I agree with Brian but I just did what vax wanted. The 4015LF best fits in the SS15 as it was designed for it...
I did stumble across a great fit for THAM15 tho. The Dayton PA385 sims GREAT in the Don Snyder's take on the THAM15 in post 19. 97db @ 40Hz 1w/1m. A pair does 130db @ 40Hz at xmax HR shot here: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/subwoofers/277126-pal12-plans-2.html#post4392911. The PA385 in the stock THAM15 just does not do quite as good.
I hope all is well with Don, I shot him a PM and have not heard back and it appears he has not hung out here in some time. I might be forced to create a plan from his HR input screen and exterior dimensions... If anyone has these plans or know a way to reach Don, I'd appreciate it.
I did stumble across a great fit for THAM15 tho. The Dayton PA385 sims GREAT in the Don Snyder's take on the THAM15 in post 19. 97db @ 40Hz 1w/1m. A pair does 130db @ 40Hz at xmax HR shot here: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/subwoofers/277126-pal12-plans-2.html#post4392911. The PA385 in the stock THAM15 just does not do quite as good.
I hope all is well with Don, I shot him a PM and have not heard back and it appears he has not hung out here in some time. I might be forced to create a plan from his HR input screen and exterior dimensions... If anyone has these plans or know a way to reach Don, I'd appreciate it.
is it Dayton Audio DVC385-88 15" DVC Series Subwoofer that dayton? I'm thinking not as there used to be one that was 1000 watts rms but I cant seem to find it, check this lower powered one 15mm of xmax.. pretty cheap too.
what in your opinion is the best budget driver for the original tham15 (already have 4 not really trying to make sawdust again on them if I can just work with what I got) also what would the comparative gains be from my existing four definimax drivers (they already get pretty dang loud with the definimax)
No, but yes... 
This is the one: Dayton Audio PA385S-8 15" Pro Subwoofer 4" VC 8 Ohm
The 4015LF works good in the stock THAM15. I think you might already have the best budget driver. I think you may need to shell out some serious dough for something like the 15TBW100 (and add'l firepower) to really see improvement.
4015LF grey and 15TBW100 in black attached.
This is the one: Dayton Audio PA385S-8 15" Pro Subwoofer 4" VC 8 Ohm The 4015LF works good in the stock THAM15. I think you might already have the best budget driver. I think you may need to shell out some serious dough for something like the 15TBW100 (and add'l firepower) to really see improvement.
4015LF grey and 15TBW100 in black attached.
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No, but yes...
The 4015LF works good in the stock THAM15. I think you might already have the best budget driver. I think you may need to shell out some serious dough for something like the 15TBW100 (and add'l firepower) to really see improvement.
4015LF grey and 15TBW100 in black attached.
thanks for all the sims, I agree, I think i'd have to go to a heavier hitting B&C to really open anything up, and in that case, a larger cabinet would likely be in order as well. The goal for these was to be able to do a nice medium sized event with 4 boxes and have satisfying bass. from what I've heard so far out of these they are pretty much on the mark for what I want, I know alot of guys are on the hunt for the 25hz monster, but I wanted non backbreaking 40-100hz in a nice form factor at nice spl, I feel like these will deliver that without having to get insanely large amps.
I'm on the fence, It seems like having a bigger amp with more headroom and limiting on my dsc260 is probably the way to go, currently I have a crown xs900 which is pretty underpowered for what I want out of these boxes and I'd rather not bridge and run a 4ohm load on it, there are some local qsc pl340s that I'm contemplating picking up, that would give them 625 watts a box stereo if I run 2 boxes a side or 800 a piece if only 2 are ran. so essentially double or more the wattage you spec'd if 50volt limited. Am I overkilling? my builder on these was running qsc pl2 3102 bridged 2 boxes per (so like 1500 watts a box, limited of course but I thought that to be a insane amount of headroom, but he ran them like this for years and never blew one up...) thoughts? I know you can essentially have as big an amp as your budget can afford as long as limiting is set correctly you'll have no issues but too small an amp will give you nothing but trouble when you go to push it. just trying to figure out a good choice, I think the QSC will run circles around something like the ipr2 7500 that I was considering (funny too since the ipr2 has supposedly way more wattage but low sustainability for bass notes so I think the pl is going to be the king there)
thanks for the advice guys its good to shoot thoughts out there and have an informed audience that isnt saying get a x-company box instead of building. I need to get parallels on the mac so I can do my own hornresp but thanks for simming for me Zwiller.
Also 7.5ms was a good starting place on the delay, I'll need to get these out of the garage and into an open field with the smaart rig to really get it dialed properly, but for now im more focused on getting the proper amps and my gain structure dialed in so I dont blow anything up.
Attached a pic, one of them is unloaded in the pic still but they are all loaded up now. A nice replacement for the dual tuba's behind them and the titan 48s you cant see that are in the corner. anyone want some BFM boxes?
