What 12" sub should I use?

[Inertia]

I want to make a sub that works well for home theatre as well as music. So I will begoing with a ported design. Would 20hz be a good place to tune this sub? Which sub do you recommend and how big does the box need to be?

[JeffKnob25]

I think you should use the Dayton RSS315HF-4. I have the 15" version of this and they are great.

[philiparcario]

no short answer. but I would choose the 12 inch rss315 sealed not ported.

[arlis_1957@yahoo.com]

what do you have for mains?

[jbruner]

I really enjoy the RSS315HO-4 for music and movies. Clean transparent bass. I have them in 1.8 ft. ea. tuned to 23hz with a really large slot port. I'm sure that it would work fine in anywhere from 1.5 to 2.0 cu. ft. tuned between 24 and 20 hz. Depending on room gain and preference.

[Pete Schumacher ®]

I used the RSS315HF-8 for woofer duty to 300Hz in my Byzantium 3-way. Either it or the 4 Ohm version will work well sealed, or in a 3.5 cubic foot cabinet tune to 20Hz or lower.

Some of the nicest bass I've ever heard. Use 500W to drive it.

[Paul Ebert]

Depends on your requirements. How big a box can you accommodate? How low does it need to go? What type of music and how loud? How big a room and how much power will you have to drive it? How much do you want to spend?

For a sub, ports never made much sense to me since (I would think that) they need to be very large. A passive radiator makes more sense if you need to go low. If you want to go low in a small(er) box and with better sound quality, consider sealed with a Linkwitz transform (that's what I would do). You do lose 3 dB or so of output, if that matters.

Another consideration is that you might do better with 2 10" subs than one 12". More $ that way, though.

[ajinfla]

Don't be a wimp, go with a 15"! .
Generally only a few $ more for much greater swept volume.
This driver + box + amp should give you plenty extension and power for both music and movies in a typical room with gain. Or if you're one of those folks with an anechoic room or just like some extra oomph, go with the bass boost version. Total around $370 at the moment.

cheers,

AJ

[Wolf]

no short answer. but I would choose the 12 inch rss315 sealed not ported.

Nope- the HF's oil-can in a sealed box at higher-output. Vented is better for the HF.

Sealed- go with the HO.

Later,
Wolf

[Chris Roemer]

Don't be a wimp, go with a 15"! .
Generally only a few $ more for much greater swept volume.
This driver + box + amp should give you plenty extension and power for both music and movies in a typical room with gain. Or if you're one of those folks with an anechoic room or just like some extra oomph, go with the bass boost version. Total around $370 at the moment.

cheers,

AJ

I found the HO15 really wants more like a 3.5 cf vented box (even that's small for a 15). I think you'll find that even in a box that large, it's still hard to fit 2 4"d vents in there, I had to go slotted. I can't imagine that you could ever tune a 2 cf box low enough for that driver, unless you maybe used a pair of 15" PRs, like giant Triska.

[philiparcario]

Nope- the HF's oil-can in a sealed box at higher-output. Vented is better for the HF.

Sealed- go with the HO.

Later,
Wolf

Well here is the long answer the 12inch rss is not good enough for real ht bass. (This is not to start a flame war. It can work in a small room ported pretty well as a ht sub.)


You need a few subs to get it right.

my setup has a pair of 12 inch nht1259's sealed in 3 cu ft boxes that play from 50 hz to 100hz.


Then I have a 15 inch rss in an IB that plays from 18hz to 50 hz.

When I want ht I can adjust the Ib louder when I want music I turn the 15 inch Ib down a bit. Here are a few photos of my setup:

[ajinfla]

I found the HO15 really wants

How can it want anything, it's an inanimate object?
I didn't say vented, that's a sealed box I'm referring to Chris, hence no mention of vents or length or tuning, etc. in my post.

II can't imagine that you could ever tune a 2 cf box low enough for that driver

Bingo....because it's sealed (I thought the bass boost option would have given it away, but you're right, I should have specifically stated "sealed" for the newbs).

cheers,

AJ

[auracle]

I echo Pete Schumacher's sentiments about the RSS315. Keep in mind that if you are after the cleanest output with an amp that has modest current capability, the 8 ohm version will likely give you better results. If that's not a concern, either driver is very hard to beat.

[Chris Roemer]

How can it want anything, it's an inanimate object?
I didn't say vented, that's a sealed box I'm referring to Chris, hence no mention of vents or length or tuning, etc. in my post.


Bingo....because it's sealed (I thought the bass boost option would have given it away, but you're right, I should have specifically stated "sealed" for the newbs).

cheers,

AJ

Your amp link is to the unboosted SA240. I have one.

[ajinfla]

Your amp link is to the unboosted SA240. I have one.

This driver + box + amp should give you plenty extension and power for both music and movies in a typical room with gain.
Or if you're one of those folks with an anechoic room or just like some extra oomph, go with the bass boost version.

cheers,

AJ

btw, just noticed they are both out of stock