Danley Sound Labs THSPUD

[rmk]

Thanks to all who gave advice here. I just ordered the QSC PLX2502 Dual-Channel Power Amplifier to power the Danley. The Cinema amps are not very widely distributed and after speaking with a QSC Application Engineer I chose the PLX2500.

I also received a correction re the impedance. It is actually 4 ohm nominal so a bit easier to drive than I thought. In fact, after speaking to Mike Hedden at Danley, he indicated that they have been driving two of the TH-LPIS's with a Yamaha pro amp (P500S?)with no problems.

I am pretty excited to see how this sub performs.

 

[Ron Temple]

Good choice...I looked long and hard at QSC to power my rig. I got scared off due to fan noise, but from a power standpoint these guys deliver. I also went looking for the Cinema amps locally after I sent you the link and couldn't find any dealers that stocked them.

 

[rmk]

Good choice...I looked long and hard at QSC to power my rig. I got scared off due to fan noise, but from a power standpoint these guys deliver. I also went looking for the Cinema amps locally after I sent you the link and couldn't find any dealers that stocked them.

The PLX are supposed to be quieter than the RMX and since the amp will be in an equipment closet I'm not worried. Thanks again for the recommendation.

 

[MidnightSensi]

Thanks to all who gave advice here. I just ordered the QSC PLX2502 Dual-Channel Power Amplifier to power the Danley. The Cinema amps are not very widely distributed and after speaking with a QSC Application Engineer I chose the PLX2500.

I also received a correction re the impedance. It is actually 4 ohm nominal so a bit easier to drive than I thought. In fact, after speaking to Mike Hedden at Danley, he indicated that they have been driving two of the TH-LPIS's with a Yamaha pro amp (P500S?)with no problems.

I am pretty excited to see how this sub performs.

I think you will be very happy with the QSC. They make a top notch product, and as you probably found out on the phone they have great support.

Yeah, I've never seen one of those cinema amps. Didn't even know they existed until Ron's post. They look pretty cool, I wonder why they aren't distributed more. Maybe because cinemas buy in bulk rather than an amp here and there like you'd get an RMX or PLX sold by...

I'm glad its 4-ohm. That makes much more sense.

 

[rmk]

I think you will be very happy with the QSC. They make a top notch product, and as you probably found out on the phone they have great support.

Yeah, I've never seen one of those cinema amps. Didn't even know they existed until Ron's post. They look pretty cool, I wonder why they aren't distributed more. Maybe because cinemas buy in bulk rather than an amp here and there like you'd get an RMX or PLX sold by...

I'm glad its 4-ohm. That makes much more sense.

The App Engineer said the PLX shares much with the Cinema line but at a better price. I got a very nice discount from a dealer in TX. Should be here by Thursday when the sub is scheduled to arrive.

Thanks again for all your input, you were a big help.

 

[rmk]

The SPUD (well actually THSPUD; Tapped Horn Subwoofer Producing Unbelievable Depth) has landed. It may be a while before I do more than a quickie setup as I'm doing a lot to the room and going on a little vacation so the serious playing will have to wait for a couple of weeks. Very cool looking box though and I can't wait to try the two center HT chairs on top. Should be fun ridin the SPUD.

Photos are with my Blackberry and worse than my usual.

On Pallet

With me for relative size (I'm 6'6")

Hedden home (pun intended)

 

[Matt34]

The SPUD (well actually the THSPUD; Tapped Horn Subwoofer Producing Unbelievable Depth) has landed. It may be a while before I do more than a quickie setup as I'm doing a lot to the room and going on a little vacation so the serious playing will have to wait for a couple of weeks. Very cool looking box though and I can't wait to try the two center HT chairs on top. Should be fun ridin the SPUD.

Photos are with my Blackberry and worse than my usual.

Dangit, work computer is blocking the pics. I want to see this thing and I'm really interested in your SMS-1 graphs and your subjective thoughts compared to your old quad JL setup!

 

[MidnightSensi]

Now that is a proper sub!

For the output though, its actually surprisingly compact and how they used the volume (flat so you lay it down) is great. I'm surprised it fits in your car.

How are you going to put the chairs on it? Are you going to build a platform on either side and have it in the middle?

About 200 lbs?

No handles you know its an install sub!

 

[rmk]

Now that is a proper sub!

For the output though, its actually surprisingly compact and how they used the volume (flat so you lay it down) is great. I'm surprised it fits in your car.

How are you going to put the chairs on it? Are you going to build a platform on either side and have it in the middle?

