Outdoor test - 6 T30's and 2 OT12's

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commander_dan
Posts: 461
Joined: Sun Feb 16, 2014 7:19 pm
Location: Perth, Western Australia

Outdoor test - 6 T30's and 2 OT12's

#1 Post by commander_dan »

With the weather on the improve over here in Perth, it's time to bring the gear out of hibernation from winter! Tomorrow we'll be setting up our system on a private oval for an rc meet-up to test its outdoor capabilities. I plan to V-plate the stack of T30's to help them out. Fingers crossed the weather holds out :fingers:
Built:
6 T30 (24", 3012LF)
2 OT12 (MA, 3012HO)
2 T24 (18", 3010LF)

Running:
DCX2496
XTi 2002
XTi 4002
TRAKTOR Z2
TECHNICS 1210 Mk5's

Ryan Sober
Posts: 204
Joined: Sat Feb 01, 2014 8:34 pm
Location: Birmingham, AL

Re: Outdoor test - 6 T30's and 2 OT12's

#2 Post by Ryan Sober »

We wait, with bated breath...

:hyper:

commander_dan
Posts: 461
Joined: Sun Feb 16, 2014 7:19 pm
Location: Perth, Western Australia

Re: Outdoor test - 6 T30's and 2 OT12's

#3 Post by commander_dan »

So this test had 2 primary objectives; 1) temperature monitoring of the 3012LF magnets during heavy use and 2) the most efficient setup of a stack of 6 T30's possible. We got lucky with the weather and managed to dodge any rain, despite some threatening looking clouds around. We had 2 options for setup at this oval; in the middle without any boundary loading, or up against a hefty wall which runs along one side of the oval. We chose the boundary loading option of course, and V-plated the stack of T30's set 15" out from the wall as per the placement sticky.

We had some rubber sealant stripping with adhesive backing for sealing the air gaps between the subs, and did our best to seal them up with that and a large amount of duct tape. We cracked open one of the T30 access panels and attached a wireless meat temperature probe to the cooling fins of the 3012LF, ensuring it was locked in place. The starting temp was 23'C, and we set an alarm for "well done" at 76'C, fully expecting to exceed that. The OT12's went 10m either side of the subs and we setup the decks about 30m out from the subs and aimed the tops at us for optimal listening pleasure :D

After some sweeps to tune the setup, it was time for music! I played a range of tracks and sets, and we took the system to a good sustainable level, about 80% of its capability for the majority of the day. Took it to war volume a few times of course, just to see. I gotta say, outdoors is the best! The bass was monstrous and the tops were clean and crystal clear. The pair of OT12's easily kept up with the half dozen T30's, with more to give. I'm really impressed with how much sound these things make for their size, they look tiny but they put out!

So a couple of things to note, when we pushed the system the highest temperature reading we could get from the 3012LFs was 39'C. I was surprised to say the least, I thought we would at least get to 50'C. So, I guess that puts that potential issue to bed, at least for the music that we mainly play, being tech/house/dnb. I also just realized that in my excitement I didn't put any dubstep through the system, which could have yielded higher temperatures.

The other issue we had was our attempt at sealing the gaps in the V-plated stack. In short, it was a failure. The tape ended up causing severe rattling due to the extreme pressures at the mouth of the stack. It was hard to breath it was so intense! Also, we found that the corner chevrons were rattling as well, not from lack of attachment to the cabs but from tiny differences in each cabs out-of-squareness. We're gonna need to address that somehow. We had to remove the tape in the really bad areas of rattling and when we did so found we had to drive the subs harder. It's definitely more efficient to have these gaps sealed, there is a huge amount of air trying to get through. Next time we'll get some foam pipe lagging (I think Grant mentioned something like that a while back?) and try that. Additionally, I noticed that the V-plate was flexing wildly, I'm not sure if this is also causing some inefficiency, be it a very small amount. There was no noticeable flexing in the T30 panels, good news.

All up it was a very enjoyable day, I even managed to do some flying with the rest of the people who came down (fellow rc enthusiasts). As we were packing down, a big festival that had been setting up during the day across the road fired up their systems for their sound check.. yep, wayyy bigger and louder than ours! But, for 8 single person lift cabs, our little system punches well above its weight! :clap:
Attachments
The builders, my brother Rob on the right and myself on the left.
The builders, my brother Rob on the right and myself on the left.
Temp monitor after 20mins
Temp monitor after 20mins
Bass cave
Bass cave
Temp probe
Temp probe
Temp probe
Temp probe
Built:
6 T30 (24", 3012LF)
2 OT12 (MA, 3012HO)
2 T24 (18", 3010LF)

Running:
DCX2496
XTi 2002
XTi 4002
TRAKTOR Z2
TECHNICS 1210 Mk5's

commander_dan
Posts: 461
Joined: Sun Feb 16, 2014 7:19 pm
Location: Perth, Western Australia

Re: Outdoor test - 6 T30's and 2 OT12's

#4 Post by commander_dan »

More photos...
Attachments
IMAG0700 - Copy.jpg
IMAG0715.jpg
IMAG0716.jpg
IMAG0717.jpg
IMAG0718.jpg
Built:
6 T30 (24", 3012LF)
2 OT12 (MA, 3012HO)
2 T24 (18", 3010LF)

Running:
DCX2496
XTi 2002
XTi 4002
TRAKTOR Z2
TECHNICS 1210 Mk5's

67baja
Posts: 931
Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2010 12:10 am
Location: Las Vegas, NV

Re: Outdoor test - 6 T30's and 2 OT12's

#5 Post by 67baja »

Do you have any idea what kind of SPLs you were producing?
2 THTs, 2 TLAH, SLA curved, 1 8-AT, 1 AT JBL 1002D, 4 Otop12s, Jack 12, TT with Eminence 10", 2 SLAs, 1 T30 slim, 2 T30s (2-10" each), SLA Pros, TrT.

commander_dan
Posts: 461
Joined: Sun Feb 16, 2014 7:19 pm
Location: Perth, Western Australia

Re: Outdoor test - 6 T30's and 2 OT12's

#6 Post by commander_dan »

67baja wrote:Do you have any idea what kind of SPLs you were producing?
I used "audio tool" without the imm-6 mic to measure 106dB from the mixing position which was approx 30m out from the sub stack. How accurate that is, your guess is as good as mine. It was by no means an accurate measure of SPL but it gives an idea.
Built:
6 T30 (24", 3012LF)
2 OT12 (MA, 3012HO)
2 T24 (18", 3010LF)

Running:
DCX2496
XTi 2002
XTi 4002
TRAKTOR Z2
TECHNICS 1210 Mk5's

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