Huge room... need suggestions for sub/subs.

[mrbowtie]

I was refered to HSU Research by a few different people on a audio forum that Im a member of, so I thought I would check here and see what advice I got.

Ive got a large great room / kitchen area thats all open. Its in a "L" shape with the kitchen being the leg and totals 1450 sq/ft. To add to the problem both rooms have cathedral ceilings so it adds greatly to the cubic feet. I figure the great room cu/ft is roughly 9100 and the kitchen is roughly 5200, for a grand total of 14,300 cubic feet of air.

The more I research the more it looks like it will have to be a dual sub setup to get any real impact from the subs. My questions are as foloows...

What size drivers do I need to look at? In a big room like that do I need to be going with a 15" or 18" driver to move alot of air? Or will a high excursion 10" or 12" do the job?

Also how much does the amp really play into it? Take for example a sub that has a 12" driver and a 500 watt amp vs. a 12" driver and a 2700 what amp? Other then the obvious reasons for adding power will having a TON of power help to fill a larger room?

Also if I end up with a dual sub setup then do I need to upgrade to a preamp that has 2 sub outs or can I make it work on the preamp that I have that has only one sub out?

Ill be eagrly awaiting your responses! Like most people there isnt a unlimited budget to work with here. Ive got maybe 500-700 bucks to work with at the time. So what are my options? I was thinkin Id be limited to used equipment rather then new right now. :o

[cacihome]

Hi, mrbowtie:

Driver size is important up to a point, but won't be the final word here...

Let's say, for that big space you definately need, at least, a powerful dual sub setup, both with more than a 10inch driver...
The final word, if you want a linear/balanced sub response accross the FR, will be the total sub package + placement... Not the amp itself, the driver itself, or the cabinet. It is the combination of the 3 components what makes a great sub.

Anyway, you won't find a 12" driver with a REAL 2,700rms watt amp(in the commercial sub world)...The driver will be fried before that power comes to it...So be careful not to fall into misleading watt advertisements on the internet...Most of these kw rates you find on the internet are burst of power(peak power ratings for few miliseconds), and do not represent continuos output during an intense track.

Yes, it is all about moving air, but sometimes you get a 15" driver that only moves a couple of mm, and you could end up better with something smaller with more excursion(xmax) in the first place. On the other hand, you can get a driver that has a lot of xmax and still get lots of distortion sounds all over the driver. So, it is not a guarantee either.

Carefully choose a sub that appears to be balanced, that appears to be well made, and do not guide yourself by power ratings, driver size or cabinet size...

As for the sub outs, don't be worried, as you can use a Y splitter to split the sub out signal from your AV or preamp...You can find them in RS or BB or in almost any technology based store.

[mrbowtie]

Awesome! Thanks for the input. The best "real" input Ive had so far, most people just want to tell you about the sub they have lol. Ill keep an eye out and see what turns up but Ill plan on running a dual sub setup. I was pretty sure I was going to need to do that but ya never know. I dont know that I have any other questions right now!!! Helluva answer to my post lol! :D

[cacihome]

Thanks man.

Take care,

Caci

[mrbowtie]

I did actually think of something else. What would you say is a good amp size range to be looking for? Id say the chances are best Ill be looking at 12" drivers with a higher xmax capabilities rather then goin to a bigger driver.

[mrbowtie]

bump

[Pete_Hsu]

It is hard to say anything concrete about more amplifier power equating to filling a room better. First there are various efficiencies to consider, and second there are different ways to rate amplifier power.

[cacihome]

Yep...
It depends on so many factors... I couldn't say.

[mrbowtie]

Hmmm Alrighty then lol. Is there anywhere that explains that stuff so I could read up and find something that is going to suit. Id hate to buy a sub and then it not have enough juice to get the job done... And I also dont really wanna pay for way to much power either. Although Id rather have to much then not enough! Thankss for the help!

[Lwang]

One thing you shouldn't do is buy those microsubs with kilowatts of power. The smaller the enclosure, the less efficient the speaker, hence they will try to compenstate by pumping alot of power through the sub in order to make it sound adaquately loud. And as it has been said, those are not continuous power, so those subs might only be able to play short bursts of sound, not continous rumbling.

There are also ported vs sealed designs. Ported ones utilizes the rear wave and allows the subwoofer to sound louder, given all other factors being the same, but it will have very little output below the port tuning freq, so a proper ported sub design will have to come into play.

When you run dual sub, you are effectively getting 6dB more headroom. It is the equiv, of all things being equal, quadrupling in the power output of a subwoofer, with the driver being able to handle the increase in power. It is quite rare to be able to get that kind of increase in headroom on subwoofers with only an 100% increase in price, so that would be the most effective way of getting enough SPL to fill up a big room.

A good start might be finding 2 old VTF-3 subs. Or start off with 1 VTF-3.3 and see if that satisfies you. If you need more, you can always wait for later to get it.

One thing to look into is placement options. With such a large sized space, there is no point trying to pressurize all that space, so you could be better off with the sub placed very close to the listening position. You will hear most of the sound directly from the sub instead of all the resonances from the room, so you might be able to get away with much less subwoofer.