Looking for an actual 12" (sub)woofer.

[abdo123]

Hey all.

I'm looking for a subwoofer with exactly 30 cm outer diameter (± 5 mm is fine i can sand it off) with a maximum cut-off diameter of 27 cm.

Low Fs is a must since I'm aiming at an F10 of ~20-25Hz in an enclosure of ~55-60 Liter. Not really mission impossible but almost all widely known 12" subwoofers have outer diameters of 31 or 32 cm and a cut-off diamters of 28.5cm or even more.

The only ones i found so far in my search are the Morel TiCW 1258 and the Morel UW 1258, however they're ridiclously priced at ~550 euros (620$) each (I need two) and I feel like they're way too much for the price. Any further suggestions are of course welcome.

 

[D!sco]

Have you looked into pro woofers? Eminence won't handle power like the Morels, but they make some solid bass drivers.

 

[Chrispy]

Why just a 12?

 

[abdo123]

Why just a 12?

I’m replacing a driver in a subwoofer I already have.

 

[voodooless]

Have you looked into pro woofers? Eminence won't handle power like the Morels, but they make some solid bass drivers.

Lab12C comes to mind indeed. It's 305 mm.

Otherwise go through this list: http://www.loudspeakerdatabase.com/search/12.0_size_in_12.0/9_fs_30/10.0_xmax_42.5/page=1 , no pain, no gain

 

[abdo123]

Lab12C comes to mind indeed. It's 305 mm

not really, it's 318mm and 280mm cut-out.

I'm going to talk to a carpenter about whether they can make the cutout bigger, would probably be very tricky since they can't take out the baffle and put it on a table or something.

 

[alex-z]

If you are going to talk to a carpenter, just build a whole new cabinet for whatever driver you want. Cost is minor compared to the driver and amplifier. You can build an extremely well braced 115L enclosure from a single 4x8ft sheet of MDF.

 

[voodooless]

not really, it's 318mm and 280mm cut-out.

I'm going to talk to a carpenter about whether they can make the cutout bigger, would probably be very tricky since they can't take out the baffle and put it on a table or something.

Ah, damn, you are right. A good business model though: sell a sub with sub-standard size, so that if it breaks you'll need to go back to the manufacturer for a replacement

 

[abdo123]

If you are going to talk to a carpenter, just build a whole new cabinet for whatever driver you want. Cost is minor compared to the driver and amplifier. You can build an extremely well braced 115L enclosure from a single 4x8ft sheet of MDF.

the previous one is beautifully made out of oak with an even prettier finish and speaker grill. the custom wood work required to get the same results may not worth the extra octave i will get.

 

[voodooless]

the previous one is beautifully made out of oak with an even prettier finish and speaker grill. the custom wood work required to get the same results may not worth the extra octave i will get.

Any chance to get the original drivers? Or if they are broken: get them repaired?

Or an 11" driver: http://www.loudspeakerdatabase.com/ScanSpeak/28W-4878T00 diameter is quite a bit smaller though, but it might be easier to get this to fit.

 

[abdo123]

Any chance to get the original drivers? Or if they are broken: get them repaired?

it's not really broken, just insufficient . currently they roll-off quite sharply below 40Hz and can't get very loud.

 

[voodooless]

it's not really broken, just insufficient . currently they roll-off quite sharply below 40Hz and can't get very loud.

Since you have a grill, why not build an adapter and throw in some massive 10" monsters? UM10-22 will hit about 102 dB at 30Hz in one of your boxes. Add some room gain, and it could be enough for you. Any idea about the performance of the old drivers? Would be good to compare what they can do.

Hard to get in Europe I think: Acoustic Elegance IB10AU-4

Also relevant: how much power is the amp? Isn't that the limiting factor?

 

[abdo123]

Since you have a grill, why not build an adapter and throw in some massive 10" monsters? UM10-22 will hit about 102 dB at 30Hz in one of your boxes. Add some room gain, and it could be enough for you. Any idea about the performance of the old drivers? Would be good to compare what they can do.

Hard to get in Europe I think: Acoustic Elegance IB10AU-4

Also relevant: how much power is the amp? Isn't that the limiting factor?

It's a passive subwoofer. so i can always get more power later.

I couldn't find any info on the size of the woofer you shared.

the only limitation is cost really, which is why perhaps getting two Dayton RSS315HF-4 12" and modifying the baffle might be the way to go.

 

[voodooless]

It's a passive subwoofer. so i can always get more power later.

So how much power do you have now?

I couldn't find any info on the size of the woofer you shared.

They are both 10", so would need some kind of an adapter to mount.

the only limitation is cost really, which is why perhaps getting two Dayton RSS315HF-4 12" and modifying the baffle might be the way to go.

What would be the max budget for the two? The Dayton would be a fine driver if you get it to fit. Also, you said they are insufficient, in what way. What frequencies do you find are deficient? Should the focus me on < 35 Hz or > 45 Hz?

 

[abdo123]

So how much power do you have now?

Around 200W @ 4 Ohm.

What would be the max budget for the two? The Dayton would be a fine driver if you get it to fit. Also, you said they are insufficient, in what way. What frequencies do you find are deficient? Should the focus me on < 35 Hz or > 45 Hz?

probably around 500 euros for the drivers only. (unless there is a very good reason to just go for the Morels)

focus should be mainly on the 20Hz - 100Hz region.

 

[voodooless]

Around 200W @ 4 Ohm.

That should be plenty. My 10" sub rocks the house with only 200W.

probably around 500 euros for the drivers only. (unless there is a very good reason to just go for the Morels)

focus should be mainly on the 20Hz - 100Hz region.

Any emphasis on a specific part? For music, I would say > 35 Hz is most important. For movies, an extended range is needed. In the case of the 10" UM vs 12" RSS, the main difference is above 30 Hz, below that it's only bout 1.5 dB to 2 dB, which is for both max SPL as well as efficiency. At 50 Hz the difference is already ~5 dB in favour of the 12". If you can fit the RSS, take the RSS.

 

[abdo123]

That should be plenty. My 10" sub rocks the house with only 200W.

Any emphasis on a specific part? For music, I would say > 35 Hz is most important. For movies, an extended range is needed. In the case of the 10" UM vs 12" RSS, the main difference is above 30 Hz, below that it's only bout 1.5 dB to 2 dB, which is for both max SPL as well as efficiency. At 50 Hz the difference is already ~5 dB in favour of the 12". If you can fit the RSS, take the RSS.

Is there a difference between mounting a woofer on top of a baffle or flush with a baffle? (keep in mind frequencies in the mid-range as well).

 

[voodooless]

Is there a difference between mounting a woofer on top of a baffle or flush with a baffle? (keep in mind frequencies in the mid-range as well).

For those sub frequencies, I would say no. Flush mounting is pure esthetics. Why would you worry about midrange frequencies for a sub?

 

[Digby]

Why not just buy another subwoofer and use it with the one you have?(is space an issue)

Is it really worth the time/energy/effort to build a subwoofer, when there are decent subwoofers (SVS) available for relatively little money.

 

[abdo123]

For those sub frequencies, I would say no. Flush mounting is pure esthetics. Why would you worry about midrange frequencies for a sub?

Since the enclosure is built like a tank i might just add a coax driver to it in the future.