18" 2242H sub in 500 watt coffin box!

[robertbartsch]

Ok - this one is housed in a vented 10 sq ft box with a Dayton SS 500 wt power amp rated into 8 ohms. The driver is facing down and is 8 inches from the carpet covered floor. The room is moderate in size - 20ft x 15 ft.


My current HT set up includes 7.1 channels (JBLs, Altecs); non woofs are powered by Onkyo 130 watt x 7.


Anyway, after a few hours of time on the woof, my impressions include:

1. bass is natural sounding - no booms that are so common with other subs
2. sound is somewhat less localized compared with other powered subs I own
3. Sounds best with amp controls (gain, bypass, 3 freq controls) set at mid points

I'm happy so far with the set up.

The box is HUGE for the room and I keep wondering if its large size was necessary given that the amp has freq. controls.

...Wife says the box will become my coffin some day.... So, I suppose I have something to look forward to...

[Rusnzha]

Got Jbl 7.1 with infinity center and 2241H in a 12 ft3 box with Hypex HS500 720 watt sub amp. I can't imagine nicer bass than I'm getting off of this. The wife likes your wife's idea, she says it'll get rid of the box and save her money on a coffin.

[robertbartsch]

I've been very unhappy with several commercially availible center channel speakers I've owned so far.

I recently threw caution to the wind and installed an Altec 511 horn and compression driver into my center channel main HT. It is a VAST improvement but I'm thinking I may need a conventional driver to supplement it in the lower freqz.

The other alternative is to connect a conventional center channel system with the Altec, I suppose.

I'm convinced the most important driver in a HT is the CENTER.

Anyway, I wish to be creamated after life ends, so the 10 foot box is a tad big!

[Rusnzha]

My 7.1 is all Studio Series except for the center. I had an S-Center, but it didn't measure up to the S412, S38 etc. When I had it at the same volume as everything else, a lot of the nuances and subtleties were obliterated. It does a good job sounding like a small vintage Marshall, but everything sounds like that on it. I got an Infinity Beta C360 and it is an excellent match to the other speakers and it gave my set up a huge boost. I am curious about the LC2, but am very happy with the Infinity doing the center channel.

[robertbartsch]

The more I listen to the big sub, the more I like it. It seems to handle anything with ease without booming people out of the room.

I even have tested this on said wife. With the old sub, she would often ask me to lower the volume. Now the occassional nagging is less frequent.

Anyway, I'm still messing with my center channel. In addition to the HF compression driver, I installed an 800HZ crossover with the LF directed to the old Klipsch center channel system. It works a ton better than the Klipsch only, but it is not what I want expactly.

I can hear the voices much better with the HF compression driver but the Altec 511 cast horn sounds ... like a huge ringing horn.

I've owned Altec 811 horns before, and I never noticed the ringing like the 511s.

[Steve Mac]

....


I can hear the voices much better with the HF compression driver but the Altec 511 cast horn sounds ... like a huge ringing horn.

I've owned Altec 811 horns before, and I never noticed the ringing like the 511s.

I've heard plenty of 811's and 511's and I'm using 511's in my system.
JMHO....but lowering the crossover point made all the difference
compared to the 811s. I'm using...on a suggestion over at the altec
forum...non-hardening modelling clay on the bells...dead as a doornail...no
ring. I also took off the loading caps...replaced the symbiotik diaphragms
with gpa aluminum...felt lined the end caps and the sound is magical.

[robertbartsch]

Yeh - OK - thanks Steve.

My Altec X-over is at 800HZ - so this is too high?

Driver is Altec 902, horn is 511.

The horn is not enclosed in a box.

[grumpy]

Mounting it to a box, or at least a baffle/frame, will help tame the ringing quite a bit.
(... the 511 horn, that is)

[Steve Mac]

Yeh - OK - thanks Steve.

My Altec X-over is at 800HZ - so this is too high?

Driver is Altec 902, horn is 511.

The horn is not enclosed in a box.

Cool...
800 is not necessarily too high for many folks...my personal pref though
is lower. Right now I'm running 565Hz and 12dB slopes.

Ya know, ringing 511s wasn't an issue for me at all unless the system was
really cranking, and then I'm not so sure it mighta been other problems at
the time. Removing the bug screens from the 902 drivers...if they exist...is
a good idea for a home system. My 511's are not mounted either, BTW.
Also, the 902...I have no doubts ...depending on the model and setup can
be anywhere from a great driver to a superb driver...so good luck!

The unknown is how yer mid bass section mates with the 511, both from a
dynamic/tonal perspective and typical alignment/presentation issues.
That could change where you cross the system over.
I get fooled quite a bit by all the factors going on in this DIY world
(so thanks to the forums like this!),
but dam...this stuff can be a lot of fun when it turns out right.