[philcav7]

Due to space constraints and furniture layout, I need to build a compact subwoofer. I am currently using Paradigm Studio 60's but may be getting Vienna Acoustics Mozarts in the future. This system is in my living room and serves double duty for music and movies. Fidelity and sound quality is top priority as well as excellent low frequency extension.

I don't have an exact dimension to work with, but 1.5^ft or less would be ideal using 12" driver(s) or smaller. This woofer will most likely be located in or near a corner. This will be powered by either a plate or rack mount amplifier.

I am not sure what direction to go. I have seen many plans using various brands and enclosure configurations, but is hard make an educated decision without knowledgable and unbiased experience. I welcome your recommendations or direction to find some solid information

Here are some details/request to for your information:

15W x 16L x 9H listening room
Enclosure compact as possible
Low F3 with solid performance down to 25hz
Audiofile quality a must
Corner or near wall enclosure placement
High SPL capability
Isobaric, ported, PR, or sealed enclosure okay.
No closet, basement, or in-wall options.

I know I have a nearly unrealistic expectation, but there must be several solutions to meet my needs. Please share your experience and expertise.

Thanks,

Phil

 

[Mike P.]

Welcome! What is your budget for the sub and amp?

 

[philcav7]

Thank you for the warm welcome!

The budget is 'kinda' open...based on what is needed. At this time, all of the variables are open. As a few ideal solution arise, I will have to factor the cost/benefit of the various options. Of course I would like to keep it reasonable, getting above $1K is pushing the limits.

I should also mention, I am confident of the build/assembly regardless of design complexity. I have built many enclosures for car SPL competitions years ago. I have all the tools and workshop at my disposal. I have also used WinISD, unibox, termpro software in the past.
My shortcoming is the knowlege of building a musical home theater sub since all of my experience was designing a box to play a single test tone frequency. This is why I am reliant upon the knowledge of this group.

Thanks again.

 

[dgilme]

Something like the FI Q12 https://ssl.perfora.net/www.ficaraudio.com/sess/utn;jsessionid=154a30655207e1f/shopdata/0050_Speakers/0030_Q/product_overview.shopscript
Or Shiva-x http://www.diycable.com/main/product_info.php?cPath=24_93_150&products_id=653&Cid=6ee09b88068c1e573ce887f23045901d would make great sealed sub choices with a nice rack mount amp to push the power to them. You really don't have room for a ported sub in 1.5 cf so sealed is the best option.

Any chance you have an attic, large closet or garage near the room. You could do 2 or 4 FI IB18s in an infinite baffle setup to get great spl, quality and not take up any room in your living room.

 

[Mike P.]

I don't have an exact dimension to work with, but 1.5^ft or less would be ideal using 12" driver(s) or smaller.

15W x 16L x 9H listening room

Low F3 with solid performance down to 25hz

That's a tall order. Could see exactly how much space you have to work with? Any increase in box size will only help.

 

[philcav7]

IB will not work. All surrounding rooms are finished living space, listening room is on first floor with hardwood floors.

I can go larger if I make an "end table" furniture subwoofer in the back corner of the room, next to my sofa. I would really like to keep the in the front, near the mains. I know low frequencies are non-directional, but you can certainly detect sub placement when your nearly on top of it. This option would give me about 4.5^ft to work with.


My ideal location is the front corner of the room hidden behind an existing piece of furniture. 1.5^ft is ideal, but is flexible by going taller. If it came down to it, I could probably squeeze out 2.5^ft or so.

The Shiva's are a great sub, I owned a pair in the car years ago. Just curious, is DIYcable somehow connected to the former Adire audio, or did they just buy production rights for Adires subs?

Shivas were one of my considerations, but I ruled it out based upon the fact they like big ported boxes.
Does anyone have comments on the Peerless XLS with PR's?

Phil

 

[Ricci]

Decide what your absolute maximum external enclosure size is LWH and we can go from there.

 

[CZ Eddie]

The DIYMA 12" is being closed out for $100 shipped. Supposedly it's a fantastic musical sub that likes small enclosures. I have no personal experience with it. Just what I've read here and there. It's pretty small though, so I've never paid a lot of attention to it.
23mm xmax isn't too bad.
I understand you want a very small enclosure. But how about at least doubling up and getting a pair of very small enclosures. One for each corner of the room.

