Here is the JL Audio 8W7-3 in vented alignment. JL Audio 8W7-3 vented sub

Here is the Infinity Kappa Perfect 10 VQ low insert vented alignment

Here is the Infinity Kappa Perfect 10 VQ mid Q insert vented alignment

Infinity kappa Perfect 12 VQ low insert vented.

Infinity kappa Perfect 12 low Vq slot vent.

Infinity Kappa Perfect 12 VQ mid insert vented.

Infinity Kappa Perfect 12 no insert sealed

The JL audio 8W7-3 is very promising and so is the Infinity Kappa Perfect  10 VQ with the mid Q insert.

The Kappa perfect 12 VQ mid insert vented is the king of the hill.  After that the JL 8W7-3 just beats out the Kappa perfect 10 VQ mid insert vented.

The Kappa perfect 12 VQ low insert vented is also a very respectable sub, and you can get away without a slot vent.

The sealed 12 VQ is also respectable, but ideally should have a little EQ in the last octave, (12db) which will require more power and limit total acoustic output.

As the Kappa 12 VQ is NLA here are the optimal sealed and vented alignments for the Creative solutions Trio 12.

Creative Solutions Trio 12 sealed.

Creative solutions Trio 12 Vented optimal box.

I’m have added data on the Dayton RSS315HF-4 12.  This driver could make an impressive sub.  However the unit requires a large volume enclosure, around  5 cu.ft.  This driver is not suitable for sealed alignment, as the F3 is in the mid forties, well above sub range.

Here is the modeling for the Dayton RSS315HF-4 12 with slot Vent.

dayton-rss315hf-4-12-slot-vent.pdf

Here is the dayton-rss315hf-4-12 in sealed alignment.

Because of the problem of discontinued drivers I have done a couple of isobaric designs for the above driver.  The first is a box around 4 cu.ft. suggested  by WmAx (Chris).  Note that bracing and the volume of the isobarik driver tunnel is not allowed for.  I would think this would add a cu. ft. or more to the total volume.  There is a small amount of ripple.

Here is a smaller enclosure of under 2 cu. ft. for these drivers in Isobarik configuration.  I suspect that the volume of the tunnel, volume displaced by the rear driver and bracing will come pretty close to doubling enclosure volume.  So the final volume I suspect would be around 3 cu. ft.

I have been asked to add three more sub drivers.

First the Dayton RSS390HF-4 15? in an enclosure ported with a slot vent.

This is not very promising as it requires an impractically large enclosure.  The final volume of this enclosure would be around 10 cu.ft.  Obviously this driver is intended for sealed cabinets.

Here is this driver in an optimal sealed enclosure.

This is actually quite a good sub and would require 12db per octave boost Eq starting at 40 Hz.

Here us the Dayton RSS 390HF-4 in a vented Isobarik configuration.  This requires two drivers and halved VAS so enclosure size is halved as far a tuning volume, but additional volume will be required for the speaker tunnel, so Vt will not be reduced by 50%.

Here is a capable driver the Dayton Titanic 320C-4.  It is primarily intended to be in a sealed enclosure.  It has sufficient xmax to tolerate some Eq.  It would require 12 db per octave starting at 50 Hz, with second order bass filter 12 db per octave at 25 Hz.

Here is the sealed alignment of the Dayton Titanic 320C-4

This driver can be ported.  It requires a large enclosure and a long port.  The tuning volume is 5 cu.ft, port and driver add around a cu. ft. Damping is included in Vt but brace and amp volume will have to be added.

Here is the vented alignment of the Dayton Titanic 320C-4

Second we have the Shiva-x 12? in an enclosure ported with a slot vent.

It is clear that this driver is also primarily intended for a sealed enclosure.  However Vb is 6 cu.ft. so this sub could be built, and the F3 is 17 Hz!  The vent resonance is a very acceptable 160 Hz.

This Shiva-X 12? is also an excellent sealed sub.

Again this sub would require Eq, starting a boost at 12db/octave starting at around 40 Hz.

Now the cheapest of the bunch.  The Torrent XO-12 DVC, first in a ported enclosure with slot vent.

The enclosure size is a very acceptable 3 cu.ft.  The F3 is 24 Hz, however I consider any f3 below 25 Hz acceptable.  The vent is on the long side at 50.6 inches.  It will fit round the sides of the cabinet, and will require a couple of turns.  The vent resonance is 130 Hz, so the crossover should be no higher than 80Hz with fourth order slope.

The Torrent XO-12 DVC in an optimal 1.5 cu.ft sealed enclosure.

The F3 is 58.5 Hz.  In my view this is only suitable for car use.  For HT it would need a boost of 12db/octave starting at 60 Hz.  So this would consume a lot of amplifier power and limit deep bass acoustic output.

I think of these three the most promising are the Shiva unit sealed or vented, and the Torrent vented.  For the individual seeking advice, since he will be in dorms I would recommend building the Torrent vented enclosure.  That is also the most cost effective (cheapest).

Here is a pdf for the old Infinity Kappa perfect 12.1 single voice coil 4 ohm subwoofer driver.

I have now added a vented alignment for the Infinity Kappa perfect 10.1

IDMAX Car Sub: –

This seems a potent sub, even if it requires a large cabinet.

This is the model for the 6/8 ohm IDMAX

A new driver has come to my attention, the Lambda acoustics AV-15-H    Price $229 each.  This 15″ aluminum coned driver on face value does not look promising.  Conventional sealed and ported alignments give F3 of 70 and 45 Hz respectively.

However a passive radiator the PR18-1600 is available for this driver.  Two are required at a cost of $100 each.  So the cost of the driver and radiators is $429.

