Large room - need wife friendly sub - Page 2

I've been made to believe subs are not directional so there's sound wave radiation all around the sub as opposed to just the driver and vent.

I wish I could say with certainty that supporting the box in the attic with the driver face poking through into your listening venue would come without complications.

You can always try it and see if I'm wrong or do more research on the matter. My comment is a warning that your idea may have complications.

because subwoofer frequencies are very long compared to the dimensions of the box (100 Hz is a littl over 11 feet) they wrap around the box, and subs are theoretically and measurably pretty much omnidirectional (see data-bass.com measurements of subs with multiple drivers to see how similar both SPL and FR are whether you're micing the side a driver is on or the 'back"). Not entirely intuitive.

Anyway, it its in the ceiling and the ceiling is, in effect, the baffle for the driver (the sub box is sitting right on the ceiling) then you have what floks around these parts typically think of when they say "infinite baffle" systems. The ceiling becomes the baffle and the sound waves can't wrap around because the ceiling goes all the way to the walls. So it's a half space sub, kind of like putting one on the floor (I think). If there's space between the driver and the opening in the ceiling then AFAIK you'll indeed have some portion of the sound radiating into the attic (about as close as we can get in a house to a "full space" condition) wasting a lot of output.

Here's a solution. What you need are two passive subs that you could hide in the cabinet. Talk to the DIY guys. Then you can buy an amplifier separately that goes with your other electronics where it can be properly cooled. I would bet you could have two 15" passive sealed enclosures put together, buy the drivers, and the amp within your budget that would fill this room. And if you have room for the right size box for the Dayton HO 18" drivers, you'd definitely be all set

You might even be able to persuade the wife to let you spend more money since you could hide the subs behind a grill that is part of the entertainment center.

I have a PV1D in a larger room than you have and I think it is a fine sub, and up to the job in that room. My wife was not too keen on a sub either, but the PV1D perfectly matched our modern decor. That matters to me as well. Main speakers are Quad 2805's. My advise would be to combine the PV1D with an Antimode 8033 Cinema room equalization system. It much improved the sound, and largely does away with the need for a second sub because it removes room modes. It is even better than that: since the Antimode does not cure dips, you must locate the sub where there are the least dips. That happens to be in the corner. Corner location gives nasty peaks, but the Antimode will flattens them without issue. So my sub is now tightly placed in the corner, largely invisible behind the Quads. But its contribution is clearly audible (even if it seems to emanate from the Quads). The sound is superb. I do not think one should use a sub without room equalization such as the Antimode. The difference is that big. Make your wife happy - and enjoy the sound.
Willem

Hello AVS Forum! I’m a newbie, so I hope to not embarrass myself too much…

I have dual SB12-NSD’s in a 20x20x8 room. One wall opens to the kitchen, and another wall opens to a stairway and landing area to the front door. I’m glad I went with two subs because one wouldn’t have adequately pressurized the room. My wife first thought they would be unattractive, but now she’s fine with them because their matte-black finish blends into the shadows, and they’re not visually intrusive. Their small size makes them easy to relocate when I want to experiment. The towers (set to “small”) in my 3.2 system have fairly good mid-bass, so I’m satisfied with setting the receiver’s LFE crossover to 40 Hz to promote clean bass. If I ever get a bad case of upgrade-itis, I might trade them up for SB13’s, but that seems unlikely. At this point, I’m pretty happy with them. Hope this is helpful.