subwoofer problem (1 Viewer)

[Brian-K-Owens]

Need help with a subwoofer problem a friend is having.

He bought one of the Aura 18.4's and has it in a 15 ft^3 enclosure, ported and tuned to 17 Hz. The low end output is incredible, but he was wanting to know what he should do to get more "impact" bass from it. From what he desribes, he is looking for the type of bass you get from prosound speakers that give you that chest pounding bass.

He said adding more drivers is not a problem, so I was thinking a pair of Eminence Kappa Pro 12" drivers from PE tuned up around 35 Hz might do the trick.

Do you think tuning the Aura to a higher frequency would help? The problem I see there is the loss of the low end which he wants to keep along with whatever improvements he makes. . . .

Help!!!

Thanks,
Brian

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Since that "impact", or "chest-pounding", bass is typically pretty high up (40-80Hz), your idea with the Kappas might do the trick.

 

[Chris Tsutsui]

If changing the tuning is easy, then I would try tuning the current sub higher than 17hz. Perhaps try something from 23-26hz which should add a mid bass hump to give the chest pounding he wants. The loss of low end may not be that noticeable but of course I havn't run any sims on the driver so I don't know for sure.

The kappas tuned to 35hz will add chest pounding bass but I don't know how the sound quality would be with the mixed subwoofers. I don't know if the subs would be integrated with one another because they have different responses and tuning.

 

[Jonathan T]

What about sealing the enclosure? Would that yeild a greater chest pounding effect.

 

[Chris Tsutsui]

Sealing the enclosure may get rid of the extra deep bass output that he wants which would overall decrease the volume of the sub. The bass "might" sound more accurate but I don't think it will increase the chest pound effect.

I think chest pound could be increased by creating a hump in the freq. response in the 40hz range which is usually done by changing the tuning frequency.

Another idea is to decrease the internal volume of the enclosure to create a hump in the freq response.

BIG enclosures like the one he has is getting close to an infinite baffle setup which has a rather lineal response. So I guess the primary variables to adjust are the internal volume and tuning.

 

[Chad Kuypers]

Brian,

Definitely seal the subwoofer in a smaller enclosure. While it will roll of the low end, it places the bass from 40-80 Hz up higher in output that the lower stuff. It is more in your face and has a different kind of slam. Your friend can tweak the volume until it sounds "punchy" the way he prefers it.

I have to build subwoofers like this all the time because of this exact response from people. My brother's friends are notorious for saying that my enormous ported subwoofers lack impact, and that they don't "hit". A smaller sealed enclosure gives them this desired performance to great effect. Everyone has their own opinion, and I always respect that.

I even did this with the Blueprint 1803 that I bought from you. I stuck it in a small enclosure just for kicks. It is normally housed in a 15 cubic foot tube tuned to 16 Hz. The small sealed cube doesn't have the gargantuan low end, but the subwoofer sounds very punchy and visceral.

How did the sound of the Aura compare to the 1803? Just curious if you got a listen. I am sure that they are comparable. Hope that this helps.