Help me select a driver/enclosure. (1 Viewer)

[nddoublea77]

I currently own a dayton sub amp. I believe the hspa500 (500rms @ 4ohm). I bought it to drive a sub that I already had. I didn't do the proper research when building the box and here I am. The sub in the current set up is a 10 year old orion 15" dvc car sub. At the time it was their top of the line. It seems as though the amp doesn't have enough juice to push it. I don't have the T/S parameters and cant find them. I am not opposed to getting rid of the current box and sub and starting the project over properly, which is where you guys come in. The sub is in a dedicated home theater 11x16. The only limitation for box size is it has to be less than 2 ft wide as it sits in a recess in the wall. I like the way a 15 sounds but I am worried now that I don't have enough power. I have all the power tools needed to construct another enclosure. I don't want to spend a ton of money on a new driver but I want it to sound right. All it is used for is movies. Please help with your suggestions. Thanks a lot.

 

[Robert_J]

Driver size has very little to do with how a sub sounds. A 12" sub and a 15" sub both with the same frequency response and Qtc will sound the same. Or at least close enough that you can't tell the difference in a blind listening test. The 15" should have more output since it is a larger driver. And driver size does not determine the required power.

Are you familiar with WinISD, Unibox or any of the other sub modeling programs? That is a start. Budget and other constaints I mentioned above. Goals? Extension (how deep do you want it to play?), spl (how loud you want it to play?) or a combination?

-Robert

 

[nddoublea77]

I would like it to play a combination of deep and loud. I would like to spend less than 200. I dont have any literature from orion on the specs, thats why I said I would like to start over. Being it is so old I figured it would be a pain to get the specs. I am not familiar with any of the spreadsheet or modeling programs. Thats why Im here. It is a dual 4 ohm wired at 4 ohm. As far as box size limitations I didn't think it would be 4 ft tall which is my limit ar 4 ft deep which is my limit. Thats why I only listed the 2 ft wide limitation. Hope this helps. Thanks in advance.

 

[nddoublea77]

Update: I think I found the parameters. Heres what I have:

Vas:399.6
Qts:.25
Qes:.26
Qms:5.53
Fs: 18 Hz
Xmas: 10.5

Also I cant go more that 17" wide on the outside of the box. Height and depth is still up to 4 feet.
Hope this helps determine if this is the speaker to use or not. THanks

 

[Robert_J]

The Xmax (not Xmas) of 10mm limits this sub in both depth and output. Also, you can't properly wire a DVC 4 ohm sub up as 4 ohms using both voice coils. You can wire it as 2 ohm or 8 ohm. If you wired it in series then you have it at 8 ohms and were limiting your amp's output even more.

Since you are limited on sub modeling experience then I suggest that you use an existing design. The Shiva-X is a great sub. When on that page, click the Application Notes PDF. I suggest that you go with the 120L, 19hz Fs design on page 7. With the price of the driver and a 4" flared port you should be right at your $200 budget. The 180L design on page 8 would be even better but I'm not sure if it will fit your size constraints without sketching something up. If you can build a properly braced box that size and will still fit in your space, then do it.

Do you need construction tips, etc?

-Robert

 

[nddoublea77]

Thanks Robert for the reply. I think I will have the room for the 180L enclosure. Do you see my amps capabilities as a problem for this setup? Does it matter where I place the ports in reference to the speaker?

 

[Robert_J]

I would use a enclosure design similar to the ported models listed here. Yours will be slighlty narrower but much taller and deeper. With the added depth and height, I recommend a second brace in each direction. I try not to have more than 12" without a brace. I would also go with a double thick front baffle as well. That allows you to flush mount the driver and ports to make it look nice as well as giving the baffle more mass to cope with the movement of the cone. These drivers will exert a LOT of force when moving 20+mm in each direction. So much so that you can't hold it still when powering a raw driver. It's like holding a jack-hammer.

Your amp is more than adequate. I would look at adjusting the subsonic filter to be 2hz below your box's Fs. Instructions should be on the PE web site and involve swapping a few resistors.

-Robert

 

[nddoublea77]

thanks again