Need help: Good sub for HT & music (25hz low distoration)

[kareface]

I'm not looking to be super adventuress, I'm just looking for an easy to build sub that'll have tight bass and I would prefer at least 25hz on the bottom end if possible, but I'm flexible if someone has a killer suggestion. I currently have the natlie P's for my right and left and I have the zaph 3.5c for my center. The room is small, only about 15x12 but it's well dampened with green glue and panels. I mostly watch lots of movies but it would be nice if it was good for music as well. I don't need anything boomy or loud, just something that is nice an crisp. Any suggestions would be great. I'm still learning about subs so if there was a clear example project to base it off of it would be great. The more I read about it the better. Thanks!

[Glowbug]

What's your budget?

Do you already have an amplifier?

[kareface]

700 max

I have a HT amp, but no sub amp.

[kareface]

I was wondering what people thought of this sub:

Parts Express DIY Project

[davygrvy]

Two of these should have rather low distortion. Widen it a bit and use dual 8" per cab Table Tuba

[Glowbug]

Originally Posted by kareface

I was wondering what people thought of this sub:

Parts Express DIY Project

Good choice there.

A Maelstrom 21" would be serious fun...but an amp for it would put you out of your budget.

http://www.diycable.com/main/product...c295f02937f6c6

[davygrvy]

Originally Posted by kareface

I was wondering what people thought of this sub:

Parts Express DIY Project

Sealed boxes aren't low distortion and neither are ported cabinets, IMHO.

[chris661]

Define low distortion. Measured or audible?

One of the biggest constraints yet to be discussed is the size. How big can it realistically be?

How loud do you want to go? Most speakers can hit 25Hz, but very few can do that at reasonable output.

[jbell]

Originally Posted by davygrvy

Sealed boxes aren't low distortion and neither are ported cabinets, IMHO.

yep. If you want low distortion sealed or ported, servo from rhythmic audio might be workable. If you are not going servo, you would need an overdamped driver to help out in the distortion department, like the HSU. ASW-1203 Car Subwoofer I personally use them in 4cu.ft. sonotube tuned to 25hz with good results. (an added bonus is the sonotube sub is super easy to build, and works very well with a parts express bash 300. The factory 19hz highpass is just about right)

I guess 'low distortion' would need to be quantified as chris suggested... to see if either of these options are low enough distortion for you.

If these options aren't good enough for you, front loaded horn, like davy suggested is what you'll end up with. A caveat, the 'typical' rising response of a 1/4 wave horn isn't usually tamed well by the typical HT 80hz, 12db/oct crossover. If you go that route, I've had good success combining a large 12mh inductor in conjunction with a 80hz crossover to flatten out the response of a front loaded horn, and produce the clean low bass that I think you are looking for.

[lousymusician]

If you have the resources to build a cabinet (or can find a cabinet from PE that will work), you could get into a Rhythmik servo sub within your budget. I built a 15' for a buddy at work, and it sounded great to me. Better than the 15" Dayton Quattro / 300W BASH amp I built for myself. A 12" should work fine in a 12 x 15 room. I'd do that over the Dayton if I had the choice.

Don't be surprised if you end up needing some equalization to flatten out the bass in your room. The current wisdom is to use several smaller subs to even out the response, but if you can't do that an equalizer ahead of the sub can do a lot of good. I use a Behringer DSP1124 (also known as the BFD), which gives 10 bands of parametric equalization for about $100. Not what you'd want to use for the mains, the sound quality isn't up to that, but it's fine for sub duty.

Bill