Quote:
Originally Posted by
penngray /forum/post/14184477
Just a sujective, get you excited kind of post.....
With that budget, you can have a SICK DIY Sub
Quoted for truth. $1200 will get you what $3000 won't buy at the store
How is your woodworking?
Have you considered different alignments, ie sealed or ported? There are other "shot in the dark" designs like transmission lines that are unpopular due to their unpredictability and complicated cabinets...
In essence ported harnesses the energy of the backwave produced by the rear of the driver and uses the tuning of the port to enhance the output at certain frequencies, usually where the sub starts to drop in output in the lower most regions of the sound spectrum.
Sealed cabs require a parametric eq unit to do the same as the port but you can change the 'tune' as much or as often as you want. Sealed subs are often reported to sound cleaner without port or air noise, though people who simply stuff a tennis ball into their ported sub will argue this. That's wrong though, as the driver itself has to have a stiffer cone and surround, more motor force and generally be designed with a sealed box in mind. Some drivers work well in either configuration, and some are ideal for ported only.
You can pick a driver and make a cabinet based around that, or vice versa. How big of a box can you hide/show off in your room? Often wives end the best laid plans of mice and men.
If I had twelve hundred bucks to throw at this, I would go with dual 15s in a sealed box with an ep2500 and a Behringer feedback destroyer (you turn off the BFD part, and use it's 24 band PEQ). Elemental Designs has an EQ box for subs and it sells for $65-100. It's only a 2 band, but that's enough in many cases - you're only tuning the 20-50hz range, really... Instead of both you can get the xti amp which already features a 6 band PEQ unit inside, but it will take half your budget righ then and there.
I like having a PEQ like the behringer because you can store multiple filter settings. One for super deep bass, one for night-time, one for punchier region in the 30hz region for music, etc. With a ported box you build it, cross your fingers and fire it up. Then you live with it. Although PVC pipe is a bit cheaper than even the cheapest eD PEQ and there is totally nothing wrong with a well made and designed port... For someone with a bit less of a budget that's about all I could actually advise.
my .02