Passive or active sub?

[Mark_IDT]

I've decided to go with the tumult in either 15" or 18" sealed box. I'm wondering if I should go with there 1000w class d plate amp or a seperate amp. Which would have more tuning options the plate amp or seperate amp with added equiptment like equalizers and the behringer feedback eliminator. Seems like the plate amp has it all but I would like to hear some opinions before taking the dive. The seperate amp would be nice cause I could use it for other things and having all the controls beside you is nice to be able to adjust from the listening position.

[Mark_IDT]

I guess I'll go with the plate amp then. I don't know where to start looking for equipment that has those controls on rack mount equipment.

[kexodusc]

Go with the plate amp.

Wow! 1000 watts? That's gonna eat up a good chunk of money, but damn that'll give you bragging rights. How big is that room of yours?
I know a few people that have bought the Adire Tumult 15" woofers and they've used 250 and 500 watt amps with no problem.

I use a 240 watt amp on my 15" woofer, I have no problem maintaining an average signal of about 100-103 dB with about 19-27 watts (an interesting test is to actually measure the voltage and current to the woofer with a multi-meter).
This thing's peak power should be well above 240 watts and I'm left with 12 dB or more of headroom easily. Not that I listen at this level.

Then again, more power is always nice to have, you can sleep well at night knowing 1000 watts will be enough for just about any home use.

[Geoffcin]

Go with the plate amp.

Then again, more power is always nice to have, you can sleep well at night knowing 1000 watts will be enough for just about any home use.

I don't think anyone is going to be sleeping well when this sub goes on line!

[kexodusc]

Ya know, you really can't have only <i>one</i> kilowatt sub...ya pretty much have to have at least two.
Mark_IDT...tell me you're going the infinite baffle route with this Frankensub creation of yours.

[Mark_IDT]

well I figured the 1000w amp was pretty much a given sence thats what they use on their pre-finished subs with the tumult 15". Though looking at the pics they have I don't see the 1000w amp they show in the picture actually for sale. It dosent look like either the parts express amp or adire's amp which I see now is actually 1200w. I thought those infinate baffle subs you build into the wall and don't need rediculious drivers? So no I wasn't planning on going that route.

[kexodusc]

I wasn't aware Adire made pre-finished sub with a Tumult...where have you seen them?

[Mark_IDT]

the whole series of pinnacle subs has em www.acoustic-visions.com/~acoustic/products/subwoofers/pre_finished/pinnacle_index.shtml

[kexodusc]

The Kilimanjaro is the spitting image of the 15" sub I just built, except I made my grill in the shape of a circle...
At $1500 it caries a big price tag, but you get a 1000 watt amp (class D) and a veneered finished 1.5" MDF cabinet (which is way overkill IMO). Not a bad deal at all. The woofer and amp alone would cost $1000.
If you want to make your own clone of this it'd be pretty easy and save a few hundred bucks. I don't think you need a 1000 watt amp though, but you can figure that out for yourself.

Damn, you got me drooling now.

You could move a sailboat with the Tumults.

[Mark_IDT]

Ya I was gonna buy the pre cut parts and assemble it and just paint it black to cut the cost. Was thinking about having a rhino lining place paint it would be a durable textured gloss black finish. The adire made plate amps look like they have more features than the parts express and the 1200w is only $50 more than the 600w so why not go with the 1000w right.

[kexodusc]

You are crazy...this is on sick-ass sub you're scheming. :D
You could paint it, or order some black vinyl laminate from parts express. They have both the black ash wood type you see on commercial speakers like Paradigm, B&W, etc, or a pebbly black textured laminate. It's peel and stick, and just needs to be trimmed with a sharp knife. $14/roll, 1 roll might be enough, 2 rolls definitely would, and it'd give you some extra pieces to practice with.

Do you have a sub now? What kind of performance were you hoping for?

Just remember, you can extra $50 yourself into the poor house without really adding much real-world performance. The difference between 600 and 1200 watts isn't as much as you'd think in terms of the headroom and output capability it provides. Then again, for $50, it's probably better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.