Sonosub or traditional? (1 Viewer)

[Jeffrey_S]

Hi all,

I'm about to start a new sub project to replace my ACI Titan. The Titan is great for music, but for hometheater applications it doesn't have the punch I'm looking for. So I've decided to do a Tempest sub. I'm torn between a dual Tempest sonosub or a pair of single traditional Tempest boxes. I was wondering which you think would make a better subwoofer system. I am good with woodworking and have made several speakers already. I know that sonosubs have the advantage of being light, which is why I would put both Tempests in one tube, but sonically which would be the better choice?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Jeff

 

[Dustin B]

If each box was just half the dual sonosub, unless you placed the two boxes in bad places, I don't think you could tell the difference.
With the dual sonosub, you won't have to worry about positioning two subs properly. Unless you had planned on stacking the boxes or sitting them side by side, in which case that becomes a none issue. Also with a dual sonosub, if you have the drivers at opposite ends, the drivers motion should cancel each others forces on the enclosure, so you definately won't have to worry about it jumping around (although I don't think that would be a big issue either).
Then there is also the plus of a guests reaction to a huge sonotube The only better part is when they go from what the heck is that, to a jaw drop when they hear it.

 

[Jeffrey_S]

Dustin, thanks for the reply.

If I were to go with a dual Tempest sonosub, if I wanted to do the Adire Alignment and use a 24" sonotube, what internal height should I make it? Also what size vent should I use and how about fill material? If you or others could help me with these particulars, I'm leaning in this direction.

Also, which Adire amplifier would I need to get to drive both of these?

Thanks again for the info.

Jeff

 

[Patrick Sun]

Do you have height or volume constraints on the enclosure size? My Sunosub II is pretty close to what folks might build if they can handle a 10 ft^3 24" wide tube around 48" high counting the legs.

 

[Jeffrey_S]

Hi Patrick,

No. I don't have any size constraints. The listening room is a large finished basement.

Jeff

 

[Dustin B]

Someone had a design from Dan a while ago. I think it was 480L tuned to 16hz with dual 6" ports. Each port would be 24" long. 24" sonotube would require ~68" height plus endcaps and leg height. 26" would be ~58" height. 28" would be ~50" height. 30" would be ~44" height. Just make sure you can fit 30" through your doorways.

Two Tempests in that enclosure with 250-300 watts to each driver would be very nice.

 

[Mike Strassburg]

Dustin,
That's the one Dan W gave me the specs on:
24" diameter tube, 72" long.
Mount one Tempest and one vent in each end.
For the vents, use 6" ID by 20"L pipe.
Double-thick the endcaps (1.5" thick, assuming 3/4" thick stock) from void-free plywood (Baltic birch or marine grade plywood)
Should end up with a net 480L, tuned to 17 Hz.
According to Dan it will rock the house for both HT and music. Now if only those darn Tempests would ship already
I've got the wood, sonotube, PVC pipe, polyfill, etc...just need the subs and amp to arrive. Yeah.....I'm getting a little anxious to build/hear this thing!!

 

[Brian Fellmeth]

Mike-

Here is the way I passed the time waiting for the tempest driver. Go ahead and get the endcaps ready. You can get most of the construction out of the way without the drivers in hand.

 

[Jeffrey_S]

Mike,

Thanks for Dan's formula. But what about the polyfill? How much and how and where do I apply it?

What amp are you going to use? Is the HS500 needed or would a 250 amp do the job?

Thanks again for the info.

Jeff

 

[Dustin B]

Ported enclosures really shouldn't be stuffed. You can line the enclosure with an inch or two of polyfill but I wouldn't stuff one.

For power another option would be a QSC RMX850. Two channels each capable of 300 watts into 4 ohms. Can be bought new for $299 and used for less.

 

[Mike Strassburg]

Actually Dan recommended stuffing it with about 8 pounds of polyfill, but not to line the walls.

I will be using the HS500, as 250wpc should be able to push the Tempests to near max excursion in that alignment.

Right now it's about 10 degrees outside so working in the garage really isn't that appealing and I'm not cutting/routing MDF in my basement.

 

[Dustin B]

Are you gonna wire the VC in parallel and then series the drivers to connect it to the HS500?

If you could email me or post what Dan said about stuffing a ported enclosure I would like to read it. Everything I've read states the opposite.

 

[Mike Strassburg]

Dustin,
Here's the part about stuffing that I clipped from an e-mail that Dan sent me....
"It is a bit of a twist on the Adire Alignment, but should be in a standard sized length for tubes... As far as polyfill, I'd stuff 8 pounds of
polyfill in the cabinet; no need to line the walls, just stuff the polyfill in the tube. And the 1.5" endcaps are inset in the tubes."
You've got me curious on this one so I may send Dan W another note just to confirm....
I'm going to wire in series and then parallel the drivers for an 8ohm load.

 

[Jeffrey_S]

Thanks you guys for all the input. I am still confused as well about the stuffing. Please let me know when you nail this down.

Thanks,

Jeff