Hello folks!
I recently built a Class D amp. Spent some $$ on transformer and PS, sounds great. Decided to replace my old garage sale multi way cabs with a pair of Elac B6.2. They sound great. However, I'd like to feel some bass. Perhaps years of car audio have tuned my ears a certain way, but I want a bit more. In my car I run a single Jl 12W6v2 in a sealed box. I think I use 10% of its possible db, but I love how flat the frequency response is. Granted, it was a $500 sub before the box, I see that the current JL 12w6 series is like $800.
The problem is that I can't find a good, not too loud home sub for $200- $300. The JL "HiFi" powered sub is like $1200. There must be another way.
Amp - $300.
Full range Elac B6.2 $250
Well reviewed HiFi subs, $600???
I don't need a powered sub. In the spirit of DIY I want to add a sub out to my amp (which will require a discrete class D amp, perhaps 85W RMS MAX). It seems ludicrous to spend $600 to get a good sounding sub for a system that cost $600 total.
So, are there any options here? Searching for DIY subs I immediately get sucked into home cinema where everyone is talking about arrays of "18 subs running 1000w ea. blah blah.
I've found some popular flat packs, but again they are running like $350- $1000. Is there any reason I can't grab a used JL 10" or 12" car sub from eBay and build a box for it? Are there any good options for passive subs in my price range?
I found Chane Home Cinema, they will very soon be releasing some subs in the 200-300w range and seemingly they will be in my price range, but are they any good? Also, they are powered, so I'm paying for amplification I don't even want.
Any recommendations for a driver that has very even frequency response, fairly low power, that runs maybe $150?
I recently built a Class D amp. Spent some $$ on transformer and PS, sounds great. Decided to replace my old garage sale multi way cabs with a pair of Elac B6.2. They sound great. However, I'd like to feel some bass. Perhaps years of car audio have tuned my ears a certain way, but I want a bit more. In my car I run a single Jl 12W6v2 in a sealed box. I think I use 10% of its possible db, but I love how flat the frequency response is. Granted, it was a $500 sub before the box, I see that the current JL 12w6 series is like $800.
The problem is that I can't find a good, not too loud home sub for $200- $300. The JL "HiFi" powered sub is like $1200. There must be another way.
Amp - $300.
Full range Elac B6.2 $250
Well reviewed HiFi subs, $600???
I don't need a powered sub. In the spirit of DIY I want to add a sub out to my amp (which will require a discrete class D amp, perhaps 85W RMS MAX). It seems ludicrous to spend $600 to get a good sounding sub for a system that cost $600 total.
So, are there any options here? Searching for DIY subs I immediately get sucked into home cinema where everyone is talking about arrays of "18 subs running 1000w ea. blah blah.
I've found some popular flat packs, but again they are running like $350- $1000. Is there any reason I can't grab a used JL 10" or 12" car sub from eBay and build a box for it? Are there any good options for passive subs in my price range?
I found Chane Home Cinema, they will very soon be releasing some subs in the 200-300w range and seemingly they will be in my price range, but are they any good? Also, they are powered, so I'm paying for amplification I don't even want.
Any recommendations for a driver that has very even frequency response, fairly low power, that runs maybe $150?
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RSS265HF-8 or RSS265HF-4 for $143/ea
Dayton Audio RSS265HF-8 10" Reference HF Subwoofer 8 Ohm
Dayton Audio RSS265HF-4 10" Reference HF Subwoofer 4 Ohm
Or a flat pack front baffle and bracing and 10" subwoofer bundle for $179
Dayton Audio 10" Reference Series HF Subwoofer and Starter Enclosure Package
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If you want the sub to be not too big, thoroughly consider to use a passive radiator.
BR can be done but to go low in freq the port will end being really long (I normally aim for 25Hz for stereo as well as HT).
Right now I'm experimenting with a small Earthquake TremorX-10-4 + M10 SLAPS ... these are on sale from time to time ... but you need a good amp with more then 250W
I would think you could use the SLAPS with the Daytons quite easily, and I would think one SLAPS M10 for one 10" Dayton should be enough.
BR can be done but to go low in freq the port will end being really long (I normally aim for 25Hz for stereo as well as HT).
Right now I'm experimenting with a small Earthquake TremorX-10-4 + M10 SLAPS ... these are on sale from time to time ... but you need a good amp with more then 250W
I would think you could use the SLAPS with the Daytons quite easily, and I would think one SLAPS M10 for one 10" Dayton should be enough.
