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Glenn's IB sub,(2)Fi18's

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2fi18 glenn ib
15K views 33 replies 11 participants last post by  sdog21 
#1 · (Edited)
http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...ts/48481-dayton-ib385-8-15-sound-quality.html ....(this link will take you to my thread "Dayton IB385-8 sound quality?" which is a precursor to this IB Fi18 build, it explains how I derived at these drivers)





Here's my IB sub build almost done, still doing the finishing work now.
Just wanted to get some pics up as soon as I could, will add more pics and more writing soon:

IB sub in attic, 2 FI IB318 drivers.

SUB BOX BUILD:
-dimensions,, exterior is 22.5" on all sides
-double layer of OSB
It's not a very pretty box, the only tools I had was an electric drill, a circular saw, and a sawzall. I didn't care too much about it's looks because I plan on covering the opening with fabric.
Normally a 24" box is made to sit on top of the rafters, but my attic doesn't have enough room to accommodate a box this size to be moved around. So I had to cut a hole in the living room ceiling the width of the rafter spacing (22.5") and push the box up into place.

AMPLIFICATION/WIRING:
-450w from ATI AT1506 amp
-2 drivers wired in series
Before firing the new system up, I was just going to use the ATI amp temporarily, I didn't think 450w feeding 2 drivers would be enough. But after the calibration I found that to get proper SPL levels, the LFE gain control (LFE volume) in the Onkyo AVR only had to be set to 0 (neutral). So 450w is obviously enough power. Also, having my main amp control the sub works well because it is always on when the system is being used. Both of my older subs that have built-in amps with auto on-off circuitry have trouble staying on when getting lower volume signals.

EQ/SETUP:
-Rane ME 60 graphic equalizer (1/3 octave, 25-20KHz)
-Audyssey MultiEQ
-main/center speakers crossed over at 80hz
I placed the IB sub at the center of the room (ceiling). This location gave me the most equal SPL readings around the room. Placing the box toward the side wall (where the blue "X" is on the ceiling) would have yielded alot of room gain and would have been very impressive sounding at the listening postion, but the SPL's dropped off significantly when listening toward the opposite side of the room. I am into proper/accurate/level sound, so the middle of the room was the best placement for me. Now I can walk around anywhere in the great room and it mostly sounds the same (I definitely could not say that when using my old subs).

EVALUATION:
Of course it sounds great and accurate. There is a huge difference in sound and feeling between this IB sub and my other regular boxed subs. I would have to say the IB sub is a little less exciting, it has a great feeling of sound pressure with light rumbling. The regular boxed subs have great rumbling and add much more drama when watching movies. Much of the difference is because the IB sub has 2 drivers facing each other, cancelling out most vibrations. The regular boxed subs have single drivers facing the floor and they really shake/vibrate everything, no need for butt-kickers on the couch with those. Musically, the IB sub really shines.
But this isn't to say that I am disappointed with the IB sub. I am very happy and will not go back to the regular boxes.

...More info at posts #4 and #5...
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Looking good.:T

The regular boxed subs have single drivers facing the floor and they really shake/vibrate everything, no need for butt-kickers on the couch with those.
Maybe you now have better placement for sub and it doesn't cause same room modes around listening position. Usually it's room mode peaks that makes things rattle.

Or you can have some dips with IB, caused by placement.

Any measurements before vs after?

It could be that you are now evaluating more two different placement than two different subs.
 
#4 ·
Maybe you now have better placement for sub and it doesn't cause same room modes around listening position. Usually it's room mode peaks that makes things rattle.
Or you can have some dips with IB, caused by placement.
Any measurements before vs after?
It could be that you are now evaluating more two different placement than two different subs.
When I got more time I was going to talk about placement and eq'ing.
PLACEMENT: the new IB sub is definitely in a better place for more even sound around the entire room. If you noticed the blue "X" on the ceiling near the wall, that was another optional placement area. That area closer to the wall would've given much more gain at the listening position, but also the SPL's dropped off very fast when listening a the opposite side of the room. So the placement I chose, in the middle of the room, gives very equal SPL's throughout the entire room, best for all listening positions.

MEASUREMENTS/EQ: I don't have REW set up yet but I do use a SPL meter, test tones, and outboard eq to level out the freq band. As far as room modes and nodes, obviously there are with both of the new and old sub setups. The old subs had much bigger modes/nodes outside of the listening area. But I can tame those at the listening position with the eq and the couch still shook much more with the old subs.
With all subs being eq'd, if you stand next to the old subs, the floor vibrates and shakes. Put your hand on the ceiling next to the new IB sub and you don't feel much of anything.
Also the feeling of the sound pressure wave that hits your head is different and much more intense with the IB sub.
 
#5 ·
Yes, I'm watching movies instead of finishing the screen to cover the opening.
The first movie I compared was Thor. I just happened to watch Thor the night before installing the new IB sub, then Thor was the first movie I watched after setting up the new sub.
Watching Thor and Master&Commander first gave me a bit of doubt at first. The new IB sub didn't give me the same intense rumblings and vibrations that the old subs gave. I kept thinking maybe my eq setup was wrong, and 3 times I went back and re-checked the freq response with my equipment, it always measured flat, exactly the same as the old subs. I figured this just must be that clean sound of "hearing the bass not the box."
Then I listened to music with low freq instruments that I know how they should sound. Well, all those bass freq that I thought were low or missing when watching Thor, came alive with music. Pipe organ, string bass, electric bass, kettle drums, double bassoon all represented themselves perfectly.
For movies with the IB sub, I guess now I'm hearing/experiencing more of how the bass was meant to be presented. Maybe the old subs added extra stuff with the sound of the boxes and the extra shaking and vibrating.
I'm very happy now.
 
