Hi guys,
At a local shop, there's a single Tannoy T40 passive subwoofer on sale for £80. I'm rather tempted - it'll hit 40Hz with plenty of output, and is reasonably compact as subwoofers go.
My question is this: can it be bettered for similar money and size?
I think a 12" tapped horn might be a good shout, but I'm struggling to get them to pass 120dB in 2pi space, down to about 40-50Hz, and in a slightly bigger cabinet than the T40, which will go much louder.
This is to pair up with a pair of Das Audio RF12s - basic 12" two-ways, 98dB@1w, with half a kilowatt between them.
Advice and help would be much appreciated
TIA
Chris
At a local shop, there's a single Tannoy T40 passive subwoofer on sale for £80. I'm rather tempted - it'll hit 40Hz with plenty of output, and is reasonably compact as subwoofers go.
My question is this: can it be bettered for similar money and size?
I think a 12" tapped horn might be a good shout, but I'm struggling to get them to pass 120dB in 2pi space, down to about 40-50Hz, and in a slightly bigger cabinet than the T40, which will go much louder.
This is to pair up with a pair of Das Audio RF12s - basic 12" two-ways, 98dB@1w, with half a kilowatt between them.
Advice and help would be much appreciated
TIA
Chris
Hard for DIY to compete with used Pro-sound equipment. The little bits add up fast and then you have the issue of resale. That looks like a good deal Tannoy T40 Powerful Subwoofer
I know it was ex-club install, so its likely to have been thrashed a bit. I'll have a listen to it when I get there - no point having it if its knackered.
I'll take some pictures if I bring it home/open it up: I'm fairly sure its a 6th order bandpass, but I don't know much more than that.
I might fire up Hornresp and see if I can get anything useful in a similar form-factor.
Chris
I'll take some pictures if I bring it home/open it up: I'm fairly sure its a 6th order bandpass, but I don't know much more than that.
I might fire up Hornresp and see if I can get anything useful in a similar form-factor.
Chris
Bandpass boxes look good on paper but can sound funky and develop rattles with use. I would defiantly run it through some sweeps @ power.
Sounded nice enough to me, and no rattles.
That said, it has been painted a couple of times, so I might do something about that: probably starting by sanding it all smooth, and going over with a charcoal grey, and highlighting the ports in a neon green like some of DrDyna's subwoofer designs.
Pictures soon - its currently shoved in the corner of the lounge, as my PA system is now the house stereo.
Call it headroom, not overkill. 😀
Chris
That said, it has been painted a couple of times, so I might do something about that: probably starting by sanding it all smooth, and going over with a charcoal grey, and highlighting the ports in a neon green like some of DrDyna's subwoofer designs.
Pictures soon - its currently shoved in the corner of the lounge, as my PA system is now the house stereo.
Call it headroom, not overkill. 😀
Chris
Mmmm. Caught this thread whilst searching for a Tannoy driver cross reference. You should have a 3803 in that one.
I was going to ask where it was, but you had already taken the wiser option and bought it.
£80, brilliant price and they do go beautifully low......
Your best option for paint is Tuff Cab from Blue Aran. Roller it on thickly, and it creates a splatter coat effect, covering all smaller nicks & scratches.
I was going to ask where it was, but you had already taken the wiser option and bought it.
£80, brilliant price and they do go beautifully low......
Your best option for paint is Tuff Cab from Blue Aran. Roller it on thickly, and it creates a splatter coat effect, covering all smaller nicks & scratches.
Cheers for the paint recommendation.
I took the bottom off to clear out a load of glass from the bottom enclosure. Haven't taken the driver out the box yet, but I can confirm it has a cast frame.
99dB@1w half-space, with -3dB at 36Hz. I was very impressed with the specs they've managed to squeeze out of a single driver, and might well purchase another if one becomes available - they're the right size for a one-man lift without much trouble, but much bigger would get more difficult.
I'll be using it for a house party in the basement of an old thick-stone-walls type of house, later this month. Throw it in the corner and it should go >100dB@1w. High-pass at 30Hz and add a 300w amp. Lets see what this thing can do 😀
Gotta run now, lectures in 10.
Chris
PS - if another comes up on eBay with delivery, let me know if you're going to bid so I won't bid against you.
I took the bottom off to clear out a load of glass from the bottom enclosure. Haven't taken the driver out the box yet, but I can confirm it has a cast frame.
99dB@1w half-space, with -3dB at 36Hz. I was very impressed with the specs they've managed to squeeze out of a single driver, and might well purchase another if one becomes available - they're the right size for a one-man lift without much trouble, but much bigger would get more difficult.
I'll be using it for a house party in the basement of an old thick-stone-walls type of house, later this month. Throw it in the corner and it should go >100dB@1w. High-pass at 30Hz and add a 300w amp. Lets see what this thing can do 😀
Gotta run now, lectures in 10.
