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Title: db Technologies SUB15H / SUB18H
Post by: Jon Brunskill on August 12, 2018, 08:44:52 PM
Hi All,

Did a search but could find much information about these things. They are a 'hybrid' sub -  somehow a combination of horn loaded and direct radiating. I've never really seen this before, but I thought it was an interesting concept.

Has anyone had a chance to test these out? Does the semi-horn loaded construction actually increase the output?

Thanks,

Ben
Title: Re: db Technologies SUB15H / SUB18H
Post by: Tim McCulloch on August 12, 2018, 09:18:50 PM
Hi All,

Did a search but could find much information about these things. They are a 'hybrid' sub -  somehow a combination of horn loaded and direct radiating. I've never really seen this before, but I thought it was an interesting concept.

Has anyone had a chance to test these out? Does the semi-horn loaded construction actually increase the output?

Thanks,

Ben

The Altec A7 was a reflex-loaded horn.
Title: Re: db Technologies SUB15H / SUB18H
Post by: Caleb Dueck on August 12, 2018, 09:20:29 PM
Hi All,

Did a search but could find much information about these things. They are a 'hybrid' sub -  somehow a combination of horn loaded and direct radiating. I've never really seen this before, but I thought it was an interesting concept.

Has anyone had a chance to test these out? Does the semi-horn loaded construction actually increase the output?

Thanks,

Ben
They look similar to the Yorkvile LS808 and variants.  Likely lots of midbass and not much deep bass.  Nothing about them makes them jump out to me as "try me".

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

Title: Re: db Technologies SUB15H / SUB18H
Post by: Chris Hindle on August 13, 2018, 08:13:44 AM
Hi All,

Did a search but could find much information about these things. They are a 'hybrid' sub -  somehow a combination of horn loaded and direct radiating. I've never really seen this before, but I thought it was an interesting concept.

Has anyone had a chance to test these out? Does the semi-horn loaded construction actually increase the output?

Thanks,

Ben
Looks like a "Mini-Scoop" to me.
Fine is you liked early 80's DJ's .........
Chris.
Title: Re: db Technologies SUB15H / SUB18H
Post by: Scott Holtzman on August 13, 2018, 10:10:10 AM
Looks like a "Mini-Scoop" to me.
Fine is you liked early 80's DJ's .........
Chris.

On the other hand a DB S30N is a serious box.

Title: Re: db Technologies SUB15H / SUB18H
Post by: Douglas R. Allen on August 13, 2018, 04:06:01 PM
They look similar to the Yorkvile LS808 and variants.  Likely lots of midbass and not much deep bass.  Nothing about them makes them jump out to me as "try me".

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

The LS801pb , the powered version of the 808, measure flat in its bandwidth. When the knob on the back is set to loud and a parametric filter set to 53hz with a 5.5 db cut you can get a flat response with a respectable 6 db down point of 38hz. Not sure what you consider Deep Bass but in its price range it is very comparable to other subs. In Loud mode it is flat with the same stated 6db down point Yorkville claims of 45hz.  The high cut seems to be a staggered pole design and I wonder if this is where some see it as boomy. With a proper high cut added the are flat on both ends of the bandpass.

  I'll post 2 pictures. The first is the sub set to loud and deep. The blue is the Deep setting. The 2nd picture is the sub set to deep with the peak at 53hz taken out. You can see the more gradual high cut roll off.  With proper processing and power the 808 should yield the same response and the DB should be close as well. (guessing)

 Douglas R. Allen
Title: Re: db Technologies SUB15H / SUB18H
Post by: Tim Hite on August 14, 2018, 02:28:08 AM
That S30N is one of the best deals going on a big sub right now. Great box.


On the other hand a DB S30N is a serious box.
Title: Re: db Technologies SUB15H / SUB18H
Post by: Caleb Dueck on August 14, 2018, 07:33:54 PM
That is one of the best deals going on a big sub right now. Great box.
The one time I used them, I remembered them as woofy.  Fairly loud.

Check out the SSP218

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

Title: Re: db Technologies SUB15H / SUB18H
Post by: Rory Buszka on August 30, 2018, 05:08:16 PM
They look similar to the Yorkvile LS808 and variants.  Likely lots of midbass and not much deep bass.  Nothing about them makes them jump out to me as "try me".

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

A big vented box can't be beat for "deep" bass. Don Keele had an AES paper proving that for a certain cabinet volume, a reflex loaded system provided the most output at bass frequencies when compared to sealed and horn loaded variants, although I don't recall all the specifics and the comparison was done using old EV cabinet plans, not modern drivers, so it probably deserves to be done again. I think this was part of the reason why JBL did not pursue horn loaded low frequency subsystems for VerTec (as opposed to Meyer and EAW, who have).

That said, it is possible to design speaker enclosures which are a "hybrid" of reflex (helmholtz) and quarter-wave resonant behavior. The Yorkville LS808 and newer variants use a port path that behaves like a big reflex vent at low frequencies, and can produce extra resonant reinforcement at higher frequencies. Electro-Voice also pursued something similar with their SubScoop designs (MTL-1, T18, Sb180, PX2181), although the EV SubScoop designs use a larger mouth area and produces a big horn-loaded plateau around 80 Hz. KV2 Audio has some SubScoop-like reflex designs that couple to create a large low-frequency horn mouth. Also, there are the Martin Hybrid horn-loaded enclosures, vented W-bins, and some others that load one side of the driver with a horn, and the other side of the driver with a reflex chamber. All of these make concessions to package size to obtain resonant or horn-loaded reinforcement in the frequency region within an octave above port tuning, where in a typical big reflex enclosure the needed cone excursion becomes large because the port hasn't started "helping out", and the port only does so over a narrow bandwidth in a big, efficient vented box. A hybrid design like the dB SUB15H/SUB18H should have more "punch" at the expense of absolute low-end sensitivity, but for many types of music that is actually desirable, and only certain types of music with large amounts of synthesized low end might benefit more from a pile of conventional vented boxes, or a device like a tapped horn (which still makes a concession to package size to obtain high efficiency at low frequencies).

Just because there isn't really anything new under the sun (and I have even come across prior art for tapped horn designs) doesn't mean one should roll their eyes and pooh-pooh the benefits of alternative approaches to making bass. Everything has its place in the world.*

*mostly.
Title: Re: db Technologies SUB15H / SUB18H
Post by: Don T. Williams on August 31, 2018, 03:08:51 PM
Though I do not have experience with the SUB 115/118, I'm in agreement with Scott and Tim.  I've not experienced the "woofieness", nor have any of the BE's complained when using my T12/S30 system.  Not even once.  In fact, most say it is one of the very best systems they have mixed on, and some have told me it's the best sub they have ever used!  Of course, the internal cross-over and time delay will always allow somone to set the subs differently from what I think sounds best.  Its THEIR show, I'm only the sound provider.
Title: Re: db Technologies SUB15H / SUB18H
Post by: Roland Clarke on August 31, 2018, 04:14:42 PM
The sub 18h is a decent single 18 sub.   The S20’s and the S30’s are really great, probably the best double 18’s at their respective prices.  I wouldn’t recommend their bandpass boxes, ok for a disco system I would suppose.
Title: Re: db Technologies SUB15H / SUB18H
Post by: Matthias Hinz on September 15, 2018, 03:24:51 PM
owned four Sub18H but changed to RCF 8004  :D