I’d like to build one or two small subs (6” to 8” driver) to be paired with DIY ScanSpeak 5F single-driver sealed sats. The crossover frequency must be above 100Hz. These are to be used in a very small apartment living room. I’m thinking sealed & powered subs. Perhaps one of the PE kits?
I’ve done this before with a PSB 8” sub using small sealed Role Audio speakers. The sub was vented & overwhelmed the Roles. (They never sounded right.) I then paired Bandor 50s & the 5Fs (separately) with a Yamaha powered sub. It worked, but it was odd in how it was configured & operated. I chose the 5Fs over the Bandors. The 5Fs are a lot of fun to work with if you love very small single-drivers, which I do, warts & all. The music I plan to play through these will be chamber music & small combo jazz.
Any ideas? I appreciate input on this.
I’ve done this before with a PSB 8” sub using small sealed Role Audio speakers. The sub was vented & overwhelmed the Roles. (They never sounded right.) I then paired Bandor 50s & the 5Fs (separately) with a Yamaha powered sub. It worked, but it was odd in how it was configured & operated. I chose the 5Fs over the Bandors. The 5Fs are a lot of fun to work with if you love very small single-drivers, which I do, warts & all. The music I plan to play through these will be chamber music & small combo jazz.
Any ideas? I appreciate input on this.
The problem with subwoofers that are small and sealed is that they don't go very low, or they aren't very efficient. Sure you can apply some EQ to get a bit more low end out of them, but then you may run into power or excursion limits.
One type of alignment that I will be playing with very shortly (after I receive my next order from Parts Express) is the "passively-assisted" sealed alignment. This type of alignment allows you to get a bit a bit more low-frequency performance from small sealed box by adding some hefty in-line capacitance, but, as with other alignments, it's important that you choose the right size box and driver and amount of capacitance, of course. If I was looking into doing what you're planning to do, I'd probably start my search with one of the small Tang-Band drivers (e.g. this one: Tang Band W5-1138SMF 5-1/4" Paper Cone Subwoofer Speaker) and try a couple of sims with it (sealed, vented, passively assisted, PR, etc), to see which best fits my needs.
One type of alignment that I will be playing with very shortly (after I receive my next order from Parts Express) is the "passively-assisted" sealed alignment. This type of alignment allows you to get a bit a bit more low-frequency performance from small sealed box by adding some hefty in-line capacitance, but, as with other alignments, it's important that you choose the right size box and driver and amount of capacitance, of course. If I was looking into doing what you're planning to do, I'd probably start my search with one of the small Tang-Band drivers (e.g. this one: Tang Band W5-1138SMF 5-1/4" Paper Cone Subwoofer Speaker) and try a couple of sims with it (sealed, vented, passively assisted, PR, etc), to see which best fits my needs.
Brian -
Thanks very much for the suggestion.
What about vented & fourth-order? The intention is to add some extension to the 5Fs, which go pretty low for what they are, but not in absolute terms.
I have to dig out Bass Box Pro now...
Thanks very much for the suggestion.
What about vented & fourth-order? The intention is to add some extension to the 5Fs, which go pretty low for what they are, but not in absolute terms.
I have to dig out Bass Box Pro now...
The problem with going vented with a small subwoofer like this one is going to be is that the vent will need to be long, which in turn will impact the useful bandwidth of the subwoofer (due to organ-pipe effects)
A 4th order BP with the subwoofer driver that I suggested will suffer from this same issue.
A 4th order BP with the subwoofer driver that I suggested will suffer from this same issue.
Dayton makes a few drivers that can be used in small sealed subs and still go low. The RSS210HF-4 can be used in a 20L sealed and will have an F6 of 32Hz. It won't go very loud, but i don't think that is the goal...
I thought of the Scan-Speak 23W since I'm building a pair of 32W's. It also pushes your budget of a few, up 25%.
I used it in a 1 cubic foot enclosure along with its' matching passive radiator for a small music system and love it. It is more than fine without the passive and that adds a bit of cost, I just wanted to try it.
ScanSpeak Revelator 23W/4557T-02, 9" Aluminum Cone Subwoofer
One cubic foot sealed has an F3 of 33Hz.
I used it in a 1 cubic foot enclosure along with its' matching passive radiator for a small music system and love it. It is more than fine without the passive and that adds a bit of cost, I just wanted to try it.
ScanSpeak Revelator 23W/4557T-02, 9" Aluminum Cone Subwoofer
One cubic foot sealed has an F3 of 33Hz.
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I appreciate the ideas.
I’m now looking into using & modifying PE Denovo flat-pacs since I lack a wood shop, and I don’t know anyone who’ll cut or build boxes for me. The last guy who did made a serious mistake in measuring. On top of that, I’m moving into a small apartment with my family next year. I’ll be restricted to what I can get away with on the veranda & dining room table.
What about the .75 cu.ft. 8” sealed sub kit from PE, part number 300-7090? (I can’t link using my tablet.)
I’m now looking into using & modifying PE Denovo flat-pacs since I lack a wood shop, and I don’t know anyone who’ll cut or build boxes for me. The last guy who did made a serious mistake in measuring. On top of that, I’m moving into a small apartment with my family next year. I’ll be restricted to what I can get away with on the veranda & dining room table.
What about the .75 cu.ft. 8” sealed sub kit from PE, part number 300-7090? (I can’t link using my tablet.)
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Looks good to me if you have enough clean power to take advantage of the driver's high Xmax and always a good thing to have DSP to fine tune it in room, especially if moving it around from place to place.
GM
GM
What do you suggest for an amp? I’m thinking of a plate amp from PE or Apex Jr. it would have to be out-board or mounted in a rear extension of the box.
No clue what's available, etc., just recommend at least 600 W with a proven 'soft clipping' protection system even if never planning to turn it up and true to my avatar 😉, recommend using a modern crown or similar prosound amp with up to 1200 W to ensure sufficient dynamic headroom, very low normal operating temperature.
GM
GM
I avoid plate amps like the plague. I much prefer just going with a separate subwoofer amp if needed.
I have used this amp, active crossover built in, it sounds great, i like lm1875 better than any other chips. All you need is trafo and heatsink. People complain the output for sub is too loud. Those do not realize in bridged mode, you need twice the resistance woofer. This amp is so cheap, you would not be able to put it together if you buy separate parts. I use it at work, with small bookshelfs and sub hidden under the desk. Way better then computer speakers.
Yuan-Jing LM1875 2.1 Channel Amplifier Board 2 x 25W + 1 x 50W
I’ve seen some impressive mini-woodshop setups that fit into a storage closet on the veranda. Small shop-vac, small router table, table saw, jig saw, etc.