Build small IB with two low excursion drivers? (1 Viewer)

[PaulDF]

As always I am trying to find ways to improve what I've got. I had an idea and wanted to run it by you all to see just how silly it is!

I have two old 15" drivers out of some 3-way towers. Their excursion is quite low, and their magnets are quite small as well. What if I mounted them as an IB, and ran perhaps 100 watts to each. I am sorry, I have no specs and I don't believe there were any distinguishing numbers on the magnet or frame.

Would I get any usable spl out of them? Or would they best compete with some of the crappiest home subs out there?

 

[Jeff Meininger]

I'm not the expert here, but I'd think the best design for a low-excursion sub would be a vented design with a very aggressive rumble filter to handle whatever falls below tuning. To determine the cabinet volume, tuning frequency, and rumble filter settings, you would NEED specs on the driver, though. I betcha the 3-way tower cabinet is probably a pretty good alignment for these drivers, though.

If you're not using those 3-way towers and just want to fool around with the drivers, then I say give the IB a shot. Just make sure you build your manifold (or whatever) with driver cutouts that will fit a couple of tempests or AV15s. That way, if and when your drivers self-destruct from being bottomed or overdriven you can just drop in a couple of proven sub drivers and be in business.

 

[ThomasW]

Not a good idea to use drivers that are actually 'woofers' in an IB subwoofer.

 

[TimForman]

Isobarik may be a good option though. The design tends to bring out the best is less than optimal woofers.

 

[PaulDF]

Thanks guys
Isobarik did cross my mind at one point, but I don't have a proper amp for it. ThomasW is right, this driver is really only a woofer. I can't see them working very well in an IB. (though it would give me a good excuse to buy another Tempest , if the manifold was already built etc.)

 

[Dan Hine]

Isobarik did cross my mind at one point, but I don't have a proper amp for it.

What kind of amp would that be?

 

[ThomasW]

The only advantage to using an isobaric config is that it allows the enclosure size to be cut in half. Other than that it's no different from any other box

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Never understood the seemingly mystical qualities attributed to isobaric loading. If box size isn't the primary consideration, I've always seen it as a waste of a driver and of wattage.

 

[PaulDF]

Dan - My not proper amp is one per channel of a 100w/ch receiver. I would think both drivers need to receive the exact same signal, and I'm not convinced two separate channels will be exactly identical.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

People use stereo amps all the time for dual-driver subs, or even a channel feeding each voice coil of DVC drivers...shouldn't be a problem from that perspective.

 

[PaulDF]

Yes, that was how I powered my DVC sub for a while too. But I thought with an isobaric that the two drivers had to be exactly out of phase with each other. Perhaps a slight difference either way from 180 degrees isn't that big of a deal... Doesn't matter, I don't think I'll ever build a clamshell.

thanks