Short Ode to the Cult

**Chrisbee** · **05-12-06, 04:44 AM**

To (I)B or not to (I)B? That is the question.

Whether 'tis nobler to assemble eight fifteen inch drivers.

And to suffer the slings and arrows of a Thomasonian response.

Or to boldly go where SVS has not been before.

'Tis a far, far better thing I do now than I have ever done!

**JCD** · **05-13-06, 05:33 PM**

Quote:

Chrisbee wrote:

To (I)B or not to (I)B? That is the question.

Whether 'tis nobler to assemble eight fifteen inch drivers.

And to suffer the slings and arrows of a Thomasonian response.

Or to boldly go where SVS has not been before.

'Tis a far, far better thing I do now than I have ever done!

I'm not sure how many are gonna get the Thomasonian response, but that is SO right on the money.

JCD

**kingkip** · **05-21-06, 08:27 PM**

You can definately weed out the cult members with that one. Nicely done

**Wayde** · **06-08-06, 07:20 PM**

Quote:

JCD wrote:

I'm not sure how many are gonna get the Thomasonian response, but that is SO right on the money.

JCD

I don't get it??

**Sonnie** · **06-08-06, 07:49 PM**

Me either... I'm assuming there is a member there using this handle and he's pretty critical? Just a stab! Never been there and probably way off.

**JCD** · **06-08-06, 07:53 PM**

He's the main man over there.. wickedly smart, is very active, but can sometimes come across a little brusque. Not that I necessarily blame him -- he gets a lot of the same questions over and over and over..

He was going on vacation, and someone posted this for him:

Just to help out I'm going to answer some questions for Thomas

1. Read the FAQ
2. That is to low xmax
3. That could be problematic
4. Nobody has ever tried that
5. There will be no difference between them
6. Not recommended
7. Read my post above again

Did I miss any? Have a good vacation Thomas

He thought it was funny too..

JCD

**Sonnie** · **06-09-06, 12:18 AM**

That is actually pretty funny.

**Chrisbee** · **06-09-06, 03:30 AM**

Thomas has an unenviable position.

He is trying to popularise an unusal subwoofer configuration. The IB has very specific driver requirements and mimimum quantities of the same to function well and survive heavy use. It requires a suitable rear volume for the backwash from all those drivers all flapping in an out together.

Thomas provides extensive and liberally illustrated FAQs with clever and humerous chapter titles that just keep on growing in all directions. I knew I shouldn't have mentioned a book on IBs to him.

Yet the same basic questions (for him) still crop up again and again. Just like any other online forum I suppose.

The basic IB rules may be simple for guaranteed success but these rules aren't written down as simple formulae or tables. Nor are all people's rooms and available rear enclosure spaces the same. So basically you do as Thomas says and enjoy. Or suffer the consequences.

His gods are being very unkind and have suddenly produced a famine of affordable, quality 15" & 18" (IB suitable) drivers.

Just as he set up a new specialist forum to sell the idea of IBs to the unwashed the most popular $100 driver disappeared from the market. (The AEIB15 was an absolute bargain for 4 or more)

With so many people now scratching around for multiiple examples of any suitable and affordable driver I can well understand their own and Thomas' frustration.

8 x $100 drivers + BFD + Pro-amp is a bargain for the bass sound quality and quantity on offer.

8 x $200 + extras begins to look expensive when the results may be in doubt in the builder's mind. Better just order an SVS instead?

8 x $3-400 + extras buys a posh commercial box sub to put in the corner and forget. The Velodyne DD18 or even the big Genelec suddenly look more affordable.

Thomas would argue that the sound quality of the IB beats anything else into a pulp cone. He may well be right.

**Wayde** · **06-09-06, 08:59 AM**

It's funny to me how fussy people are about bass.

I love playing with my subs and have my system configured in so many different ways. I have a config I like better for certain movies, a config I like for music, a different config if I happen to listen to techno that likes a lot of bass, but different still if I am listening to acoustic, jazz or rock.

So many different configs. It would drive me crazy if it wasn't so fun tweaking all the time. It drives my wife crazy.

Sometimes we'll sit on the couch listening to music and then I'll suddenly hit pause, jump up and run over to one of my front speakers, pick it up, move it a few inches put it down sit and resume the music. I'll say something like "that's better".

I can't imagine there is one "ultimate" config for my system that will give me the right bass for everything without tweaking. In fact if there was I would probably tweak it anyway.

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