Hey Guys,

Looking at building a 50-60ish litre sealed sub at the moment, and would appreciate some feedback.

Driver-wise, i've been looking at the usual suspects (Shiva, Lab12 etc) using WinISD, and will also keep an eye on Dan Gleebles' thread for some real world findings on these. Also modelled the Adire DPL12, and to my eyes, the Gain graph looks pretty good.

Here's a link to the info on Adire's site:

http://www.adireaudio.com/diy_audio/...dire/dpl12.htm

Emailed Adire's UK dealer re DPL12, and got this response:

'Um, a DPL12 is a passive radiator, or ABR (Auxiliary Bass Radiator). It behaves like a reflex sort of, with some of the qualities of a sealed box. I am not completely au fait with them, having preoccupied myself with other types of loading in the main. By itself, it will not make music. It is basically a drive unit without the magnet nor coils. You would need a Shiva to go with it.'

My knowledge of all this stuff is fairly basic, but am I right to say that this guy has got the wrong end of the stick, or is it me ?

As far as I can tell, there's nothing odd about the DPL12, and plenty of people on the Home Theater Forum seem to be using them in smallish sealed boxes with some success.

BTW, DPL12 is £159 inc VAT plus £11.85 delivery.

Noticed that MikeK recently posted re the same driver, but didn't get any feedback. Anyone help me out ?

Regards

[micb3rd]

AFAIK the AdireAudio DPL 12 is a valid subwoofer driver, not a passive radaitor.

[Dan Gleebles]

Looks like the complete end of the stick to me as well, he has described a passive radiator.

I thought the DPL12 was a Hi Qes cast aly chassis loudspeaker that looks remarkably simlar to the Lab 12 aesthetically speaking

[ReTrO]

Must be thinking of the PR-15.

Can't wait to get my Tempest running.

Cheers guys, that puts mind at rest. I thought I was correct, but don't like to challenge people unless i'm 100% au fait with the subject in question.

Has anyone else modelled this driver ? To me, it looks far superior to the Shiva and Lab12 in a smallish sealed box.

As MikeK mentioned in another thread, the SPL is a bit low, but in a 3.5x3.5m room with a 300W amp (DT300?), I can't imagine that this would be an issue.

Regards

In what I would call "normal use", neither can I!!

However, my definition of normal use may not be the same as someone else's.
No right or wrong here I suppose, but where some people may dismiss any subwoofer which can't hit say 115dB at 20Hz, without a second thought, I'm really not that interested as long as it will play loud enough with a bit in reserve

This driver looks to model very well for a sealed box design around the size you are looking, and seems to have the right credentials too, judging by what I've read.
Like I said though, I have no direct experience of the DPL12, but if I were looking for a driver now, I think it would certainly be one of the main contenders!
Bit pricey though - rip-off Britain again?


EDIT: by pricey, I mean compared to what our American friends pay ($150 US). You just have to accept that a decent subwoofer driver isn't likely to be available in the UK for £40 (wish it were )

MikeK,

Know what you mean about US prices compared to UK .

However, after resigning myself to this (I wouldn't import), I reckon that the DPL12 could be worth the extra £30-£40 over and above the Shiva/Lab12.

Regards

[smallangryboy]

I've checked this driver out as I'm after exactly the same thing, active sub, closed box design at about 65 litres. There is a thread detailing exactly that design HERE on the HT forums, using a 65 litre enclosure with the Adire DPL12.

I just wondered if anyone could recommend a sealed design using a UK or European driver that would give similar results ? Failing that are there any reliable UK retailers for the Adire drivers ?