[Fishtank]

Hey THT vet's... I'm looking for some opinions based on experience of owning/operating one of these giants. I've been trying to talk myself out of one for a month now, but I'm losing the fight. I'm basically a sub noob, but I know I'm handy enough to handle building any of the subs I've seen so far. My last 2 subs were pretty tiny, 10" velodyne i got for cheap, and then a newer 8"psb sub... both completely unremarkable, I don't think I've heard anything under 30hz yet... but I do live in an apartment.


Anyhow I'm going to be living in a Townhouse soon(sharing walls with neighbors). It's better than my apartment, and at least the walls are poured concrete down in the basement where my HT will be. Flanking will still be an issue I'm sure, I have no idea how much.


The room size will be about 30x20. I'm only using about half of that for my HT (15x20), however as of right now it's an open space and I doubt I will be building a wall. I really would prefer a nice 12" sealed sub in a 2 cu box for looks, also it would probably be more practical but all everybody talks about is the THT around here so it's kind of tough to ignore.... and I'm curious.


I'm not going to be able to use a THT at anywhere near the levels the majority of you guys get to...do you think this will still be worth it if I need to essentially cripple it and play it at a fraction of the levels...will I still get nice clean bass that can at least go into the 18-20'sh hz range even at low volumes.


Or am I better off finding a quality sealed design that probably fits my needs better. I'm not opposed to even building 2 smaller subs.


Basically i'm looking for opinions on how to get great bass for cheap, while listening to it at lower than normal volumes. THT seems to be at the top of the list in the "bang for buck" category so that's why it's my focus right now.


Thanks in advance for any/all advice.

 

[mj79]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Fishtank /forum/post/18183757


Hey THT vet's... I'm looking for some opinions based on experience of owning/operating one of these giants. I've been trying to talk myself out of one for a month now, but I'm losing the fight. I'm basically a sub noob, but I know I'm handy enough to handle building any of the subs I've seen so far. My last 2 subs were pretty tiny, 10" velodyne i got for cheap, and then a newer 8"psb sub... both completely unremarkable, I don't think I've heard anything under 30hz yet... but I do live in an apartment.


Anyhow I'm going to be living in a Townhouse soon(sharing walls with neighbors). It's better than my apartment, and at least the walls are poured concrete down in the basement where my HT will be. Flanking will still be an issue I'm sure, I have no idea how much.


The room size will be about 30x20. I'm only using about half of that for my HT (15x20), however as of right now it's an open space and I doubt I will be building a wall. I really would prefer a nice 12" sealed sub in a 2 cu box for looks, also it would probably be more practical but all everybody talks about is the THT around here so it's kind of tough to ignore.... and I'm curious.


I'm not going to be able to use a THT at anywhere near the levels the majority of you guys get to...do you think this will still be worth it if I need to essentially cripple it and play it at a fraction of the levels...will I still get nice clean bass that can at least go into the 18-20'sh hz range even at low volumes.


Or am I better off finding a quality sealed design that probably fits my needs better. I'm not opposed to even building 2 smaller subs.


Basically i'm looking for opinions on how to get great bass for cheap, while listening to it at lower than normal volumes. THT seems to be at the top of the list in the "bang for buck" category so that's why it's my focus right now.


Thanks in advance for any/all advice.

You can turn them down.. They sound great actually, Just listening to the radio as we speak @ about 80 db, and everything sounds full, clear and deep. Those low tones will rumble when played low and carry, just like all bass, If your concerned about your neighbors, just kep it down.. Hell you could buy a $100 polk from best buy and have your neighbors get pissed.. But like I said it sounds great at low volume levels and My room acoustics are probably worse than anyones on the board

 

[notnyt]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Fishtank /forum/post/18183757


Hey THT vet's... I'm looking for some opinions based on experience of owning/operating one of these giants. I've been trying to talk myself out of one for a month now, but I'm losing the fight. I'm basically a sub noob, but I know I'm handy enough to handle building any of the subs I've seen so far. My last 2 subs were pretty tiny, 10" velodyne i got for cheap, and then a newer 8"psb sub... both completely unremarkable, I don't think I've heard anything under 30hz yet... but I do live in an apartment.


