10" Sub big enough?

[Dumb-rod]

I'm putting together a new home theater room. It's fairly small 11'x20'. I was thinking a 10" sub would work nicely in there. Question is: Would it produce low enough frequencies?

I currently have a 15" jbl sub in my big upstairs room. It creates some massive lows, but it gets really sloppy and now has started popping on me. I figure a 10" would be way more controlled.

Sub I'm looking at is a Velodyne DLP so I can have a remote that switches it to night mode while my wife sleeps (thought it looked cool). Would this suit me fine, or should I go with a 12"? I do like my base when I home alone

 

[warpdrive]

I think if you like bass, you should get something that reaches down to about 20Hz.

Most 10" subs (with a few exceptions) don't really do the low bass frequencies well (anything below about 25Hz).

If you go with 10", get something like the SVS PB10, which can reach 20Hz flat, but most other offerings bottom out around 25Hz.

a 20x11 room isn't large, but if you do like it loud, getting a good 12" sub will be more of a guarantee that you'll get the low and clean bass.

Setting it up in the right location is mandatory, otherwise you'll get boomy bass.

 

[shokhead]

Anything under 12 isnt going to be a good sub imo. Has to be low and loud,not just low.

 

[hammong]

I'm putting together a new home theater room. It's fairly small 11'x20'. I was thinking a 10" sub would work nicely in there. Question is: Would it produce low enough frequencies?

A 12" sub will produce lower bass than 10" of the same construction and materials. If cost or space considerations force you to stick with a 10" sub, then thats the reason to go smaller. If your budget and room can accomodate a 12" sub, by all means - GO FOR IT.

Personally, I think that if you're used to the frequency response and impact of your JBL 15" you're going to need to go with a well-designed 12" or an extremely well put together 10" to equal the performance. A Velodyne DD10 or SPL1000-II, or Definitive Tech SuperCube II would make a great 10" choice for those with a big budget and need to stay small, but you can get comparable or better performance with a larger box for less money.

Greg

 

[hrtbeat2]

I have a Infinity 8" sub, and IMO I like it better than th 10" POLK Audio I had. I have some what of a small living area with high ceillings and it just sounds better.

 

[Rob Babcock]

It's hard to generalize too much- Hsu & SVS make some 10" subs that will stomp all over some other companies 12 inchers. Obviously they don't rewrite the rules of physics, but they use drivers with large & powerful motor structures in well designed ported boxes that milk every ounce of bass to be had.

I'd say a 12" won't necessarily play any deeper/lower than a 10", but all else being equal it will play louder. A good example is the old 8" Cambridge sub I had- it would play about as deep as the larger 12" version, but it would bottom noisily if driven to high volumes. At low volumes they were subjectively about the same.

Whether or not a 10" driver will satisfy you depends on a lot of things, like how loud you play it and how much bass you like. If you're a "basshead," you may as well go with a pair of 12 inchers. If budget is a concern, I'd certainly advise that a good 10 is better than a cruddy 12. However, you could get a 12" Adire Rava for about the same price as a lot of companies 10 inchers ($400 + shipping), so if you have the room you might be better off going that route.

I'd suggest you do a little reading on the Adire, Hsu & SVS websites. There are plenty of other companies out there that make good subs, but those three are legendary for their value & performance.

 

[MBauer]

What do you listen to and how much to spend?

I think the answer would be determined by your choice in movie and music selctions. A good 10 inch will be fine in the vast majority of cases unless your taste leans more towards bass for bass' sake. A real good 10 will sound better (but not necessarily louder or as boomy) as a mediocre 12 or 15. How much are you looking to spend?

A good, affordable 10 inch (Hsu Research, PSB, Velodyne etc) will do a great job on the vast majority of music and movies. I mean which instruemnts play lower than 30Hz? If it is movies and you primarily listen to action movies with a lot of artifical bass (explosions, dinosaur stomping, etc) then a 12 to 15 inch might be a good choice. I would lean towards having a subwoofer(s) that is well integrated with my other components so it was transaparent when I was listening.

