Sealed, Ported, or Passive Radiators?

01-04-13: Mapman, I used to religiously use ported subs as well and for a long time couldn't be talked out of it. Then I was shown an extremely large transmission line system and liked that even better. But as far as performance in a variety of situations, I found, that a properly built passive radiator system had deeper extension and smoother response.

I kept going back to a ported setup though simply for it's ease of use and design. I also don't run my sub amps down to 1 ohm or any thing like that. I use three Audio Source 200 watt amps for the subs. They are bridged down to mono but never see less than 4 ohms worth of a load on any one of them, they usually stay at 8 Ohms bridged. So even though the amps aren't any thing special, they do alright.

I was also under the impression that giving the largest ported box it's own amp would help keep them under control...... is that right???

In any case, thanks for the comments, I hadn't given much thought about actually building/using a transmission line box yet. And I've got plenty of space.......
Andrew

01-04-13: Jafant, Of course I'd have to agree with that, however it's the time and energy I'm a bit short on. I'd have to build up with some more prototypes before I could fully integrate them into my system, I am looking toward changing my system around again one day soon.
Andrew

01-04-13: Rlwainwright, I would most certainly agree with you if, we were referring to say, my living room. I usually try to follow the K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid) philosophy, however in this case we are talking about what is in my sound room. Which I built specifically to explore some extreme setups.
Andrew

01-05-13: Geoffkait, Yes of course I have heard of wave cancellation. If you re-read my post you'll see that I have split up my subs into frequency specific "task masters" if you will. I also use a Pioneer Elite SC-61 that comes with a mic and tunes itself, adjusting for Standing Waves, Phase Control, Speaker distance from listener, and so on. I also keep all my sub boxes up front and on the same plane as the L/C/R channels.

01-05-13: Rfogel8, Again I agree that Transmission line subs are performers...... and that sealed boxes can do well also.

It is perhaps my fault I didn't make my question(s) clear enough.

Does the simple concept of using task specific subs & woofers, split among the frequency ranges like mids & highs, in order to handle specific areas of low end frequencies, have it's advantages?

And more specifically, I am wondering if combining the best setups into "Frequency or task specific" groups can be beneficial? As far as I can tell it is, but my setup is huge and made up of a lot of left overs. So......has anyone else done this before? With what kind of results?

I feel like I've finally got a system that never says no, regardless of my constant poking and prodding. It has the authority of a hard hitting car stereo and the best clarity I can afford.

01-27-13: Rower30, Actually I have all my subs stacked into a small 10 foot by 6 foot area, I was aware that using so many subs in a system can cause a lot of phase issues. So I tried to keep everything on a wall radiating together, along with adjustable gains I can dial everything in.

Also I definitely agree that once you've experienced effortless low end, especially below 30 Hz, there is no going back. Since I come from a large military family I have had some of the experiences expressed in today's movies. And I honestly do not believe, that most systems out there, do justice to the air disturbance caused by battlefield munitions. I've heard it before, having a system that could liquify you like in I.E.D. isn't appropriate. But I propose at least an approximation of the aforementioned battlefield duress.

Andrew

01-06-13: Rower30, I agree with your take on how passives sound and work, we just have a difference in opinion about how much bandwidth should be available from a system. To be taken to the literal edge would mean constructing an I.E.D. series of Loudspeakers. While that sounds tempting and profitable, from a military standpoint, I don't think that is what I'm after...... Well only if I get a controlling stake in the company.(LOL!!!)

I imagine we don't listen to the same music either, you see, I listen to some music that was designed to be turned up. I don't mean to judge or any thing, but, I don't know many people that enjoy 28Hz bass-lines playing away at 120db. I also believe that constantly (and by choice) listening to music from inferior setups can be an injustice to it's composer/creators.

One of my favorite little "prototypes" I built used Two massively overbuilt 5" drivers/woofers (I forget the actual size of the magnet, but it is the same diameter as the cut-out hole for the woofer!) mated to a 15" passive radiator in a 2 cubic foot enclosure. That became my "little" sub-woofer of choice for listening to Pink Floyd's album "Wish you Were Here".

Also - What do you think of the idea about using different woofers in the same system? Split up to cover specific frequencies. Just like mid-bass, mids, & mid-tweeters.

Andrew
Synesthesia Studios

01-10-13: Rower30, I agree that some of my sustained SPL levels are certainly high enough. I am quite aware that my tastes are off pace with the normal:-) And definitely agree that it is very difficult to get everybody to cooperate, all the different subs I mean. I've spent most of my time tuning and keeping the frequency spectrum from having any huge lumps in it. It has worked out a bit, although I've only had a few trusted heads listen to it. Keeping in mind the number of subs, on a single plane, and the timing issues, phasing, and so on. I'd say it's definitely not for the easily discouraged types. Although, since I have so many subs playing together I do benefit from a shared workload. It's probably just as well, my job doesn't go well for people that flinch at loud noises anyway.

01-12-13: Audiokinesis, I have to say if some one wanted to pay me to make this for them..... I wouldn't. I've built and seen sound rooms with multiple distributed subs, and the results are outstanding. Say using four 12" drivers one in each pocket but, not quite in the corners, right? And as far as the right sub/setup, I just don't know. Maybe I just feel like a single source can't operate efficiently at 30hz and 100hz simultaneously.... So perhaps I achieved one goal with my idea there.

Andrew
Synesthesia Studios