Subwoofers Does Size Matter & More?

[EdwardGein]

You guys understand this stuff more then me but here are the subwoofer & Speaker Specs:

SUPER EIGHT SUBWOOFER
Speaker Type High-performance ported bass-reflex design.

Port Type Precision-tuned flared snorkel port.

Amplifier Type & Power Custom high-power class AB amplifier with digital switching power supply for enhanced peak power output

150W (continuous)
400W+ (peak)

Amplifier THD <.1% (100hz at full power)

Amplifier S/N >95dB

Driver Super long-throw 8" high-performance driver with composite paper/high density ABS cone. This yields rigid, lightweight design with excellent low frequency performance and increased detail and musicality.

Magnet Assembly 30 oz. ferrite magnet

Frequency Response 28-180hz
Adjustable Crossover (40-160hz)

Max SPL Peak 111dB

Max SPL Long-Term 107dB

Features Phase Switch (0/180)
Adjustable Crossover (40-160hz)
Temperature protect circuitry
Auto/On/Off Power
RCA gold-plated stereo line level inputs
High level gold-plated inputs and outputs
12dB/Octave hi-pass circuit

Weight 31 lbs

Dimensions 12" H x 11 3/4" D x 11 1/2" W
(optional 1" feet)

Orb Satellite speakers
Speaker Type Magnetically shielded full-range satellite speaker. Crossover-free design for coherent, lifelike sound.

Driver Advanced high-excursion 3" full range polypropylene driver cone with Santoprene surround. These materials maintain their sonic characteristics over long periods of time and also through a broad range of temperatures and operating environments.

Magnet Assembly Fully shielded, high-density neodymium magnet with proprietary voice coil in high tolerance gap to create strong, highly focused magnetic field. Compact magnet design allows for maximum free internal volume and extension of low midrange performance.

Binding Posts Custom gold-plated brass binding posts (fits up to 14 Ga. wire)

Frequency Response 80hz - 20,000hz

Efficiency 89dB

Impedance Mod1: 8 ohms nominal
Mod2: 4 ohms nominal*
*Mod2 is compatible with all popular receivers & amps rated at 6-8 ohms

Power Handling

15 - 110 watts RMS
(please call us for compatibility with higher wattage receivers)

Mod1 On Desk Stand:
4 3/16" W x 5" H x 4 7/8" D

Weight On Desk Stands:Mod1: 17 oz.

Construction American carbon steel, assembled in USA

Finishes Premium Black Metallic Powder Coat
Premium Pearl White Powder Coat
Hand Polished Steel w/ Clear Coat

I

[Geoffcin]

An 8" sub might be just the ticket in a modest room, but once you start getting into bigger spaces, and especially rooms with open floor plans then your bass needs greatly expand. Try to match the sub to the room
and your listening habits. Also, if your into action films with a lot of LFE, you may want to consider a bigger sub than would normally be recommended.

[brulaha]

Sometime when we finally get together, I'll show you how much LFE my 8" Velodyne can produce, of course, the room boundaries help alot.

And I in turn am happy to show how much LFE my 18" Velodyne can produce. HEHEHE! Best used purchase I ever made.

[paul_pci]

And I in turn am happy to show how much LFE my 18" Velodyne can produce. HEHEHE! Best used purchase I ever made.

You could probably demolish a poorly constructed building with that thing!

[shokhead]

Sometime when we finally get together, I'll show you how much LFE my 8" Velodyne can produce, of course, the room boundaries help alot.

Cool!

[emaidel]

I have an 8" Celestion powered sub, and a 15" Definitive Technology powered unit as well. The Celestion unit came as part of a home entertainment theatre package when we purchased our home, and it sounds pretty good, though thundering organ and/or synthesizer notes aren't its forte.

The Definitive Technology unit replaced the combination of a Dahlquist DQ-1W, a Rotel 980XB bridged amp, and the Dahlquist electronic crossover (I forget the model number), and it blows all the older stuff away. The DQ-1W was a 13" sub, in a much larger enclosure that went down just so far and then quit, but the Definitive Technology unit has chest-pounding bass I'd never heard (or felt) before.

I'm sure there are better subs out there, but for the price ($1,000), the Def Tech unit is hard to beat (and $1,000 is a helluva lot less than the previous combination of three units).

Not earth shattering news, but helpful perhaps.

[EdwardGein]

For my bedroom which is right above the building manager's below, I'm looking for the opposite of thunder & lightning, just subtle bass & bottom. This is probably the opposite of what people are looking for in a sub & what they're designed for. Strangely, my more powerful Orb Supereight Sub in the open living room which sounds perfect for me, has never brought any complaints from the manager down below except when I played a 5.1 DVD of the recent Cream reunion concerts. I'm not really by any apartment on my floor- I have a pretty large apartment & the guy above has never complained (& I don't even know what he looks like). If I could do it all over again, I'd have a first floor apartment but the apartments where I
live are somewhat limited so this is the best for the time being, unfortunately. I'm not about to spend $325,000 for an 850 foot condo!

