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Open baffle subwoofer

nick parkin said:
Well it isn't my system, its Erwins system. He compared it to a quarter of a million dollar pair speakers and he says they're right up there with em. My system should be similar to his, Not exact, but similar. Im also gonna build a marantz Model 8 tube amp replica...
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I'm curious to know if you have heard the $250K speaker system Erwin compared his to. I'm also curious to know what other systems besides Erwin's you've heard. It's likely that other systems built differently may appeal to you even more than Irwin's. You'll never know until you actually listen to them.

FWIW: I agree with the skepticism surrounding an 8" open baffle "subwoofer". To produce any appreciable levels of true low bass will require extreme cone excursions.

Also, I don't "diss" tubes out of hand. My preamp is a tube/SS hybrid and tube mono blocks drive my main speakers. Many posters here use tube gear and do not agree with ev13wt about distortion from said gear.
 
ev13wt said:
Cool. Welcome to Germany I guess? :)

Ask Erwin if he would even want a visitor to listen to his rig. If its not a 2 hour ride I'd have a listen!
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He's always open to people. We live just outside of chicago so its more than a 2 hour drive.
 
Perhaps an AK member or members in the Chicago area would invite you over for an audition. Were I in your shoes I'd jump at the chance were it offered.
 
JoeESP9 said:
I'm curious to know if you have heard the $250K speaker system Erwin compared his to. I'm also curious to know what other systems besides Erwin's you've heard. It's likely that other systems built differently may appeal to you even more than Irwin's. You'll never know until you actually listen to them.

FWIW: I agree with the skepticism surrounding an 8" open baffle "subwoofer". To produce any appreciable levels of true low bass will require extreme cone excursions.

Also, I don't "diss" tubes out of hand. My preamp is a tube/SS hybrid and tube mono blocks drive my main speakers. Many posters here use tube gear and do not agree with ev13wt about distortion from said gear.
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Thats why I was thinking about putting it in the old enclosure I had built for them. A crappy particleboard cabinet from some old pioneer speakers, and a 11 inch PVC port. I don't know why but this enclosure I built sounds fantastic and gives incredible bass response.
 
JoeESP9 said:
Perhaps an AK member or members in the Chicago area would invite you over for an audition. Were I in your shoes I'd jump at the chance were it offered.
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But I've already heard a system that sounds stunning

If anyone offered me the chance id still jump at it.
 
Your Peerless won't work unless you have several and EQ with many watts; a ported box (specifically designed for it) would work best with this driver.
 
What other "good" systems have you compared it to?

How did you calculate the enclosure and port volumes? There are specific formulae used for calculating box and port sizes. They are referenced to the actual physical properties of the driver being used. Look into Theile Small for more information.
 
JoeESP9 said:
What other "good" systems have you compared it to?

How did you calculate the enclosure and port volumes? There are specific formulae used for calculating box and port sizes. They are referenced to the actual physical properties of the driver being used. Look into Theile Small for more information.
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@JoeESP9

Just in general compared to everything else I've listened to the subwoofers sound fantastic. Ive had Klipsch KG 5.5's, a polk audio surround, my father has a Bang and Olufsen sound system in his car, the tymphanys just offer fantastic bass response that sounds so sweet, deep, and uncolored.

Also parts express provides all the volumes and port sizes
 
I've been consistently underwhelmed with most Klipsch speakers. OTOH many here are quite enthusiastic about them. This is one of the reasons listening to as much gear as possible is a good idea. If the Polk system was an HTIB type I'm not surprised it didn't impress. IMO/E HTIB systems don't sound that good. Very few car stereos I've heard sound that good either.

FWIW: My DIY transmission line subs are Eq'd flat to 18Hz. Each is driven by a bridged Crown XLS-402 (900Watts@8 Ohms).
 
To make a nice OB sub, I'd make an IB sub. If your room has a window, you can test this with some scrap plywood. Mount the woofers to the plywood(cutting holes for them of course) and mount the wood to the window frame, like you would a window air conditioning unit.

Then, test it out. Your room will become the cabinet, and if the resonant frequency of the speaker is low enough, 15 hz being an ideal, you should get some truly thunderous lows. Parts express sells an Infinite baffle woofer for this purpose.

You might have to use multiple drivers to achieve the maximum effect, but its one of the easiest ways to hit subsonic frequencies without a gigantic cabinet.

For more permanent installation, mounting in the floor or ceiling is the route most people take. Wherever you can get the back of the speaker into the most open area. In my case, I'd use my right wall on my living room since the other side is the attached garage.
 
JoeESP9 said:
I've been consistently underwhelmed with most Klipsch speakers. OTOH many here are quite enthusiastic about them. This is one of the reasons listening to as much gear as possible is a good idea. If the Polk system was an HTIB type I'm not surprised it didn't impress. IMO/E HTIB systems don't sound that good. Very few car stereos I've heard sound that good either.

FWIW: My DIY transmission line subs are Eq'd flat to 18Hz. Each is driven by a bridged Crown XLS-402 (900Watts@8 Ohms).
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The bang and olufsen one sounds great. Good imaging, clarity, spacial detail, but it sounds too "home theatre" like. It has a surround option and you can use a dial to variably adjust the surround sound level. It does not distort even at max volume, but the timbre of the wound is very thick and liquid, especially the highs. It sounds good but not "natural". My klipsch KG 5.5's sounded great. No distortion, big bass, smooth highs, they really sounded good, but not open baffle good.
 
JoeESP9 said:
How about some details on this "super sounding" open baffle system? Maybe a picture!
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I don't have a picture here are the details on Erwins system

Zenith 49u056 tweeter
Zenith 49cz852 12" almost-full-range driver
a 15" subwoofer for each baffle. I forgot the name all I know is that they cost around 350 each and they are not made anymore.

Their system currently has a 25 ish watt tube amp, and the 15's share a beefy plate amp.

Their room has bass traps and acoustic dampening all over the walls.

The highs are not hissy by the slightest amount. The tweeter compliments the midrange perfectly and give it the most natural sound.
The bass. Ohhhhhh the bass. They tuned their tube amp so the bass sounds like this
Its hard hitting and deep. Powerful and clean, however the bass just sort of comes out and touches you, then goes back into hiding. its really fantastic, borderline spectacular! It is not boomy at all. The woofer only provides bass ONLY when the music calls for it. its just sooooo nice

The mids are incredibly clean, detailed, and spookily realistic. They have no hint of shout, and are easy and addicting to listen to. the highs are the same. Completely non-fatiguing. detailed, and just enough sparkle.

The imaging has pinpoint accuracy, and the stereo separation between the two channels is un ****ing believable. These Zenith 12" drivers bring out the detail in each channel so well. I can hear different things on the left and right side so perfectly and independent of each other.

The spatial detail is jaw dropping. Amongst the guitar, bass and drums, even at full volume, I could hear stevie ray vaughn's voice echoing in the room it was recorded in so perfectly. It just boggles my mind.

Now that said, all good systems have their drawbacks.

Unfortunately the zeniths have a small sweet spot

thats it for the drawbacks gentlemen.

the Zeniths sound very delicate and not too thin, nor too thick. The 15" audio nirvanas they have, which come close to the zeniths, sound thicker.

If you're reading this Erwin, you rock!
 
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