Subwoofer selection (1 Viewer)

[grantK]

I have been reading through the forum and it's archives and seen quite a bit about people wanting to use car audio subwoofers for a DIY subwoofer. I am interested in this because I work for a company that allows me access to just about every major and small brand of car audio equipment at wholesale amounts. I was wondering if they would work well in this situation as long as the enclosure was designed with a home theater setup in mind. If so can anyone point me towards any good box building programs, preferably free. If possible i would use a car audio woofer because of the enormous savings it would afford me. It would be replacing a paradigm ps1200. From your experience would I be cheating myself?

 

[Robert_J]

"Car sub" and "home sub" are just marketing terms. Right now I'm using Cerwin Vega V-Max 15's (last year's model with the red surround) in my HT. Look at the T/S parameters. They will tell you whether or not a sub is suited for car or home use (sometimes they work well in both). If you aren't familiar with T/S parameters, look at the resonanant frequency or Fs. The lower the better. I like my subs to be at least in the 20's. I like at least a medium sized Vas. A small Vas is not a deal breaker though. A qts around .300 is great but it can vary by what type of box you are going to use. Finally, xmax. I want my sub to have at least 15mm of one way throw. On the other hand, the more excursion, the higher the price.

With just the basic T/S parameters you can model any sub using WinISD Pro or Unibox. Both are free.

-Robert

 

[Seth=L]

Grant, I am curious are you making an additional sub or making a replacement for your Paradigm ps1200. I guess what i am asking is there something wrong with the paradigm that makes you want to upgrade. Also if you could find out what version of the paradigm it is because there are 3 versions of the ps1200 as far as i know.