[EdwardGein]

I might have totally screwed something up in the sub I ordered & was hoping someone can tell me if there will be a noticeable difference in the sound. M&K has a discontinued Sub the K-9 which I ordered based on their website saying they'd recommend this for an apartment (yeah something sounds off or outdated) & I was using their specs for the KX-9 subwoofer also 8" when I decided to buy the K-9 instead of using the K-9's specs. Please note, that I got this sub for the express purpose of sounding better then my existing sub for CD's- it sounds fine for TV & DVD, but not being too loud either that it would disturb the manager of my building who 's bedroom is directy below mine. So I don't want the walls & floor to shake.
Anyway, the K-9 sub is 75 watts not 125 as I mistakenly thought, is a "sideways" type sub meaning its width is longer then its height while the KX-9 height is a stand up type sub with its height bigger then the width. Both ranges are35 to 200 hrz. The sub I'm planning to replace the Acoustic Research Service 108 sub also 8" which is 120 watts & range is 30 to 200 hrz. Any thoughts based on the specs. I actually got the sub today but won't hook it up till Tuesday.

[EdwardGein]

Well I can't win for losing as I plugged the M&K sub in & it just wasn't powerful enough for my
purposes. I guess I want something with enough drive that I like but not enough to cause the walls to shake & floor to ruble & piss off my manager in the apartment directly below. Will be recycling on Ebay again. So I've learned from this, I need at least 115 watts. Onward.

[paul_pci]

I should be able to swing by next weeka nd we can plug in my Velodyne and maybe you'll consider the other, cheaper Velodyne that Ken Crane's sells.

[musicman1999]

Ed

It's not the power,it's your room.If i get what you want,and i think i do,what you need is full range front speakers that go down in to the 40 range.That will give you bass and wont shake the walls like a sub does.It will work.

bill

[shokhead]

I agree.

[EdwardGein]

Out of curiosity, I tried using my Orb Supereight Sub (in the living room) in the bedroom again but this time I put it under 4 additional 2" high heavy duty isolation pads over the already 3/4" high duty isolation 2 foot long or so isolation pad I was using- thus these were like 2" coasters- I had made small pieces previously of the other isolation pad I had in stock. Anyway, this time it made the difference, total night and day, and it got rid of all the acoustic problems & harshness & basically sounds the same as in my living room now. So I'm going to buy another Orb Supereight sub & just sell the M&K & ARS subs I have. I'm also wondering if the fact that I'm now playing CDs through a CD player instead of a DVD player affected the sub sound as well. Onwards & upwards. Oh, I have one technical question on a sub, please read the next post here. Any words of advice would be appreciated.

[EdwardGein]

Is it OK to plug my sub into the back of my Denon receiver which is connected to my Monster Power Conditioner or would you not recommend it? I can also plugit directly into my Monster Power Conditioner? Will the sound still be the same or could it be affected, etc?

[paul_pci]

Shouldn't make a difference, but you want to make sure that the sub is plugged into a surge protector at some point in the electrical chain.

[N. Abstentia]

Is it OK to plug my sub into the back of my Denon receiver which is connected to my Monster Power Conditioner or would you not recommend it? I can also plugit directly into my Monster Power Conditioner? Will the sound still be the same or could it be affected, etc?

Definitely DO NOT plug it into the back of your receiver. That outlet will only support low current devices such as CD or DVD player. In fact it should say right under it NOT to plug an amplifier into the outlet. But on the other hand, doing that would fix all your problems...you'd have to replace all your equipment and find a new place to live after everything burned up

[EdwardGein]

Thanks for the words of advice. I think I'll err on the side of caution & unplug it from my Denon & put it into the back of my power conditioner. I had done this only for a temporary thing because until my new Orb Sub arrives, I'm going to have to put this sub back into the living room & my ARS sub back in my bedroom & its a pain in the butt to go under the bottom of my audio rack to plug this in & out of the power conditioner but I'd rather err on the side of caution. Once I get the second Orb I was going to plug it into the power conditioner anyway.
NAbsentia go wild & listen to regular cds in 5 channel natural sound with an optic cable & orb speakers & you'll never go back.

[N. Abstentia]

NAbsentia go wild & listen to regular cds in 5 channel natural sound with an optic cable & orb speakers & you'll never go back.

I'll take your word for it! For now I guess I'll just have to suffer with the analong connections of my Marantz DV6400 feeding SACD to my Paradigm Active 40's.