Suggest a good driver for subwoofer please....

Naveenbnc

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Hi all.....

Can you suggest a good driver 12" or 15" (even 10" if it's really good) please...

I have experienced Iwai 10" and 12" drivers and they are excellent for their price. Build quality is also very very nice.

Now I'm looking for some driver that can sound like an upgrade. Is it possible in the price range of 5 to 10k? (Availability in the market and TS parameters is also a concern)

Any suggestions please.....

Thanks & Regards,
Naveen
 
Upto 250W I have an amp....
If it is really really necessary.... Our Aniket can help me build an amp.

But anything around 250W is good for me....
 
Go for 2 car audio 12" drivers in a PR alignment. The combined surface area is greater than a single 15" driver. Decent Xmax/power handling, strong motor (T/S params) and ruggedly built.

Use dual opposed config, lets say front and back. Make (DIY) 2 PRs, 15" and again use dual opposed config, on the sides, something like the first image in this doc http://www.moremusic.nl/goldenear/brochures/GoldenEar_Passive_Radiator_Bass.pdf

Tune very low, like 20Hz or 25Hz. Use 200Wx2 Class D power amps, powered by suitable SMPS (something like Meanwell). For the same 400W, class A/B will be too bulky. Use DIY PLL XO as variable xover.
Build the box as 17" cube. Put the electronics in a separate enclosure at the bottom.

This is the smallest sub a DIYer can build with the most bang for the buck. Built with whats already available locally.
 
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Go for 2 car audio 12" drivers in a PR alignment. The combined surface area is greater than a single 15" driver. Decent Xmax/power handling, strong motor (T/S params) and ruggedly built.

Use dual opposed config, lets say front and back. Make (DIY) 2 PRs, 15" and again use dual opposed config, on the sides, something like the first image in this doc http://www.moremusic.nl/goldenear/brochures/GoldenEar_Passive_Radiator_Bass.pdf

Tune very low, like 20Hz or 25Hz. Use 200Wx2 Class D power amps, powered by suitable SMPS (something like Meanwell). For the same 400W, class A/B will be too bulky. Use DIY PLL XO as variable xover.
Build the box as 17" cube. Put the electronics in a separate enclosure at the bottom.

This is the smallest sub a DIYer can build with the most bang for the buck. Built with whats already available locally.
excellent info .... thanks a lot for the suggestions ... and also the links ... I will study in that direction...:):):)
 
im going to build a sealed sub with that 10" diver. So one sealed and one ported with same driver ;)
Just to see how different they sound. (theoretically that driver is suitable for ported sub)

And the driver suggestion requested in this thread is for trying something better than my existing Iwai subs.
And if that's possible with "not too expensive" drivers,.... I would be very glad....
But surely I want to raise the bar and build something better .... lets see how it goes ... :)
 
im going to build a sealed sub with that 10" diver. So one sealed and one ported with same driver ;)
Just to see how different they sound. (theoretically that driver is suitable for ported sub)

And the driver suggestion requested in this thread is for trying something better than my existing Iwai subs.
And if that's possible with "not too expensive" drivers,.... I would be very glad....
But surely I want to raise the bar and build something better .... lets see how it goes ... :)

Ok great.. Experimentation then..
 
You seem to be purchasing lots of drivers. What do you do with them after testing? Blowing lots of money?
Well.... honestly .....I have no plan what to do ...:oops::oops::oops::D

When I can design and build something that sounds really nice, compact size, and in a budget....I may stop for a while....
Ya....its true I'm wasting money...:rolleyes:
 
Checked Scanspeak drivers?

Thank you...il check...

Dayton Audio is quite well reviewed. So is Sb acoustics.
Thanks Dr.Lakshay......

Local availability is a big headache with most of the drivers.... Il check....


But any way I have no clue if Dayton or Sana peak sub drivers sound like an upgrade from Iwai..... The only way is to build and see i guess... :eek::eek:
 
Dayton is a very good brand with a very good line of drivers. I ve used some of the stuff from them, though not sub drivers. However, when it comes to sub drivers, I believe we already have a lot of choice in car drivers.

Boutique drivers do not automatically translate into a good system. Objective measurements like distortion performance, power compression effects, Xlin figures etc are hardly ever published by driver manufacturers so a true comparison is not feasible. One could take an expensive boutique driver and make an average system. One could take an average driver and make a very good system exceeding more expensive commercial systems in performance/cost ratio. This is where DIY gets us the highest returns. Its the way that the system is put together that matters, not individual components.

