BillFitzmaurice.info

Just got a flash drive in the mail and ready to build something! I've made a THTLP, SLA, TLAH, and tuck tuba in the past so I have what I would consider a beginner/maybe intermediate level of experience building stuff.

Looking to make something for the garage....kinda a "party speaker" of sorts. Currently have sound coming from one corner and thinking a sub and some type of top would work out pretty well. As far genres, I'm listening to mostly EDM with some 80's hair metal rock thrown in for good measure. Once in awhile like "bass mekanik" type music. I don't turn it up very high, 80db would be pretty loud for me and around 70 is typical.

Anyway, and sorry this is going to get longish, should I be looking at "home/ht" type stuff or "pro sound" stuff? Should I be thinking titan/tuba or tht? And (I know this has been discussed before but help the ignorant here), why don't home theater subs work in a "pro sound" environment? Is it just a matter of volume/loudness?

As for "tops", it looks like jack and slas are easiest to make, omni is next, and then the DRs are the most difficult to make, does that sound right? As far as "sound quality" and efficiency...does that go DR is best then omni, then jack and sla? I'd love to take a crack at making something with the cross firing tweeter array, that looks totally wicked!

Finally, just want to throw out a "Thank you" for the option to get all of the plans on a flash drive. Individual plans are a really good deal but getting all of them at the current price is just awesome. Thanks!

Joe

Standard unfinished 2 car garage?

Fastskiguy wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 9:47 am Anyway, and sorry this is going to get longish, should I be looking at "home/ht" type stuff or "pro sound" stuff? Should I be thinking titan/tuba or tht? And (I know this has been discussed before but help the ignorant here), why don't home theater subs work in a "pro sound" environment? Is it just a matter of volume/loudness?

Does your livelihood, reputation and business rely on equipment and lack of failures? If you answer yes to this, then you should use pro sound gear. It's not so much about volume. There are some great HT drivers out there, and there's some junk. In pro audio, the junk disappears due to lack of sales.
Does it matter if your HT subs fail at home? Not to the point it could affect your business.
That's one way of looking at it anyway.

Fastskiguy wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 9:47 am As for "tops", it looks like jack and slas are easiest to make, omni is next, and then the DRs are the most difficult to make, does that sound right? As far as "sound quality" and efficiency...does that go DR is best then omni, then jack and sla? I'd love to take a crack at making something with the cross firing tweeter array, that looks totally wicked!

IMO, the order goes SLA's, then Jacks and Omni's, then DR's being the hardest to make. Perhaps it's better to say that DR's take longer
Bill has said in the past, if you can't build a DR, build an Omni.
The DR's have the highest average sensitivity. I can't imagine Bill would sell a design that sounded like crap, so, sound quality is much the same across all series.

To answer your question though, the great thing about modularity is if you don't have enough, you can build more.
Sounds like you want low rather than loud, so I would think Tuba. However, it is DIY and you may decide to go with a HT design for subs.
If you want it up and running quickly, I would suggest Otop12 for tops/mains

You will need EQ, and DSP/crossover, so factor that in too...

Seth wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 2:04 pm Standard unfinished 2 car garage?

I don't understand the relevance. Whatever is built will require EQ and DSP anyway.

It's 2 1/2 car I guess, one big door for the two cars and a smaller door for the golf car. There is a bit of room in front of the cars for a work bench area and in front of the golf car for a little workout area. So kind of a generous 2 1/2 car I guess? Not super huge (unfortunately!) No sound treatment (at the moment anyway). Finished dry wall or concrete block on the inside.

As far as reliability, yeah, if something fails it certainly isn't a problem. I mean, it'd be nice to have reliable stuff but I've never blown up anything and the SLAs and TLAHs run "well within themselves". So maybe a THT with one of those cheap 12" drivers would be a good option?

Joe

Before you build your carriage you should get your horse. By carriage I mean speakers and by horse I mean DSP.

So before picking speakers I should get a dsp? OK, I'm certainly willing to shop, do you have a suggestion?

