Best Subwoofer driver for under $80 (1 Viewer)

[Max Payne]

What is the best subwoofer driver for under $80.
The sub will be for Home Theater only.
I'm not expecting it to sound as good as subs costing up to $600.
I just want it to sound better then the Sony SA-WM40.
thx to any one that helps

 

[Mark Seaton]

There are a few options out there, and the cheapest probably being the house brand from MCM. Problem there is the tendency for a hit or miss quality between different units.
My recommendation is for the SWAN-305 sold by Madisound. I just posted a similar repsonse in this thread: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uub/...ML/003332.html
This is a very good sounding subwoofer in a reasonable ported alignment. When determining what you want to build, remember that the lower you force the subwoofer to play, the more you limit it's maximum output. My recommendation would be a tuning in the low 20s and adjust box size to give a reasonably smooth roll off, ie not a very sharp corner. Power it with 100-250W, and enjoy.
Mark Seaton

 

[DanWiggins]

I'd second what Mark says, especially about the alignment used.
Another good driver to consider is the Eclipse W1238R from Madisound and Meniscus (NOTE: this is NOT the same Eclipse of car audio). Dropped in 3.5 cubic feet and tuned to 20 Hz, you'll get quite a bit of in-room output and extension. The driver is $61 from Madisound, and I think about the same price from Meniscus.
Dan Wiggins
Adire Audio

 

[Chris Sherman]

Check out these drivers , they look pretty good for under $80.00.Link Removed

 

[James W. Johnson]

I agree with Dan , the Eclipse is a great driver.
I built this subwoofer using the Eclipse...
Link Removed

Available for $61 athttp://www.madisound.com/entrance.html
My sub is 5cuft tuned to 20Hz using a 150 watt plate amp
and it sounds fantastic, it sounds just as good as the Shiva driver and in some ways better.
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James' DIY speakers

 

[Max Payne]

I checked out Blue Print drivers and they look good to me.
Has anyone ever used a blue print driver before ???.
And what is the smallest enclosure size possible for the eclipse driver ??
Hey nice work on the sub James

 

[James W. Johnson]

Hey Max , if I were you I would copy my design and use a 5cuft enclosure...this will get you the most SPL and deepest bass response. This sub is very good for movies and especially good sounding with music.
I hate to admit it but my Eclipse sub sounds better than
my Shiva subs for music.
Basically a 3' long piece of 18" ID sonotube is the easiest way to go , a single 4" flared or non-flared port will be sufficient.
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James' DIY speakers

 

[James W. Johnson]

Hey Max where are you located in BC? ...
Because if you are not too far away from me in Bellingham WA ,you could swing by my place and hear my big sub,http://www.geocities.com/manurescape...l?982512333080
after hearing it I am sure you will be conviced to save a few more bucks and buy a Tempest driver.

 

[Max Payne]

I live in Abbotsford which is verry close to the us border and about 40 mins away from vancouver city.
At the moment i want to build a sub which is small and not to big.
For a vented tempest the box would be to large.
Thanks
Do you know what the smallest size enclosure you can build for a vented eclipse 12" sub ?
I would like the bass to be loud clean & punchy and deep and tune it around 25Hz to 30Hz.
The sub will be ment for home theater and some music like rock.

 

[James W. Johnson]

Do you know what the smallest size enclosure you can build for a vented eclipse 12" sub ?
>>>>>>>>>.
I would not use this driver in anything less than 3cuft.
I would like the bass to be loud clean & punchy and deep and tune it around 25Hz to 30Hz.
>>>>>>>>>.
You can't have it all, you won't get loud,punchy and deep in a small cabinet with this driver.
If you want loud, punchy and deep in a small cabinet you are going to have to come out of some more cash.
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James' DIY speakers

 

[Max Payne]

How about this.
What kind of driver can i use to build a sub in a vented cabinet which is 50 liters or smaller.
What driver will do that for under $120 ??

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Your budget changes hourly. Decide on a size and a budget, and don't just post whatever comes into your head. You'll get meaningful responses here until people figure they're just spinning their wheels.

 

[Max Payne]

Sorry Jack

 

[James W. Johnson]

How about this.
What kind of driver can i use to build a sub in a vented cabinet which is 50 liters or smaller.
What driver will do that for under $120 ??
>>>>>>>.
I found a perfect driver for you, its a 10" driver @$119 ea.....http://www.audioc.com/subs/ACI_drivers/sv10.htm....I bet it would make a killer computer sub!
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James' DIY speakers

 

[Max Payne]

I have my eyes set one the AV-10
The sub looks great 16mm X-max which i belive is verry good.
Do you think that a AV-10 in a 50 liter cabinet with about 150 watts driving it and a tune of 28Hz.
Would that go louder then a Velodyne CT-100 and play deeper ??

 

[Jack Gilvey]

No need to apologize, "Max", I'm just telling you how you can get the most out of this forum by posting thought-out questions.
If you're going to tune high anyway, you can try the Parts Express 12" DVC driver for $120. It can be installed in a sealed 1.2 cu.ft. box (which is very small) and by all accounts gives extraordinary performance when so installed. Should give good in-room performance down to 25Hz or so, and I think would sound much better than a high-tuned ported sub, although the ported might have more output.