For example, put an average car driver into a bandpass alignment and it sounds much better than it should. Acoustic filtering of bandpass alignment suppresses all ill effects of the driver distortion giving it a clean sound. How do you think the company that audio lovers hate so much could get away by a 5.25" driver (or maybe two) in their subwoofer module? We all know, a 5.25" driver (or two) cannot produce meaningful bass. But they got away with smart implementation, created such a huge market for sat/sub systems and charged a bomb.

Practically, when one uses two drivers one gets twice the excursion volume, twice the power handling, twice the coil area and heat dissipation area, half the power compression, half the excursion for a target spl etc. Put the twin drivers in a 4th order band-pass and one gets distortion filtering as a bonus raising the performance of the system even further. Size and amp power are the only penalty.
 
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believe we already have a lot of choice in car drivers.
Mostly I'm seeing Jbl and pioneer drivers in most of the local shops. As you said, car drivers are the easiest i could get....:D


One could take an average driver and make a very good system
Very true... Thanks for pointing this.....

. Its the way that the system is put together that matters, not individual components.
Well, this needs knowledge, and I have it only very limited as of now..., i just learned how to do some basic simulation, and build a box with the best results i get. And that is my limit at this moment. Since i don't have better ideas for smart implementation, I'm looking if getting drivers with better specs may give me better results. :rolleyes::rolleyes: ..... I mean, on the simulation i will any way do the best i can, and the rest is dependent on how good the driver is....

I learned from people like you that highend speakers may not always use highend drivers. The key lies in the design and implementation.


But you gave me a great piece of advice!!!
Il focus on what best i can do with my existing drivers. Thanks a ton !!!:):):)
 
I have two 10" drivers. I already build ported sub with one driver. I'm going to build a sealed sub. (Want to see how different it may sound)

After that ..... The best thing I could do is to follow ur advise, and build different designes by using those two drivers. May be i can add two 12" PRs and try a sub.

And then I may try bandpass too....(need to learn how to simulate this)

But overall....let me tell you...you saved me money and efforts. And most importantly u gave me good directions .... Thanks a lot !!!:):)
 
Hi all.....

Can you suggest a good driver 12" or 15" (even 10" if it's really good) please...

I have experienced Iwai 10" and 12" drivers and they are excellent for their price. Build quality is also very very nice.

Now I'm looking for some driver that can sound like an upgrade. Is it possible in the price range of 5 to 10k? (Availability in the market and TS parameters is also a concern)

Any suggestions please.....

Thanks & Regards,
Naveen

Did you find any shortcomings of iwai drivers or you want to buy expensive drivers just because they are more expensive than iwai?

I have not seen a bigger or better motor at 3-4 times at iwai's price point.
 
I have two 10" drivers. I already build ported sub with one driver. I'm going to build a sealed sub. (Want to see how different it may sound)

After that ..... The best thing I could do is to follow ur advise, and build different designes by using those two drivers. May be i can add two 12" PRs and try a sub.

And then I may try bandpass too....(need to learn how to simulate this)

But overall....let me tell you...you saved me money and efforts. And most importantly u gave me good directions .... Thanks a lot !!!:):)

Sealed all the way (if space is a constraint). This is my take after listening to branded and expensive ported/ob subs.
 
Did you find any shortcomings of iwai drivers or you want to buy expensive drivers just because they are more expensive than iwai?

I have not seen a bigger or better motor at 3-4 times at iwai's price point.
Well...not because they are expensive :D:D basically I need cheaper than Iwai if possible :)
Iwai is excellent for the price.

But the reason is..... I have built ported subs with both 10" and 12" Iwai drivers.
As per the design is concerned, I believe I did the optimum design possible for ported.
There won't be any further drastic improvement unless I take a totally different approach.
May be band pass, push pull, or any other crazy design.

In that sense, if I want to stick to simple and compact ported design, I believe i did the best with these drivers.
When the question came up what next? I cant do much with design and build. So the next option is better driver if possible.
This was my thinking .... unless i totally miss some logic.
 
Sealed all the way (if space is a constraint). This is my take after listening to branded and expensive ported/ob subs.
Recently I saw martin logan 10" sub. Probably its the smallest 10" sub possible, but its a beast!!!!
Now, whatever we do with design, I don't know if its possible to build such a compact sub with such a performance with Iwai driver.
In this case, im not even sure if the entire secret lies in the design itself, or the driver also has a role to play ......
 
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