Will a home sub fit my needs?

[mxma1]

Hello I'm looking to add a subwoofer to my DJ setup and was wondering if one designed for home theaters will work for my needs. I currently play through a 2-way 12" loudspeaker that is a little cheap so lacks on the bass. I play mostly house parties so I don't think a concert/live-sized subwoofer is really necessary.

I really intend on adding that "bump" to the beat (house music mostly) that punches you in the chest. Will a home-theater type sub only be good for living room with carefully set accoustics etc or will it do the trick for me?

Some of the ones I was looking at were:
JBL VenueSeries SUB12
Polk Audio PSW505
Sony SA-W3000

I got to try out this one at Guitar Center and LOVED it but its way out of my price range and totally exceeded my needs. Obviously those three I listed won't tackle this one but will they come even proportionally comparable to the same level of thumpiness?:
Mackie SWA1501

Thanks a lot for help, all input is appreciated!

 

[WmAx]

Hello I'm looking to add a subwoofer to my DJ setup and was wondering if one designed for home theaters will work for my needs. I currently play through a 2-way 12" loudspeaker that is a little cheap so lacks on the bass. I play mostly house parties so I don't think a concert/live-sized subwoofer is really necessary.

I really intend on adding that "bump" to the beat (house music mostly) that punches you in the chest. Will a home-theater type sub only be good for living room with carefully set accoustics etc or will it do the trick for me?

Some of the ones I was looking at were:
JBL VenueSeries SUB12
Polk Audio PSW505
Sony SA-W3000

I got to try out this one at Guitar Center and LOVED it but its way out of my price range and totally exceeded my needs. Obviously those three I listed won't tackle this one but will they come even proportionally comparable to the same level of thumpiness?:
Mackie SWA1501

Thanks a lot for help, all input is appreciated!

It's actually easy to make your own horn-based subwoofer. You can do it for about $220 using a very high quality Eminence driver and some quality plywood from your local home improvement center. You will get far better results using a horn-loaded system for any type of live sound use. The main frequency band of interest for live use is the band at 40Hz and over. A device such as the one linked below will produce the SPL of 4 regular subwoofers in a standard ported alignment. This is very important if you really want that 'punch' in the chest effect for your sound system.

http://www.prosoundweb.com/index.php/lsiuni/article/lsp_documentation_page_drawings_photos_specs_and_more/

For the mains, Behringer makes some very nice quality systems for the mid-range and treble and yet they are low cost. As well, you will need to get an active crossover. The CX2310 from Behringer will be perfect for the application.

-Chris

 

[mxma1]

Thanks for the reply! I'll definitely look into a horn-loaded system. I'm actually using a Behringer loudspeaker and while it is a cheap sound, its loud enough to do the job on my budget.

Are there any sites or places to look for getting more educated on pretty much everything you just talked about. I'd like to know exactly what I'm doing if I try to build something. Is there a website that has good tutorials on how to build one?

Thanks!

 

[WmAx]

Thanks for the reply! I'll definitely look into a horn-loaded system. I'm actually using a Behringer loudspeaker and while it is a cheap sound, its loud enough to do the job on my budget.

Are there any sites or places to look for getting more educated on pretty much everything you just talked about. I'd like to know exactly what I'm doing if I try to build something. Is there a website that has good tutorials on how to build one?

Thanks!

Which Behringer are you using? If you are using it full range, chances are, if you use an active crossover like I suggested on it, and send the lows only to the sub, it will have a much cleaner sound. Those things are never really meant for bass duty - and sending lows to them will cause degradation of sound quality.

-Chris

 

[mxma1]

It's a Behringer B212A. I kinda get what you mean, the mids/highs do seem to get drowned out at times (if it was drowned out by a RICH bass, it wouldn't be that bad but its cheap bass).

I sort of thought this out a little more, would I be better off just getting a 2nd loudspeaker (probably a Mackie whenever I can get that sort of money) because I realize that the music will sound better in stereo.