Remember you can always add transducers to a a couch, chair, etc for the real low frequency effects. Plus there is always the DIY option

 

[Francious70]

Really, a 10" and a 12" driver can be equal. Obviously, for this to be true, you would have to make the efficency of the 10" at least 3dB > than the 12", and make the x-max greater.

Let's take for an example of an Infinity Kappa Perfect 10"
http://www.infinityspeakers.com/caraudio/product.aspx?ProdId='KAPPA+PERFECT10.1D'&Ser=KPE&Cat=SUB

It reaches down to 18Hz @ -3dB
It has an efficiency of 94dB.
It has an x-max of 14mm one way.
With 400 watts it will put out ~ 120dB

Now lets look at a Polk Audio MM124
http://www.polkaudio.com/car/specs.php?name=mm124
It reaches down to 20Hz
It has an efficiency of 87dB
It has an x-max of 1 inch 1 way.
With 400 watts it will put out ~ 113dB.

Sometimes a 10" is better than a 12"

Paul

 

[warnerwh]

Rob has it right. Quality of the sub is huge. There are many good deals from Hsu, SVS and VMPS that sell great subs for the money but can be compared one on one to many competitors at much higher prices. A 12" can certainly move more air if all else is equal, and that's the bottom line. The Mark Schifter AV123 sub that was just reviewed here with a ten is very good and priced very competitively but you can get a 12" sub for less. Guess which one will sound better?

 

[Tdekany]

Anything under 12 isnt going to be a good sub imo. Has to be low and loud,not just low.

I have a STF3 (in Max Extension -down to 18Hz) and a STF2.

the STF2 is in my living room and the STF3 is at my girlfriend's house in a much larger HT room. The STF2 did very well at her place but I wanted to have the bigger sub there since we spend more time there together.

In any case in my living room/kitchen which is much bigger than the original poster's room the STF2 sounds AWESOME. More then enough for me and I am a bass head (I am into car stereo as well). A properly placed quality sub like this will make your jaw drop. It gets very loud thank you. Would I take another STF3 instead of the STF2 in my room? Of course! But this 10" sub holds it's own. Too bad you don't live around my neck of the woods. What sub do you have?

 

[karltl]

I use the HSU VTF-2 (10" sub) in my HT room. It measures approx 12'x25'. I have the sub set up for maximum extension (best/lowest freq response)...I think the docs say that, set up this way, it'll go down to 20hz.

Interesting note here is that the HSU came with a demo CD that includes a recording of the Saint Sauns (dont think I'm spelling that correctly) pipe organ with a solid bass note at 16hz. All I can tell you is that the HSU puts this out....I dont know that you so much hear it as feel it...(my 13 year old says "it makes his nose itch from the hairs moving back and forth"....I still cant stop laughing at that!).

I haven't been following sub's much since I got the HSU but did a lot of reading, listening and research that led me to the HSU. My humble opinion.

 

[Dumb-rod]

I'd like to stay under $700 if I can.

I have a good transducer I'm using, so that will give me most of what I need. Maybe a 10" will do me fine in that small room. I'll check into some of those subs you guys suggested. I didn't realize they can't hit so low.

Thx for the inputs.

 

[shokhead]

I'll sell you my Klipsch,but its a 15" and 75 lbs.

 

[Stone]

Rbh 1010

The absolute best bang for anyone's buck is the RBH 1010. I have a couple of these with my T2's and they really are the best I've ever heard!

I have a couple for sale as well if anyone is interested, just contact me!

 

[shokhead]

The absolute best bang for anyone's buck is the RBH 1010. I have a couple of these with my T2's and they really are the best I've ever heard!

I have a couple for sale as well if anyone is interested, just contact me!

How good could they be if you need two?

 

[Stone]

Read the reviews!

Don't take my word for it, read the reviews both on this site and on the RBH site! Check out the staff reference systems used by the guys who run this site. RBH also makes other subs, both 10" and 12". I have a couple of each available as well.

 

[shokhead]

Why would i read reviews on the site. I dont bother with reviews on any site that i might be buying from,they will be one sided as they should be.All good. I was kinda joking about two subs.