I'm in the market for 4 new 15-18" subwoofers for HT and music. SQ is my major concern. SPL is important too but only if SQ is not compromised.

Of those listed in the title which would you recommend and why? These will either be in sealed boxes with a Q of .5-.6 or mounted in IB manifolds. In either case they'll be crossed and EQed digitally so driver Q doesn't really matter. Efficiency doesn't matter either because brute power is fairly cheap these days.

BTW, the Audiopulse is on a one day sale for $348 at PE and the AE AV15's are on their last day pre-order price of $219. So... I need help TODAY!!

Feel free to make other suggestions but please explain your reasoning.

Edited October 31, 200816 yr by Mike1234

id jump on that auduiopulse, in fact, Im really debating on gettin another right now for that price

but im not sure on the names of those other subs

but that audiopulse is the best sub if have, great sq, and hittin 146 at comps

Edited October 31, 200816 yr by fritosaregood

Acoustic Elegance Audio here... http://www.aespeakers.com/

im not seein the av15 on there, but i think you have very different woofers, that Axis is 2500 rms and the AE td is 500, and the TD also said is Bass~Mid..

I would go with the Axis since that TD seems like it wouldnt even compare to the Axis, but since im just reading about them and not hearing, maybe someone else would know more,..

btw i just ordered one of the axis's. ive got one .. but i couldnt resist gettin another for that price..ha

wait i feel dumb now, is HT home theater.. cuz if it is, i would be weary about the axis, just using 500 watts on my axis knocks things off my shelfs.. in my entire house, neighbors complained too

I'm more concerned about SQ than anything else. Max SPL, power handling, efficiency, etc., are all secondary concerns... though they are concerns.

Edited October 31, 200816 yr by Mike1234

Yes... HT= Home Theater. Sorry for the confusion. I forget that not all forums always share the same acronyms.

I'm more concerned about SQ than anything else. Max SPL, power handling, efficiency, etc., are all secondary concerns... though they are concerns.

the audiopulse definately has sq. It sound tons better at 500rms to me, because more power makes everythin rattle and makes for annoying music,.

what is the setup goin to be like?

I'm not yet sure whether these will be Infinite Baffle (mounted in manifolds with rear acoustic output vented into the attic) or large sealed boxes. I prefer IB but the layout of my living room may make this impossible. Most likely two pairs will be corner loaded (facing the corners) in the back of the room. A pair of 18's will be located centrally between the mains. Each pair will have one driver facing inward and the other outward to cancel motor nonlinearities (a type of distortion). This is not isobaric (face-to-face) mounted but rather they'll be in separate chambers so I don't lose total SPL capablities.

EDIT: And I WANT my walls to rattle!! :-)

Edited October 31, 200816 yr by Mike1234

I'm not yet sure whether these will be Infinite Baffle (mounted in manifolds with rear acoustic output vented into the attic) or large sealed boxes. I prefer IB but the layout of my living room may make this impossible. Most likely two pairs will be corner corner loaded (facing the corners) in the back of the room. A pair of 18's will be located centrally between the mains. Each pair will have one driver facing inward and the other outward to cancel motor nonlinearities (a type of distortion). This is not isobaric (face-to-face) mounted but rather they'll be in separate chambers so I don't lose total SPL capablities.

EDIT: And I WANT my walls to rattle!! :-)

I haven't use my axis in a sealed box yet, im afraid it will rip the box apart. it seem you know more about things than me too, but i use a trans line in the corner of my room, that is the box that caused everythin to rattle, i also have good experience from my dayton hf 15, it cant take all off the 500 watts in the trans line enclosure, but it definately had great sq and rattled walls, i know that wasnt one of your options, but its another sub from PE

I'm using the TC Sounds version of the Axis in small, sealed enclosures powered by a Behringer EP-2500. With a Behringer Feedback Destroyer to bring down the inductance hump, it is a great sounding sub that can get incredibly loud. But it is NOT designed for IB installs. You need a low BL, low Fs, high Vas, Qtc of .5 to .7 driver. AE makes some as well as Exodus and Fi.

