Thinking diy 18

[Hostility]

I currently have 2 svs pb12 nsd. I live in a basement appartment but only use subs when landlord is gone away for the weekend. But my room is pretty open so it hard to fill the whole area with bass. It sounds good but doesn't seem to be enough. I was waiting to find 1 or 2 more matching subs but I've always wanted to do a diy. So I'm wondering if selling them both and using the money to buy my buddies ep4000 off him and do a Dayton ho 18 and run the single ported for now then I can always buy abother down the road and run dual. Is this smart to go back to a single sub? Would this give me the chest pounding bass I'm looking for?

 

[TheWarrior]

No.

The room is firmly in control of bass reproduction, it's physics. A 20 hz sound wave is 56.5 feet in diameter, even at 100 hz it's still over 11 feet. Point is, driver diameter is meaningless. If you want a refrigerator sized cabinet and useless headroom, buy as many 18's as you want. But you'll never be able to use even half of their capabilities in a domestic room. Shaking floor joists may feel nice, but corrupts the sound quality.

Bass is the single most difficult aspect in sound reproduction in homes. It requires math and high resolution measurements, and even then, many rooms may require DSP to correct all of the problems - when used appropriately.

Depending on the size of your room, spending time experimenting with placement (inches matter!) may help, or simply adding more of your current sub to the equation will help balance your seat to seat experience.

For more info, I'd point you Harman White Papers (just Google it) and even Floyd Toole's 'Sound Reproduction' Ch. 13 will explain (better) the science of bass.

 

[Bucknekked]

I currently have 2 svs pb12 nsd. I live in a basement appartment but only use subs when landlord is gone away for the weekend. But my room is pretty open so it hard to fill the whole area with bass. It sounds good but doesn't seem to be enough. I was waiting to find 1 or 2 more matching subs but I've always wanted to do a diy. So I'm wondering if selling them both and using the money to buy my buddies ep4000 off him and do a Dayton ho 18 and run the single ported for now then I can always buy abother down the road and run dual. Is this smart to go back to a single sub? Would this give me the chest pounding bass I'm looking for?

Hostility:
I see some nice equipment in your listing for what you have installed. You should be able to produce some quality sound with that list of goodness. TheWarrior speaks the truth: your room will dictate a great deal of what you hear when it comes to bass. Finding out how to get more bass, or smoother response is a project not a purchase. The articles TheWarrior recommended will tell you pretty much what you need to know. Figuring out what your rooms shortcomings are and then seeing if you can fix them is a project After you do that, maybe then there's purchases in your future.

Be well

 

[Hostility]

Don't get me wrong they sound good. But i want it louder deeper and to feel it more. The bass now is nice and clean, just need more output and authority. Thats why i was thinking bigger cone and more power. I know dropped to a single 18 would be less power but could do another down the road.

 

[j_garcia]

I think 15s are the sweet spot between output and surface area while still sounding good. The other issue is not just the room size, but that it is a basement and being below ground will insulate the bass more, making it harder to get greater output/feel.

 

[lovinthehd]

Don't get me wrong they sound good. But i want it louder deeper and to feel it more. The bass now is nice and clean, just need more output and authority. Thats why i was thinking bigger cone and more power. I know dropped to a single 18 would be less power but could do another down the road.

The power doesn't necessarily work that way, would depend on the driver/box. May not get any deeper bass from that ported 18, depending on the tuning point used; you might look at the UM18 for more output. Like the others said, though, maximize response in your room first. Maybe consider building a riser to sit on for reverberation or using tactile transducers on the riser or in your seating. Have you actually measured your current room/response?

 

[Hostility]

yes i have ARC with my anthem so on my other laptop i have all my responses from all speakers. i will fire it up and post it up so you can see what it looks like. I love the sound i get. but i find myself always trying to push them harder and they will clip the odd time so ill have to turn it down a notch. But i feel like i just need a little more out of it. Thats why i was thinking a single 18 now then maybe down the road make another for duals

 

[lovinthehd]

Just how big a room is it? Tried placing subs nearfield?

 

[Hostility]

Here is my last results for both subs running ARC room correction. Red is measured, green is calculated

 

[Hostility]

Just how big a room is it? Tried placing subs nearfield?

I've tried subs in a few different spots I'm limited to where i can put them. this seemed best when i played with arc real time. my room is 12x15 with 7ft ceiling and the one 12 foot end is open up to another room thats 9x8 and has a hallway. and also from the living room is a doorway into kitchen.

 

[Hostility]

anyone?

 

[lovinthehd]

That the best graph ARC provides? What does calculated refer to, a modeling of what it's aiming at? Where do you set crossover currently?

 

[Hostility]

red is what is measured in room, green is what arc calculates for room correction. crossover i believe is at 80hz.

 

[lovinthehd]

Thanks, never used ARC myself, looks like if anything you're getting a boost at the crossover point than rather than follow the target curve....

I'm thinking you might be interested in a tactile transducer in addition to what you've got now in the way of subs, just might do the trick. I added one even though I had pretty good subwoofage coverage, like the extra bit it adds. Sticking one of my four subs right in back of my seat helps, too.

PS By basement are you below street level, surrounded by earth/concrete?

 

[Hostility]

yes I'm below grade. Im not really into the hole bass shakers. Im also wondering something about when i run my subs hot. So ARC set my sub to -1db. I leave it there and when watching movies full tilt i turn bass on my receiver to +4. Reason being is because for the longest time i could never figure out why i lacked so much bass, until one day i set the bass up and then it sounded good. Now i can set the sub channel above -1db or bass or LFE. Ive never played or adjusted LFE on my receiver but maybe theres a way to turn the subs up but get less clipping?

 

[lovinthehd]

You might be surprised what a tactile transducer can do....

Many raise sub level after running a setup routine like ARC or Audyssey, it's a matter of taste (and/or volume). Just keep in mind the more boost the more amp you need. Do you use an actual bass control like a bass and treble control? How are you determining clipping?

 

[Hostility]

This is from the manual about the LFE level trim -
LFE follows Subwoofer and can be reduced relative to the source without affecting bass from other channels.

So maybe i should be boosting the LFE instead of cranking the bass for all other speakers, But i also find i like the extra bass from all other speakers. So maybe do +2 for bass for a little extra out of speakers then boost up the LFE trim, Just not sure about the sub channel to leave at -1db or boost that also? Hoping to test some of this out this weekend

 

[Hostility]

You might be surprised what a tactile transducer can do....

Many raise sub level after running a setup routine like ARC or Audyssey, it's a matter of taste (and/or volume). Just keep in mind the more boost the more amp you need. Do you use an actual bass control like a bass and treble control? How are you determining clipping?

There is a little red light that lights up when sub clips. It only flickers the odd time but still don't want to damage them so if i see it go off multiple times i will turn it down a notch. The bass control I've been using changes the bass for all speakers and subwoofer.

 

[lovinthehd]

Didn't realize those subs had a clip indicator, that's good (I suppose as long as you can see them, I have level/clipping indicators on my rack amps). You just may be a candidate for big ass subs with a lot of power.

 

[Hostility]

well i stopped my car audio hobby to focus more on home theatre. I had 3 sundown audio 12's ported in an s10 off 3500watts and wanted louder lol. With bass i love it chest pounding and ear bleeding lol. Thats why i was thinking of wondering off onto the DIY path and go for 18's ported.