Shiva not enough? (1 Viewer)

[DorianBryant]

I finally got my Shiva completed. Finished the trim, stained, added the precision port. I have it hooked up to a bridged Yamaha p2100 amp (bridged it is rated at 200 watts at 16 ohms, Shiva is wired for 4 ohms so power is plenty).

I noticed it blends much better than my Dayton sub. Not as boomy and it does almost seem quiet in regards to other subs i have used. I realize they were more geared to be the "boom box" as opposed to a true sub. It is tuned to 21 hz and sounds great but it did not take long to find its limit.

My living room is 18'x22' with an 18' foot peak in the ceiling and a loft to one side. The whole house is open.

Would a tempest better do the trick? Are there other drivers which I might get more output in the same enclosure? Two subs are not an option.

 

[KyleGS]

Move it around in the room. Try every corner, try anywhere feasible.

My Tempest is a bone crusher in one corner and inaudible in another corner.

 

[DorianBryant]

Good idea. Although I am kind of stuck due to the WAF. It is in a corner on a hearth almost behind the chimney. There are not any other options the wife would let me get away with. It could go directly behind the couch but that may be too close to the listening position.

 

[Dave Poehlman]

I agree with Kyle... placement is key... especially in an open room such as yours. Try to move it out from the corner about a foot if you can and see if you hear any difference.

How is the sub firing? Front, down? If it's front, try rotating it.

 

[BryanDO]

How big is the box? if your giving it 400 watts or so in a large box it will bottom. I just built my Shiva in a 3cu ft box tuned to 18hz. I was disappointed with it when I was feeding it 400 watts. It bottomed out easily. I then fed it 150 watts and the sub never bottoms out at any volume. Try giving it 200 watts, more power isn't always a good thing.

Also, placement plays a huge roll in a large room, move it around to find the sweetspot.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

That’s about 3500 cu. ft. in the living room, not even counting the other open areas. All those open areas have to be considered as well, ‘cause it’s all space that the sub has to fill.

One Shiva is not going to get the job done in a space that large, at least not for movies.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[DorianBryant]

It is down firing. When I first tried it the port was a 4" port with a total length of 11.5. I also had a 125 watt plate amp. This was very boomy in the same spot. Although i then fixed the port and then suspected the amp had a bass boost which no doubt contributed to the boominess.

Don't get me wrong, it sounds good but I am sure I will be wanting something bigger sooner. I could go to a sonotube design for space. Would a tempest be a big difference maker?

 

[DorianBryant]

How about a BFD? Would that help?

 

[Brian Tatnall]

Going from a 12" to a 15" is roughly a 60% cone area advantage. For the cost difference (so long as the spouse is ok with it) go 15" every time. It's noticable, however you might be wanting more especially with that amount of space.

Since it is nearly impossible to find a Tempest right now you might look at an Atlas 15". Little more cash, nicer pieces used, 2mm more xmax, and xbl^2. In addition the driver is pretty much bottomless, which is a huge benefit IMO.

 

[stephanX]

if you want to buy one sub that will fill that whole area with subsonic bass, not much does the job better than a tumult. If however the budget doesnt allow..

Tempest: Might be a bit slim, a pair in a single box would defainately do enough though.

Maelstrom: Even though its not on the list, you can get some bone crushing loud, low bass with one of those things.

On a side not 2 shivas would deifnately do, why are you so opposed to two subs? put them in the same box? stack boxes?

 

[Brian Tatnall]

Moving from a Shiva to a Tumult is a 400% increase in cost.

Shiva to Atlas 15" is a 50% increase. Not to mention that 400w on a Tumult will not do it anywhere near justice and IMO is a terrible route to do unless a completely different amplifier is bought, while a Tempest or Atlas will do fine with that amount of power. In addition, finding a Tumult is about as hard as finding a Tempest right now.

 

[DorianBryant]

If my basement was completed my wife would be fine with having 2 Shivas down there. She really thinks the 1 Shiva is too big for the living room,

As for power, I have 2 of these p2100 amps. I was going to use the other to run my mains but it is not a big deal as they are JBL S38II. My receiver is an HK 235.

I have seen the prices for the Tumults are a little more than i would want to spend. I was just playing around with it and i am definately in a dead spot when in the listening position. In the kitchen and a few spots in the living room it gets more pronounced.

 

[Brian Bunge]

Actually, placing the sub behind your coach might work very well. One thing for sure is that you'd definitely be in the nearfield. Try it out and see what you think.