A Question Re: Tone

Early B.

Let's say you want to build a subwoofer. Ideally, should the sub have the same driver (or the larger size) of the midrange/woofer contained in the speakers in order to maintain the same tonal quality?

Sure, all subs go "boom," but they don't all sound alike. In full range speakers the midrange and the woofers are usually from the same "family," correct? So using the same logic, should you build a sub with the same family of drivers as your speakers? Or does it really matter?

Thanks.

RuSsMaN

Articulation and speed. My two main adjectives in the subwoofer realm.

Vandersteen and VMPS to name two. If they speak sans forked tounge, and can keep up with stats / ribbons - you're good to go with pretty much any speaker out there.

Cheers,
Russ

Early B.

OK, thanks fellas. Eventually I'm gonna need a high quality sub for my 2-channel system and I'm trying to determine whether or not I should build or buy. I'm off to do some more research.

tryrrthg

If you want to build a high quality sub for 2 channel, read up on dipole subs. It will likely be bigger than you want, because you need a lot of displacement. They are supposed to be the most musical subs out there, just like infinite baffle.

The next best choice would be to build the biggest box you can stand, and make a sealed sub with a good driver.

TroyD

As one that normally wouldn't consider a sub.....if you can find a Dahlquist DQ-1W (or whatever the designation is), I'd think about it. I seriously doubt that you could find a more musical woofer. It's passive so you would also need an amp and a crossover.

BDT

Early B.

tryrrthg wrote:

If you want to build a high quality sub for 2 channel, read up on dipole subs. It will likely be bigger than you want, because you need a lot of displacement. They are supposed to be the most musical subs out there, just like infinite baffle.

The next best choice would be to build the biggest box you can stand, and make a sealed sub with a good driver.

It's gotta be a relatively small sub (or two small ones!) if I want the sub(s) to be in close proximity and along the same plane as the speakers. I've got signficant space constraints and WAF considerations. The sub can be a little larger if I place it in the corner on the other side of the room, but I prefer not to do that. Ideally, a good driver(s) in a sealed, rectangular box would work well for my setup.

Got a few questions, so I'll continue this discussion in the DIY section.