In an enclosure of 5 cu. ft. volume, Vb, the following response curves have been simulated.

Broad ripple of 4 db starts at 50 Hz.  In the range below 50 Hz 4 db of driver sensitivity is sacrificed.  There is slight ripple below 27 Hz.  As is typical of passive radiator systems response falls rapidly just above the tuning frequency of 18 Hz.  Until then cone displacement is well controlled.  QL is an acceptable 6.854, so bass should be reasonably tight, however time delay is off the chart.  An spl os 118 db is achievable.

The web site does not explain that for this driver to be a subwoofer, the use of the passive radiators is mandatory.  That seems obtuse.

The companion AV 15-X requires a 10 cu.ft enclosure.  This driver has more promising T/S parameters, with optimal Qts for ported enclosures.

This is the modeling of this driver in a 10 cu. ft. cabinet with a 6? X 16? X 49? slot vent.  This gets the vent velocity to an acceptable 10 m/sec.

This alignment produces an F3 of 21 Hz without ripple.

With use of the two passive radiators, response can be extended to 15 Hz.  However this comes at the expense of 5 db spl and ripple.

You can also use a suboptimal slot vent, of 2″ x 15″ x 33.5″.  This gives these responses.

Now you can see there is no free lunch.  The F3 of a driver really does determine the low frequency extension of a driver within three Hz or so.

The optimally tuned box has an F3 of 21 Hz.  The vent that appears to give an extended response is an illusion.  There is roll off below 100 Hz with an f3 of 44 Hz.  this is gradual until 16 Hz.  However the output of the two is virtually identical at 16 Hz.  However the optimal tuning has 6 db greater output at 21 Hz.

To help a member I’m adding another sub: – the JL audio 10W1V24.  This makes a nice sub, with no ripple and an F3 around 22Hz in a box of only 2.5 cu.ft.

I’m adding some alignments for the ACI SV 10.  Here are three alignments.  The 4″ dia. tube vent is too small.

First two drivers vented optimal box.

Two drivers 2.85 cu.ft. box vented.

Same box as above with 4? dia vent that is too small.

Two drivers sealed, optimal box.

Here is the JL audio 12W3V3-4 in a sealed enclosure, which seems mainly aimed at the car audio market to be used in a small sealed box.

Here is the Infinity Kappa 12.1 in sealed alignment.

There has been an interest in the TC 2000 driver.  This is definitely a driver for sealed use.  The frequency response is not acceptable and the enclosure is large.

Here is the TC 2000 in the optimal sealed box of just over 1.6 Cu. ft.  Cone excursion is better controlled and spl with Eq will be greater.

Here is a car audio sub that has come to my attention.  The DLS Audio OA 12.  This makes a fairly decent sub.  F3 is a little on the high side, and power a little limited as xmax is only 9 mm.  An Fs of around 30 Hz can be achieved in a box of around 2.75 cu.ft. The driver displaces 0.14 cuft, which needs to be added.  Bracing and amp volume will also have to be added.  Two 3″ tube vents with one  end flared can  be used, with vent lengths of 14″.  Here is the vented model of the DLS Audio OA 12.

Now a couple of JL audio drivers.  Both of these are primarily intended for car audio use in small sealed enclosures.  Neither of the drivers has sufficient linear motion for substantial Eq, without limiting overall level.  Therefore for home HT use they need to be in ported boxes.  Both are limited to about 200 watss at 30 Hz because of xmax limitations.  However response is smooth with very useful spl of 114db.

First the JL Audio 10W3V3, in an optimal vented box.  A slot vent is required.  This makes a good sub with a modest footprint of around two and a half cubic feet, with F3 close to 20 Hz.  This is a very attractive sub.

As you can see the JL Audio 10W3V3 in a sealed enclosureis only suitable for car use.

Now the very low profile JL audio 13 TW 5 in an optimal vented box.   The F3 of the two drivers is comparable, but the 10W3V3 has 6db greater output at 15 Hz.  The footprint of the enclosure for this driver is also smaller.

In sealed alignment the JL Audio 13 TW 5 gives its optimal performance in a half cubic foot box.

Here is the alignment for the JL_Audio_12W7_vented

Here is the alignment for the JL Audio_12W7AE_ventedPro

Here is the alignment for the JL Audio 12W7AE sealed

These drivers are much better performers sealed.  This latter in a sealed box 1.5 cu.ft with Eq at 12 db peroctave starting at 60 Hz will be required.

These two drivers are really designed for a sealed alignment.  However if you are prepared to build the large enclosure and vent required they are good performers.

Here are the vented and sealed alignments for the DVC Infinity Reference 1262w driver sealed and vented.  This driver is a high Q driver and intended for sealed alignment.  It is another in a long line of “car thumper drivers.”  It’s sensitivity is 96 db 2.83 volts 1 meter, however with the VCs in parallel and a 2hom impedance it is only 86 db 1 watt 1 meter.  So it is quite an inefficient driver.  Here are the alignments.

Infinity Reference DVC 1262w_Sealed

Infinity Reference DVC 1262w_Vented

Here is a Patent for a so called Â?embedded transmissionÂ? line sub.  This is a most disorganized rambling document.  When you cut through the drivel, this is actually a second order coupled cavity sub.  The so called “transmission line” is closed at both ends, so therefore is redundant and useless.  I have modeled this within the sparse TL specs provided.  The F3 is around 40 Hz, and roll off starts second order just above 60 Hz.  Roll off becomes fourth order below F3.  This is dressed up to look like something new, but it is not.  I do not think this worthy of a patent.

Here is a Dayton Audio RSS460HO-4 18 inch slot vent.  It is a big box, but makes a powerful sub.