Is there a downside to a passive radiator? I've only read a bit about them, people seem to consider them "free db".
Correctly designed, it will sound great. Yes in comparison to a sealed enclosure, a vented or Passive Radiator design, has what you could consider as free db in the low end.
PR and vented will sound much the same, but PR has the advantage that you can make a smaller box, and not use a lot of volume for the vent.
Some people will say a closed box will sound tighter or faster in the bass ..... There is a little truth to it if the designed group delay gets too long, but I would happily trade a little in this to get the lowest notes played at the the right volume
My 2 cent
PR and vented will sound much the same, but PR has the advantage that you can make a smaller box, and not use a lot of volume for the vent.
Some people will say a closed box will sound tighter or faster in the bass ..... There is a little truth to it if the designed group delay gets too long, but I would happily trade a little in this to get the lowest notes played at the the right volume
My 2 cent
For true sub tunings it's a really good option regardless of size IME and it's been a couple of decades since my last PR alignment [pair of Servo-Drive Contrabass kits], but the rule of thumb for the PR having a 1.75-2x driver [Sd] is a well proven one, so curious how you arrived at a ~1:1 ratio; plus these super high excursion drivers really need a bipolar pair or some serious weight to anchor/mass load it and preferably with spikes.
GM
Hi GM
I totally agree to your normal rule of thumb og a ratio of ca 2x ...
But I think the SLAPS a somewhat a bit of a different animal to most PRs, as they have much longer stroke capacity than the driver you would put it together with.
The rule of thumb is, I would think, that your PR(s) should have 2x the volume displacement capacity. In the case of e.g. the Dayton 10", I think this is not too far off.
With regards to the weight distribution, you are right that 2 PRs sitting opposite is the best option. For very low freq at high volume, my Tremor/SLAPS does move quite a bit. On the other hand this is only in the extreme and a good rubber feet will go a long way for avoiding rattling ....
Very best option would be 2 drivers opposite and 2 PRs opposite ....
/Baldin
I totally agree to your normal rule of thumb og a ratio of ca 2x ...
But I think the SLAPS a somewhat a bit of a different animal to most PRs, as they have much longer stroke capacity than the driver you would put it together with.
The rule of thumb is, I would think, that your PR(s) should have 2x the volume displacement capacity. In the case of e.g. the Dayton 10", I think this is not too far off.
With regards to the weight distribution, you are right that 2 PRs sitting opposite is the best option. For very low freq at high volume, my Tremor/SLAPS does move quite a bit. On the other hand this is only in the extreme and a good rubber feet will go a long way for avoiding rattling ....
Very best option would be 2 drivers opposite and 2 PRs opposite ....
/Baldin
Hi GM
I do have experience with SLAPS. I have a SLAPS 15 used together with a DBXi15, and a SLAPS M10 used together with a Tremor 10.
These are very sturdy units, well built and really seems to be able to take a lot of beating.
They have very large rolls and are able to displace a lot of volume (very long Xmec).
The surround seems to be some kind of mix between rubber and foam (but I'm no expert), and it is very tough. I'm surprised at how much force you need to apply to make them move! But in the right box with the right driver and ample power, they for sure do move
One thing is though clear; they have a lot of moving mass, and this makes the box rock and vibrate at large levels.
So even better option is to mount two opposite to cancel the effect, and maybe even ore optimal, mount 2 x 10" drivers and 2 x SLAPS M10 in one box and you will have all the forces canceled.
/Baldin
I do have experience with SLAPS. I have a SLAPS 15 used together with a DBXi15, and a SLAPS M10 used together with a Tremor 10.
These are very sturdy units, well built and really seems to be able to take a lot of beating.
They have very large rolls and are able to displace a lot of volume (very long Xmec).
The surround seems to be some kind of mix between rubber and foam (but I'm no expert), and it is very tough. I'm surprised at how much force you need to apply to make them move! But in the right box with the right driver and ample power, they for sure do move
One thing is though clear; they have a lot of moving mass, and this makes the box rock and vibrate at large levels.
So even better option is to mount two opposite to cancel the effect, and maybe even ore optimal, mount 2 x 10" drivers and 2 x SLAPS M10 in one box and you will have all the forces canceled.
/Baldin
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