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FWIW, there are a number of B&C drivers that would provide a much flatter passband response and a smaller dip above the passband in a THAM 15. Like the B&C 15NDL76 for example. Given the situation, I'd be tempted to try out a few of the 4 ohm B&C drivers, to get an extra 3dB of output per box for the same amp voltage.
No, but yes...
The 4015LF works good in the stock THAM15. I think you might already have the best budget driver. I think you may need to shell out some serious dough for something like the 15TBW100 (and add'l firepower) to really see improvement.
4015LF grey and 15TBW100 in black attached.
The question I have is - will the PA380 work well in the THAM 15? Some say "heck yes", others say "not very well", still others have suggested it in a THAM 12.
Anyone have any thoughts on this?
Depends on your definition of "work well"
I've attached what HornResp suggests would be the displacement-limited output of the PA380 in an original THAM15. Amp voltage is 35V, which is just under 200W of power. If the PA380 is built anything like it's smaller brother, the PA310, you could probably apply a bit more power without worrying about damaging anything. Just bear in mind that the driver's 5mm Xmax is the limiting factor here. All theoretical of course. As for what the PA380 really behaves like when under power in a THAM15 box, well, there's only one way to really find that out.
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The PA380 sims well IMO in many designs but as Brian pointed out, is limited by xmax. So if SPL is not the primary concern it appears to be viable. My favorite sim of it is in a KS. Very flat with a slight peak at 35Hz @ 120db. Then there is the opposite issue, under xmax but exceeding thermal limits. You can throw 2x RMS into the LAB15-4 and SPL is beyond 130db and stull under xmax (in THAM15) but how long can it sustain this?
I might be in minority, but I am not looking to achieve 140db at every gig. Outdoor gigs are another story of course...
I might be in minority, but I am not looking to achieve 140db at every gig. Outdoor gigs are another story of course...
My favorite sim of it is in a KS. Very flat with a slight peak at 35Hz @ 120db.
Do you have a link to the build plans for the KS?
Is that the same as the Keystone sub?
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Yep, The Keystone; or as I call my KS with the LAB15-4 "Keystone Lite". Art suggests making correct baffle for the 18" and use a doughnut adapter plate for a 15" so you can upgrade later. You only need 75w to hit that 120db. There are also quite a few 15" that sim well in the KS too, the PA385 probably being best bang: 125db @ 35Hz.
Have a look at this thread - http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/subwoofers/278424-help-reverse-engineering-sim-tham15ds.html
I am able to purchase a pair of B&C 15PS76 15" drivers at significant discount, enough so that this is my best choice to build my first Tapped Horn subwoofer. I have searched and found a few people have built this design (THAM 15) with this driver as a substitue. I have not seen any posted measurements for this driver in this folding so I copied the Horn Resp file from the first posting and added this drivers T/S from the parts express website. In my searches it seems that several versions of B&C 15 drivers have been used to different degrees of success. Below are my results.
Does anybody see any reason not to use this design/driver combo? It has a large bump at the lowest end of the response. I might try to modify the design slighty to smooth that out, but I would not want to stray to far from the published design as I am very new to tapped horns (and folding the designs)
I am planning on matching this subwoofer to my DIY Synergy Horns which are 60x60 3 way with 2x10 woofers. They should reach down to 70-80Hz very easily. This would allow me some overlap when crossing over between them.
Thanks in advance for your time looking here,
Steve
Does anybody see any reason not to use this design/driver combo? It has a large bump at the lowest end of the response. I might try to modify the design slighty to smooth that out, but I would not want to stray to far from the published design as I am very new to tapped horns (and folding the designs)
I am planning on matching this subwoofer to my DIY Synergy Horns which are 60x60 3 way with 2x10 woofers. They should reach down to 70-80Hz very easily. This would allow me some overlap when crossing over between them.
Thanks in advance for your time looking here,
Steve
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@ HIPCHECK If your 3 way synergies can play to 80hz confidently I'd be looking at a sub design that can confidently dig down to the 30-35hz region. I've built a pair of THAM15s. They are a great, high SPL, compact, and super easy to build cab- but they are designed to be crossed high (140/50hz) and as such the extension is a bit lacking. I had one of the Tham15s in my living room for a week or so comparing it to my 32hz 10" tapped horn. Yep, the THAM could produce a bunch of SPL , but i missed the content that was present through my existing sub. A pair of Tham15s with some tops is a pretty good bang for buck system if your music doesn't have much content below 50Hz though...
One a side note- what is your driver selection, x/o points for your 3 way Synergy horns?
Mark
One a side note- what is your driver selection, x/o points for your 3 way Synergy horns?
Mark
I think your simulation is wrong, i have used this drivers, and this is my sims:
In practice, tone is very good, more like some 18 inch then 15 inch woofer, but very clean.
Unfortunately this is not very strong driver, don't push more than 600w, i have burned this speaker twice. About 600w is a safe limit. hp filter is safe to about 35 hz.
Here is short video if you have good headphones you can hear character of tone. 2 tham subs work here.
https://www.facebook.com/masa.janjic/videos/518481141585510/
