Low hz, budget subwoofer ??????

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I am looking for a low cost, under $200 subwoofer that is good at low notes, I am talking the 18-35hz range. My floor speakers can knock stuff off the shelves between 40-100hz but they cant hit 20hz at all. So I need a sub to fill in that area. So far I think a rockford fosgate p2 15" may work but what do you guys think? I'm not looking for crazy loud just good low response.
 

GM

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Joined 2003
Everything's relative, these cabs are right at 20 ft^3 net (I'm 5'9") and so far still the smallest I've ever built for my main system:

GM
 

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I am talking the 18-35hz range...
I could maybe fit a 10 cu.ft box but can't be anything bigger,


Hi, Try to beat the performance of a ~7 ft tall stuffed T-TQWT
that if XO:ed low enough can be located anywhere in a room
for to achieve max SQ as such a design is very insensitive for
boundary interactions:D:

b :)
 

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Also If I do the TRIO12 what kind of output do you think I will get in my 13' x 20' room with 2 small doors and on big doorway. I am hoping for something that can keep up with my front 12" sanyo speakers. i'm not sure of there actualy output, but compared to my car stereo, i'd guess they can get to at least 125db maybe more, my car can hit 145db. I don't need it to be real loud but I would like it to be loud enough that my front speakers don't drown it out.
 
JBL GTO1214D on Sale

Hi gadgeteer123,

Petter Persson posted a nice, large dual tapped horn with a JBL GTO1214. A single driver tapped hornh would be half the size. Small sonotube subs are also possible with this driver, and its all over ebay below $90.--, free shipping. Find an abandoned sonotube (I just found 2), some scrap wood for top and bottom, some decorative table cloth, and you can build two subs for $200.--

JBL GTO 1214D CAR AUDIO/STEREO 12" SUB SUBWOOFER 1214 D - eBay (item 380274589025 end time Oct-30-10 20:48:32 PDT)

Regards,
 
How big would a sonotube be compared to a normal enclosure??

Well, it's a round tube, so find its internal area, then divide it into the net volume (Vb) the design calls for plus add in the volume lost from the driver and vent(s) to find its effective internal length. The tube then will be this length plus 2x the end plate thickness. If mounted vertically, it needs to be spaced up off a base plate, the gap usually being derived empirically.

A DIY square tube of the same length would have an internal base area only ~0.7854x the tube's base area, but its extra material thickness compared to the tube's would reduce its finished 'footprint' advantage. Obviously, as you shorten the tube it must be wider, deeper, taking up more floor space.

FYI, driver sag is a real problem with many of today's 'sub' drivers, including the TRIO12, in a typical sonotube app, defeating much of its usefulness unless it can be laid down along a wall: http://www.adireaudio.com/Files/DriverOrientation.pdf

GM
 
Also If I do the TRIO12 what kind of output do you think I will get in my 13' x 20' room with 2 small doors and on big doorway. I am hoping for something that can keep up with my front 12" sanyo speakers. i'm not sure of there actualy output, but compared to my car stereo, i'd guess they can get to at least 125db maybe more, my car can hit 145db. I don't need it to be real loud but I would like it to be loud enough that my front speakers don't drown it out.

Unless Sanyo has a prosound line I'm not familiar with, I seriously doubt they will play over ~100 dB before distorting so bad that anyone with average hearing will dive for the volume control.

Cars are a lot smaller and with doors closed and windows up they have a lot more 'cabin' gain than your room will even if corner loaded. Anyway, for me it would take at least two if corner loaded and four otherwise in a ~14 Hz tuned pipe since I want to hit DD/DTS/THX reference for movies without exceeding Xmax. Since spreading multiple subs around the room can average out room modes, four individual subs coupled to at least 700 W each would be my recommendation for a very low distortion system.

GM
 
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If your present system shakes the dishes down to 40 Hz as you say, after you're done building, you'll be absolutely astonished at how little difference it makes. Betcha you can't find a recording where you know if the sub is plugged-in or not (blind, of course).

I have pretty fine low bass these days, but when my bass amp is off*, not easy to tell even with big organ music. There is a single note on a single CD that disappears. Otherwise on all other CDs, all sounds sort of normal even if the windows aren't rattling quite as much.

(I think it may help that my system is quite flat right down to that sharp bass cross-over cut. So your ear finds it easier to do the fill-in trick. My theory.)

Doing some electronic bass shaping may be all you need.

* Don't gasp, but I'm talking about 110 Hz and below going poof.
 
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you might want to consider using some electronics and a sealed enclosure. That way you can control the top part of the responses roll off better. If you have 400WRMS thats plenty of power.

P48 Sub-Woofer Controller (Rev-A)

I use a ESP P48 with 2 low profile Pioneer 18ltr car subs and get superb results.

edit: this might not work well if your mains are ported.

col.
 
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