Subwoofer help for tiny theater;)

[Tristanc1]

Hi,

Looking to get some help designing a subwoofer or subwoofers for my theater. The room is 16'x7x10(LxHxW), and is a dedicated space double drywall+greenglue etc. Nothing has been done about the acoustics yet, I wanted to get everything built and installed first and then I'd measure and see how much I could eq the room passively from there.

In terms of equipment I have 2 crown XLS402B's, which give me about 400x2, or 1100watts bridged a piece into 4ohms I have everything needed to run the room eq wizard too.

I was thinking of either whipping together 4 smaller sealed subs, each given 400W, and one placed in the middle of each wall throughout the room. Or, 2 larger ported subs placed at the front given 1100 watts a piece.. Not sure which would work better, if either. Sonosubs are out, as anything higher than 30" will get in the way of the screen. Looking to use drivers available in Canada, so either CSS new SDX drivers, Mach5Audio IXL, or peerless XLS drivers. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated

7.1 active speaker setup, using a scanspeak 15W mids, and a vifa XT-25's.

Thanks in advance,

[mayhem13]

I like the idea of the 4 sealed subs, even better passive radiators to get the low end extension yet save the space. 4 Mach MJ18's with 2 18" PRs with 400w each would be stunning and cheap. Each sub around 3.5cuft, in a room your size overkill but lots a fun.

[Tristanc1]

Not sure if I could fit 4 18's As awesome as that would be however maybe 4 of the SD12's from CSS http://creativesound.ca/details.php?model=SD12? CSS seems to suggest a 16" cube for that particular driver which is a box size that would work well if I needed 4... If I was to go that route i'd probably need to cap the box size at max 16's cubed.

Is the multiple sealed sub probably my best option for this size of room given the amount of room gain that i'll probably be getting? This will also help room modes etc as well right?

[Mike P.]

4 of the SD12's sounds like a good way to go for the size of your room. A pair IXL-15's would work in 23 inch cubes. There is also the IXL-12 coming out this month, haven't seen the specs yet. Dealing with room modes is all about placement. 4 subs would go a long way with dealing with that. I started with 2 ported subs, later adding 2 more, and it made a big difference.

[mayhem13]

There's an awesome XLS12 with PRs design around here somewhere on the forum. I'll try and find it.

[funky_waves]

Depending on your budget you may also want consider Audiopulse drivers, we sell them here in Canada. If compact 10"s are an option check out our specials. The SDX line is very good as well for the money.

For home theater ported subs are hard to beat, if you have the space for them.

[Tristanc1]

Dealing with room modes is all about placement. 4 subs would go a long way with dealing with that

Does the placement of multiple subs vary depending on the room, or is it pretty much standard to place them like so:

Also Mike, what kind of differences did you hear going from 2 to 4?

Thanks for the efforts Mayhem and DS-21, so I'm thinking these are my options:

4 SD12's in 16" cubes =$600+wood

4 Peerless XLS 12" 830500 with 830548 PR in 40L =$1200
- on a side note with this woofer, DS-21, you mentioned it worked better with a bit more weight, would this PR from CSS be a better option http://www.creativesound.ca/details.php?model=PR1514 ? Admitedly I haven't had a chance yet to look up how to design PR boxes, so that might be a bad suggestion.

Could also do a SDX15 in about an 18" cube wich would give me in and around 90L, but would also cost about $1000, and even though It's one of the recomended box sizes on CSS i'm wondering if that would be using that driver to it's full potential.

Funky, what kind of enclosure would you recomend for the audiopulse Epic 12? Those are similar to the old TC-Sounds drivers correct? And whereabouts are you located in Canada west or east?

Thanks again for all the help,

[mayhem13]

If i'm not mistaken, the sd12 doesn't have the XBL2 motor but yet has high excursion-may have unacceptable distortion compared to the other CSS models with XBL2. The sdx15 needs a pretty big box but i understand they pack quite a punch. May be 4 Dayton RS 12" will fill your needs. I've used both the HO and HF versions and they have always surpassed my expectations. The Rythmik Servo kits may also be a good option.

[Mike P.]

Also Mike, what kind of differences did you hear going from 2 to 4?

Sitting between them was the only setup that would work in my HT when I had 2 subs. Anywhere else in the room there was almost no bass due to cancellation issues. Green is the "sweet spot."



Adding 2 more subs alomg the back wall had this effect. I can move around in the back 3/4's of the room and there is no diference in bass output.



My HT is 15 by 26 feet. The floor is cement with carpet and the walls are 2" x 8" with wall panelling.

[funky_waves]

mayhem13 wrote:

If i'm not mistaken, the sd12 doesn't have the XBL2 motor but yet has high excursion-may have unacceptable distortion compared to the other CSS models with XBL2.

The SD12 is still a very nice sounding driver, I don't believe there have been any tests on it though.

The Epic 12" is simmilar to the TC1000 but has stiffer spiders and a few other things to make it a bit tougher. They would work nicely for home theater in 100-120L tuned around 20hz with a pair of three to four inch ports. But they would only need about 600 watts, the Revo 12"s would work in a simmilar size enclosure would need two four inch ports, and would be very happy with the power you have available. Either one would also work well in about 40L sealed with EQ for the bottom end. But for home theater, if you have the room, I would go ported. We are on the west coast.