[BillG]

I realize that putting a sub in-wall can be dicey with the effects of the nearby wall & floor, but I need to do it in this particular room.


Without raising the whole ported vs. sealed box debate, are there any factors that would favor one sub design over the other for in-wall use? My guess is that a ported design could be more boomy when used in-wall, but I just don't know. Also, I want to minimize the sound coming from the rear of the box (if possible at these frequencies) -- is this equal for ported and sealed subs?


I will be building the subs -- possibly the sealed 12" Titanic from Parts-Express or the NHTs or Sonicraft from Madisound. There is plenty of room behind the wall.


Thanks,

Billy

 

[Mike Dzurko]

I would recommend building the sub so the front is close to flush with the wall but physically isolated from the wall as much as possible. Building a good, solid box will be the best way to cut down on leakage behind the sub. But, bass wavelengths are long and they will go right through walls.


As far as ported vs. sealed, there are lots of arguments on that but I can't see that it would make any specific difference. If the sub design is boomy it will sound that way regardless of if you flush mount with a wall. D


If you have placement flexibility, build your sub and try it at right angle to the wall in your various options before cutting holes in the wall. This will closely approximate the response you'll get once you flush mount.

 

[Plasma George]

I got a hold of Phillips 6x9 in wall subwoofers for my applic., click gallery to see on each side of the wall of windows.

They have bulit in cossovers and are passive. They sound great with music, they fill in the low end that the 6" full ranges can't, BUT you don't get any of the booming bass in the room.

In the FR, you can't feel any of the low frequencies, especially during a movie with explosions/etc that bring the movies into my FR.

I have them 12" off the floor, but the physics of the wall mount handcuff the subs from rumbling the house.

I had a 12" rumbling my old house floor, and back to the drawing board for a 12" enclosure that will satisfy my wife's decor.

 

[jjdche]

What is behind your wall?


This sounds like a perfect situation for an infinite baffle subwoofer.

 

[Artisn]

 HERE'S the installation sheet for an Atlantic Technology in-wall sub. You could also contact SVS and they might be willing to design one for you. Good luck - let us know how it works out.

 

[BillG]

The area behind the wall is a storeroom under the stairs. An infinite baffle might be neat, but I need to use some of this space for other things. The floor is concrete, so there won't be vibration through the floor. Somehow I will isolate the front edges of the sub from the wall.


The wall is not a standard stud/sheetrock wall. It is made from 1" thick pine T&G boards.


I am starting to rethink the whole layout, which has been driven by the WAF. The more I read about in-wall setups, the more I realize that it is (or can be) a terrible compromise. I'm already easing her into the idea that in-wall is not the way to go.


I am building my front and CC speakers from a Georgia Tech design using Vifa drivers:
http://users.ece.gatech.edu/~mleach/labsp2/


Professor Leach is well-known in the audio world:
http://users.ece.gatech.edu/~mleach


I built one of his 12" 3-way ported designs about 25 years ago and the speakers still sound good. Somehow my wife has let me keep the monsters...


Billy

 

[jjdche]

Quote:

Originally posted by BillG The area behind the wall is a storeroom under the stairs. An infinite baffle might be neat, but I need to use some of this space for other things. The floor is concrete, so there won't be vibration through the floor. Somehow I will isolate the front edges of the sub from the wall. The wall is not a standard stud/sheetrock wall. It is made from 1" thick pine T&G boards. I am starting to rethink the whole layout, which has been driven by the WAF. The more I read about in-wall setups, the more I realize that it is (or can be) a terrible compromise. I'm already easing her into the idea that in-wall is not the way to go.

A storeroom under the stairs? Thats perfect for IB, as long as that storeroom isn't directly open the theater room.


Also, an IB wouldn't take up any more space than any other sub, the room would still be just as usable.


As far as a compromise, IB is about as far from a compromise as it gets. An IB sub is pretty close to the top of the subwoofer food chain.

 

[BillG]

You've got me thinking about IB designs. I went over to the Cult of the IB where there are lots of good ideas.


A couple of potential problems though. The HT equipment cabinets will be sunk into the storeroom, so I worry about sound leakage through the cabinets. The bigger problem is that there are a number of HVAC ducts which pass through the storage room under the stairs. I would have deep bass delivered throughout the house from the back waves of the subs. But maybe that's a benefit -- a whole-house sub?


Billy

 

[jjdche]

Quote:

Originally posted by BillG You've got me thinking about IB designs. I went over to the Cult of the IB where there are lots of good ideas. A couple of potential problems though. The HT equipment cabinets will be sunk into the storeroom, so I worry about sound leakage through the cabinets. The bigger problem is that there are a number of HVAC ducts which pass through the storage room under the stairs. I would have deep bass delivered throughout the house from the back waves of the subs. But maybe that's a benefit -- a whole-house sub? Billy

Try putting the sub you have now in the storage room and play it at typical levels. Then walk around the house to get an idea of how an IB rear wave would travel throughout the house.