As far as build stories go, this one will probably not yield much fruit for a little bit. That said, I have some questions for the community regarding subwoofer design before making any further purchases. I already have 4x Dayton UM15-22 subwoofers expected this Saturday for another application...I'm sure the subwoofer gods will eat me alive for not springing for the UM18-22 instead, but this is what I settled on for the home theater. Note that these purchases are largely made due to the current sale Parts Express has going on and the belief they will only be getting more expensive down the line.
Here's the goal - I want one (or two) individual subwoofers for my music room (though they may be multi-component). The key here being they must have a small footprint, but can be relatively tall. I'm imagining something along the lines of a loudspeaker in terms of shape and dimension. Funding can be...mostly anything at this point, so I'll entertain most ideas though I'll probably stick with Dayton Audio products considering the value. I do not have an amplifier for this and have not settled on anything, though I am a bit enamored with the Hypex FA502 plate amplifier and, to a lesser extent, the Behringer NX series pro amplifiers. Given the small footprint I believe 10" or 12" front-firing subs would work the best...leaning towards the 10". I briefly modeled the UM15-22 in a side-firing situation but with only, say, a volume of 3-4 ft3 the box qtc is quite high (approaching 1).
As this is primarily for music I tend to think I want a sealed box to keep the box qtc at a reasonable level and keep 'boominess' to a minimum, with a Linkwitz transform to bring up the lower bass a smidge. My initial thought was to have 2-4 subwoofer drivers per box in a vertical alignment, resulting in a box around 12 inches wide, 24-48 inches tall, and maybe 16-18 inches deep. The first two dimensions being required based on the physical size of the drivers and the depth being the control for volume.
So, questions:
Edit: It was decided to use the CSS SDX12 along with three CSS passive radiators. Read on below for the rationale and build log!
Here's the goal - I want one (or two) individual subwoofers for my music room (though they may be multi-component). The key here being they must have a small footprint, but can be relatively tall. I'm imagining something along the lines of a loudspeaker in terms of shape and dimension. Funding can be...mostly anything at this point, so I'll entertain most ideas though I'll probably stick with Dayton Audio products considering the value. I do not have an amplifier for this and have not settled on anything, though I am a bit enamored with the Hypex FA502 plate amplifier and, to a lesser extent, the Behringer NX series pro amplifiers. Given the small footprint I believe 10" or 12" front-firing subs would work the best...leaning towards the 10". I briefly modeled the UM15-22 in a side-firing situation but with only, say, a volume of 3-4 ft3 the box qtc is quite high (approaching 1).
As this is primarily for music I tend to think I want a sealed box to keep the box qtc at a reasonable level and keep 'boominess' to a minimum, with a Linkwitz transform to bring up the lower bass a smidge. My initial thought was to have 2-4 subwoofer drivers per box in a vertical alignment, resulting in a box around 12 inches wide, 24-48 inches tall, and maybe 16-18 inches deep. The first two dimensions being required based on the physical size of the drivers and the depth being the control for volume.
So, questions:
- First, am I missing something obvious about achieving reasonably deep, tight, effortless bass in a small footprint? I understand that in a sealed cabinet that would tend to require a lot of power.
- I have not decided on a driver at this time, though I imagine it'll either be an Ultimax or one from the RS line. I've only modeled the Ultimax right now but will be working with the others tonight. Are there any general considerations for the RS line that I should keep in mind? I know Jon likes the HF? Or was it the HO? But I think that was more for their upper bass capabilities than low bass?
- Keeping in mind the Ardents already employ four 9-10" sealed 'subwoofers', will I be able to achieve significant bass to justify the expense for this project when only using small drivers?
- I would like to ensure the quality of the subwoofers approach that of the Ardents themselves (in terms of distortion and delay). Will the Dayton products approach that, or should I explore other options? Perhaps the CSS SDX10? Or even the CSS SDX12? I like the idea of XBL2 (and am curious about the extreme weight of the SDX12) but I'm not sure I'd be ready to spring for 'new' Adire products at this point, especially since several have graphics on the cone.
Edit: It was decided to use the CSS SDX12 along with three CSS passive radiators. Read on below for the rationale and build log!
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