Anyhow I'm going to be living in a Townhouse soon(sharing walls with neighbors). It's better than my apartment, and at least the walls are poured concrete down in the basement where my HT will be. Flanking will still be an issue I'm sure, I have no idea how much.


The room size will be about 30x20. I'm only using about half of that for my HT (15x20), however as of right now it's an open space and I doubt I will be building a wall. I really would prefer a nice 12" sealed sub in a 2 cu box for looks, also it would probably be more practical but all everybody talks about is the THT around here so it's kind of tough to ignore.... and I'm curious.


I'm not going to be able to use a THT at anywhere near the levels the majority of you guys get to...do you think this will still be worth it if I need to essentially cripple it and play it at a fraction of the levels...will I still get nice clean bass that can at least go into the 18-20'sh hz range even at low volumes.


Or am I better off finding a quality sealed design that probably fits my needs better. I'm not opposed to even building 2 smaller subs.


Basically i'm looking for opinions on how to get great bass for cheap, while listening to it at lower than normal volumes. THT seems to be at the top of the list in the "bang for buck" category so that's why it's my focus right now.


Thanks in advance for any/all advice.

There is no real need to build a THT if you don't want high output levels. You can build a sealed sub much faster/cheaper that will dig lower and sound clean.

 

[Fishtank]



Quote:
Originally Posted by mj79 /forum/post/18183815


You can turn them down.. They sound great actually, Just listening to the radio as we speak @ about 80 db, and everything sounds full, clear and deep. Those low tones will rumble when played low and carry, just like all bass, If your concerned about your neighbors, just kep it down.. Hell you could buy a $100 polk from best buy and have your neighbors get pissed.. But like I said it sounds great at low volume levels and My room acoustics are probably worse than anyones on the board

Awesome, nice to know you like it still at lowered volumes. I'm so new to this I wasn't sure if anything was diminished by not pushing it at least a little.

Quote:
Originally Posted by notnyt /forum/post/18183845


There is no real need to build a THT if you don't want high output levels. You can build a sealed sub much faster/cheaper that will dig lower and sound clean.

That's my common sense side talking, I'm a little surprised you mentioned a sealed sub can dig lower, I kind of thought that was a big pro for the THT. Even a ported sub for that matter would be able to stay flat a bit lower. I was under the impression sealed subs would offer tighter/less boomy bass, and would require more power(more money) to push lower.

 

[notnyt]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Fishtank /forum/post/18183969


Awesome, nice to know you like it still at lowered volumes. I'm so new to this I wasn't sure if anything was diminished by not pushing it at least a little.




That's my common sense side talking, I'm a little surprised you mentioned a sealed sub can dig lower, I kind of thought that was a big pro for the THT. Even a ported sub for that matter would be able to stay flat a bit lower. I was under the impression sealed subs would offer tighter/less boomy bass, and would require more power(more money) to push lower.

THT will be flat to 19/20hz then drop drastically in room from my experience. Sealed subs have a much slower roll off. If you're not looking for super loud subs, it won't be hard to power something that can fill the role you're looking for.

 

[penngray]



Quote:
Or am I better off finding a quality sealed design that probably fits my needs better. I'm not opposed to even building 2 smaller subs.

As others have posted, there is zero reason for you to put a THT in your room. Horns are ALL about SPL and if you never need SPL you shouldn't build them

 

[mj79]

When I finally get mine setup to the point were I have no nulls I will say even at low frequencies and low volumes the tht is the best Ive ever heard.. Tight, deep accurate, not sloppy just a great sound.. I agree with not tho, If your gonna have neighbors its kind of pointless to build something so big, But for you to find a good driver ( sealed tempest or shiva for example ) your gonna end up spending almost double.. This is just one example , but a tempest X2 is $250 i believe then another $250 for a 500 watt plate amp plus lumber/ materials/paint etc .. SO your gonna be around $550-$600 anyways, so I say just go for the THT and keep it down , unless your limited for size.. Maybe



a table tuba??

http://www.billfitzmaurice.com/TT.html




.