Chris
PS - if another comes up on eBay with delivery, let me know if you're going to bid so I won't bid against you.
Thanks for that offer, if you're going for a pair, I won't challenge you, so keep in touch in that respect, so I don't. Beware of buying one too new, because they changed the drivers 3803 is RCF L15P540. Not sure of the newer one, I think it's Celestion, but matched is better.
I've already got a pair, (Using with i8) I was just thinking, £80, and you didn't want it, a spare is always useful.
I've already got a pair, (Using with i8) I was just thinking, £80, and you didn't want it, a spare is always useful.
Yeah, I saw a pair that looked rather new go for £350/pr on eBay. More than I'd want to spend atm - I've only just paid back the Das Audio speakers and some rack stuff.
Pheeow. Just looked up the RCF driver and they're more than I paid for the cabinet!
How much power do you throw at your T40s?
Cheers
Chris
PS - had a quick play around in Hornresp. Looks like the Tannoy specs are pretty close to simulation, though I get ~96dB half-space, with a maximum corner-loaded SPL of ~130dB, within Xdamage, but beyond Xmax.
Pheeow. Just looked up the RCF driver and they're more than I paid for the cabinet!
How much power do you throw at your T40s?
Cheers
Chris
PS - had a quick play around in Hornresp. Looks like the Tannoy specs are pretty close to simulation, though I get ~96dB half-space, with a maximum corner-loaded SPL of ~130dB, within Xdamage, but beyond Xmax.
Last edited:
Last night the Tannoy died.
It put up a decent fight, but in the end a Samson Servo-550 bridged put paid to it. The music was Pop music that was being mashed into the compressors, so there was an awful lot of power delivery there.
Some pictures of the post-mortem:
1 - no wonder the amp went into protection - not much will stand bridging into 1.7ohm
2 - might be difficult to see, but the cone has seized slightly forward of its rest position.
3 - dead voice-coil. Nuff said.
I'll probably order another of these drivers, as that Tannoy sub is rather good: Sounds nice, hits the low 30s, and rather loud when corner-loaded.
... Unless there's anything out there that'll do better in a similar package?
Chris
It put up a decent fight, but in the end a Samson Servo-550 bridged put paid to it. The music was Pop music that was being mashed into the compressors, so there was an awful lot of power delivery there.
Some pictures of the post-mortem:
1 - no wonder the amp went into protection - not much will stand bridging into 1.7ohm
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
2 - might be difficult to see, but the cone has seized slightly forward of its rest position.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
3 - dead voice-coil. Nuff said.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
I'll probably order another of these drivers, as that Tannoy sub is rather good: Sounds nice, hits the low 30s, and rather loud when corner-loaded.
... Unless there's anything out there that'll do better in a similar package?
Chris
Played around with Hornresp for a while, then looked on eBay. Then played on Hornresp some more.
Dropped a (slightly used) Eminence Kilomax 15 in there. Gives a similar curve to the RCF driver before (dB or so here and there), so I called it close enough. I bought a pair for less than the price of a new one.
Threw one in there and the results are pretty impressive. The living room is weird for bass - more nulls than peaks - but there's solid output to the high 30s. I've got one of the drivers on break-in mode as I'm not convinced they're fully broken in yet. Bass I Love You low-passed (you read that right) at 20Hz gets the cone moving without disturbing anyone.
I must say that the Kilomax is a beast. The lengths they've gone to in order to get rid of heat is quite impressive. The holes in the backplate go directly to the 4" (!) voice coil, and the heatsink out front shows promise.
Something to note, however, about these drivers: the suspension really puts the brakes on when you try to exceed Xmax. Harmonic distortion is immediately apparent. The audience probably wouldn't notice in a PA application, but for (very very loud, or open baffle) critical listening, its worth bearing in mind.
Chris
Dropped a (slightly used) Eminence Kilomax 15 in there. Gives a similar curve to the RCF driver before (dB or so here and there), so I called it close enough. I bought a pair for less than the price of a new one.
Threw one in there and the results are pretty impressive. The living room is weird for bass - more nulls than peaks - but there's solid output to the high 30s. I've got one of the drivers on break-in mode as I'm not convinced they're fully broken in yet. Bass I Love You low-passed (you read that right) at 20Hz gets the cone moving without disturbing anyone.
I must say that the Kilomax is a beast. The lengths they've gone to in order to get rid of heat is quite impressive. The holes in the backplate go directly to the 4" (!) voice coil, and the heatsink out front shows promise.
Something to note, however, about these drivers: the suspension really puts the brakes on when you try to exceed Xmax. Harmonic distortion is immediately apparent. The audience probably wouldn't notice in a PA application, but for (very very loud, or open baffle) critical listening, its worth bearing in mind.
Chris
- Status
- Not open for further replies.