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new HT sub needed...imput requested

2K views 12 replies 4 participants last post by  jboogie 
#1 ·
Here is my current setup. It is in a room open in 4 different ways to the rest of the house! The room itself is 12x22x8.5.

I have an Infinity Kappa Perfect 12 in a ported enclosure powered by a BASH (From PE) 300. The sound is great, clear, low, and just enough to get the juices flowing. The problem is, it is just enough to get the juices flowing. I am now looking for more!!!

So, here is the question. Add another 12" Kappa, or sell the Kappa and get an 18"? My gut tells me to go with the 18. Also, I would like to stick with the plate amp route. The reason being, that I don't want to add all of the extras associated with the pro amps.

Can someone recommend a setup utilizing an OAudio 500 plate amp and an 18 woofer? Also, I would like to stick with a box roughly 25x25x25. There is wiggle room here but not 2 feet worth! If it makes that much difference, I could possibly go with a larger power plate amp.

Thanks for all of the great advice on this forum, and I look forward to hearing your suggestions!
 
#4 ·
Hello Justin, a few questions for you.

What is the net volume and tuning of the Kappa?
How much are you willing to spend on a sub?
Would you be willing to buy a Dayton 1000 watt plate amp?
Once we narrow things down a bit we can figure something out.
3.5 ft^3 and tuned to 19.5 Hz
As little as possible:bigsmile:But really about $250 or somewhere near there.(This is for the driver alone. Total cost of around ><$600
I would but I have heard concerns as to their real output. Would also consider the LT1300 if it is any good.
 
#3 · (Edited)
If it were me I would sell the kappa and go with an IXL-18. That would fit great into the size requirements, not require a ton of power, and its cheap. Even if you stick with a 500W plate you would have substantially more output than your current setup.

Displacement on 2 kappas would be probably be around 2 liters (I am just guessing) and the displacement on an IXL-18 brings you up to around 4.5 liters.

Of course this could change depending on your answers to Mike's questions.
 
#6 ·
Found the file, it's the mid Q alignment. A 25" cube would be 7.5 cu.ft. internal. Subtract 1 cu.ft. for ports, bracing, and the sub. Here's a comparison of the Kappa and the IXL-18 tuned to 17 hz. Two 4 inch ports keep the air speed to a maximum of 26 m/s with 500 watts input power. The O-Audio HPF would be set at 20 hz with the added 4 db boost that it has. The EQ on the amp would not be used. The IXL- 18 would have an average of 6 db advantage over the Kappa. The IXL-18 is currently out of stock and should be available shortly. It's priced at $265, shipping included.

Text Line Technology Electronics Parallel
 
#7 ·
The IXL- 18 would have an average of 6 db advantage over the Kappa. The IXL-18 is currently out of stock and should be available shortly. It's priced at $265, shipping included.

View attachment 13234
Mike. Since he asked about adding another Kappa to the mix, you should model with two kappa's vs. one IXL. (double box size and power) That will pretty much even out the comparison.

Other driver options besides the IXL-18...
Acoustic Elegance AV-15x = 249+shipping (or h if you want to go smaller and use PR's).
CSS SDX-15 = 280 shipped.

Both have far less inductance that the IXL-18, which means they can be played higher into the midbass realm if need be.

For amps, since the EP2500 can be had for 270.00 shipped from B&H (plus 10-15 for the fan mod), I have a hard time recommending anything else.
 
#9 ·
2 Kappas model the same output as one IXL-18. Using the current sub with an IXL-18 would produce the most output.
I didn't know that was an option. I saw this comment in the first post "So, here is the question. Add another 12" Kappa, or sell the Kappa and get an 18"? and figured I'd post up a couple other comparable subs to the IXL in both price and performance. You know, just to give a few more options.

Strangely enough, the SDX-15 in 6.5 cu.ft. tuned to 17 hz with 500 watts input models very close to the IXL-18. It's definitely an option. Good call, Looney! :T
I noticed that a while back when I was playing with WinISD and various drivers; I started learning quite a bit about efficiency, capability, and what to expect with various sized enclosures. Basically, just graphing what Hoffman has stated.
 
#10 ·
Add another 12" Kappa, or sell the Kappa and get an 18"?
I missed that part. Adding a identical Kappa would make sense then.

Both have far less inductance that the IXL-18
That issue is overblown in my opinion. The Le of the IXL-18 is 3.2 mh at 1 khz. Suppose it was 1 mh. The difference would be less than 1 db of output at 70 hz.
 
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