TAT Review

[Seth]

Against my pride, due to my perception of responses on this forum as poor costumer service (IITP , blunt and non helpful responces, etc.), I have an unmeasured and unscientific review of the Tall version of the Auto Tuba.

My original plan was to build two 20" wide versions, each loaded with two 8" drivers for the cargo area of my Jeep Cherokee. I'm a bit on the anal side and it took me much longer to build my first box than I expected. So, to date, I've only completed the one and this review is specific to 1 TAT, 20" wide, loaded with 2 MCM 8" drivers.

The drivers are wired in parallel, providing what would conventionally be considered a 2ohm load to the amplifier, but the horn reportedly adds 4ohms on top of that, totaling 6ohms. I did not measure the voltage, but the amp is "rated" to put out 500 watts at 4 ohms, which was enough to bottom the voice coils out a couple of times before I got the levels adjusted.

It is, by no means, louder than a 2x12" slot-ported enclosure with the same power. Probably half as loud (3db). Although... It still produces enough spl in the vehicle to make EVERYTHING rattle, including the roof! It's impressive still. The kicker is, it's overall louder. The "peak" may not be as high, but it's soooo smooth. Smoother than I've ever heard before. Really lows are really lows, mid kick is mid kick, this box with two 8" drivers plays low like an 18" yet kicks like a 10". To a trained ear, it's unbelievable. Windows up, windows down... no matter. I really should build another to reach my listening goals though.

So, here's the odd bit of the story. I bought a houseboat and in the transition of transporting things in the Jeep, the TAT found a new comfortable home on the boat. Here's the funny part. I haven't taken the time to wire in any amplifiers. I simply parallel wired the TAT into the right channel of the existing stereo... a circa 1980's Kraco tape deck. According to the printing on the front of the unit, it's 18w + 12w... whatever that means. IT ROCKS! Matches the mids and highs perfectly. While it wont break any windows, it rattles them very well.

I'm very impressed.

[SeisTres]

If you liked that one, i suggest you try a table tuba for your house for music listing which will also do ok for movie watching. Once you get used to their extension and smoothness, everything else will just seem sub par.

Oh, yeah, and don't for get the home line arrays for that clarity and dynamics they provide

[Tom Smit]

Sooo glad you like it!

[Mikey]

Against my pride, due to my perception of responses on this forum as poor costumer service (IITP , blunt and non helpful responces, etc.), I have an unmeasured and unscientific review of the Tall version of the Auto Tuba.

I'm very sorry that you've perceived this forum in that way. "IITP" is probably used much more than it should be, as not everyone has the plans yet, especially people new here.

As for being blunt, yeah, a lot of us are "guilty" of that, too, but that's usually just a matter of being "directly to the point". People who try to help by answering questions here do-so on their own time, simply as a matter of giving-back to Bill and the community, so bear in mind that the answers that you get are from "strangers" on the internet who've been kind enough to give you some of their time, regardless of how much or how little.

As for non helpful responses, you must realize that every person here has their own experiences and situations, varying knowledge of audio and knowledge of Bill's designs. Everyone will perceive your situation differently and will comment or help based on what they know. So, not all responses will hit home. If you don't get the answer you're looking-for right off, then try re-phrasing and clarifying your question, so that your question may be answered to your satisfaction.

To be honest, I've been around here for years, and yours is one of the very few negative responses that I've seen regarding the forum. NOT to say that it isn't perfectly valid; if you took the time to tell us about it, then I've no doubt that your experience was indeed negative in some ways. Hopefully those who read this will take note and make an effort to be a little more gentle with "newbies".

The drivers are wired in parallel, providing what would conventionally be considered a 2ohm load to the amplifier, but the horn reportedly adds 4ohms on top of that, totaling 6ohms.

This is a very common miscalculation of impedance. The correct method is to add the driver impedance and the horn impedance, THEN calculate for multiple drivers. In this case, that's 4 ohms (driver) + 4 ohms (horn) = 8 ohms, then two in parallel is 4 ohms. Or, IOW, a dually is calculated the same as if it were two separate cabs.

[Dave Non-Zero]

Probably half as loud (3db)

3dB is half power, not half as loud. 10dB is perceived as half as loud.

Although ive not used my TAT in a vehicle yet, id like to offer my own unscientific opinion.... that the dual 12 has high output in a peaky way ie. has a lot of midbass+distortion, whereas the smoothness you describe in the AT is the result of a more even response. its easy to rattle a car with lots of 100hz. less so with 40Hz. try playing a few test tones and let us know if the dual 12 handles them well.
like i say, i dont know, im only going by other peoples reviews.