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Who is the reigning champ in the heavyweight DIY 15" subwoofer drivers??? (1 Viewer)

Brett Loomis

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Well, It has been a couple of years since being very active here, but after spending 6-9 months building my last HT and my DIY Tempest 214L sub I am ready to start this quest again in my new home.

I still own the Tempest 214L sub and it is absolutely amazing....Still after 4 plus years...

I want to build a new sub that would meet the following requirements:

- Smaller enclosure less than 214L
- Earth Shaking bass to well below 20Hz
- Detailed specific plans to follow for ideal proven cabinet construction for
max performance.
- Total cost for Driver, plate amp, crossover not to exceed $1,000
- I have a separate budget for cabinet material (MDF), constuction and finishing/painting to be done by a custom cabinet maker who built my Tempest 214L cabinet.
- Dedicated Theater Room dimensions will be 13' x 25' with 8 foot ceiling. High SPL is a must.
- Performance that will make my 15" Tempest could only dream of

Is the king of Bass still the Adire 15" Tumult??? I am most interested in quality bass that will extend well below 20 Hz where you feel more than hear it!! SPL

Any and all comments, suggestions, photos, links, plans and other suggestions would be much appreciated.

This specific forum taught me that DIY subs will outperform just about anything store bought $ for $....I am SO glad I built my Tempest 15/214L

I look forward to hearing from everyone as I am sure there are lots of opinions but I want the numbers to back it up.

Thanks, Brett
 

Andrew Pratt

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Sound Splinter has a very nice driver that you might want to look into but the Tumult is still a solid choice...esp if you want a smaller box.
 

Owen Bartley

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Nov 11, 2002
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There's also the TC Sounds TC2000 or TC3000 (www.tcsounds.com).

Someone created a chart with most of the major subs in a $/Litre displacement-for-the-buck format, but I can't remember where it was. Someone else will probably know.
 

Robert_J

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The usual best value right now is the Soundsplinter RL-p 15". Because they are on sale right now, it is the TC-2000. Other values subs are available from Exodus Audio (sold through Acoustic Visions and DIY Cable) and Fi Car Audio.

Since you want to know the "king", check out the Supreme series from Soundsplinter or the LMS drivers from TC Sounds. Adire still has the Tumult but it is also available in other sizes. Bully Subs and Accupower are supposed to be extremely low distortion but the prices are pretty high. The Aura NRT is another very expensive sub. Finally, the current king of excursion is the Resonant Engineering XXX with 54mm of xmax. Also, a lot of these "uber subs" are also available in 18" models.

-Robert
 

Brett Loomis

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Wow, thanks for the quick responses....several new names to me that I will check out.

Does anyone personally have any detailed plans for the boxes that are OEM spec'd for performance and size optimization?

I am interested in maximum bass in an enclosure less than 214L.....I also am interested in 18" drivers also....What enclosure sizes are required for this size driver.

Thanks, Brett
 

Robert_J

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The trend lately has been to go even larger. There are some designs for the TC-2000 that are in the 300L+ range. Build it REALLY big and tune it REALLY low like 14hz.

As for box sizes, that really depends on the driver's parameters and what kind of reponse you are after. WinISD and Unibox (my favorite) are two very good modeling programs. Since the Vas of an 18" sub is usually larger than a 15", expect the enclosures to be larger as well.

-Robert
 

dave alan

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Aug 30, 2002
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The champ is still the Tumult, which has new improvements in materials (cone, surround, glues, etc.) and shorting rings, which affords extremely low Le for an uber driver.

Given your budget, size of HT and Earth shaking requirements, I would consider 2-15" Brahmas if I were you.

Add a Marchand Bassis and you can name your system F3 and Q, as well as stuff them into a very small box. Or, the DEQ Behringer, which can imitate the Bassis, but is much more difficult to dial in.

I don't think you'll shake the Earth with a single 15" driver, but that's just my opinion. I have 8-15"ers and huge power on tap.

I've used both the Tumults and Brahmas and have NEVER had a single problem.

The TC drivers are good products but the overhung, big diameter motors have high Le making it difficult to navigate the 50-100Hz range, IMHO.

Good luck and let us know what you end up with :)

Bosso
 

Brett Loomis

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Messages
142
Dave-- Brahmas are Adire audio also right?? Would I be better off putting two 15's in one box given my room dimensions or two separate subs/enclosures and work on ideal locations for each to balance the room?

Why Brahma over the Tumult?

Robert_J - I will check out the TC-2000 but I know how big and heavy my Tempest 214L is and it is a massive beast that requires a hand truck to move. 300L must be like pushing/moving a refrigerator around!!!!

But I must be honest and say I am curiously hooked on tuning it to 14Hz!!!Whoa, that will loosen the bowels.

I think I am leaning towards two subs, separate enclosures but tuned as low as possible and with a reasonable enclosure size that doesn't take over my room.
 

Robert_J

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Earlier versions of the Tumult and Brahma were a lot closer in their performance. Now the Tumult is the top line of Adire subs with XBL^2. The Bramha is next followed by the Koda. The Shiva and Tempest have become lines as well. I'm not sure if Dave's recommendation is based on current or old product. Probably old since there are very few people who have the new stuff from Adire.

For the low tuning, look at AVS or Home Theater Shack and read Steve's explanation of LLT (Large, Low Tune). If you have the size, it sounds like a great way to go.

If you want low tuning in a small box, TC Sounds has just released their line of passive radiators.

-Robert
 

Brett Loomis

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Regarding the Tumult, are there any specific enclosure design plans on the Adire website? I looked but found very little than a large spec sheet with all the terms I know little about...I am weak on Vas and all those other specs for box/design building....Who has a dictionary that I can sharpen my brain on for all of those subwoofer/design specs/terms....The reason I went with the original tempest was that Adire actually had several different blueprint plans with specific dimensions that I have no problem with.....Leave me to design the box and I will surely make the woof cry in pain and anyone who listens.

Tumult design plans anyone?? Or is there a program (winISD??) that I can just plug and crank with those specs and it will spit out the box dim's.... Even then the original enclosure plans for my tempest 214L included wicked strong cross-bracing, with internal and external ports if I recall.

Thanks.
 

Robert_J

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Both WinISD and Unibox will give you the net internal volume and the porting information. After that, it's basic geometry from the 10th grade to find a box that has that net volume.

-Robert
 

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