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Author Topic: 12'' vs. 15'' vs.18'' subs  (Read 11241 times)

john sanders

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12'' vs. 15'' vs.18'' subs
« on: November 05, 2015, 01:59:12 PM »

To date I've utilized various sizes and manufacturers of subwoofers. Presently my inventory consists of EV QRX218's, QSC KW 118's and a recent addition for smaller requirements, a powered EV ZXA1 12''.
I've found that I greatly prefer the tightness and punch of these compact boxes when frequencies much below 40 cycles are not required.

Curious as to whether any members here have experienced the same reaction. Also, I'd welcome responses from those who might be utilizing double 15's or quad 12" subs. I'm assuming that a cabinet with let's say 4 X 12's would have a similar type of audio signature as a single thou of course much greater output.
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John L Nobile

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Re: 12'' vs. 15'' vs.18'' subs
« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2015, 07:40:58 PM »

Ive always found bass to be tighter when you hipass above 40 or 50 Hz. If that's what you want you can hipass the individual instruments but it sure is nice having 30 hz or lower when you want it. 5 string bass and synths have fundamentals down there.
I'm sticking with my dbl 18 subs.
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Scott Holtzman

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Re: 12'' vs. 15'' vs.18'' subs
« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2015, 08:26:29 PM »

I think about it this way.  The 18" woofer has triple the mass of the 12 if constructed the same.  The time to accelerate that mass is longer and takes more energy.  The larger speaker will therefor be less responsive to transients.

Translation, smaller speakers are punchier.  Danley makes some large multidriver 12's and I bet they sound amazing.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

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Scott AKA "Skyking" Holtzman

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Tim Weaver

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Re: 12'' vs. 15'' vs.18'' subs
« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2015, 08:31:14 PM »

I owned a rig for years that had triple 12" subs. They were fantastic. I told people that 3 12's would equal about 1.5 18's as far as output is concerned. Which it seemed to be to my ears.

I always enjoyed the form factor and the tightness of those subs.
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duane massey

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Re: 12'' vs. 15'' vs.18'' subs
« Reply #4 on: November 05, 2015, 09:54:20 PM »

It's not the woofer size, it's the cabinet design. You could build a large horn with 8" drivers that would outperform almost any vented box out there, but it would be really, really big. As Ivan would (and probably will) say, "It depends".
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Duane Massey
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Jeff Bankston

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Re: 12'' vs. 15'' vs.18'' subs
« Reply #5 on: November 05, 2015, 10:38:05 PM »

It's not the woofer size, it's the cabinet design. You could build a large horn with 8" drivers that would outperform almost any vented box out there, but it would be really, really big. As Ivan would (and probably will) say, "It depends".
thats right. you can put a big bump around 75-100 hz on any woofer by the size of the cabinet and the vent size. amps also play a roll on how punchy the bass is. i havent found an amp that equals the punch of my old QSC 3800 amps and i run them bridged. 1700 watts rms at 4ohms. and how hard the drummer stomps the bass pedal also determines punch. i play drums , use wood beaters and stomp hard. i use an Ashly limiter on my 2 bass drums cause i can blow woofers. BOOM !
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ProSoundWeb Community

Re: 12'' vs. 15'' vs.18'' subs
« Reply #5 on: November 05, 2015, 10:38:05 PM »


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