Plate amp substitution for this design

[Billyo]

Hi all,

I'm considering some subwoofer designs for my next project and I quite like this one documented at this site

Build your own 10" subwoofer, a detailed how-to - Introduction

Like lots of things down here, the various plate amps recommended for this subs are either unavailable or much more expensive and will blow my budget.

Some recommended amps from the article are

Thommessen SW2.5
Proteus SW 2.5

Hypex DS4.0
DS4.0

Detonation DT300
RCM Detonation DT 300-Subwoofer Verstärker

However, I was wondering whether I could substitute a Bash 300 or maybe 500 instead, as they are much, much cheaper in shipping and overall price:

Bash 300W Digital Subwoofer Amplifier 300-750

Any thoughts appreciated!

[Cokewithlime]

Not a problem to substitute the Bash300 plate amp - you may also want to consider the OAudio variant of the BASH design.

I have built something similar to the design you are looking at but using the XXLS 12" and matching 12" PR - it performs fantastically.

The only problem I foresee for you is that Peerless has discontinued all of their PRs several years ago - you may find the odd one available via ebay or craigslist, etc. You could also substitute another manufacturers version of the PR, but usually with some compromises.

[PDRCanada]

I have a couple of the OAudio Bash amps in a couple of dual 12" Dayton driver subs. For the few extra dollars I would get the 500w amps. They have a lot of extra features like the EQ that will help you with room set up. Keep in mind there
is no line level inputs on the 500.

[Cokewithlime]

Originally Posted by PDRCanada

Keep in mind there
is no line level inputs on the 500.

There are indeed normal "line level" inputs on the QAudio500 - however there are no high level(speaker level) inputs on that unit.

[Billyo]

Originally Posted by Cokewithlime

The only problem I foresee for you is that Peerless has discontinued all of their PRs several years ago - you may find the odd one available via ebay or craigslist, etc. You could also substitute another manufacturers version of the PR, but usually with some compromises.

Bummer! With the general dearth of subwoofer drivers down here, I could be waiting a lifetime for one to show up on ebay.

Looks like I'll need to get to grips with a modelling program and design my own box based on what drivers I can get. I was thinking of maybe Dayton ones from PE and using Shipitto to get it over here for a sensible price.

I'm having trouble locating freeware that can model a PR design - does anyone know one? Should I just stump up and pay for BassBox Pro?

[rx7mark]

Try Jeff Bagby's software called Woofer Box Model and Circuit Designer talked about and linked to here:

Designing with the New Creative Sound Passive Radiators - Part 1 - Techtalk Speaker Building, Audio, Video, and Electronics Customer Discussion Forum From Parts-Express.com

Also try the PR's from Creative sound solution as they can be adjusted from the exterior, but there are also lots of others available.

Mark

[Cokewithlime]

Originally Posted by Billyo

I'm having trouble locating freeware that can model a PR design - does anyone know one? Should I just stump up and pay for BassBox Pro?

Personally I'm still a big fan of the Peerless XLS and XXLS 10" and 12" models over the Daytons...

+1 on the Creative Sound PRs - they won't have the matching look to the Peerless driver but functionally they should work perfectly for you.

WinISD Pro Alpha, which is free, handles modeling of PRs very well

[PDRCanada]

Originally Posted by Cokewithlime

There are indeed normal "line level" inputs on the QAudio500 - however there are no high level(speaker level) inputs on that unit.

Yep, sorry, I meant to write speaker level.

After the dual Daytons, I also thought there would be better candidates, but these seem to fit the budget of the OP, and do a fair job.

If I was going to up my budget a bit (and I did ) there would be no substitution for a none box.
2 of these....A370PEQ and 4 of these..SW-12-16FR... in a "H" frame open baffle system will get you in the high end of clean tight response with no box associated problems, or software to contend with.This will run about $1300 and building material costs, a bit more than it seems is in the budget.

[Billyo]

Hmmm... Just toying with WinISD Pro and a Dayton 10" reference Sub

http://www.parts-express.com/pdf/295-462s.pdf

Following the instructions for parameter entry in the help file.

But...

WinISD always throws a division by zero error when trying to model with this driver and using the vented box defaults.

Upon checking what params its using when clicking "Show driver parameters", they are nothing like what I entered, being out by more than a factor of 100.

Strange.... does anyone know why?

[Cokewithlime]

Originally Posted by Billyo

Hmmm... Just toying with WinISD Pro and a Dayton 10" reference Sub

http://www.parts-express.com/pdf/295-462s.pdf

Following the instructions for parameter entry in the help file.

But...

WinISD always throws a division by zero error when trying to model with this driver and using the vented box defaults.

Upon checking what params its using when clicking "Show driver parameters", they are nothing like what I entered, being out by more than a factor of 100.

Strange.... does anyone know why?

The most common problem is that when entering driver data you have to make sure that the format of each data value matches the format of the data value in the driver spec sheet - ie the format for VAS can be liter , in^3 , ft^3, etc - you can change the format in the data entry form by left clicking on the format beside the numerical entry box.

Johnny Richards a frequent poster on another speaker DIY forum, has written up a great tutorial on using WinISD

Read the tutorial and then take another crack at your design