I also have the older AV series and they are incredible sounding subs. Yes, they are much cleaner sounding than my TC-3000s but they don't have near the output.

-Robert

The Dayton RS390HF is definitely a welcome option. I've heard many good things about them. However, I've also heard that their cones can pop like a tin can if driven hard. That worries me. I'm sure I can build a box strong enough to handle the Axis.

A TL, eh? Can you post a pick or link? TL's do intrigue me but I'd probably take the easy route and use reinforced Sonotube.

I haven't use my axis in a sealed box yet, im afraid it will rip the box apart. it seem you know more about things than me too, but i use a trans line in the corner of my room, that is the box that caused everythin to rattle, i also have good experience from my dayton hf 15, it cant take all off the 500 watts in the trans line enclosure, but it definately had great sq and rattled walls, i know that wasnt one of your options, but its another sub from PE

I'd figure out your mounting configuration and alignment before even shopping, considering you don't know you could make a rather expensive mistake by buying today.

The Dayton RS390HF is definitely a welcome option. I've heard many good things about them. However, I've also heard that their cones can pop like a tin can if driven hard. That worries me. I'm sure I can build a box strong enough to handle the Axis.

A TL, eh? Can you post a pick or link? TL's do intrigue me but I'd probably take the easy route and use reinforced Sonotube.

I haven't use my axis in a sealed box yet, im afraid it will rip the box apart. it seem you know more about things than me too, but i use a trans line in the corner of my room, that is the box that caused everythin to rattle, i also have good experience from my dayton hf 15, it cant take all off the 500 watts in the trans line enclosure, but it definately had great sq and rattled walls, i know that wasnt one of your options, but its another sub from PE

Ive drivin mine very hard, and the only think that happens is a little bit of woofer cookin smells, but thats using more power than i should have,

here the box in my house, with the dayton in it.

its got a line length of a 45 hz wave,

Robert: Thanks for the info. For IB I don't think Qts is terribly important provided I keep it below .7, Fs is fine as long as it's below 25. The most important thing is finding those with strong linear motors with low distortion. I'm using a BFD to smooth the response and EP2500's to power them.

M5: You're right about that but, as per above, I think it'll be okay.

Frito: I'll research the RS390 a bit more. I don't intend to overdrive these subs so perhaps the tin can pop won't be an issue. Oh... and don't smoke your sub. Just buy another one for eardrum popping output, heh, heh.

You gouys rock!!

Edited November 1, 200816 yr by Mike1234

If your really after IB, you realize you can get almost 2.5 of the Dayton 15s for every Audiopulse, on sale, right?

They probably have just about as low of distortion when kept within thier linear stroke as the Audiopulse, or at least real close.

I am currently using a pair of XXX 18s for my HT in vented alignements, I like them alot.... I thought of doing an IB, just haven't gotten around to it yet...

Honestly though, I have also been thinking long and hard about about retiring the XXXs for a while and trying 8 of the Dayton HF 15s, Isobarik, 4 in each box. That would be cheaper than the XXXs cost me.... I get the HF 15s for $100 a pop.... Just rambling thoughts I guess...

Robert: Thanks for the info. For IB I don't think Qts is terribly important provided I keep it below .7, Fs is fine as long as it's below 25. The most important thing is finding those with strong linear motors with low distortion. I'm using a BFD to smooth the response and EP2500's to power them.

Qts is very important in getting the final Qtc of your system. I like my sealed enclosures with a Qtc of close to a .5 and since IB is a very big, sealed box then that's what I shoot for. The IB subs that I mentioned all have adequately strong motors but not even close to the Axis. Running an Axis in an IB is a waste of a good sub that was designed for small, sealed boxes. Joing the Cult of the Infinitely Baffled or visit the IB forum at Home Theater Shack. Both of those sites have great information.

-Robert