Another subwoofer advice thread

[Silver1omo]

I want to upgrade my crappy sw so I have to ask the experts.
My mains are statement monitors and I will build a statement center at some point.

The use is about 50/50 music/HT (movies/games).

I have size and budget limitations (~100l internal, <$500).
With that in mind I was thinking RSS315HF-4 in 100l vented Fb 22Hz with a SA240 or BASH 300.
Unibox recommends a closed box, but vented looks nice for HT use.

What would you recommend?

[djkest]

Re: Another subwoofer advice thread

Well, I have the subwoofer in question (the RSS315HF-4). I like it a lot within it's limitations. Limitations being power-handling / Xmax and the requirement for a huge box. I like the sound quality but I think I need more/ my amp is too powerful.

There is an alternative- the RSS315HO-44. It would work best if you bought 2 of them, so now it's really stretching your budget with a 500 watt amplififer.

How big of a room is it? How loud would you like it?

2 subs should give you a more even response but maybe that isn't an option (wife).
2 of the RSS315HO-44's will work in a 120 L box, tuned to 20 Hz, each one can handle 500W.

Or a single in an "oversized" 80L box tuned to 20 Hz can handle 500W and will do 110 dB at 20 Hz.

The problem with either of these is that it requires long ports, about 30".

Another alternative that I really like is the RSS390HF-4 in a sealed box, reaches a little deeper than it's smaller brother the 315. Do you have a preference for sealed vs. ported? The 390 will only really take 300 watts, but the F3 is shifted down about 5 Hz. 100L is still on the "small" side but the Qtc of 0.788 isn't too bad.

If you do build one of the RSS / HF subs, I would pay attention to the high-pass filter on the amplifier. I have my 315 set at ~23 Hz.

[Silver1omo]

Re: Another subwoofer advice thread

Quick Unibox sim of the RSS390HF, it looks like it will only take ~250W before hitting xmax at ~20Hz

[ryanbouma]

Re: Another subwoofer advice thread

Is $500 you total budget for materials and all?

Can you do 2 or 3 smaller subs?

How about:

This amp

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...umber=248-6700

Two 315HOs in separate sealed enclosures.

Or 4 of these

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=295-488

In two separate duel opposed enclosures.

And then save up for a minidsp for more eq down the road. That's assuming you have the space for more than 1 enclosure.

[djkest]

Re: Another subwoofer advice thread

Quick Unibox sim of the RSS390HF, it looks like it will only take ~250W before hitting xmax at ~20Hz

That's true if your linear cone overdrive is set to 0. Even at 5% it can take 300W. This also doesn't account for driver impedance vs. amplifier performance. I don't know that heavy stuffing is needed in this case either, all it does is reduce output where you don't want it to.

There's also the American made DVC subs. Like this guy:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=295-185
Works well in an 80L box tuned to 23 Hz. 4" precision port would work great.

[Silver1omo]

Re: Another subwoofer advice thread

The iNuke looks interesting, I only have 2 concerns:
1) Would the sub out of an Onkyo 708 AVR be able to drive it?
2) It seems to be noisy (fan) and require a fan swap for "home use" (quick google-fu).

I'm not sure if the wife would like the idea of 2+ subs... :p

So far it seems like the sealed 100l 390HF with an Oaudio 500 would be good.

Also from this post it seems like the Infinity 1260w would make a nice 36l sealed sub, 2 of those might be easier to sell to my wife. If I could get a proper way to power them.

[fastbike1]

Re: Another subwoofer advice thread

That's my post and I put the wrong power in the message. The Bash 300 will get that design to 109dB so you should be within your plan. It's a really nice looking model with nice sealed F3/F10, low driver cost, small box, etc.

It really seems like everything you can get from the RSS315 for less money and much smaller box. If you are going to a pair, see what it takes to get a Crown XLS1000 or XLS 1500Drivecore to Mexico. They have RCA inputs and should work fine from your AVR. ZZounds will give a no interest, 4 payment plan. Free shipping in the US so hopefully shipping to Mexico won't be terrible. A fair bit of discussion in "Texan's" recent thread.

The iNuke looks interesting, I only have 2 concerns:
1) Would the sub out of an Onkyo 708 AVR be able to drive it?
2) It seems to be noisy (fan) and require a fan swap for "home use" (quick google-fu).

I'm not sure if the wife would like the idea of 2+ subs... :p

So far it seems like the sealed 100l 390HF with an Oaudio 500 would be good.

Also from this post it seems like the Infinity 1260w would make a nice 36l sealed sub, 2 of those might be easier to sell to my wife. If I could get a proper way to power them.

[Silver1omo]

Re: Another subwoofer advice thread

That's my post and I put the wrong power in the message. The Bash 300 will get that design to 109dB so you should be within your plan. It's a really nice looking model with nice sealed F3/F10, low driver cost, small box, etc.

It really seems like everything you can get from the RSS315 for less money and much smaller box. If you are going to a pair, see what it takes to get a Crown XLS1000 or XLS 1500Drivecore to Mexico. They have RCA inputs and should work fine from your AVR. ZZounds will give a no interest, 4 payment plan. Free shipping in the US so hopefully shipping to Mexico won't be terrible. A fair bit of discussion in "Texan's" recent thread.

Thanks for the update. The XLS1000 is about $330 USD in Mexico. That might be doable... Now the problem will be getting the 1260w in/to Mexico.

[fastbike1]

Re: Another subwoofer advice thread

Will Amazon ship? Their driver price was better than anything on Ebay.

Thanks for the update. The XLS1000 is about $330 USD in Mexico. That might be doable... Now the problem will be getting the 1260w in/to Mexico.

[Silver1omo]

Re: Another subwoofer advice thread

Will Amazon ship? Their driver price was better than anything on Ebay.

Yes at $50 a piece the end price is $102 + taxes per driver. I'll see if I can find them locally. I saw the 1262w at $100 in a store. I'll see if I can find the 1260w at around that price.

The other option is to buy in amazon and ship them to a broker in Laredo, TX. That would be ~$180 for the pair shipped.

[Silver1omo]

Re: Another subwoofer advice thread

Would down firing be OK for the 1260w?

Edit: using the formula in PE web site the sag would be 3.46% So it is in the "safe zone".

[Silver1omo]

Re: Another subwoofer advice thread

I found the 1262w at ~$83 with 6 months 0% interests financing, so I got 2.
They only had 1 in store, so I'll be waiting for the other.

Opened the box and inspected it, it looks good, hooked it to the crappy amp that drives my crappy sub and everything seems to be ok.

I'll try to get some pics side to side with my current sub.

The only "downside" of getting the DVC is that I will really need a 2 Ohms capable amp :p

[RINNAV]

Re: Another subwoofer advice thread

Just had two 1260Ws show up on my door step today... $117 for the pair from Amazon. Can't wait to see what these sound like sealed in a ~36L enclosure running off of my Emo XPA crossed at the pre-amp at around 60Hz.

Are you really gonna run those 1262W at two ohms or are you going to run them in series?

[Silver1omo]

Re: Another subwoofer advice thread

Not sure yet, I plan to get a Crown XLS-1000 it is supposed to be 2 Ohm stable, so I might try...

[Silver1omo]

Re: Another subwoofer advice thread

The second sub arrived, I got some speakon plugs and jacks. I'll build one box and test with my current amp.

The XLS 1000 will have to wait for my tax return.