 

[mj79]

Just throwing this out there cuz this is one of the nicer big brand subs that I actually have heard and really liked.. Not gonna have all the output or lowend below 30 hz the THT does, but you can actually hear sub 30 which is nice for a prefab HT sub.. Comparing what I have heard this one blew away my $450 Klipsch sub 12 in every aspect

http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-12-.../dp/B000092TT0

 

[KyleLee]

you don't build a horn if you don't need one


horns have issues with size and linear response all of which is corrected with a simple sealed or ported box.

 

[KyleLee]



Quote:
Originally Posted by mj79 /forum/post/18184126


Just throwing this out there cuz this is one of the nicer big brand subs that I actually have heard and really liked.. Not gonna have all the output or lowend below 30 hz the THT does, but you can actually hear sub 30 which is nice for a prefab HT sub.. Comparing what I have heard this one blew away my $450 Klipsch sub 12 in every aspect

http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-12-.../dp/B000092TT0

that's surprising, i wouldn't expect one (klipsch/polk) to really blow away the other. I must have numbers!

 

[RobG5589]

If neighbors are a concern, ditch the THT plan. Go a sealed 10 or 12 and get some bass shakers to add to the effect.

 

[Fishtank]



Quote:
Originally Posted by RobG5589 /forum/post/18184426


If neighbors are a concern, ditch the THT plan. Go a sealed 10 or 12 and get some bass shakers to add to the effect.

Actually I just built a transducer out of an old sub and it's actually pretty awesome. I'll move up the line eventually and buy a buttkicker but I'm happy with it right now and it only cost me $20.


Thanks for all the replies so far, it's confirming what I thought, but being practical isn't always a strong area for me, so I'm glad I asked for advice.


I think I'm going to go back into researching the sealed designs. I don't have a huge interest in doing it all myself with winisd etc, maybe after I've built one I'll give designing an enclosure as well a go.


I've seen a few sealed designs I like, but if anybody has experience on a great 12-15" current design I'm more than happy to hear it, just incase I've over looked it. I'm really looking to come in at $400'sh for the speaker/amp. The wood/accessories aren't really a factor to me.


I could actually buy one of these http://www.digitalproaudio.com/blowo...y--PS350B.html for around $250 - $300, it seems like an ok deal but it's about 6 yrs old and I've kinda settled on making something.... this forum has instilled confidence in myself that I can do better on my own!

 

[maxmercy]



Quote:
Originally Posted by penngray /forum/post/18184065


As others have posted, there is zero reason for you to put a THT in your room. Horns are ALL about SPL and if you never need SPL you shouldn't build them

Quote:
Originally Posted by KyleLee /forum/post/18184363


you don't build a horn if you don't need one


horns have issues with size and linear response all of which is corrected with a simple sealed or ported box.

Quote:
Originally Posted by RobG5589 /forum/post/18184426


If neighbors are a concern, ditch the THT plan. Go a sealed 10 or 12 and get some bass shakers to add to the effect.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mj79 /forum/post/18184075


Maybe a table tuba??

I agree...for low volume listening, sealed or ported....a big no to the table tuba, as I can attest having built and owned one that it does not dig to 20Hz with anything that could be called 'authority', and is a distortion monster way down low. Above 25Hz, it really shines...


Go with a sealed 12" (or even a 15" if you want to turn it up sometimes), and boost the ultra low end for flatter response way down low, if you want it...some amps have this feature (Oaudio 500W amp is one I own that does this), or you can make your own circuit to do it, a Linkwitz Transform...


Use Audyssey's Dynamic Volume at night...it actually works OK...


JSS

 

[mj79]



Quote:
Originally Posted by KyleLee /forum/post/18184388


that's surprising, i wouldn't expect one (klipsch/polk) to really blow away the other. I must have numbers!

I dont have #s on either of them since I just got my meter

. But as far as getting deeper , sounding better with less distortion, and overall output the polk won hands down.. the klipsh was ok, but it sounded really hollow and had a "empty" sort of bass , if that makes sense ..