sealed sub 15" 20hz or lower

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Hi Chainenoble

Louis D. Fielder & Eric M. Benjamin, in their JAES article "Subwoofer performance for accurate reproduction of music", suggest there is a room gain of +12 dB/o starting (towards down) at 25 Hz in typical listening locations. So a closed box with a resonance around 25 Hz should suffice to get 12 Hz at 0 dB.

I have written a spreadsheet which calculates the rendition of a closed box in a typical location having a first room gain starting at 140 Hz (+1 dB) at a rate of +2 or +3 dB/o in the down direction and a second room gain starting at 25 Hz with +12 dB/o in the down direction. The resonance frequency and the Qtb of the enclosure are the input data, and the ouput is the THEORICAL response : it shows that with resonance frequencies less than 40 Hz, you can go with less than +/- 3 dB variations down to 12 Hz. Drop an email if you would like to receive this spredsheet I made using OpenOffice.

The problem is how to get a very low resonance frequency between 25 and 40 Hz. Many people on this forum suggest the most simple would be to use a Linkwitz transform. More elaborate solutions are either using Stahl's techniques or a servo-sub which lowers the resonant frequency by increasing the apparent moving mass (a fact almost unknown).

~~~~~ Forr

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chainenoble said:
eh guys,looking for a sealed sub that will do 20hz or lower.i'm very flexible on box size.any suggestions on subwoofers...thanks


forr said:
Hi Chainenoble

using Stahl's techniques or a servo-sub which lowers the resonant frequency by increasing the apparent moving mass (a fact almost unknown).

~~~~~ Forr

§§§

In a sealed box getting 20Hz at decent volumes is very difficult, the displacement needs increase a lot, a sealed box with the trapped air reduces the cone x max as air pressure increases inside the box.

I know about the servo subwoofers but there powerhandling is lower right? you need some kind of electronic circuit to compensate for the roll off and a very powerful amplifier.
 
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Joined 2004
Re: Re: sealed sub 15" 20hz or lower

Iron-Wizard said:
In a sealed box getting 20Hz at decent volumes is very difficult, the displacement needs increase a lot, a sealed box with the trapped air reduces the cone x max as air pressure increases inside the box.

Not true.

A linkwitz transform alignment in a sealed enclosure can get down to as low as the sub and amp will handle, so providing you've got a robust driver with a good strong motor, plenty of displacement and around 500-1000w your laughing. These things aren't particularly expensive nowadays either and you could build yourself some thing for around £600 quite easily.

I had a XXX 15" with 72mm of xmax peak to peak going flat to 15hz and with an SPL of ~105dB at 20hz, both in-room. That's both deep and loud, infact it was quite easy to scare yourself with it.
 
diyAudio Member
Joined 2004
Re: Re: Re: Re: sealed sub 15" 20hz or lower

Iron-Wizard said:


What is a linkwitz alingment? i have never heard of that or this, what is it again?

Its a circuit that changes the Q and Fs of the driver/box with the use of inverse equalisation to offset the rolloff to a point determined by the builder of the circuit.

Do a google on linkwitz transform and you'll get a load of hits. The best site to checkout is the Linkwitz lab.
 
My Lambda (2x15" ISO) was designed (using UNIBOX) at 110dB @50Hz, 104dB @20Hz & 93dB @10Hz in a 120litre box (4.25 cu. feet). All this using 18mm (one-way) xmax as my limiter. I've never measured it in-room, but it sounded fine - and a lot louder than I expected.

I'm just updating it now to fit in the box originally intended (1" MDF, bracing, good glue, damping, blah, blah, blah - and veneer). Then it'll be allowed in the house by my new partner (I hope).
 
chainenoble said:
any suggestions?i just bought the adires ada 1200 and now need something to match it with


You probably already know that the adire Tumult 15d2 driver is a match made in heaven with the ada1200. The amp was designed with that specific driver in mind. I've just completed a DIY sub based on this driver. If you are looking for serious 20 Hz bass, this is an excellent way to go.

The 68 lb. beast comes in at $600 but is worth the price. If you are handy with wood and a decent painter, a serious sub could be put together for about $1100 (with an ep1500 amp). Add to this a Marchand Bassis, and for $1500 i'd match it against anything in the $2k class.

I ran a preliminary sweep in my 1,800 cu. ft. room and recorded 90 dB @ 20 Hz (6.5 meters) and 104 dB @ 28 Hz (2 meters) with less than 100 watts!(uncorrected). I should realize a 12-15 dB boost with the 1400 watt ep1500 and the Bassis on tap.

IMO, DIY is the most bang for the buck.
;)
 

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You measured 105 dB in room at 20 Hz ShinOBIWAN ? With a XXX ?

That's nothing impressive if you ask me. My basic Shiva with 16 mm Xmax was doing around >115 dB at 20 Hz in room with a basic 250W amplifier.

I don't like Linkwitz Transform circuits, an awesome loss of efficiency and power. Not saying they are not useful, but I don't like them.

For chainenoble, you don't need a Tumult to use your amplifier. I would use something else because the price is too high IMHO. For the price of a single Tumult, you could buy 3 Acoustic Elegance AV12 and build 3 Thunder 12.3 enclosures with passive radiators. Performance to obliterate the Tumult if you ask me. Again that's a bit overkill, but you said the space was flexible! :)
 
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Joined 2004
simon5 said:
You measured 105 dB in room at 20 Hz ShinOBIWAN ? With a XXX ?

That's nothing impressive if you ask me. My basic Shiva with 16 mm Xmax was doing around >115 dB at 20 Hz in room with a basic 250W amplifier.

Notice how I didn't say how far the mic was from the sub when measuring or how large the room was. All very important. ;)

If I put it under the stairs with the mic a couple of inchs from the cone I'm sure I could hit 120dB very easily.

:D

I don't like Linkwitz Transform circuits, an awesome loss of efficiency and power. Not saying they are not useful, but I don't like them.

You need the right sort of drivers to use them with. I wouldn't recommend trying it out with a couple of 'hifi' 8" drivers - which I have tried BTW.
 
It'll definitely take three my friend. But there is more than just spl to consider. I'm sure that adire's xbl^2 is a better motor topology. The distortion/BL characteristics of this driver has been expounded upon in many HT forums.

I prefer the Tumult over a pair of av-12's. I modeled these drivers for a few weeks before i decided to go the 15" route. It'll take more than two to equal the Vd and efficiency of a single Tumult. The SPLmaxLF (20 Hz -1/2 space @ 1m) is only 101 dB vs. 108 dB for the 15d2.

Again, it'll take more than two.

The cost factor, i think, is a rub, with 6-15" pr's and 3 separate enclosures. At $400 for the radiators, you could simply add two more av-12's...probably three, with the extra enclosure expenses. You would definitely have to build the boxes yourself to save "any" money. You could probably do two Tumults in a single vented enclosure for slightly more.
;)
 
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