One 15" or Two 12"?

[Theresa]

How about one 12" and one 15"?

I have two DIY's - the 12" is a Dayton Titanic Mk III Sonosub, and the 15" a Tempest-X in a baltic birch box; both are tuned to 15 Hz... any way you go, 2 is always better than one, for a more balanced output.

LOL, I built a 12" 3cf one week and a 15" 4cf a week later. Both the same brand, Exodus, one being the Shiva X2 and the other the Tempest x2. Both enclosures are tuned with passive radiators. The passives are still breaking in but they both seem to reproduce pretty well (not loud but clean) down to below 20Hz. I've got a 16Hz HP filter programed for that miniDSP. I've compared the sound of each alone and together and have noticed any conflict due to their different specs.

 

[tattoo_Dan]

That is the answer I want to give, but fear all the @holes will drop in and start slamming my opinion again.

So, I will just keep it simple.

I have not researched Earthquake.

I like 12's.

I prefer 13's.

One is better than two.

Sealed is better than ported.

These are my opinions, and have nothing to do with technical data, design flaws, quality of drivers, build quality, or price.

I have a ported 12" and a sealed 12" and love the combo of the two sounds,and I don't have scientific data or charts or anything else to backup that opinion other than just that,my opinion.

 

[tattoo_Dan]

File size on pics was too big, my bad!

nice looking setup !

 

[Theresa]

Thats funny I just got home from work & my wife says "you'll be happy to see you got something in the mail" then hands me the new S+V Mag & a new BD she ordered me. (BloodIntoWine a doc on Maynard from Tool & his wine bussiness) So Im pretty stoked right now to say the least.

Anyways, my room is 13.5' x 19.5' x 8' with an opening into the game room which is around 26' x 14' x 9'. so there is a decent amount of space to pressurize.

Here is another concern/question. Both models of the Earthquake im considering have passive radiators. "SLAPS" as they call it. The P12 is a 12" w/ 12" radiator & the MKVI-15 has a 15" w/ 15" radiator. From what i understand, the radiator kinda gives you the benifits of tight sound like a sealed yet a little more low end extension like a ported. So im liking the sound of that if im correct.

However, will the subs, having the radiator on the opposing side of the enclosure give it a kind of "dipole" effect? possibly helping out in placement issues by sending out bass in 2 directions?

Because ive only owned standard sealed & ported subs before im curious if i dont need to have 2 subs as much, if i get the 15" with the radiator....?

p.s: i do understand that the subs are not considered dipole with this configuration.

No, passive radiators function almost identically to a vent, one that doesn't take up much space but a vent none the less. I have a 15" passive on my 12" and a 18" on my 15". If you want sealed than sealed you should get. In comparing these to my dual NHT 1259s, sealed, they are tighter contradicting the wisdom that sealed are always better in this area. I use passives because I wanted to tune lower and have more output than is possible with sealed. It is better to have a bigger passive radiator than the active driver and preferably with more excursion.

 

[Theresa]

This is simple to work out. The one with the lowest F3 scores a point. Two subs will not lower F3.

The more important issue is spl between say 25 and 30 Hz. One sub you can get from the spec. For two twelves add 3db to the spl for one if they are apart add 6db if they are side by side.

Then you can make your choice. The size of the driver has nothing to do with quality at all. The issue is T/S parameters and especially Q total. The size of the driver does not a enter into it directly, although bigger drivers tend to be heavier and have lower Fs. The driver Fs largely determines F3 of a ported enclosure, but it will be significantly higher for a sealed enclosure without Eq.

Didn't you read that he doesn't want "technical details" or any one discussing it? He knows what he likes and doesn't want to hear why others don't feel the same way. http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/images/icons/icon8.gif That's enough for me to know enough not to discuss his preferences.

 

[yepimonfire]

This is the sort of info im looking for. I like hearing both sides of the coin, personal preferences & the cut'n'dry numbers. Some guys buy equipment based on specs alone, but I'm a believer in things like synergy between products.

Obviously yours ears have to be the decider & unfortunately I wont be able to hear either of the subs that I am considering. The company I work for has an account with an audio wholesaler & I can choose between some products at 60%off MSRP.

I recently demoed both the HSU ULS-15 & the VTF-15H. Both of them were outstanding & had me sold on getting a 15" sub. However i really like having 2 subs to dial in, specially now that I got the new Yamaha RX-A200 with dual sub outs. So now I'm leaning toward 2 of the P12s...At least I have some time to think about it.

Keep the responses comin I really appreciate it!!

Didn't you read that he doesn't want "technical details" or any one discussing it? He knows what he likes and doesn't want to hear why others don't feel the same way. http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/images/icons/icon8.gif That's enough for me to know enough not to discuss his preferences.

I think if this is the case then you would do better here http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/