RE: Strengths / Weaknesses of a TL subwoofer?

Posted by joeljoel1947 (A) on December 21, 2009 at 16:19:32

In Reply to: Strengths / Weaknesses of a TL subwoofer? posted by WithTarragon on December 20, 2009 at 08:58:39:

Hi Tom,
I'm a DIY loudspeaker guy too. I have built several subwoofers---active, passive, transmission line and sealed (never been a ported guy for subs, but some will say that a transmission line is just a glorified "ported box"---I disagree).

OK, sound wise?

Well, again I'm only interested in sealed and transmission line designs so I have compared them back and forth. When I am designing, it really comes down to "how much room do I have to work with" for starters. A transmission line design will take up far greater space then a sealed design, and sealed designs are much more impervious to "design errors", but I digress.

Sound wise, all else being equal (that's the hard part!!), what I hear in a transmission line sub versus a sealed sub is a wee-bit more bass "pitch definition" in the t-lines, and a bit more dynamic sound overall, which I have even measured with a fast-acting meter just to be sure I wasn't hearing things. Transmission line subs typically sound a wee-bit "cleaner" to me overall then a sealed sub. However, I also like many sonic aspects of the sealed subs over the transmission lines. Typically a fuller and richer midbass, with more "slam" and weight overall. Just a fuller, slightly rounder bass sound.

Done correctly EITHER a sealed or t-line design will provide excellent results for what you are doing. And once you step into the world of room correction on your subwoofers like I and many have (IMHO, the only way to achieve accurate bass in any given room) then you mitigate those descriptive terms I used above ten-fold. Plus you will get a MUCH better blend with your "sats" as a bonus.

My opinion for mating with the horns you're using is to give it a try and go t-line if you have the room. Transmission line bass with horns might make for a magical combo.
Regards,
Joel

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - Strengths / Weaknesses of a TL subwoofer? - WithTarragon 08:58:39 12/20/09 (18)

Thank you for your collective thoughts - WithTarragon 10:23:24 12/31/09 (0)

It's a No Go from the start - Jon Risch 21:02:00 12/27/09 (0)

RE: Strengths / Weaknesses of a TL subwoofer? - joeljoel1947 16:19:32 12/21/09 (0)

RE: Strengths / Weaknesses of a TL subwoofer? - gymwear5@hotmail.com 10:55:45 12/21/09 (0)

RE: Strengths / Weaknesses of a TL subwoofer? - Duke 10:12:19 12/21/09 (0)

The consensus so far .... - WithTarragon 07:36:20 12/21/09 (4)

Your summary is incomplete - keith_d 14:59:27 12/21/09 (3)

RE: Your summary is incomplete - hahax@verizon.net 21:38:48 12/21/09 (2)

back on track - WithTarragon 07:34:04 12/22/09 (1)

How it handles the backwave, group delay, impedance curve - keith_d 20:08:09 12/22/09 (0)

Harder to design, more expensive to implement - keith_d 21:58:54 12/20/09 (0)

Tapped horn - riker1384 19:25:00 12/20/09 (0)

RE: Strengths / Weaknesses of a TL subwoofer? - Tom Brennan 15:34:45 12/20/09 (5)

wow - no one's ever called my imf's "tubby"...nt - musiclistener 16:57:29 12/20/09 (4)

RE: wow - no one's ever called my imf's "tubby"...nt - hahax@verizon.net 19:55:01 12/20/09 (3)

Agreed. - Kal Rubinson 20:00:14 12/20/09 (2)

RE: Agreed. - hahax@verizon.net 21:31:12 12/21/09 (1)

RE: Agreed. - Kal Rubinson 10:55:27 12/22/09 (0)

Follow Ups

RE: Strengths / Weaknesses of a TL subwoofer? - joeljoel1947 16:19:32 12/21/09 (0)

RE: Strengths / Weaknesses of a TL subwoofer?

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