#9 ·
This week I did boost the 40-50hz range on the eq by just 1 or 2 db and that made a difference. Really enjoying this.
Enjoying this a little too much as I still haven't finished the covering for the hole, although I have made more progress. Almost finished last weekend but found the magnetic strips weren't strong enough to hold the cover in place. The wife brought home some Velcro so will try that very soon.
Then I will snap some more photos and add them to the first post with the other photos.
 
#11 ·
Actually I finally got the cover screen in place recently. It still needs a little more finishing work to look perfect, but it's up there. I used a white aluminum frame screening kit with some white muslin cloth since I couldn't find actual white speaker cloth ( http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Window-Screen ).

I've been busy changing stuff up a bit with a new plasma tv and downsizing equipment by taking the external equalizers out of the system. I'm on vacation this week and hopefully can get some new pics in here.

The amplification is still the same with a single channel from my ATI amp feeding 450w to the 2 drivers in series. This set up is working very well and I don't feel any need to change it.

I love the sound of the IB subs and my earlier descriptions still apply today. With the IB sub, there is a greater feeling of pressure but there is slightly less physical rumbling compared to the old sub boxes. Both of my old sub boxes had downward facing drivers which would physically vibrate and shake up and down with alot of action. The IB sub has 2 drivers facing each other which causes the physical back and forth shaking to cancel out, making for a vibration-less box.

If I ever have to move to a different house, I will make sure the living room is an area that will accommodate an IB sub.
 
#12 ·
Is the cabinet size the same size as your rafter spacing? No structural bracing was required?
 
#13 ·
The cabinet fits snugly between the rafters and is secured to them, so no extra bracing needed.

Many IB installations make the width of the sub box the same as the rafter so the sub box sits on top of the rafters, but my attic is so cramped that the box could not have been brought into the attic and then moved into place, so I had to cut the access hole in the living room ceiling and push the box up between the rafters at it's mounting position.

Maybe I can get some pics of the attic space.
 
#14 ·
Thanks, I had a feeling that was why there was no bracing involved in the build.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Upper bass (120hz) is no problem for the IB with 18's. Sounds very good.

Before installing my IB 18's, I had the same concerns, thinking of some elaborate setup involving an added 12" driver and crossover that would direct upper bass to the smaller 12 and then direct lower bass to the bigger 18's. But after listening to the 18's, they handle upper bass surprisingly well and evenly. No need for a smaller driver.

As with my old normal sub boxes, I still think the mid/upper bass performance is slightly better with my main speakers (JBL Studio S312), so I usually use a crossover setting of ~50 or ~60 hz, always experimenting. The only time I can hear that the main JBL S312's sound better is when listening to material that is specifically made to test the performance of the bass region, such as solo electric bass guitar or upright string bass. With normal full range content, the difference is not noticeable. If I had less capable main speakers, I would have no concerns with using a crossover of 80hz or even slightly higher, the 18's can handle it adequately.

Thoughts about lower sub bass (using 2 or 4 drivers):
The physical layout of my ceiling and rafters limited my IB box to using 2 drivers instead of 4. The 2 drivers definitely are adequate for the majority of listening, but some soundtracks would definitely benefit from using 4 drivers. Some soundtracks (Tron 2, Thor, The Hunger Games) use such low frequencies at such high volumes (and where the sub bass is alone and not mixed in with higher frequencies), that the 2 drivers are working very hard and you can actually hear the drivers working. 4 drivers would help to lessen the work needed by each driver.
 
#22 ·
If you can afford it go for the 18's. You might be satisfied with 15's, but then you will always question yourself "what would 18's have felt like?!"
I wish I could have used 4 instead of 2, but my attic trusses prevented 2 sides of the box from being used. I am now thinking of installing 1 more 18 into the top of the box (facing downward), so my box would have 3 18's.
 
#23 ·
Thanks for the reassurance. Crazy that this is such an old thread and you responded so quickly but I just sent FiCar $900 some odd dollars to make me 4 IB318's! I figure I won't apply more than 10 Watts a piece to them but distortion should be low and the SPLs should be plenty high. I was going to go with two as flanking subs to the mains but when I though about the great vibration reducing quailities of going with a manifold I decided that four was a must. With the marginal markup between the 15" and the 18", the choice was simple. I hope that I don't regret my purchase (~$1k) :spend:
 
#30 · (Edited)
Just wired up the new EP4000 amp. Too late to test it out and calibrate with Audyssey.

But I do have it powered up now and I am horribly upset about how loud the fan is. Now that I'm hearing it, I'm remembering reading comments about this and that there are mods to get it quieter.
Right now I'm sitting 18' away from it and it is not just background noise, it is full on noise. It sounds like my wife is at the other end of the house running the vacuum cleaner. My refrigerator is only 6' away which is running and the amp fan completely drowns out the fridge (and this is an old loud fridge).

If a mod can't cut this noise by more than 3/4, there is no way I can use this unit and would never recommend this unit to anyone.

I just got out my SPL meter, at 8" away (about a 45 degree angle up in front of it) it is registering 60db. And it is cool as a cucumber right now, there's no load on it. I think I read that the fan speed varies with it's cooling needs. So, will it get louder as it gets warmer???

I just thought about running the Audyssey setup. I always unplug the fridge and shut off the house AC/heating so it doesn't interfere with the readings. This amp is much louder than any of those.

OK, rant over.
 
#32 ·
The market is pro audio where reliability matters more than fan noise. Also the fan noise is a non-issue in a live music event. I had the same issue with an industrial power supply I bought for some class D amp modules. In that case I was able to disable the fan entirely because for tv and music this power supply was not even sweating. In extreme applications, you would want that fan working overtime. For HT, no problems.
 
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