Please Spec me a 15/18" Driver to go with 1000w amp

angliaboy

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Looking for a Driver that will sit comfortably in a 115-150l Sealed Cabinet with a 1000w BK plate amp powering it.

Larger the better, but I presume it will have to be a 15" to allow some free airspace to make the amp more efficient.

Im looking for the highest SPL output I can get low down around 15hz. Any lower can be taken care of by the room. Ive been modelling various drivers in WinISD such as the Dayton Audio, Eminence Lab 15, SP4 but im only a novice when it comes to using it.

Really only want to stick to the 1000w plate amp as it is the most convenient, powerful option easily available. I have nowhere to put an external amp so just looking for recommendations please based on your experience.

85% Movies 15% music is my listening habits, occassionally at -20db, but I like to run the sub hot.

Thanks Again
 
Limited power but want significant 15-25Hz output suggests ported to me, probably difficult to fit a tune lower than ~20Hz into that space though.

btw a bridged hypex fa502 is another option, more expensive but includes DSP.
 
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Id not tried modelling a ported box due to size constraints. So would the 1000w amp really not cope then for my listening volumes with a Dayton Ultimax 15? they are only 800w RMS rated anyway?

What is the minimum size ported box IYO that I would need do you think? I could perhaps go a little bigger if I get creative on Box dimensions, but space is not brilliant here unless i relocate it to beside my sofa, in which case, could go a little bigger, maybe 190/200L max

I know that sealed builds increase the power required, but I don't understand how they can cope with more power (like for example needing an Inuke) than their actual rated power? Why would a sealed build allow the driver to handle more than its rated wattage?
 
Id not tried modelling a ported box due to size constraints. So would the 1000w amp really not cope then for my listening volumes with a Dayton Ultimax 15? they are only 800w RMS rated anyway?
basically drivers that have the excursion required to deliver significant SPL at ULF in a sealed box will require a lot of power to get there whereas a port gives you that extra output without massive power demands. It does however require more space.

What is the minimum size ported box IYO that I would need do you think?
a martycube is approx a 2" foot cube and it is tuned to 20Hz, this is a reasonable 1st approximation of the lower bound for size of a ported sub that gets to below 20Hz.

Why would a sealed build allow the driver to handle more than its rated wattage?
it doesn't, what makes you think it does?
 
it doesn't, what makes you think it does?

Not ignoring everything else you wrote but focusing on this point becuase its whats has fathomed me the most. The dayton audio UM15-22 is an 800w RMS sub and the BK plate amp is 1000w yet people are saying its not enough?
 
Hi there, I am looking for a driver too so interested in what you choose.
The Alpine SWR15 could be worth looking at. I really, really wouldnt trust my winisd skills but it seems to model well in a smallish ported box and has a reasonable review on databass. Available in UK too.
I have a sealed q15 (60l) and it takes every drop of power one chanel of an inuke 6000 can give it so the sp4 you mentioned wouldnt be an option with the plateamp.
Can I ask what you have now and is there a goal based on a subwoofer you have heard?
When you say you want the highest spl to 15 are you aiming for flat 15-??
I use small speakers so want to cross over as high as possible but if you have floorstanders maybe you can get away with a lower crossover which may dictate your driver/enclosure choice. For me the q15 with room gain has bags of low end but doesnt have the punch from 50 to 100. I would also say I have had a svs ported in the past and the ported to me has a more tactile feel that doesnt seem to show up on rew measurement. I like this for some movie content but I did find the svs a struggled to blend with my speakers for music.
 
Hi there, I am looking for a driver too so interested in what you choose.
The Alpine SWR15 could be worth looking at. I really, really wouldnt trust my winisd skills but it seems to model well in a smallish ported box and has a reasonable review on databass. Available in UK too.
I have a sealed q15 (60l) and it takes every drop of power one chanel of an inuke 6000 can give it so the sp4 you mentioned wouldnt be an option with the plateamp.
Can I ask what you have now and is there a goal based on a subwoofer you have heard?
When you say you want the highest spl to 15 are you aiming for flat 15-??
I use small speakers so want to cross over as high as possible but if you have floorstanders maybe you can get away with a lower crossover which may dictate your driver/enclosure choice. For me the q15 with room gain has bags of low end but doesnt have the punch from 50 to 100. I would also say I have had a svs ported in the past and the ported to me has a more tactile feel that doesnt seem to show up on rew measurement. I like this for some movie content but I did find the svs a struggled to blend with my speakers for music.

