Hello from Finland!

[Maddoc]

Hi, I'm Dougal from Lahti, Finland.
We've formed a non-profit society that has a goal of advancing the electronic music culture in our city. I joined to learn and listen (and probably ask a bit) since I want to build a sound system for the society (and myself, to learn).
We would host parties of about 50-150 people, indoors and outdoors and I've still to decide which cabinets we'll go for. 2 Titan 39's (or maybe tuba 30's?) loaded with 12's & 2 OmniTop 12's with tweeter arrays for maximal modularity and possibilities for expanding the system.
Music we will play through the PA will be psychedelic trance in form of "traditional" & suomisaundi, Techno, Tech House, Hard Techno, Drum & Bass, almost whatever you can imagine.
I'm more than open for any experience or knowledge based suggestions on this choice. Priority will be clear sound, precise & pumping bass and the possibility to build more to expand the soundsystem as we get things rolling. This applies to the crossovers, filters and amplifiers too.
So yeah, catch you on the forums!

[Seth]

Dougal, I'm Seth. Welcome to the party!

It sounds like you have realistic goals, expectations, and have named some really good options to achieve them. OT12 is an excellent top to go with. I'll give you my normal subwoofer advice... If you're going to use them outdoors and not primarily indoors, I always recommend Titan over Tuba designs. Then I typically recommend T39 for live music applications and T48 for recorded content DJ applications. There are times and situations when the T48 would be the better choice for someone doing bands and times when the T39 would be the better choice for the DJ than the T48.

If your storage, vehicle transportation, or other situation demands that you have a more compact subwoofer design, the T39 is okay for you. But, if you can store and transport LARGE subs, full width T48's will be your best bang for the buck and will absolutely rock your world for the same amount of time and effort to build as the T39, although slightly more costly cab for cab. But, it would take twice as many T39's to match performance which is more costly and more time to build.

You'll definitely want a dbx Driverack DSP Processor or something with similar capabilities. It handles all the signal processing you'll need.

You came to the right place for crisp, clean, and clear sound quality.

[Rich4349]

I agree with all of Seth's recommendations. Your hardest goal will be playing dubstep outdoors. For that combination, though the following will benefit you anywhere, you'll want to build 4 of the same subwoofer so you can add the simple V-plate, which enables them to play 5 hz lower.

Coupling them together like that adds SIGNIFICANT output with no additional amplifier power needed. Correct me if I'm wrong, guys, but I believe it's 9dB added for the minimal price of a medium piece of plywood.

[Seth]

Correct me if I'm wrong, guys, but I believe it's 9dB added for the minimal price of a medium piece of plywood.

+3dB benefit at the bottom end when V-Plating. +3dB is equivalent to doubling power to the cab, although 3dB isn't doubling of output volume. +10dB is considered twice as loud and +3dB is just a noticeable increase in output. However, 3dB is huge when it comes down to powering a small pile of subs. Any particular volume will require half the power from the amplifier and therefor the mains power circuit or generator that is powering the system. It becomes even more valuable when comparing other subwoofer options.

As mentioned, you can run the subs 5Hz lower with 4 cabs in one stack. However, the V-plate can be deployed and it's benefits can be had with as few as 2 cabs. A stack of 4 cabs will do some amazing things.

[Seth]

Hi, I'm Dougal...

Dougal, how well versed are you with the basics of the science of sound? If you aren't already aware, the basics with regard to this kina stuff is pretty straight forward, valuable information, and is easy to learn. Happy to share if you want/need the crash course.

[Rich4349]

But going with the stack of 4 of the same sub yields what gains, not including the v-plate?

[Seth]

But going with the stack of 4 of the same sub yields what gains, not including the v-plate?

12dB, +6dB per doubling of cab count.

[Rich4349]

So +15dB for 4 cabs AND the V-plate?

[Seth]

So +15dB for 4 cabs AND the V-plate?

Sounds about right to me