I was looking at the tht and table tuba, if I were to use that inexpensive 12 for the THT and make it 15" wide it looks like the mouth would be darn near the same size as a 15" table tuba. Now...my understanding is that it's mouth area that counts...does that sound right? If so, why would anybody make a narrow tht when a table tuba of the same width gives darn near the same response? I'm asking because I want a reason to use this grs driver.

https://www.parts-express.com/GRS-12PR- ... quantity=1

How much of a challenge do you want? Use this amp ( https://www.parts-express.com/TPS3116D2 ... quantity=1 ) for simplicity, mount your top cabs near the sub.
My choice for top would be TLAH with discount drivers (may take a while to find a good option), and a TT (or THT).

Joe, for that space and your stated relatively low output needs, I'd do a pair of SLA Pro's for highs, 4x4 or 2x6 shorty. (The thought of the 4x4 sans tweeter option tickles my fancy a little)

I like the idea of the cheepo THT to go with them. Is there any chance you may be able to put one or two in the rafters or secured to the ceiling? I'm guessing it would be favorable if it/they didn't eat up any floor space.

Tom Smit wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 10:46 pm How much of a challenge do you want? Use this amp ( https://www.parts-express.com/TPS3116D2 ... quantity=1 ) for simplicity, mount your top cabs near the sub.
My choice for top would be TLAH with discount drivers (may take a while to find a good option), and a TT (or THT).

Now that amp is at a price I'd like to pay, awesome! Thanks

Seth wrote: ↑Wed Dec 14, 2022 12:06 am Joe, for that space and your stated relatively low output needs, I'd do a pair of SLA Pro's for highs, 4x4 or 2x6 shorty. (The thought of the 4x4 sans tweeter option tickles my fancy a little)

I like the idea of the cheepo THT to go with them. Is there any chance you may be able to put one or two in the rafters or secured to the ceiling? I'm guessing it would be favorable if it/they didn't eat up any floor space.

Hadn't thought of suspending the subs from the ceiling....that's a great idea, will definitely have to think about that.

I like the idea of simplicity with the "no tweeter option" but that cross firing array is really cool so I might not be able to help myself. On the other hand I have 4 of those 16 ohm drives left over from the sla/tlah project that could go right into a "regular" (non pro) SLA making it super duper cheap.

I'm loving the ideas guys, thank you

Joe

Fastskiguy wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 10:32 pm why would anybody make a narrow tht when a table tuba of the same width gives darn near the same response?

Because they haven't done their homework. Where music is concerned no one needs a THT, of any size, music doesn't go that low. For that matter the Small TableTuba goes as low as all but the most serious bassheads need.

Bill Fitzmaurice wrote: ↑Wed Dec 14, 2022 12:00 pm

Fastskiguy wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 10:32 pm why would anybody make a narrow tht when a table tuba of the same width gives darn near the same response?

Because they haven't done their homework. Where music is concerned no one needs a THT, of any size, music doesn't go that low. For that matter the Small TableTuba goes as low as all but the most serious bassheads need.

Well that makes perfect sense. So now it's just....small table tuba or tuba 24? I'm guessing the small table tuba would got a little lower, the tuba 24 would go louder, does that sound right?

Joe

Yep.

Fastskiguy wrote: ↑Wed Dec 14, 2022 6:30 pm Well that makes perfect sense. So now it's just....small table tuba or tuba 24? I'm guessing the small table tuba would got a little lower, the tuba 24 would go louder, does that sound right?

I have an SLA Pro and a T24 as a mono stack in my garage and it's as loud as I want.....and there's more there if I needed it. If you want stereo, a pair of short SLA Pros with a corner-loaded T24 would be a nice combo for a garage.

Joe, FWIW there are inexpensive GRS "pro" drivers available in 10, 12, and 15 inch that fulfill T30, T45 (12" only) ,T39, and T48 driver specifications. The Vas for the 10" driver is too low for the T24 and T45.

So, if one of those designed calls out to you, there is a budget driver option available.

GRS 10PT-8 $30
GRS 12PT-8 $50
GRS 15PT-8 $60