12" vs. 15"

Early B.
Early B. Posts: 7,900
edited May 2005 in Subwoofer Hookup & Bass Management
Assuming that the same brand of a 12" & 15" driver for a DIY HT sub is tuned to the same frequency, and loudness is not a major consideration, what advantages (and disadvantages) are gained with a 15" driver?

Will the 15" driver create a significantly greater "feeling" of bass than the 12 incher?
HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

"God grooves with tubes."
Post edited by Early B. on
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Comments

  • gatemplin
    gatemplin Posts: 1,595
    edited May 2005
    With 50-60% more Sd, the 15" driver will not have to move as far for a given output. Using the same motor, distortion should be lower. Also, the 15" will usually have a lower resonant frequency (Fs).

    The disadvantage when compared to a 12" is usually higher Vas, so a larger box is needed. For example, a 12" Shiva has a Vas of 103L where a 15" Shiva has a Vas of 280L.
    Graham
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  • aaharvel
    aaharvel Posts: 4,489
    edited May 2005
    well the disadvantage i can immediately think of is lack of accuracy with a bigger driver.
    Sure it plays louder and lower- but most 15" drivers and all 18" drivers i've heard with music (not rap) sounds like a sloppy monotone mess.

    I prefer a good 10" to 12" sub if music and multi-channel music like SACD is your thing first and foremost- and movies come second (for me it's 60/40). You will find that just like auditioning receivers- with subs you can separate the good from the bad by noticing how they perform with music, not necessarily a dolby/dts 5.1 bass heavy movie track.

    Given your choices- (12 vs. 15) with my listening preferences I would choose 12". I'll take accuracy over loudness any day of the week. =)

    hope this helps and good luck!

    front- rti-r
    center- csi-3
    side- f/x300i
    rear- f/x300i
    sub- Velodyne CHT-10
    H/K Signature 2.1+235
    Jungson MagicBoat II
    Revel Performa M-20
    Velodyne cht-10 sub
    Rega P1 Turntable

    "People working at Polk Audio must sit around the office and just laugh their balls off reading many of these comments." -Lush
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  • Dennis Gardner
    Dennis Gardner Posts: 4,861
    edited May 2005
    Honestly any 12, 15, or 18 inch sub can be musical. It must be tuned properly to excel in the music range needed. This is why SVS gives port plugs for some of their subs. Plug a port and the tuned point is raised to allow the sub to be quicker in the area of music. Unplug it and it will play deeper for the movie tracks.

    I use 2-12 inch Shivas in a 10 cubic ft box tuned to 17 hz for great movie impact. This is tuned a little low for great music response, but when plugging the 2-19 inch long 4 inch ports, it is as musical as I could ask for. But then again, I use SDA1Cs for music, so I rarely use a sub for 2 channel critical listening.


    It is all in the design.

    Cheers,

    Dennis
    HT Optoma HD25 LV on 80" DIY Screen, Anthem MRX 300 Receiver, Pioneer Elite BDP 51FD Polk CS350LS, Polk SDA1C, Polk FX300, Polk RT55, Dual EBS Adire Shiva 320watt tuned to 17hz, ICs-DIY Twisted Prs, Speaker-Raymond Cable

    2 Channel Thorens TD 318 Grado ZF1, SACD/CD Marantz 8260, Soundstream/Krell DAC1, Audio Mirror PP1, Odyssey Stratos, ADS L-1290, ICs-DIY Twisted , Speaker-Raymond Cable
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  • aaharvel
    aaharvel Posts: 4,489
    edited May 2005
    17 HZ?

    17 HZ?!?

    good god almighty.


    WAAAAAAAAH!
    H/K Signature 2.1+235
    Jungson MagicBoat II
    Revel Performa M-20
    Velodyne cht-10 sub
    Rega P1 Turntable

    "People working at Polk Audio must sit around the office and just laugh their balls off reading many of these comments." -Lush
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  • goingganzo
    goingganzo Posts: 2,793
    edited May 2005
    you dont even want to know the -3db point on my sub is sence you think 17 is low
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  • Dennis Gardner
    Dennis Gardner Posts: 4,861
    edited May 2005
    Gonzo,

    I would put your sub up against nearly any commercial setup. I've wanted to go IB for a couple years now, but the big ported box is my compromise until I have the room for a multi driver IB.

    I'll bet your IB is the smoothest, most effortless low bass you can find for music, yet can really blow you away with HT explosion tracks.

    DG
    HT Optoma HD25 LV on 80" DIY Screen, Anthem MRX 300 Receiver, Pioneer Elite BDP 51FD Polk CS350LS, Polk SDA1C, Polk FX300, Polk RT55, Dual EBS Adire Shiva 320watt tuned to 17hz, ICs-DIY Twisted Prs, Speaker-Raymond Cable

    2 Channel Thorens TD 318 Grado ZF1, SACD/CD Marantz 8260, Soundstream/Krell DAC1, Audio Mirror PP1, Odyssey Stratos, ADS L-1290, ICs-DIY Twisted , Speaker-Raymond Cable
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  • aaharvel
    aaharvel Posts: 4,489
    edited May 2005
    oh yes i do ganzo.
    i'm guessing 13hz?
    H/K Signature 2.1+235
    Jungson MagicBoat II
    Revel Performa M-20
    Velodyne cht-10 sub
    Rega P1 Turntable

    "People working at Polk Audio must sit around the office and just laugh their balls off reading many of these comments." -Lush
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  • goingganzo
    goingganzo Posts: 2,793
    edited May 2005
    right around there and i can put out about 120db at -3db it is very great and with the xbl. the olny thing is i have a ss filter set to 16 hz with i have to by pass.
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  • aaharvel
    aaharvel Posts: 4,489
    edited May 2005
    ganzo you better not put your system next to mine... my lil' 10" velo will give it a good thrashin' ! =)
    H/K Signature 2.1+235
    Jungson MagicBoat II
    Revel Performa M-20
    Velodyne cht-10 sub
    Rega P1 Turntable

    "People working at Polk Audio must sit around the office and just laugh their balls off reading many of these comments." -Lush
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  • goingganzo
    goingganzo Posts: 2,793
    edited May 2005
    i had a 12 velo a good sub it is more sub than 60% of all people into ht will have my old strykeforce is a better sub then 80% of ht users will have and my curent sub will put me in the top 5%
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