2005 Thanks, Northshore. That was the previous owners. I have 13" VTI from stands and mounts.com I got for $79 which I then customized slightly to tilt the speaker upward toward the seating position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuNat Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 SVS PB12-Ultra... every review ive ever seen drools all over this sub. the thing will extend down to 12hz!!! that will shake your whole house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travisc Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 I would go with the match to the 7 series, rsw-15. yeah baby! This would sonically and asthetically match your setup. Alot of people here have subs their happy with and Im happy with mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Can I just say, nice room! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 I would also vote for the RSW15. I think it would be the best match for your existing RF speakers. JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 Ditto on the RSW-15. But if you were to go DIY and IB was an option, then by all means don't hesitate to go that route. It'll be a lower distortion and cheaper route too (cheaper per performance). Here is what would be my driver of choice for an IB: AE Speakers IB15 ($100 each). The IB15 works best to have 10 cubic feet behind each driver in your setup (so if you have an adjoining room or basement or something that is 50 cubic feet, then get 5 drivers). Just 5 wired in series will do 122dB @ 500 watts and be totally flat down to the 10Hz - 15Hz region after room gain (100 watts per driver when wired in series). This of course might be insane overkill, but what a lot of people forget is that this kind of a system will be very distortion free at normal listening levels and will handle transients extremely well. A good amp is going to cost you about $500, which leaves you with a budget of $400 to make it look good. It might make more sense to go with 4 drivers because they'd be easier to wire and it saves you another $100 (while sacrificing 3dB - bringing you down to a 119dB max). If you can't manage to have 40 cubic feet behind the 4 drivers, then your peak SPL levels will be lowered because the cone excursion won't be as controlled...so putting 80 cubic feet behind the drivers (doubling the volume) cuts the power handling capabilities in half and reduces overall output by 3dB. So now we're looking at 116dB max @ 200 watts if the room behind the 4 drivers is too big. I know I'm just spewing numbers and some of the things to think about when designing an IB sub, but the end result is something that will totally outperform any powered sub in a small box. Of course it will take a lot more work to get an IB up and running...You can just go out, purchase the RSW-15, come home and plug it in and you've got great bass that'll pass the WAF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuubleJ Posted June 30, 2005 Author Share Posted June 30, 2005 There are a couple options for IB. One is behind the TV wall. That room is for access to the back of all the gear and its about 3x14. But I believe you want it sealed from the front side to back side. I could do something on the right side behind the right speaker, but I'm not sure that is a good spot. Above the TV won't work because we want to get a screen to come down there and they would move the screen. The second spot is along the short wall along the left side where the opening to the room is. There is a storage area under the steps. Who you want all four together or spread out a little. Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 Would it be possible to get a top down view sketch of your room and adjoining rooms? It could be as simple as drawing boxes in MSPaint, saving as a .gif and uploading to the forum. Also, I notice two black square faces on your entertainment center cabinet thing that look like they were meant to house subwoofers? Then directly below the TV there is some fancy panelling; are those cabinets for media storage? And will your screen end up spanning the entire width of that front portion? Perhaps they would be able to squeeze in on the sides between the screen and that wall that's jutting out. I'm thinking your best option would be to retrofit your cabinets so that the subs fit under your widescreen TV. You could make it look good by making a row of that black cloth stuff to go all the way across the front and then do a little touch up with the trim, or we could probably get away with using those black squares on each side...perhaps extend back through the wall if need be. A diagram or two of your entertainment center wouldn't hurt either. Spreading out the subs is not wrong, but you don't get the same coupling effects. End result is you're talking a loss of 3dB for the absolute worst scenario and you introduce some phase issues (which may or may not be beneficial depending on the acoustics of your room). I personally like to keep things symmetrical with the bass, but you don't have to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 DuubleJ, check out the FAQ at the Cult. http://www.f20.parsimony.net/forum36475/ Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damonrpayne Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 Get an RSW 15. The SVS subs are good, but the pilgrimage folks have seen stuff in the labs that shows they are cheating to make the numbers they make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuubleJ Posted June 30, 2005 Author Share Posted June 30, 2005 Here is the top view of my room. The last owner put two subs in the cabinet on each side of the TV. I tried one under there, but didn't like the results. The TV is huge and that is what is behind the wood behind the center channel, so not usable space. The projector screen would go all the way across the top so that wont work. If I don't go IB. I wonder if its better to get two $600-$700 subs or 1 $1400 sub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 Those little cubby holes behind your mains look like really good options. About what are the dimensions in there? I can think of a couple variations that I would try based on what will fit. If you get an acoustically transparent screen, then I would suggest building small cabinets that extend back into your storage room that your RF-7 mains sit on top of (some bracing or creative mounting will be needed to isolate the vibrations for your mains, but this is no biggy). The reason for the acoustically transparent screen is because you would probably find better panning across the front with the center mounted up high (because the mains will be higher as well). From the picture it looks like raising your mains 18 inches would bring them about level with the top of your cabinet...so you would even get better panning than in your current situation. An alternative to the transparent screen would be to build a slightly taller cabinet and then mount your RF-7's upside down so that the tweeters lineup with your center channel. Another alternative would be to stack the woofers vertically next to the mains, which would work well if there was enough room to fit them side by side. And yet another alternative would be a horizontal alignment above the mains, but that might affect those little TV's you have on the sides (which probably would need to go no matter what you do)...so I guess that leaves a vertical stack on each side of the mains... One thing I was wondering, what is the space under your second row of seats like underneathe the platform (and how high is the platform)? Putting subs underneathe would be a great use of that space underneathe. Perhaps build some cabinet that look like they sit on top in the back corners, but open up to the space...heck, just build a really large cabinet that fits behind that rear couch. 3 x 1.5 x 9 feet is about 40 cubic feet in volume which would be ideal for 4 drivers. Couches are what, 4 feet tall and 10 feet wide? It'd practically be invisible back there as long as you've got 18 inches of space between the couch and rear wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 I'm sure the wife would prefer to have the sub/subs look good, or be hidden. =============================================================== Why not the Klipsch THX sub(s) and amp. You can find them off of eBay pretty close to 1,500 buy 2 subs a little over 2k. Sell the one you have now. These are front firing, can be hidden pretty easily, and just amazing slam lower thump factors no matter how serious you get later. The SVS in this case will be a HUGE speaker to place. A RSW 15 might also work, and can be a table as well, if placed someplace where you can use it. Do not overlook Klipsch for subs they work extremely well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norcuron Posted July 1, 2005 Share Posted July 1, 2005 I really like my SVS Sub.....Sounds GREAT and has always worked flawless. Works ok as an end table too lol.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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