About 200 lbs?

No handles you know its an install sub!

It's only 156lbs so moving it around is no problem. It fit perfectly in the Explorer but no room for error.

I'm going to try putting the two center chairs (loveseat) on the THSPUD just for fun. I'm thinking it will end up backwall, center, upright. I have several options and will try all. The amp didn't arrive so it will be sitting idle for a while.

 

[Warpdrv]

Nice RMK!...... I see you had to strip off the cardboard to get er in there...

Thats awesome.....

I got 2 of those same PLX2-2502 amps on for each of my DIY subs...
My Maelstrom-X 18"s are on the way, so my sealed build should begin soon...

Good luck, keep us updated...

 

[annunaki]

Thanks for the info guys, both the Berringer and the QSC look like they could do the job. Unfortunately, my sub was shipped out today wired as 2 ohm. Note, neither of these models suggests bridging a 2 ohm load is doable. That may to make it a bit more difficult to find an amp that can drive it.

I think I will try the D-Sonic mono block. It is ICE powered, will output >1000W @ 2oms, runs cool and has a nice small form factor. I heard a very similar sub using a Wyred for Sound Ice Powered Mono block and it did the job. Plus, D-Sonic has a 21 day trail period.

You can run a single channel of the Behringer with no issues. It will easily deliver the power you are looking for and then some. I picked mine up from ZZounds for like $260.00 shipped. $12.00 for the quiet fan (shipped) from Digikey and I am rocking. The fan replacement takes all of 10 minutes.

This also offers you the option of a second sub for the other channel as well

 

[rmk]

You can run a single channel of the Behringer with no issues. It will easily deliver the power you are looking for and then some. I picked mine up from ZZounds for like $260.00 shipped. $12.00 for the quiet fan (shipped) from Digikey and I am rocking. The fan replacement takes all of 10 minutes.

This also offers you the option of a second sub for the other channel as well

Thanks for the info. Sounds like the Behringer is working well for you and is a great value but I ordered the QSC PLX2502 Dual-Channel Power Amplifier to power the Danley.
I also received a correction re the impedance. It is actually 4 ohm nominal so a bit easier to drive than I thought. In fact, after speaking to Mike Hedden at Danley, he indicated that they have been driving two of the THSPUD's with a Yamaha pro amp (P500S?)with no problems. The PLX2502 will have a channel available if I decide to get a second THSPUD.

I am pretty excited to see how this sub performs.

 

[rmk]

I've never used an amp with a volume/gain control and I'm wondering where to set the gain control on the amp. I will be using the Integra 9.8 SSP's balanced sub output to a Velo SMS-1 sub EQ and then, a balanced output to the QSC amp. Both the Integra and SMS-1 give me volume/gain control so should I set the amps volume control high? I don't want to limit output or overdrive the sub.

 

[MidnightSensi]

Set the subwoofer level to 0 on your receiver and SMS and then turn up the gain knob until you get the desired volume. Don't worry about where the gain really ends up, because it is really just an input attenuator knob, so really we should call it "level" and not "gain" ... because your amps gain is actually predetermined. Your amplifier will still make full power regardless of where the level knob is at (it will just take more input level to do so). You generally want to just run the gain, erm level , as low as possible because it generally yields the best signal to noise ratio. Any signal processing equipment is generally set at 0dB.

Welcome to gain staging!

 

[rmk]

Set the subwoofer level to 0 on your receiver and SMS and then turn up the gain knob until you get the desired volume. Don't worry about where the gain really ends up, because it is really just an input attenuator knob, so really we should call it "level" and not "gain" ... because your amps gain is actually predetermined. Your amplifier will still make full power regardless of where the level knob is at (it will just take more input level to do so). You generally want to just run the gain, erm level , as low as possible because it generally yields the best signal to noise ratio. Any signal processing equipment is generally set at 0dB.

Welcome to gain staging!

Thanks, will do that

 

[annunaki]

Thanks for the info. Sounds like the Behringer is working well for you and is a great value but I ordered the QSC PLX2502 Dual-Channel Power Amplifier to power the Danley.
I also received a correction re the impedance. It is actually 4 ohm nominal so a bit easier to drive than I thought. In fact, after speaking to Mike Hedden at Danley, he indicated that they have been driving two of the THSPUD's with a Yamaha pro amp (P500S?)with no problems. The PLX2502 will have a channel available if I decide to get a second THSPUD.

I am pretty excited to see how this sub performs.

After I replied I relized you had already purchased the amplifier. i also saw the correction on the impedance. Too bad you can't go mono now?

