Mike's subs

jsalk · « **on:** 2 Apr 2006, 01:41 pm »

Mike had a pair of HT1's in bubinga and wanted some subs to go with them. He wanted to use the subs as stands for his HT1's. So he got out MS Excel and drew up some cabinet plans.

After going back and forth on the design for a while, we settled on a drawing and I went to work.

So I can't take any credit for the cabinet design itself, it was all Mike's.

Here was the result (although you can't really tell that the finish, using our new finishing system, was high-gloss, hand-rubbed):

The tops of these subs are the exact dimensions of the bottom of the HT1 cabinets. They contain 12" TC Sounds woofers.

- Jim

zybar · « **Reply #1 on:** 2 Apr 2006, 03:53 pm »

AWESOME!!!

Jim, can you post any specs?

George

jsalk · « **Reply #2 on:** 2 Apr 2006, 05:41 pm »

George -

Quote from: zybar

AWESOME!!!

Jim, can you post any specs?

George

I really don't have any. Mike wanted to drive these directly with his own amp rather than a subwoofer plate amp. So we modeled them to make sure the internal volume of the cabinets was appropriate and I simply installed the drivers and connected them to binding posts. So the final performance will depend on what kind of EQ his system can provide.

- Jim

mpd · « **Reply #3 on:** 4 Apr 2006, 01:05 pm »

George,

The design was pretty straightforward. I wanted a pair of sealed subs for good transient response for music, but with enough displacement (and output) for home theater. I was concerned that the HT3s would not have enough reach without a separate sub (which my wife wasn't crazy about). I also went with a sealed because I wanted to keep the cabinet size as small as possible. I looked at several drivers, trying to find the combination that would give me the smallest possible cabinet with the lowest possible Q. I looked at Peerless, Aura, Adire, Scan-Speak, and many others. The TC Sounds, according to Unibox, gave me a Q=.577 in a 36 liter box (lined with BH5 and a lot of polyfill). The F3 and F10 are pretty high at 53Hz and 28 Hz, respectively. The electronics chain I use is an Outlaw Audio ICBM, Behringer DEQ2496, and a Crown K1. I can dial-in enough EQ to give me an in-room F3 of 20Hz and 108 dB SPL (with both subs driven and help from a bit of room gain).

I think this configuration is a nice choice for those folks who want to add a substantial amount of low-end to their existing HT1s, especially in cases where home theater listening is important.

I should also add that Jim was just a joy to deal with through the whole process. He was concerned at first about being able to bend the veneer as sharply as I wanted (the angle is about 26 degrees, much more than the HT1) but he pulled it off beautifully . I think the results are just magnificent.

Mike

Carl V · « **Reply #4 on:** 5 Apr 2006, 03:35 am »

looks like gorgeous SUB cabinets.
Plez, consider a LT circuit.
Your EQ will severly alter your Q.
It will no longer be the low Q, critically
damped alignment. Whether or not this
is audbily critical is your call.

mpd · « **Reply #5 on:** 5 Apr 2006, 11:02 am »

Carl,

I agree completely. I tried to get the lowest possible unequalized Q because I knew that a lot of traditional, parametric EQ would mess with the phase response. I'm not quite ready to pop for something like a DEQX just to get steep, linear phase filters. I guess an EQ with LT transfer functions would also be a good approach but I not familiar with any commercially available units comparable in function to the ICBM. Are you?

thanks,

Mike

Carl V · « **Reply #6 on:** 5 Apr 2006, 09:41 pm »

Marchand Basis (sp?)
http://www.marchandelec.com/

You could also look into RthymiK Audio
http://www.rythmikaudio.com/nonservo_product.htm.

Adire has very nice plate amps and will do LT circuits.
I know you have an outboard AMP...but an outboard
plate amp is an option. ( I have 2 tumults with their
ADA1200 & LT in 22" cubes)

General LT info.
http://sound.westhost.com/project71.htm

Best of luck....gorgeous system.

As far as EQ.
I've done the BFD....Rane PE17.....
I intend to try the new Velodyne SM-1 (somethng or 'nother)

EProvenzano · « **Reply #7 on:** 6 Apr 2006, 12:13 am »

Quote from: Carl V

Adire has very nice plate amps and will do LT circuits.
I know you have an outboard AMP...but an outboard
plate amp is an option. ( I have 2 tumults with their
ADA1200 & LT in 22" cubes)

Carl how do you like those ADA plate amps?
What xo frequency are you using?
I'm curious how they sound crossed at higher frequencies like 110hz, and if they can be modified to cross even higher.

Thanks.

jsalk · « **Reply #8 on:** 6 Apr 2006, 12:43 am »

Carl et al -

Anyone heard from Adire lately? I ordered an ADA amp over a month ago and never heard from them. They don't answer my emails. When I call, I only get voicemail and they never return my calls either.

- Jim

Rick Craig · « **Reply #9 on:** 6 Apr 2006, 01:13 am »

Quote from: jsalk

Carl et al -

Anyone heard from Adire lately? I ordered an ADA amp over a month ago and never heard from them. They don't answer my emails. When I call, I only get voicemail and they never return my calls either.

- Jim

I read somewhere that they were having financial problems but I don't know if that is true or not. The ADA amps are nice units.

Al Garay · « **Reply #10 on:** 6 Apr 2006, 03:43 am »

hey Jim,

Have you sent an email to Dan Wiggins, danATadireaudio.com?
I have also had good luck calling their main number and talking with Christopher, 425 778 9663.

Adire is shifting their focus to design, engineering and mobile audio (probably pro-audio as well) and letting their Exodus dealers handle home products and support.

Rick, if Adire is having financial issues, I have not read that report. Do you have a link? It's been a few months since I've made a visit, but they were doing really well very busy with OEM projects and getting products built from their factory in Chile. I question the validity of the report.

Carl V · « **Reply #11 on:** 6 Apr 2006, 04:09 am »

Quote

Carl how do you like those ADA plate amps?
What xo frequency are you using?
I'm curious how they sound crossed at higher frequencies like 110hz, and if they can be modified to cross even higher.

Thanks.

They have 2 12 dB slope XO dials. 35hz-110Hz
I have both at 60Hz. Sounds fine. I've not crossed
over at 110. I'll try that with some smaller mini-monitors.

A few years ago I crossed an IB set up around 100Hz
I was running maggies. It worked well. But the odd
thing it sounded better when the nominal SPL was at 75dB
(musical peaks were 95dB) or less. AS I cranked it to silly
levels or played Compressed THE WHO or LED Zepplin....
it was muddy. Integration or XO slopes. I dunno.

Mr Salk.
I have no idea about Adire Audio. I have usually had
good luck in contacting them directly via phone.

I know Danny Richie has been in close contact
with them regarding some XBL2 midwoofer prototypes.

I know Dan Wiggins has posted on occassion in HTT recently.