Just a night or two ago, Dewald had a 'Pa tot seun' talk with me, about not splurging too much on subwoofers. He even convinced me that I do not necessarily need a horn sub with my Altec A7s, but that you can find great box subs at bargain prices if you keep your eyes open. I know he was right. But, after our talk, I realized that I may run into a problem with box subs. So, this is me saying 'I really heard you', and I am not dismissing anything you said! Plus: it is simply fun to dream up new things, and since I found my final speaker in the Altecs, I might just as well give it the bottom end it deserves! 
Let met show you (not Dewald, all of you) something
This is the area directly below my hifi - floor of hifi room, ceiling of garage. This is what you see when you look at it.
This is what I see (at least, something like it)
:
Why am I, according to NOT my wife, otherwise a sane person considering joining this "Cult of the Infinitely Baffled"?
Well, I am glad you asked. This the view of my setup from the listener's position:
I put a green arrow in there to indicate the problem, because most of you would probably have missed it. It is the subwoofer created by SeanJamy - still not veneered, corners still not routed, I know, Sean, I know!... I digress. But it IS a thing of beauty (see Weekend woofer build From the beginning I saw this as a transitory sub - look, it does its job brilliantly, but... the volume knob on the DSP ICE amplifier needs to be around 90% permanently to keep up with the rest of the system (I believe the room is simply too big). And in some cases like great orchestral pieces it falls apart. I cannot even try pipe organ - it simply goes into some resonance on the low lower notes.
But, even if it DID do everything brilliantly - in which case I'd want one more - there is this thing that the sub needs to stand EXACTLY where it stands. Do not move it 20cm left or right or backwards, it WILL lose its beautiful bass. And adding a second, position-mirrored on the left side, it really becomes intrusive. Let me give you a better idea:
This is how far the sub needs to be in front of the mains to do its thing. And this 'sweet spot' is not peculiar to the sub - the B&W801 Matrx 3 that I previously owned, needed to be placed on that exact location as well, if you wanted the system to sing.
So... wouldn't it be nice to have a simple grid covering the IB subs opening in stead of a handmade, aestetically unfinished subwoofer that is still stuck on a pallett?
So: if I need find the right box subs, it will still take some $$$$, and to put box subwoofers so far into the room, it is going to become a mess - and it is a mess already, perfect example of how NOT to set up your hifi. Only other solution would be to move the equipment rack to the left, and open up the center area for 2 good box subs. See, I am trying here, thinking on my feet, and all that.
Now to the IB thing: it is not something that is going to happen overnight - I need to save up, find the right equipment, crossovers, etc. And of course, lots of homework, which I am starting right now. I believe there is quite a few free software apps that will help you with an IB. Just need to find them.
For Interests sake: room is 15mx8mx2.8m - hope that doesn't mean I'll need 12 drivers or something like that.
Layout:
Let met show you (not Dewald, all of you) something
This is the area directly below my hifi - floor of hifi room, ceiling of garage. This is what you see when you look at it.
This is what I see (at least, something like it)
:
Why am I, according to NOT my wife, otherwise a sane person considering joining this "Cult of the Infinitely Baffled"?
Well, I am glad you asked. This the view of my setup from the listener's position:
I put a green arrow in there to indicate the problem, because most of you would probably have missed it. It is the subwoofer created by SeanJamy - still not veneered, corners still not routed, I know, Sean, I know!... I digress. But it IS a thing of beauty (see Weekend woofer build From the beginning I saw this as a transitory sub - look, it does its job brilliantly, but... the volume knob on the DSP ICE amplifier needs to be around 90% permanently to keep up with the rest of the system (I believe the room is simply too big). And in some cases like great orchestral pieces it falls apart. I cannot even try pipe organ - it simply goes into some resonance on the low lower notes.
But, even if it DID do everything brilliantly - in which case I'd want one more - there is this thing that the sub needs to stand EXACTLY where it stands. Do not move it 20cm left or right or backwards, it WILL lose its beautiful bass. And adding a second, position-mirrored on the left side, it really becomes intrusive. Let me give you a better idea:
This is how far the sub needs to be in front of the mains to do its thing. And this 'sweet spot' is not peculiar to the sub - the B&W801 Matrx 3 that I previously owned, needed to be placed on that exact location as well, if you wanted the system to sing.
So... wouldn't it be nice to have a simple grid covering the IB subs opening in stead of a handmade, aestetically unfinished subwoofer that is still stuck on a pallett?
So: if I need find the right box subs, it will still take some $$$$, and to put box subwoofers so far into the room, it is going to become a mess - and it is a mess already, perfect example of how NOT to set up your hifi. Only other solution would be to move the equipment rack to the left, and open up the center area for 2 good box subs. See, I am trying here, thinking on my feet, and all that.
Now to the IB thing: it is not something that is going to happen overnight - I need to save up, find the right equipment, crossovers, etc. And of course, lots of homework, which I am starting right now. I believe there is quite a few free software apps that will help you with an IB. Just need to find them.
For Interests sake: room is 15mx8mx2.8m - hope that doesn't mean I'll need 12 drivers or something like that.
Layout:
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