 

[fmw]

After I replied I relized you had already purchased the amplifier. i also saw the correction on the impedance. Too bad you can't go mono now?

It is curious to me that home audio folks haven't adopted pro audio amplifiers. I assume the reasons are:

1. Consumer magazines and reviewers don't deal with them because they are from another industry.

2. The manufacturers don't put much effort into cosmetics because pro audio buyers buy amplification, not cosmetics.

But, nevertheless, the pro audio amps are more rugged and more powerful than consumer amps, they deal with lower impedances more elegantly and they are significantly less expensive because they are normally purchased by businesses rather than consumers who buy primarily on emotion.

Forums like this should change that, I would think. If people can't get information about pro audio from the traditional information media, the internet should be able to fill the void.

I'd like to see AH do a review of the Yamaha P2500S series of amps. That series is not as ugly cosmetically as most pro audio amps, it has heat sensitive fans so they will be quiet in home applications, consumer type binding posts are included in the output connector section and, of course, it will perform transparently like any solid state amps. Consumers are also familiar with the Yamaha name where they might not know Crown, QSC and others who, incidentally, manufacture some outstanding amplifiers.

Personally, I would never spend the money on a consumer amp just to get something pretty. I'd rather just hide the amps on the floor behind the audio system out of sight. I'll get better performance and a lower price from a pro audio amp every time.

 

[rmk]

I finally got the room setup and the QSC (PLX-2500)amp installed. If this is the "quiet model" I'd hate to hear a loud one. If it wasn't in a separate room I don't think it would work for me but in my case, it can barely be heard in the room. I'm running it in bridged mode so 2500W from the mono channel.

I ran EQ on the SPUD and speakers. It is placed in the most convenient location and one that had worked reasonably well for a pair of F113’s. I ran Audssey first, and then used the SMS-1 to smooth out the FR a bit.

The SPUD sub has not disappointed. It is level matched with my speakers (calibrated to 75db on an RS Meter). I set the JTR speakers to small and the Xover to 80Hz. There was a fairly large suck out @ 40hz that required some EQ boost. My Integra running Audyssey placed it @ 20’ and -12db. On the demo material, my RS meter was spiking to 118db at the LP with the Integra’s volume set to -7.5.

After calibration and EQing, I ran through the usual suspect demos including WOTW, FOTP, Cloverfield, UB 571 and even the sub killer Pulse. There were a couple of scenes where I seemed to be over driving it (specifically in Pluse and Cloverfield) but the output was very impressive. That is the loudest, cleanest bass I have ever heard in my room.

If I were asked to compare the SPUD to the quad Fathoms, I would have to say that the Quad Fathoms would have the advantage (primarily due to placement flexibility) but not by much. Honestly, I think a single SPUD would probably best any two commercial subs. Two would be really interesting.

What this sub does with two 8 inch drivers is truly astounding. It seems to defy the law of physics. I am really looking forward to further testing that will include placing my two middle HT seats on top of the SPUD. That should be fun.

So well done Danley, you have my attention. Here are some pics:

THSPUD

The SMS-1 graph

I have a bit of a position related 40hz suckout that required boost but otherwise not to bad. I will be playing with alternate placements this weekend.

Be sure to vote today!

 

[MidnightSensi]

Thanks for the update!

Yeah, you need to play with placement. Also a lot of times those subwoofers are made to be used in at least pairs. 40Hz is a tough place to have to boost.

Quiet in the pro-sound industry has nothing to do with quiet in the consumer industry. You can swap the fans for a quieter model, but, generally they are made to be in a seperate room or the levels are so loud that the fan noise doesn't matter. Those ball bearing fans though are basically silent if you want to modify it, but, honestly, its probably not worth your time unless you can really hear the fans.

 

[WmAx]

You can run a single channel of the Behringer with no issues. It will easily deliver the power you are looking for and then some. I picked mine up from ZZounds for like $260.00 shipped. $12.00 for the quiet fan (shipped) from Digikey and I am rocking. The fan replacement takes all of 10 minutes.

This also offers you the option of a second sub for the other channel as well

I second Annunaki's recommendation of using a single channel of the EP2500. It will very likely outperform the monoblock, btw. The EP2500 was measured as 1000 x 2, both channels driven, in 3rd party tests. With only one channel driven, it's power supply would be greatly relieved, and you would likely get 1200 or more watts x 1 at 2 Ohms. And you have a 2nd channel waiting for you if you decided to go with 2 subs down the road......

-Chris