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Tempest / Adire Alignment First Listen (1 Viewer)

Kerry Hackney

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Oct 18, 2000
Messages
206
Last night I got everything finished up. Debbie and I carried the new sub into the room and placed it in the front right corner where the old sub used to be. I had been temporarily using the tempest in a small sealed box that was pretty flimsy. That said, the Tempest was impressive compared to my old Cerwin Vega. I knew the big ported enclosure would deepen the response but I wasn't sure that it would make a huge difference. I quickly hooked it up and set about picking some demo material I played a few CDs with low bass content, Enya's Watermark, Sarah McLaughlin (SP) Surfacing, and some pop stuff like Madonna's Music. The new sub sounded fine. Not boomy at all just very musical. I still need to fine tune the levels and double check the phasing but for a quick setup I was very pleased.
Now for some movie fun. I decided to try the THX intro on TPM. The one where the blue ball explodes. On my Marantz I had the volume at about -15. Pretty loud with my 281s. Now let me tell you, when the ball exploded I was stunned. It was a different experience all together. More physical than aural. I could feel the concusion wave hit me. Debbie and Laura were in the living room upstairs and immediately came down asking what just happened. They said the room shook like an earthquake had hit. I decided to try it. I went up to the living room, closed the downstairs door and yelled for my daughter to play it again. I could just make out the beginning thunder as the storm around the ball grows. Then, wham!!! There was a glass of water on the coffee table in front of me and it acted just like the scene in Jerrasic Park. I was stunned at how much that impact moved the whole house. I could hear little things rattling all over the place. Back down in the entertainment room I ran the scene again and watched the power output display on my sub amp. With the peak hold on, it looked like it hit around 100 watts per channel. I am convinced that the last octave from 20 to 40 hz or even 15 to 30 is the key to being able to experience whatever is on just about any disk. I also played the trailer for Ice Age that is on Dr. DoLittle II. It is in Dolby Digital. Very Very Fun. When the ice cracks as the acorn is being driven in you feel it. I am amazed, simply amazed. I have no doubt that if there is bass on a disk, I'll hear it...
I will hook up my software and laptop this weekend and do some measurements for real numbers. I just can't imagine what some of the silos with multi drivers that some of you have are capable of. I am sure I'll get used to this and may want more. For now, I'm delighted.:D
 

Dustin B

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2001
Messages
3,126
Welcome to the club. I've dropped a few jaws with that scene and my Tempest as well. And you're right, you will be thinking about a dual Tempest very soon. I don't need one, nor can I afford one, but I'm thinking about one anyway :p)
 
Joined
Jan 11, 1999
Messages
17
Kerry,

Glad that your pleased with the design. I am building the exact same sub. I just cut out the panels to build the box last night. Should be done in a couple of weeks. Can't wait. I have a swimming pool outside about 15 feet from my sub. My goal is to get ripples on the pool. Pretty sick? I hope this will do it or I either have to go bigger or more of them.

How do you like the 281's I have been looking at building a set of those also.

Steve
 

Kerry Hackney

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Oct 18, 2000
Messages
206
Steve,
I used to live in Ft. Myers. With the slab construction in Florida and the sandy soil I don't know if you can transmit a seismic wave to an inground pool or not. :D As for moving things inside the house, oOOOOHHHH YEAHHHHHH..!!! In a small to medium room it will be no problem at all. In a basement ranch like mine it transfers to the floor above very nicely. Can't wait to scare my friends.
I haven't had a chance to go outside and see how much is getting through the walls. Frogs are lining up to buy rafts here this week. We've had about 4" of rain in the last 48 hours or so.
As for the 281s, I really like them. Definately a bargain for the money spent.
 

Brian J Dupuis

Second Unit
Joined
Jul 8, 2001
Messages
341
Ah, Kerry, that's exciting! Of course, now I'm already feeling bass envy, and I don't even have my puny little sub finished and in the house yet. I think I'm just going to have to trump you in my next sub project and go with an IB ;).
Anyhow, congrats on the new member of the household. I hope to be able to get mine a bit closer to completion soon... work has crept its ugly head in, so I haven't been able to put in any time. Right now my little sub is sitting with 4 of the 3/8" edge stock pieces glued in and the rest just awaiting (aside... anyone have tips for gluing more than a couple at a time? Or does it just take an awful lot of clamps?). Gonna be a while before I hear mine again. Enjoy!
 

Kerry Hackney

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Oct 18, 2000
Messages
206
Clamps, clamps and more clamps. I don't think you can have too many. You can use a piece of rope with some 90 degree corner blocks for bigger pieces like a sub. Just put a block on each corner edge and then wrap the rope around the whole thing. Use a short piece of dowel as a handle to twist the rope and tighten the clamping pressure. Cheap, but it may require four hands to set up. :D
For safety, put wax paper under the corner pads. That way if any glue squeezes out you won't end up with a problem.
 

Hank Frankenberg

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Oct 13, 1998
Messages
2,573
Heh-heh-heh. It's fun reading comments from new sub D-I-Yers. Another convert is had. I have yet to fail to drop jaws with my Tempest sonosub tuned to 17.5 Hz.

Welcome to the crazed world of bassheads!
 

Pete Mazz

Supporting Actor
Joined
May 17, 2000
Messages
761
You can use 1/2" or 3/4" wide reinforced tape to hold those pieces in until the glue sets. Just be careful to not use too much glue and create a lot of squeeze out.

Pete
 

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