Want to replace my Tempest with dual AV 12's or 15's? (1 Viewer)

[Curt Badry]

This is my situation. I currently have an Adire Alignment tempest in a ported 214l enclosure. I have grown tired of the big box in my livingroom and was wondering if i built 2 subs using the Av12's in smaller boxes if i would get equal or greater output. It would be used 75% for HT,25%Music. Ported/sealed doesn't really matter.Pro's/cons to both designs. I would like to try a couple sealed enclosures if they would go low enough (with enough impact) without having to make the enclosure to big. 22Hx16Wx24D would be ideal. I've chosen the AV12's/15's mostly for the asethetics. Any thoughts/comments on my idea would be appreciated, thanks

 

[Darren_T]

I had the same 214L Tempest enclosure and replaced it with the 24" cube AV15, 2 18" PR's with the PE 500 watt plate amp. That alone was a monster improvement. Much more output in my experience. I can't comment on dual 12's but the one AV15 was a big step up. Not that the tempest was a slouch, quite the contrary but the AV15 is just in a different league is all.

The 24" cube isn't small but it is quite a bit smaller than the 214L enclosure you currently have.

Here is a pic:

 

[Mark--M]

Can you give me more details on the AV 15 sub? The pic you posted dont make sense either? You say you used a 15" Avalanche and 18" passive radiators. But the smaller woofer in that pic has an aluminum cone?

 

[Darren_T]

The driver is an AE(stryke audio) AV15.

http://www.aespeakers.com/products_av15.php

It is 24" X 24" constructed of 1.25" thick MDF and dual 18" passive radiators.

 

[Mark--M]

Well that makes sense. I was thinking by AV 15 you meant Avalanche 15.

What PR's did you use?

 

[Darren_T]

The PR's are AE as well: http://yellow.mynethost.com/~bv12636...e0305d968393cb

Going with PR's adds to the cost a bit though. I was going to try a sealed Tumult at the time but opted to go this route for now. I'm extremely happy with the performance.

My next sub will be an infinite baffle sub. I'm gonna wait a while until I have the room set up the way I want permanently but the IB I have planned will be overkill in a big way when I do get there. For now, this sub definately keeps up with my large room. The actual room itself is only 20' X 16' X 10' tall but it is wide open to the rest of the house having a 12' X 8' opening at one wall.

 

[Mark--M]

Good to hear it sounds great. The box looks really nice for such a simple design. What radius is on the corners? And what did you use to paint it?

Any other pictures of it? Just wondering how big a 24" cube looks compared to other things in a room.

 

[Darren_T]

The corners are a 3/4" radius on all edges except for the bottom. I chamfered it 1/8" to get rid of the sharp edge. It sits on black chrome spikes to anchor it. I painted the enclosure with a truck bed liner product I found at walmart... forgot the name of it but you can buy it in spray cans or one gallon bulk and roll it on. The spray can only did one side so I opted for the bulk in the gallon can and it worked great. I rolled it on with a foam paint roller and it went on very uniformily. Looks like a professional satin black finish surprisingly enough. I put on 3 coats and have a lot left. I tried spraying the stuff in my HVLP gun but that was a disaster so I stuck with the roller and it looks very good.

I'm not sure I have any other pics but I might be able to scrounge some up tonight or take some. What did you want to see? I could place something beside it for scale. A 24" cube is small but definately looks big when you have the finished product. It is substantially smaller than my 214L enclosure but still large by commercial sub dimension standards.

 

[Eric M Jones]

Curt,

Have you given any thought on doing an Infinite Baffle? The best bass you've ever heard and very discreet aesthetically... After enjoying one for over a year nothing compares. Here's a link if you're not familiar.

IB Info pages (the Cult of IB)

-EJ

 

[Mark--M]

Darren, thanks for the info. A pic taken farther away that shows something of reference would be great if its not too much trouble. Couch, tv something like that also in the pic.

Trying to find a balance between good sound and extension and keeping the GF happy. She likes to see pics rather then numbers.

No idea what that finish product was called?

 

[Darren_T]

I can take a look at the can when I get home as well and tell you what it is.

 

[Darren_T]

Ok, here are a couple pics for scale. One that includes most of my HT wall, the screen size is 61" for reference. The other is with a fifth of Captain Morgans on top for scale

The bed liner I used is Dupli-color truck bed coating.

