[JackStraw]

Check this out... outboard 500W amp, 15" driver, output of nearly 4 Titans.

http://www.audioc.com/speakers/maestro/intro.htm

[IanATC]

Judging from the real world and critical acclaim for the Titan, this should be a crackling good sub.  I *ALMOST*  had the titan shipped but did not, because I decided to DIY a 15"  system.  That, and the shipping to the UK would be horrible.  This 120lb beastie would be incredibly costly to ship across the ocean.  I can't wait for the reviews!

[Mike Dzurko]

My production and packing/shipping people are not real happy about this sub. Just about every step takes two people to keep from throwing out someone's back.  

[JackStraw]

Yeah, weight belts and proper lifting are required for this one.

Mike, considering your various sub options, the low end specs are all very similar (-3 db point is 20Hz for Force and Titan and 19 Hz for Maestro). Obviously in SPL, Force < Titan < Maestro. So, it seems that the deciding factor between these options should be SPL required, or with SPL needs held constant, room size should drive a choice ($$$ be damned of course).

Clearly you can't assess the SPL needs of others. But, applying your own preference, what would be the max room size/volume where you could use 1  of each of these subs for mixed music/HT use?

Tough question, but I figured that you might have a good answer.

[Mike Dzurko]

Yeah, weight belts and proper lifting are required for this one.

Mike, considering your various sub options, the low end specs are all very similar (-3 db point is 20Hz for Force and Titan and 19 Hz for Maestro). Obviously in SPL, Force < Titan < Maestro. So, it seems that the deciding factor between these options should be SPL required, or with SPL needs held constant, room size should drive a choice ($$$ be damned of course).

Clearly you can't assess the SPL needs of others. But, applying your ...

Jack:

It is a great question, and one that we deal with daily. I wish it were as simple as a matter of room volume, but that is only one factor. It seems that most people don't really listen in "sealed" rooms. Many of today's homes have open floor plans with rooms open to other rooms. There are two other factors which come into play: individual preferences/needs, and other equipment used. What I do is ask the following questions:
What approx size is your room, what is it like in terms of furnishings, is it open to other rooms etc.
Describe your listening habbits, what you listen to/watch, how loud
Describe the rest of your system, processor/rec/preamp/amps/CD-DVD screen etc.
Sometimes I'll need to ask for clarification, and we email back and forth a couple of times, but with these questions I can usually get a pretty good idea of what sub(s) a customer needs.
Many of our customers just know what sub(s) they want and place the order. But quite a few need some additional assistance or a confirmation that what they're planning will work out. Because this is a pretty time consuming process, I've thought of trying to streamline it with a set form they could answer that would pretty much automate the process. Just haven't had time to get around to it. And, fact is, I think direct, personal contact with customers is important.
Thanks for asking the question, have a great day!

[JackStraw]

I figured that this was an impossible question, but I thought that you might take a stab at it with the caveat that people tend not to have sealed rooms.

I can appreciate what you're saying about open floor plans. In fact, we're house shopping and we looked at one house yesterday that could use at least one Titan -- the whole first floor was open. I'll hold off on my sub choice until my room is set, and give you an e-mail and/or call for advice.

[Brian Bunge]

Mike,

I've been meaning to congratulate you on what appears to be another great ACI product!  I really like the looks of the sub.  If you remember, I helped a friend of mine build a full system using 5 Emeralds and a Titan II back when the kits were still available.  He recently built a new house with an EXTREME open floor plan.  The living room is completely open to the kitchen, dining room and foyer and even has what appears to be 20' or so high cathedral ceiling.  There are also hardwood floors throughout the house except for the bedroom.  With all that said, the single Titan is kicking butt quite nicely, although having a house built on a crawl space helps a lot.  Kay and I spent the night with he and his wife a few months back and watched a few movies.  I was quite impressed.

Jack,

I built a pair of subs using the drivers in the Titan II around 3-4 years ago and they got plenty loud but my house is built on a concrete slab.  I just could not get the tactile response that I wanted.  It took upgrading to a single 15" driver based sub with over twice the linear excursion of the SV12 drivers and probably 4x the total displacement capabilities to finally get the house rocking the way I wanted.  That might be something to keep in mind when both house and sub shopping!

[Mike Dzurko]

Mike,

I've been meaning to congratulate you on what appears to be another great ACI product!  I really like the looks of the sub.  If you remember, I helped a friend of mine build a full system using 5 Emeralds and a Titan II back when the kits were still available.  He recently built a new house with an EXTREME open floor plan.  The living room is completely open to the kitchen, dining room and foyer and even has what appears to be 20' or so high cathedral ceiling.  There are also hardwood floors throug ...

Thanks Brian!

I hope you're as busy at RAD as we are at ACI. Have a great 2004!

[JohnR]

Hi Mike, quick off-topic question if you don't mind Could the SV10 driver be crossed over at say 160 Hz 4th order if the driver was facing forward and under the midbass, or would you advise against it?

[Mike Dzurko]

John:

Over 100 is high for the SV10. Sure, you can do it, but I really recommend it more as a true sub driver. In the LFM the crossover is about 100 and that works VERY well.

[JohnR]

Got it. Thanks Mike