Dual Opposed 10s (or 12’s) in 16” cubed box.

[Mitch311]

I’ve been thinking about new subs for my modest townhouse home theatre and came across the SVS 3000 micro. By all accounts a fantastic sub woofer, producing deep clean bass. All from <11 cubed with dual opposed 8” woofers!
But it comes at a steep fiscal cost!

So, I was wondering if anyone knew of (or could help with) a design that is modest in size, deep in extension and compromised in maximum output?

I don’t need 115dB of 20hz output, I live in a townhouse and share a wall with a neighbour (like a lot of people do!), but I do want clean articulate bass with a bit of rumble on demand for movies and music.

I don’t know where to begin in designing this ( what T/S parameters to look for) so if anyone could even suggest drivers or specs to search for it’d be appreciated!

Design goal:
16” cubed enclosure (external)
<25hz response
Reasonable SPL & power handling ability
Affordable

I’d love to hear your thoughts or suggestions?

 

[chris661]

Pick a couple of high-quality sub drivers, go sealed, and EQ for the response you want.

Play with this: http://www.baudline.com/erik/bass/xmaxer.html

To get an idea of the compromises involved.


If it was my project, I'd be looking at a pair of Dayton Ultimax 12s and a big amplifier. Behringer NX6000D with silent fans would work.

Chris

 

[CharlieLaub]

That volume is a bit small for two 12" drivers. I would plan on using the 10" ones. Aim for drivers with a low Qts and low Vas. Like chris661 mentioned, you will probably need to boost the output in order to get you target extension unless the room is quite small and room gain is kicking in earlier. An LT is useful for this task and with closed boxes.

 

[AllenB]

new subs

Subs plural, as in multi subs for clean bass using smaller drivers.

 

[planet10]

Pick a couple of high-quality sub drivers, go sealed, and EQ for the response you want.

Exactly that. Finding drivers that large that fit into that size box (small) could be challenging.

dave

 

[gl]

I just finished a pair of the Zaph Audio subs using the 12” Dayton RSS315HF-4’s. I’m going to use 500w Icepower amp to drive them(under construction). Since I’m using external amps instead of built in plate amps like Zaph used, I reduced the outside dimensions of the boxes to 17.5”. Maybe that’s close enough?

Graeme

 

[Mitch311]

Thanks for all the responses!
To clarify: I’ll ideally be building two subwoofers to even out room response.

Ok so that size enclosure is clearly “small”.
Going sealed, packing in 2 small drivers and using DSP is exactly what SVS did.

Would I be better off trying for dual opposed 10’s or for a single 12” in 16” cubed with the above concept?

Ideal driver parameters:
Low Vas (smaller number)
Low QTS (smaller number <.5) correct?

Is there any point considering ports at 16” cubed? Chasing extension rather than SPL.

 

[wolf_teeth]

Using 1" thick walls and bracing, that yields a 1.5ft^3 box. I think a pair of UM10-22 (18ltrs sealed) would work here, and they are okay being boosted.

That said, my Overdrive10 will fit the bill rather nicely in both size and performance.

 

[Bon]

Thanks for all the responses!
To clarify: I’ll ideally be building two subwoofers to even out room response.

Ok so that size enclosure is clearly “small”.
Going sealed, packing in 2 small drivers and using DSP is exactly what SVS did.

Would I be better off trying for dual opposed 10’s or for a single 12” in 16” cubed with the above concept?

Ideal driver parameters:
Low Vas (smaller number)
Low QTS (smaller number <.5) correct?

Is there any point considering ports at 16” cubed? Chasing extension rather than SPL.

Using 1" thick walls and bracing, that yields a 1.5ft^3 box. I think a pair of UM10-22 (18ltrs sealed) would work here, and they are okay being boosted.

That said, my Overdrive10 will fit the bill rather nicely in both size and performance.

Here are photos of a dual opposed 10" sealed subwoofer I designed for a music recital hall. A pair was used for accompanied vocal performances. The drivers are two 10″ SB Acoustics SB29SWNRX-S75-6 coupled with 5mm threaded rod. The enclosure is 25mm (1") mdf with double thickness baffle, interior volume approx 60 L. Used with a Behringer iNuke Class D power amp. After testing with high level 17 Hz tones, the set up crew reported feelings of nausea on the following day, so I guess they did the job ok. Opposed reaction works great, no discernible box vibration at high level.