 

[Jack Keck]

Not to hijack the thread, but do you have plans/cnostruction notes on the stands for your mains??

Thanks,

 

[Darren_T]

Sorry, I built those to match the entertainment center about 4 years ago. I don't have any plans or anything specific on how to build them. Was there anything in particular you wanted to know?

 

[Rory Buszka]

Darren: You should send those photos to John, so he can put them up on his forum gallery. How did you get an AV15 with the new logo on it? That's pretty cool looking. That's the logo I designed. I will need to check with John, but I had envisioned that the woofer logo to be facing straight up when stenciled on woofer cones. I guess that might be a woofer that was made to fill the preorders, because I talked with John and he said that the general purchase availability of the AV woofers was to coincide with the launch of his new web site, hopefully within the month. From my conversations with John, he has been to heck and back to bring back the AV series again, so it's important that you know he was working hard and wasn't just being lazy all those months.

In case you were wondering, my connection to John is that I designed the logo that won the logo contest, and I was to do his new web page but things were just too crazy for me to take on that project so instead he has been soliciting my comments and doing itself. While I have to keep the lid on, I will say the new web site is several notches above the old Stryke Audio web site, and quite a bit easier on the eyes than the Adire web site. He and I have been working together to make sure that it is not just a pretty site, but also has plenty of content for your viewing pleasure as well. And of course it's got a very handsome visual package. You're in for a treat.

 

[Darren_T]

Hi Rory,

John replaced my old single spider driver with this driver you see in the picture. The logo is placed so that you could indeed mount it straight up but I like it at an angle myself

I thought the logo looked pretty darn cool aluminum (vinyl) on aluminum like it is.

Darren

 

[Rory Buszka]

Yeah, we discussed a sort of "frosted" look for the logo. I think it turned out nicely. The thing that I have always liked about John's product is that not only do you get class-leading performance but the stuff also looks darn good. It's a great thing for us DIYers who are really into the aesthetics of our stuff and want something other than the black paper/Kevlar cone and black dust cap. I also like the way my AV12 cone looks from behind its black fabric grille. When the lighting is just right, you can see the reflected light from the cone through the grille. I first noticed this on Eric Eash's dual AV15 sub.

 

[Bryan Michael]

i will say the olny drawback to the av series is the one i have in my cas has a small ding in the cone. due to high excurson and in a car with no guard. but it pounds in a 2.5 cf sealed box with 1000 wats

 

[Curt Badry]

Guys,
Sorry, but i've not checked this post for a few days as i thought it was dead(no replys)

Darren,
Thanks for the pic, very helpful. Glad to hear it's an improvement over your tempest. Considering i have the same sub i'm looking forward to the improvement. I'm going to have to d/l a box program of some kind as the shape size enclosures i'm after is alittle out of the norm. I spoke with John from AE Speakers yesterday and he told me he's hoping to start shipping in 2-4 weeks. HE's currently building the motors and waiting on the dust caps. So i've probably got 2 months before i'll have them in my hands. Lots of time to figure out a design.
Aesthetically i think the AV12's will look better with the rest of my gear over the AV15's. I'm planning on making 2 enclosures, placing them on each side of my mains. Now if i can design something that'll sound good i'll be in business. Max dimensions i could go is "H"36xD24xW14-16. In my head i see a large tear drop design with the AV12 front firing. Very smooth no corners. Once i figure it out i'll post some pics. Just gotta do the math to make it a performer. Still not sure about ported/sealed. All i know is i'd like to stay away from PR's for aesthetic reasons. Which makes me think i'll have to go ported.
Eric, haven't really considered an IB, i'm one of those strange birds that likes to fondle his speakers. I like the visual appeal when i walk into the room,makes me want to turn them on.

 

[Eric M Jones]

If you have the place for it you'll be sorry if you at least don't look into what an IB is all about. Best thing is it doesn't have to be hidden in a manifold. If you have the right room a baffle with the drivers looking right at you would allow plenty of fondling. Impress your friends too, "That things a part of your house?... Cool" All kidding aside there is nothing bass wise that compares to an IB and they can be fairly inexpenise to set up. Here's a page of quotes from folks who have converted Quotable, quotes from the IB enlightened

-EJ