List your subwoofer and its limitations /strengths

[J. PUPSTER]

Brand: DIY
2, 12" in Helmholtz ported design

View attachment 39399

Yes it's a design most known for use in automotive sound systems. I purchased many years ago when I was presenting a movie The Wizard of Speed and Time. Delightfully fun but the audio did not match the cool visuals. I needed BASS, something to make things go BOOM. This did it.

Eventually I readjusted it for music. That will always be my priority. It integrates very well and someone new listening to it would probably not even know I had as sub going. Partly because most peoples experience with any kind of sub woofer comes from Best Buy where it's always thump-a-phonic. I have 3 Adcom 555 power amps & the 3rd one goes directly to my sub woof & center front. The subs are 4 ohms wired in series. It is fairly large but it is about 2/3 forward in the room facing my screen and the sweet spot is in a chair directly in front of it. Yes you can feel the bass through your back. A 1/2" thick clear glass table top sits on it & with regular room lighting (not camera flash) it doesn't call any attention to itself visually.

In addition to this my front ch speakers are Infinity Kappa 8 and rear Infinity Kappa 7. All have 12" woofs in it. The Kappa 8 crosses over at a low 90 Hz so you could call this a 4 way full range or a 3 way with built in sub woof. With 6, 12" woofs in the room it still sounds appropriate with music but with movies at high level it can actually vibrate the concrete floor. That"s why I refer to this as my Bassment.

There are some amazing subs listed in earlier notes. I have googled several of them because it is so intriguing. The only ones listed I am familiar with are the 12" Polk's. My son in law has two of them positioned more commonly facing the viewing area backed up against a concrete wall by the screen. It has true impact of a movie theater, very impressive. But it sounds a little over powering on music. So much is in adjusting for what you're priorities are.

Very cool SW, but do they make those remotes fly off the table?
Much respect for the ingenuity!

 

[The56Kid]

Dual port, sealed?

Sorry about that. It’s not sealed sub. It’s a down firing sub with a 12” driver and two ports near the driver. The ports can be left unplugged or plugged. Unplugged, it reaches 25Hz; with one port plugged, it extends to 18Hz which is how I have it configured.

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Very cool SW, but do they make those remotes fly off the table?
Much respect for the ingenuity!

Thanks for the reply! They don't fly off the table but they do buzz noticeably. However with drinks on the table you can see the ripple effect just like when a big 'ol T-Rex is sneaking up on you.

 

[holland123]

I use a Sunfire True Subwoofer mkII. It dates back to when Bob Carver was still running Sunfire.

pros: relatively small but extremely powerful. It can shake the walls. It goes down very low into the sub 20hz region.

cons: when placed properly to provide a good response in the listening room, it really booms through and shakes the rest of the house. Its not the easiest to place either.

For the 2nd time since I've owned it, it has developed an occasional hum. This is due to an internal ground connection that loosens up near the level control as the sub vibrates. Tightening it back down solves the problem. But since it is getting long in the tooth, I'm thinking I want to send it in for refurbishment. The authority for this is Flannery's Vintage Audio in Washington state. Bill Flannery is an experienced Sunfire tech who services these units and restores them. $275 gets all the caps and pots plus a load of other components replaced.

My f ing Sunfire has that same bs hum almost since the day I bought it. keep thinking about replacing it but I just unplug the damn thing until i really want it on, I would Def not purchase another

 

[GOS]

My f ing Sunfire has that same bs hum almost since the day I bought it. keep thinking about replacing it but I just unplug the damn thing until i really want it on, I would Def not purchase another

How old is your Sunfire my man?

 

[Soundfield]

List your subwoofer
None
and its limitations
None
/strengths
(see above)

Actually I did once own a sub-woofer.
It came with my TV sound bar.
It sounded ghastly.
I took it to the dump.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

My f ing Sunfire has that same bs hum almost since the day I bought it. keep thinking about replacing it but I just unplug the damn thing until i really want it on, I would Def not purchase another

If its a Carver designed unit, the good news for you is you actually cant purchase a new one.

When its working properly, its a superlative unit. I haven't checked out high end subs recently, but I'd bet it can still hang with the heavy hitters in the current marketplace.

I've used it for over 15 years now with very little trouble. The hum issue is a mechanical design flaw that shows up on all of them eventually. Bill Flannery has a modification that permanently fixes it. If I were you, I'd consider having yours serviced. You wont find a better sub for the $275 asking price.

 

[JohnN]

Polk HTS 12"
https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/subwoofer-polk-hts-12-anyone.769241/Surprised, blends really well with Infinity Primus 360.
Heavy - lol fun to carry upstairs.

 

[Mesozoic Mike]

I use a Sunfire True Subwoofer mkII. It dates back to when Bob Carver was still running Sunfire.

pros: relatively small but extremely powerful. It can shake the walls. It goes down very low into the sub 20hz region.

cons: when placed properly to provide a good response in the listening room, it really booms through and shakes the rest of the house. Its not the easiest to place either.

For the 2nd time since I've owned it, it has developed an occasional hum. This is due to an internal ground connection that loosens up near the level control as the sub vibrates. Tightening it back down solves the problem. But since it is getting long in the tooth, I'm thinking I want to send it in for refurbishment. The authority for this is Flannery's Vintage Audio in Washington state. Bill Flannery is an experienced Sunfire tech who services these units and restores them. $275 gets all the caps and pots plus a load of other components replaced.

I have the same Sunfire as you. It's been great, but is getting old. Do you have contact information for Bill Flannery? I'm just trying to plan ahead. Thanks.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

I have the same Sunfire as you. It's been great, but is getting old. Do you have contact information for Bill Flannery? I'm just trying to plan ahead. Thanks.