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/classifieds/57117-diyma-12-sub-clearance-until-supplies-last.html

 

[sub_crazy]

I don't know if your still looking Phil but I picked up a pair of the Audiopulse Axis 12" subs from parts express when they were on sale for about 40% off. I tried 1 out in a 1.4 cf. sealed enclosure I had lying around in the garage and that little sucker pounded for it's size. I was driving it with a QSC PLX2502 but it took the power and was very impressive. It won't be enough for my main room which uses a Mal-X 18" and 4 10" for now but in one of my smaller rooms a single Axis pounds really hard and sounds very good. They are back in the box for now waiting for the S. Cali summer to fade some so I can get back in the garage without roasting.

Right now they are not on sale but parts express will usually drop the price from time to time.

 

[philcav7]

Thanks for the comments/opinion. I will look into them.

Yes, I am still awaiting the project. The Pearless with a PR seem to be a worthy candidate. I have a few household projects going on, I will probably continue to research over the summer and start the sub at the end of the summer...when I am stuck indoors.

Thanks.

 

[fabulousfrankie]

I built what I think is an awesome small sub. The only kicker is the driver has recently been discontinued.

It's a 14" cube with 1" MDF using the Eclipse SW8200(similar to TC Sounds LMS-4000). If you find one on ebay it can usually be had a little over $200. I'm powering it with a Behringer EP2500 and I have a Marchand Bassis for LT duty.

While I've built subs that have more ultimate output(dual LLT AE AV15, Tumult w/18" PR's) and others with less output, I can say that this one simply sounds the best. It has a similar sonic signature to Martin Logan's DepthI and DescentI, IMO(I used to work at Tweeter so I'm familiar with those). It's just sounds effortless.

 

[sub_crazy]

I built what I think is an awesome small sub. The only kicker is the driver has recently been discontinued.

It's a 14" cube with 1" MDF using the Eclipse SW8200(similar to TC Sounds LMS-4000). If you find one on ebay it can usually be had a little over $200. I'm powering it with a Behringer EP2500 and I have a Marchand Bassis for LT duty.

While I've built subs that have more ultimate output(dual LLT AE AV15, Tumult w/18" PR's) and others with less output, I can say that this one simply sounds the best. It has a similar sonic signature to Martin Logan's DepthI and DescentI, IMO(I used to work at Tweeter so I'm familiar with those). It's just sounds effortless.

Very nice sub Fab Frank,

This Eclipse must be very different from the 12" LMS though as that driver needs a big box and yours is less than 1 cu ft.

I gotta just break down and buy myself one of those Bassis to try for myself or learn how to make a LT circuit but electrical work is not my strong suit.

I know the pair of Axis 12" I have made by TC sounds are great little drivers and I believe they made drivers for Eclipse as well but I don't know if the SW8200 was one of them.

If the Eclipse sounds that good in a 1 cu ft box then I may have to try and snag one off of ebay. How does it sound without the Bassis and do you eq it to tame the peaks?

 

[fabulousfrankie]

Very nice sub Fab Frank,

This Eclipse must be very different from the 12" LMS though as that driver needs a big box and yours is less than 1 cu ft.

I gotta just break down and buy myself one of those Bassis to try for myself or learn how to make a LT circuit but electrical work is not my strong suit.

I know the pair of Axis 12" I have made by TC sounds are great little drivers and I believe they made drivers for Eclipse as well but I don't know if the SW8200 was one of them.

If the Eclipse sounds that good in a 1 cu ft box then I may have to try and snag one off of ebay. How does it sound without the Bassis and do you eq it to tame the peaks?

The Eclipse is indeed very similar and normally it needs a large box but that's the reason I use the LT. Without the Bassis it doesn't sound good at all because obviously the box is really undersized. I don't use any eq on that sub to tame the peaks, I just got lucky with the positioning in that room. I have an SMS-1 that I use in another room.

I actually sold my Tumult in a 22" cube with 18" PR's and I'm going to replace it with two of these. I think theres a Behringer piece that people are using as an LT that's suppossed to be inexpensive. With the amount of eq I had to use(because of the undersized box) I went over the recommended power(by a very large amount) but it shows no signs of strain or being overloaded. Actually with the Behringer amp bridged it clips before the sub shows signs of stress. TC Sounds did manufacture the SW8200.

 

[Ricci]

Welcome to the Shack Frank. Nice sub and good break down of your decision process and background reasoning.

 

[sub_crazy]

Thanks for the response Frank.

It is always good to ad another knowledgeable person to the shack with some good info.

 

[annunaki]

I would suggest a woofer with high linearity and very low power compression. This will allow sufficient output in a small enclosure as well as enough headroom to handle the additional output. The Audiopulse Axis drivers come to mind.

 

[brandonnash]

I haven't looked in a while at how big they are, but I bet that Brian over at rythmik could set you up with a good 12" kit. They have great sound quality and I am pretty sure they have a small footprint. Check their site and see what you think.
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