[E-Zee]

I have built a few GSG style subwoofer cabinets for other people and decided I'd build one for myself.  I didn't discuss this with my wife, such as where this might possibly fit. As result, it was banished to the garage. Now I found myself spending more time in the garage. I do a lot of work out there, so my setup is handsfree, with an Alexa device feeding the amp over bluetooth. Convenience is the priority.  System stays on and as I walk in, "Alexa, play _____" and before i can even sit on my rolling garage stool, the music is playing.

Randomly throughout the day as I think of a song I want to hear with an obscene amount of bass, I walk into the garage and que it up with a voice command. Sometimes only half-a-song, sometimes a couple, then back back to my day.  When guests would come over, I bring them out to the garage and we would enjoy it together.  It has been a ton of fun. There's no t.v. in there, but I've also ran through many well known surround sound or bass testing movie scenes, while viewing on my little phone screen.  Home theater is definitely where this type of subwoofer seems to find its best use case. Lots of pressurization, without the distortion of smaller commercial subs. 

Regardless,  I've been having more fun with this subwoofer than anything else in many years. My wife avoids the garage but after experiencing it a few times, she finally suggested I  take it upstairs to our family space/ movie loft. The cabinet weighs over 110 lbs, plus 28lbs for the subwoofer, so I'm going to go strategize getting it upstairs today. I'm thinking flat dolly to bottom of stairs,  then on its back wrapped in a blanket and slide it up the stairs.   

I know there are tons of subwoofer options out there,  and I'm not trying to claim what is better or best, but having never previously experienced a subwoofer cabinet this large, it is super impressive. It is just clean and very low distortion compared to the many commercial subs I have experienced. It may not be reproducing music in full clarity, but it is so much fun and for home theater it seems like an ideal fit. I've been playing with the crossover point, ranging between cutting off below 100hz and then closer to 180hz. They each have benefits depending upon the intent.

Now that I will need something new for the garage, ive drawn up plans for a small dual h-frame for some drivers I already have, and will look for a deal on a capable large sub for sealed. Im aware of the benefits and drawback of the different sub styles but despite the drawbacks of this large ported version, it is still a ton of fun.

Anyways, just sharing that this has been a lot of fun.
Dimensions 29" tall, 20" wide, 21" deep.
Sound integrity SQL 15" dual 2 ohm, wired together as 4ohm.
Purchased driver from GSG, $330.
12ga internal wiring, speakon 4pole connector on rear.



Photos below are of the first pair of gsg style cabinets i had made for someone else.  Internal volume is similar,  but that pair was short and deep to match heights with an existing center console.

[Danny Richie]

I'd move the big woofer back out to the garage and step performance up with one of our sealed or open baffle servo subs for your main listening room.

[KTS]

Nice build, bass is the hardest part to get correct (at least it has been for me). Thanks for sharing!

[Early B.]

I watched a build thread. This sub seems like it would be incredible for home theater!!

[E-Zee]

I got it upstairs and into the t.v. room.  Watched "The Batman (2022)" , then a bunch of bass heavy movie scenes, Jurassic Park, Top Gun, and others, and then played around with some music. There is no placement flexibility in this room, as it is primarily a family gathering area, but i can make some adjustments, such as dsp, and adjustable crossover points, but haven't gone far down that path yet.

 Early B, you are correct regarding home theater being the target application for this large style ported sub. It is capable of tremendous output. It can hit low and has some infrasonic capability, even below 20hz, with some notes that are felt but not heard, which has been a fun experience for me.

Danny is correct in pointing out its shortcomings and seeing where a sealed or open servo style performs better for music. In my testing, I quickly saw that its shortcomings in music reproduction are apparent, and I'd describe it comparatively as slow and slurred. Great for a movie rumble, less great for dynamic music. It can still be lots of fun for music that you want to feel physically, but the pressurization and slurring seems unpleasant for critical listening.

I listed this subwoofer for sale on my local Facebook and will continue to enjoy it for the time being while planning my sealed sub build for the house, and already working on small H-frame sub cabinet for the garage.


My next subwoofer goal will be a large sealed version that i think will bridge the gap and be "faster" and more articulate for music but still capable for home theater pressurization which is still a goal. I think I could fit an 18" sealed into smaller space than this large 15" ported, or maybe even dual ported 15" built taller with similar footprint.

What is so fun and amazing about it truly is its output capacity. If balanced with the speakers, the speakers would be way too loud for comfort before the sub is noticeably distorting, and no real chance for rattling or even for maxing out the flow capacity through the port.  I've always been able to max out the small commercial ported subs, but don't even know what it would take to max this out in the same way.

