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[George Friedman-Jimenez]

Very interesting that you say they were the "tightest" subs at high volume that you ever heard, and had excellent dynamic range.
How many 15" woofers did you have in each, and how were they placed in the vertical dimension?
I know you say you had no measuring equipment, but in the design process, did you calculate the group delay?
You say there were 2 of them and you used them for playing back vinyl recordings, so I imagine your system was stereo, right?
Did you run the bass mono?
Do you remember where the crossover frequency was?
Ever use them for live sound?
Very interesting.

[Duane Massey]

George, there were 5 woofers in each cabinet, and they were spaced 1" apart. It doesn't show in this pic, but the throat opening was approx 5". I believe the croosover point was fixed at 90hz, but I honestly don't remember, as the crossover was designed by our engineer, Rick Wheeler, who also did the research into the horn design. No delays, no limiters, no processing other than the simple crossover.

My description of the system's performance can only be relayed in subjective terms, and it's difficult to compare apples to oranges (not to mention my hearing at age 27 as opposed to age 58), but technology was very different back then. When I use the term "tight" I am referring to the lack of colorization to the sound reproduction at high volume levels. As I described earlier, when the subs were being driven at full volume the woofers were barely moving, and there was absolutely no vibration in the cabinets.

The system was not designed for live music, and the original club was a disco. When the venue changed owners it was turned into a live rock venue, but the bands (with one exception) did not use the system, as the stage was built in front of two of the hanging speakers, and between the sub horns. The exception was my band, and we would run a feed into the subs only. "Jaw-dropping" was the term most often used in describing the kick drum, and the location of the stage was almost ideal, as the drums were located just outside the pattern of the sub horns.

[John Norris]

Duane - what a fascinating post. This is the first time I've ever read about a sub of these gargantuan proportions being used in a commercial venue.  

You use the past tense to describe the sub. Does it not still exist within the building that used to be a disco?

[Duane Massey]

John, the original club was Studio 1000, a teen club. It was sold a year later and was turned into a rock club, The Limit, and was successful for a few years, with the sound system remaining intact.

After a decline in business, the club was sold to another owner to be used as a C&W club called Diamondback Saloon (associated with Ken Stabler). The "sound expert" who was hired for the remodel determined that the cabinets were fake, some sort of gimmick, and convinced the owners to demolition the pair without even hearing the system. They had to bring in some heavy equipment for the task, and it took several days (and a lot more than the "expert" had told them it would cost).

All of the gear was sold off for next to nothing. If I would have known what was happening I would have bought all the TAD components
if possible.

I've built several "sub monsters" since then, but that was the first and most impressive.

[drewgandy]

Duane Massey wrote on Sun, 04 April 2010 21:54

John, the original club was Studio 1000..... All of the gear was sold off for next to nothing...... I've built several "sub monsters" since then, but that was the first and most impressive.

Such sad stories all the time.  

drew