OK...I'm feeling like I stepped in the middle of something here.
I really am interested in hearing a (civilized) debate on the topic, so you guys (and others) can feel free to use this thread to discuss the importance of inductance. I read the white paper that I linked to, and my (admittedly non-expert) opinion after reading it was that Le appears to be quite important at mid->high frequencies (> 1 kHz), but below that I didn't see any difference in response. But, as I said, I'm not an expert...a mechanical engineer by trade, understanding the ins-and-outs of inductance just isn't my thing.
To Andrew's question...goals for the design (again, putting in perspective that I'm not an "audiphile" and that this room is 100% for movies/satellite content)...I view these as "ideals" and I'm sure I'll be blown away with whatever I end up with:
- Reasonably priced...and I want the most performance for my $$$. I'd like to keep the driver(s) at $350 or below...but if something comes along for $400 that's going to change my life, then I'm in.
- Ability to go loud...how loud? I don't really know, and don't have anything to measure with (at least, not yet). I like the volume level to be set louder than most theaters I've been to...but not so loud that I'm breaking windows.
- Ability to go low...how low? Well, I guess as low as DVDs pass information that's intended for the audience (within reason). If it becomes too expensive to go that low...then I'll take what I can get.
- Clean/accurate...I hate "muddy" bass at frequencies where that's not the intent...simply put, I want it to sound the way it was intended. For lower frequencies, I'm all for feeling the seats vibrate...brings you into the movie.
- Size...Smaller is always better as long as the goals are being met...but I assume that I need to go fairly big to reach my performance goals. 15cuft is no problem. 25cuft is probably around the upper limit.
- Orientation...I want this centered under the screen, so it needs to lay horizontally. If a sonotube laying on it's side is a viable option, I'm open to that too. It would probably simplify the build (and, as a reminder, this will be my first...so, simpler=better, as long as performance doesn't take a significant hit).
Please let me know if I missed anything.
For some perspective...as I mentioned in the first post, I have a Paradigm PS-1200 now. It's a strange sub with the driver on the inside...at least I hadn't seen a design like that before. For the most part, sound level is OK at the frequencies that it will reproduce. But, I have to put the gain pretty high to achieve those sounds levels, and it starts to get muddy at those higher volumes...doesn't feel like there's any headroom at all. It's a bit difficult for me (as a non-bass expert) to describe...overall, it just seems "weaker" than I would prefer. If my sub were a horse, I'd want to feel like the guy struggling with all my might to hold the powerful beast behind the gate at the start of the race, all the while feeling like it's a futile exercise to contain it's strength. With my current sub, I feel like the jockey who's whipping the horse time after time in an attempt to squeeze out every ounce of performance...and the horse just doesn't have any more to give.