I am not the best with WinISD but that alpine driver seems to model quite well with 1000w of power on tap in a small (115L) ported enclosure. I have PMd @Rickyj @ Kalibrate to ask the cost of a PSA Amp used in the S3000i just to open up my options.

Thanks for the driver suggestion as Id not seen that one mentioned before and is at comparable cost to the dayton 15"
 
Not ignoring everything else you wrote but focusing on this point becuase its whats has fathomed me the most. The dayton audio UM15-22 is an 800w RMS sub and the BK plate amp is 1000w yet people are saying its not enough?
probably because the driver is rated as 1600w max, i.e. the manufacturer says it has 3dB burst capability.

However you can see (if you were to model this in hornresp) that it is displacement limited under ~42Hz anyway so it's not obvious that more power will do much for it anyway. If you play with the values in that tool then you'll see that the sub output is limited by amp current capability in the upper frequencies, amp voltage around the drivers impedance peak and then xmax beneath that.

You could drive it harder of course but that just means it will make bad sounds.

upload_2018-8-14_17-50-33.png
 
Yeah plate amps are a bit expensive but a tidy solution. I have had a few fail and they have not been fixable and the replacement for the sunfire for example was 700. The advantage of the inuke is as well as being cheap they are something most amp shops can repair. Maybe you could fit a pa amp in the sub enclosure itself? The volume you have for the sub is pretty large so maybe able to sacrifice some space. A dsp inuke will also give you some eq/filter options.
 
Yeah plate amps are a bit expensive but a tidy solution. I have had a few fail and they have not been fixable and the replacement for the sunfire for example was 700. The advantage of the inuke is as well as being cheap they are something most amp shops can repair. Maybe you could fit a pa amp in the sub enclosure itself? The volume you have for the sub is pretty large so maybe able to sacrifice some space. A dsp inuke will also give you some eq/filter options.

Im maybe thingking I could possibly build a slot in the side where a power amp could screw in, but its tyring to work it so its gets aqequate airflow and look fairly attractive as a piece of furniture.

One technical question, Do DVC subs require 2 amp channels as in 1 channel per coil? is that the only way they can be wired? if this is the case I presume you cannot bridge a 2 channel amp to power a DVC sub?

Or have i confused myself here?
 
Not an expert disclaimer but my understanding is a dual voice coils can be wired in series or parallel to be ran off one channel if you choose. So a dvc 2ohm can be wired to present 4 or 1 ohm load. Probably best to google images it to see all the variations although straight forward enough with one driver. You can bridge a dvc but need to be mindful about what load you are presenting and the amplifier specs. So for example a dual 4 ohm wired in series will present 8 ohm load which the something like an inuke 100 or 3000 should be comfortable driving.
 
Not an expert disclaimer but my understanding is a dual voice coils can be wired in series or parallel to be ran off one channel if you choose. So a dvc 2ohm can be wired to present 4 or 1 ohm load. Probably best to google images it to see all the variations although straight forward enough with one driver. You can bridge a dvc but need to be mindful about what load you are presenting and the amplifier specs. So for example a dual 4 ohm wired in series will present 8 ohm load which the something like an inuke 100 or 3000 should be comfortable driving.

Thanks, most subs Im looking at are Dual 2 Ohm so I would want to wire at 4 ohms I presume so the amp sees a load of 4 ohms. Im just not sure, if that will take 1 or 2 channels of the amp to achieve this?
 
Just an observation I've made upon some research into wattage an ampage, a quote taken from another site:

What to Look For…
How do I choose the right amplifier power for my speaker system? When it comes to choosing a power amplifier there are a two important factors to consider.

Power
Generally you should pick an amplifier that can deliver power equal to twice the speaker’s program/continuous power rating. This means that a speaker with a “nominal impedance” of 8 ohms and a program rating of 350 watts will require an amplifier that can produce 700 watts into an 8 ohm load. For a stereo pair of speakers, the amplifier should be rated at 700 watts per channel into 8 ohms.

Headroom
Using an amp with some extra “headroom” will help assure that only clean, undistorted signal gets to your speakers. Headroom is the difference between the normal operating level of an amplifier, and the maximum level that the amp can pass without distorting. Music has wide variations in dynamic range; without enough headroom, you’ll find that your gear will clip and distort.


Which I guess makes a lot of sense
 

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