SQ from large sub woofers ???

[kingsuv]

your talking about transients. a larger sub would likely have a harder time stopping on a dime. i dont think it will matter a whole lot at low volumes. then when you turn it up, well who cares about SQ then.

I couldn't disagree more.

If a large driver has a hard time keeping up with the music, then your setup is all wrong. Lets look at it this way. what is the size of a kick drum? 18-24" Now if a Kick drum can reproduce a solid, tight double beat kick, then an 18" driver should too. My 18's have zero issues with keeping up with any double bass, and still play down to 18hz no problem.

[Quiet]

I vaguely remember back in the day that amplifiers damping factor is it's ability to tightly control cone movement. I rarely see this spec on any amps nowadays (sometimes on Soundstream gear) but does this mean anything to the OP? I know he's not planning to change amps but is this even a factor?

[Noobtastic14]

I agree with kingsuv.

A larger speaker does not have to move as far and I've always thought an 18" playing well within its thermal and mechanical limits and in the proper enclosure sounds much cleaner than a smaller driver that will have to be at the limits of its ability to keep up. But then again, I am a fan of stupid big woofers anyways so there is a bias.

-Drew

[mrd6]

My 18s now sound tighter and more realistic on bass drums than my RE SEs or the polk MOMO 12s i had before that did. obiously it doesnt apply to all music types youll be listening to but often when people describe SQ they talk about wanting everything to sound like you are at a live concert or performance. Every concert i have been to bass is produced by 18" or larger drivers. Yes they are more PA drivers but are still the same size, so to me this goes to showing how an 18 can still sound good and punchy like a smaller driver

[keepinitloud]

the Q is an sql driver which means its a musical sub but can get loud just make sure your enclosure has a flat response so all bass notes sound equally loud not just within the tuning the 18 should have no problem playing music accurately enough for your music tastes

[tacomabanga1986]

my 15's i had in a sealed box sounded killer on all freq's but the back pressure helped the cone recover, a ported box could be different

[Noobtastic14]

my 15's i had in a sealed box sounded killer on all freq's but the back pressure helped the cone recover, a ported box could be different

Depending on frequency a ported box will actually provide more back pressure than a sealed box.

-Drew

[photochrisb931]

I agree with a lot of what tacomabanga said. It is possible for larger woofers to be clean and tight in the right enclosure. Back in oh 94-95 I had two Kicker competition gold letters in a sealed box that I built to Stillwater specs. Every note on Metalica and Pantera was clearly defined and not muddy at all switch over to Dire Straits and the bass line was warm an inviting like you were in a small concert hall. Switch to rap or bass music and it pounded with the best of them. I then switched out in late 95 to four Lanzar Cast Pro 12's in a half diamond power wedge and no question it was much louder(I built it for SPL) but it did not have near the clarity of the 15 set up. So in the right enclosure a 15 or 18 or a pair can have more clarity than smaller drivers it is all about the enclosure and within reason the speaker.

[IH8PunkRok]

your talking about transients. a larger sub would likely have a harder time stopping on a dime. i dont think it will matter a whole lot at low volumes. then when you turn it up, well who cares about SQ then.

I couldn't disagree more.

If a large driver has a hard time keeping up with the music, then your setup is all wrong. Lets look at it this way. what is the size of a kick drum? 18-24" Now if a Kick drum can reproduce a solid, tight double beat kick, then an 18" driver should too. My 18's have zero issues with keeping up with any double bass, and still play down to 18hz no problem.

now hang on a minute. that 18-24" bass drum also only moves what 1mm? .5mm? of course it is going to be tight.

sure the size is comparable but the movement is not

[skittlesRgood]

your talking about transients. a larger sub would likely have a harder time stopping on a dime. i dont think it will matter a whole lot at low volumes. then when you turn it up, well who cares about SQ then.

I couldn't disagree more.

If a large driver has a hard time keeping up with the music, then your setup is all wrong. Lets look at it this way. what is the size of a kick drum? 18-24" Now if a Kick drum can reproduce a solid, tight double beat kick, then an 18" driver should too. My 18's have zero issues with keeping up with any double bass, and still play down to 18hz no problem.

you really cant compare the thin, tight face of a drum to a heavier paper cone with a bunch of copper hanging off it. make that drum face weigh as much as your 18" subwoofer, then see how it performs.

but either way, i said it will likely have a harder time. not that it will always or that its impossible to make an 18" sound good.