I think the deficiency for music is the port itself. I imagine it visually as attaching a slinky to the rear of the sub. The air slug in the port pulses in and out like a slinky but without the same precision and speed as the woofer itself, so it is adding delay and creating a sluggishness. With that slowness, when it hits, it hits hard, but it just can't stabilize the slinky and can't recover or neutralize back to zero quick enough to separate between notes. Again, great for movies, can be fun for short time with music, but not precise, and then becomes fatiguing. I can't recommend it for music,  but yes for home theater.

[corndog71]

Danny’s single servo sub kit will get you a musical and beastly subwoofer.  I have one and it both blends in perfectly with whatever your mains are but don’t be fooled by this 12” sub.  It will also plumb the depths to 20Hz and below when called for.

And if one isn’t enough then add a second one.

[E-Zee]

Final thoughts, last post, and then this thread can dwindle away.

Two full days of listening in, I'm putting final thoughts down. I know subs are hard to properly integrate, and there of course is some user error, but this large ported design is fatiguing for music, unless its turned down significantly. However, it is great for home theater.

I had a lot of fun with it in the garage because it hit hard, I was usually standing or working on something, often with ear protection on while operating woodshop tools. In that setting, while busy and distracted, it was fun.  As soon as I brought it inside, sat in recliner and tried to enjoy a song, it became fatiguing for lots of music, until I turned the amp most of the way down. Maybe that's part of the needed integration process, to turn down the bass output so that it barely kicks in at just the right places, to make some subtle additions, without being overpowering. With too much bass output it was fun for a moment if you wanted to thump a BeastieBoys bass line, but something more refined like female vocals or instrumental music (which I do enjoy enjoy alot) did not bring the same joy. I wasnt able to enjoy an Adele or Alicia Keys harmony, while the bass was shaking my chest.

At this point, I think I would drive a couple hours even to demo an open baffle servo sub in someone else's house to better understand it's output and how it integrates. I'll take up that opportunity when I find it, but in the meantime I'm gonna leave this listed locally for sale, and will plan for a sealed sub for double duty HT/music.

As far as integration, relative to other use cases, for casual movie viewing, i had my Crown sub amp at 7/10, but for special scenes or temporary showing off, I could up that to 10/10 and the sub was nowhere near maxing it's capacity. For music, I'd have to turn it down to 4/10.  I also found that lowering the crossover point to 80hz to 100hz cutoff was better for music, while being higher, even at 180hz was pretty enjoyable for movies.

Anyways, thank you all for humoring me through my learning process with subwoofers. I've changed the thread title to more accurately summarize the experience.

[Early B.]

At this point, I think I would drive a couple hours even to demo an open baffle servo sub in someone else's house to better understand it's output and how it integrates. I'll take up that opportunity when I find it, but in the meantime I'm gonna leave this listed locally for sale, and will plan for a sealed sub for double duty HT/music.

I strongly encourage you to acquire separate subs for movies and music. You need completely different types of subs for music (fast and tight) vs. HT (loud and badass). One size does not fit all.

Also, don't give up on your sub for HT duty yet. I have a sneaky suspicion the Crown amp is a weak link.   

[WGH]

I strongly encourage you to acquire separate subs for movies and music. You need completely different types of subs for music (fast and tight) vs. HT (loud and badass). One size does not fit all.

The REL Reference subs are both fast and tight along with having the ability to go loud and being a total badass. REL subs have both speaker level inputs (music) and LFE inputs (Low Frequency Effects) (Godzilla) that are designed to be used at the same time. I still haven't maxed out my REL G1 MkII sub. I haven't heard the new No.31 and No.32 subs.

"How badass?" I hear you asking.

Before I sold my REL Gibraltar G2 Reference sub to a friend I decided to listen to a movie with both subs. I thought: "Hey, I got two subs, what the hell am I waiting for?"

Sound demos usually include explosions, submarine depth charges, Godzilla stomping and roaring but nothing has sustained 15 Hz - 30 Hz bass that goes on for 15 seconds or more like Blade Runner 2049, Denis Villeneuve's masterpiece with music by Hans Zimmer. Track 1 - '2049' and track 3 - 'Flight to LAPD' will tax any home theater. Playing both tracks at theater levels scares me, I eventually have to turn it down. Everything in the house vibrates including my body. Eyeballs are filled with fluid, when that fluid starts vibrating and my vision starts getting blurry it's time to turn down the volume.

A buddy came over for a demo and I made his vision blurry too.