Here ya go

 

[DennisMabry]

Here ya go

Thank you for this! My Sunfire MK IV sub hums as well. This may just be the fix I've been looking for.

 

[marpow]

I have one REL S5, I am no sub expert but I like that it is not a big booming sound, tight sounding and subtle. I have it right in the corner of my room, I think it sounds perfect.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

Thank you for this! My Sunfire MK IV sub hums as well. This may just be the fix I've been looking for.

FYI, I emailed Bill to ask for more information on the Sunfire sub service he provides. This is his reply:

Hi Paul;
My service is more like an overhaul than a repair. Every electrolytic capacitor in the unit is replaced/updated with either Panasonic or Nichicon long life, low ESR caps. All 3 rotary controls are replaced, regardless of their condition, any missing factory updates are installed and I have an update of my own that greatly reduces the 60 Hz hum that this model is plagued with. Usually I wind up replacing over 60 parts. If all the fuses are intact then the cost is $275.00 plus return shipping and handling. If any of the 3 fuses is burned open then the cost increases to $325 + S&H because the final stage output transistors and switching power supply mosfets are usually shorted. I offer a one year parts and labor warranty, my turnaround time is approximately 3 to 4 weeks right now. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions or concerns.

Best Regards

 

[hafquark]

Still using the Fried passive subwoofer I bought around 1986. The cabinet is 24"x15"x12" with a 10" polypropylene driver with dual voice coil, and uses a "line tunnel" port (so basically functions more like a sealed cabinet.)

It extends down to 32 Hz with a 100 Hz crossover. I'm powering it with a standalone subwoofer amp wired at 4 Ohms to output 500W RMS. I use my Oppo's analog outs set at an 80 Hz crossover.

It's an old SW but runs like a champ -- tight, accurate, non-thumpy bass that with some fine-tuning integrates really well with my other speakers. Unless the speaker blows out before I do, it's a keeper

 

[The Rang]

Velodyne SPL1200II

Sealed rather than ported, deep tight bass.
Shortcomings ?
Well, it’s dead right now so I guess that’s a problem LOL
Spoke to the local authorized repair depot, he figures he knows what up, can fix it for a couple of hundred bucks.
He, and the owner of a local high end shop who was the Velodyne factory sales rep years ago, feel it’s worth repairing

 

[Jeffrey Michael]

I have one of those Sunfire True Subwoofers in storage. A few short years ago, I ended up replacing several faulty capacitors and it worked for some time until it started to make a weird popping sound on turn on. I decided to throw it in storage.

For the past couple of years, I’ve been using a Goldenear SuperSub X with my active monitors. I was using Kef for a bit less than a year but, recently, returned to active speakers because I missed the control and punch, among other positive reasons for having the power and equalization built inside a speaker.

 

[Frogmort]

Years ago, I googled 'best subwoofer ever' or something, and came up with Seaton SubMersive, made by Mark Seaton. I found out that he bought his speaker drivers from the same company as Dayton Audio that offers DIY packages with flat-pack cabinets where you just glue together the pre-cut panels for the cabinet and install the hardware and drivers yourself at massive savings, plus you have to get a power amp, and the recommended price to quality that is supposedly almost custom made for this particular setup is the iNuke NU6000DSP. I use REW (free program) to measure my room and the built-in iNuke software to adjust my eq. I have 2 Ultimax 18" sealed cabinets, one on each end of the couch, in a fairly small listening room, and I can get flat response (-3dB) down to about 8Hz. Most people can't hear much below about 20Hz, but anyone can feel it.

I spent about $1200 on my sub setup, but since I went DIY, I have close to the equivalent of about a $5000 sub setup. Anyone with an understanding of very basic woodshop, glueing pre-cut panels, using a drill and screwdriver, and maybe some basic soldering, can have a top-end professional bass rig for a very reasonable price.

 

[Mesozoic Mike]

Here ya go

Thank You.

 

[bluelightning]

Years ago, I googled 'best subwoofer ever' or something, and came up with Seaton SubMersive, made by Mark Seaton. I found out that he bought his speaker drivers from the same company as Dayton Audio that offers DIY packages with flat-pack cabinets where you just glue together the pre-cut panels for the cabinet and install the hardware and drivers yourself at massive savings, plus you have to get a power amp, and the recommended price to quality that is supposedly almost custom made for this particular setup is the iNuke NU6000DSP. I use REW (free program) to measure my room and the built-in iNuke software to adjust my eq. I have 2 Ultimax 18" sealed cabinets, one on each end of the couch, in a fairly small listening room, and I can get flat response (-3dB) down to about 8Hz. Most people can't hear much below about 20Hz, but anyone can feel it.

I spent about $1200 on my sub setup, but since I went DIY, I have close to the equivalent of about a $5000 sub setup. Anyone with an understanding of very basic woodshop, glueing pre-cut panels, using a drill and screwdriver, and maybe some basic soldering, can have a top-end professional bass rig for a very reasonable price.

Please share more details. Is this what you got ?

https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-18-ultimax-subwoofer-and-cabinet-bundle--300-7099
Appears to be a very nice combo. To get this sort of performance you would easily need to spend $3K + on each subwoofer from audiophile brands. Seaton, JT etc. offer tremendous value for money among the internet direct dealers. The Submersive, I believe uses two 15" drivers.

 

[Frogmort]

Please share more details. Is this what you got ?

https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-18-ultimax-subwoofer-and-cabinet-bundle--300-7099
Appears to be a very nice combo. To get this sort of performance you would easily need to spend $3K + on each subwoofer from audiophile brands. Seaton, JT etc. offer tremendous value for money among the internet direct dealers. The Submersive, I believe uses two 15" drivers.

Yep, I got two of those plus an iNuke NU6000DSP to power them.