Shiva or Tempest for music only. (1 Viewer)

[Justin Ward]

I plan on building another sub for music only. I will evantually be pairing these up with some DIY monitors or Studio 20s.

I am having some trouble deciding on the driver and alignment. I am only considering sealed this time.

I have it narrowed down to a Shiva or a Tempest. Which sounds better for music only? Is the 12" Shiva faster/more musical or are they essentially the same except for the Tempest having the output advantage? If the Tempest can be just as musical at normal levels I will probably just spend the extra few $$ so I can have that little extra output and evantually use it in an IB with my other Tempest.

I am also having trouble deciding on the alignment. I know a low Q will be the tightest and most accurate, but I am worried about a loss of punch in rock/hip hop recordings. Should I be concerned?

 

[TimForman]

How about a Shiva TL? I built mine using a 72" long piece of 14" Sonotube. It works great for music but some people don't like the idea of something tall and round in their room. Small footprint though.

 

[Justin Ward]

How about a Shiva TL? I built mine using a 72" long piece of 14" Sonotube. It works great for music but some people don't like the idea of something tall and round in their room. Small footprint though.

I would love a sub with a small footprint. My room is small and floorspace is limited.

I have to admit I am not familiar with TL subs. I assume you mean a transmission line sub right? What is the sound like? What is the logic behind a tall skinny enclosure?

And if I went Tempest, how tall would it have to be?

 

[David Giesbrecht]

I am also having trouble deciding on the alignment. I know a low Q will be the tightest and most accurate, but I am worried about a loss of punch in rock/hip hop recordings. Should I be concerned?

Don't be concerned, My Low Q Tempest sonotubes sound Quite punchy and of course very tight as well. And remember the extra punch in a Higher Q sub is not actually present in the recording, lower Q's are more accurate. If the recording is suppose to be punchy it will punch.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

I would love a sub with a small footprint. My room is small and floorspace is limited.

In that case, and since it's for music music only in a small room and not for LFE booms, I'd go with a Shiva in a small box. A Q of .7 is fine (still no hump in response, so nothing is "added"), and saves you space over a much lower Q (the benefits of which in real world rooms can be very subtle).

For your case/use, I'd actually suggest an Adire DPL12 over either. Stick on in 3ft^3 (Q = .7/F3 = 28Hz) and you've got just about as good as sub as you'll get, save for ultimate output.

 

[Brian Fellmeth]

I think your intended crossover level should come into play. If you going low like 50, the tempest is better. If the sub will be playing as high as 100, its possible that the shiva will be a little more nimble up there.

 

[Justin Ward]

I want to crossover at around 70hz or so. I find the current lowest setting my receiver allows(100hz) can be localizible at times.

What exactly makes the DPL12 superior to the Shiva for my criteria? And what exactly makes a driver "dipole"?

Although it is for music I think I will probably play it for HT also, in addition to my SBB4 Tempest. Music is still #1 though.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

And what exactly makes a driver "dipole"?

From the DPL12 page I linked to:

"Lastly, the DPL12 is naturally suited to normal sealed and vented boxes. What makes it a dipole-targeted driver is the extra attention paid to controlling air turbulence and cosmetics. This does not preclude use in normal sealed or vented boxes. If the box models up nicely, then go for it.!"

I wish they would have called it something catchier, the name throws people. Unlike other dipole-targeted drivers from Lambda (maybe others?), this driver does not have such a high Qts that it can't be used in other configs.

 

[Justin Ward]

It looks the DPL 12 sealed would be a great way to go. I should have bought the DPL a while ago, they had them on for the same price as Shivas at creativesound.ca. I wonder if they will do this again anytime soon.

Does the DPL work well downfiring? I'm not sure if I want to go downfiring or not. I think a sidefiring DPL 12 would look pretty stylish.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Should be ok downfiring, might want to e-mail Adire. Unless you really want to, I'd advise against it. It will decrease, albeit slightly, available Xmax and cause sag over time. No big deal but, if it's a coin toss...

 

[David Giesbrecht]

Raw Drivers pumping away look cool as well!

 

[Kyle Richardson]

While the Shiva and Tempest can be EXTREMELY musical, since it is a music only subwoofer I'd go with the DPL12 as has already been suggested.
Downfiring would be fine, but as Jack states you'll lose just a bit of Xmax but will probably never notice it.

As far as the DPL12's being on sale again? I have no idea at this time but I suppose it never hurts to ask Bob at CS.

 

[Justin Ward]

Thought I might as well resurrect this thread instead of creating a new one.

How much power would I need to drive the DPL 12? One one hand it is less efficient then the Tempest and on the other hand musical peaks aren't as intense at LFE peaks.

I still don't have a(good) amp for my Tempest. Should I just buy a pro-amp and run one sub off each channel?

 

[Matt Dolejsi]

I'm currently using a tempest for music in my apartment and let me tell you that it is quite musical. Everything from Bach and Vivaldi to Prodigy and Slayer...reproduction is as should be, footprint is not small though, around 3.8 cubes sealed

 

[Jack Gilvey]

A good 150 watts should do the job.

 

[Justin Ward]

Any recommendations for a low cost amp that would drive both my DPL12 and ported Tempest?

 

[Dean-P]

Try here: http://www.solen.ca/ or http://www.creativesound.ca/index.html
they both carry sub amps

 

[Allen Ross]

Ebay and look for a crown DC 300A series II or one, your choice, pulse you will own a piece of Audio History that will rock your socks off