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Re: Ultimate subwoofer ???

Posted by tomservo (M) on September 8, 2002 at 09:38:26

In Reply to: Ultimate subwoofer ??? posted by Harold on August 27, 2002 at 06:05:30:

Hi

Sound reinforcement use also suggests that you may have room for a horn loaded subwoofer.
If that is the case, you might want to look at it slightly differently and consider what will give you the greatest acoustic
power per box volume and input Watt. Like they say "if input power is the most important thing, get a toaster oven".

From the output power stand point (and once the output requirement says about 45 cu/ft or more speaker box volume is
acceptable) a good low frequency horn is the way to go.
We (the company I work at, Servodrive) has been selling very powerful horns for many years however there is a DIY
project on the LAB which results in a horn which has very high performance. Comparative measurements done by a large
speaker company suggest it handily out performs several of the most popular bass horns in the US pro sound market.
In that application, motor strength is part of what makes it work and the problem is that the largest motor one can put on
an 18 inch driver could also be put on a 12 inch, which one can use 2 of yielding a stronger motor system.
The nitty gritty of the design is at the site as well as drawings etc.

If your needs dictate that you would use 1 per side, then a good dual 18 is your best bet but if your considering
4 to 6 or more 18's, then consider the lab sub as it will save you boxes, pounds, Watts and THD.
Cheers,

Tom Danley
Servodrive / Sound Physics Labs

As for ultimate, I would think the system we supplied to Aberdeen proving grounds for a battle field simulator would be
right up there. It is in a room with 2 foot think concrete walls and (as a playback system) can actually cause "shell shock".

We also made several sonic boom simulators, including one for NASA (installed next to an air force base outside of
Atlanta) which could produce 132 dB on the outside of a house from 5 kHz down to 3 HZ.
At 3 Hz, it had the displacement of a 8 by 12 foot piston moving 1 1/2 feet peak to peak, a significant woofer.

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