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Subwoofer amps for distributed home audio


rf9000

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Guys,

 

I'm going to add passive ceiling/wall subwoofers as four of the zones to my audio matrix. Looking for a rack mountable amp option to power these subs. Just trying to get some extra oomph in some zones. Was looking at these monoprice amps below. I also know Dayton makes some amplifiers. Has anyone had any experience with these or have any other suggestions?

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=31030&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpM-eleXC4AIVph6tBh3J0QpmEAYYAyABEgJk9fD_BwE

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=31029&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpM-eleXC4AIVph6tBh3J0QpmEAYYASABEgLv_vD_BwE

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I don't know yet. Looking at several options. Taking a look at these Tannoy subs below with back boxes among others. Also looking at some Paradigms, James, etc. Tannoy is normally a good brand but I can't find any reviews on these subs.  Its hard finding something that will give decent punch for a large room. Its crazy that more subwoofer manufactures dont make ceiling subs with large back boxes. in normal construction, there are spots in rooms where the ceiling cavity space is at least 18"+ but it seems most of these subs comes with shallow back boxes and most use only 8" to 10" size woofers.

 

https://www.tannoy.com/Categories/Tannoy/Loudspeaker-Systems/Install/CMS-1201SW/p/P0C20#googtrans(en|en)

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If you are going for an 12" and want the best flexibility for changing it later I think those Tannoy's look good. That back box looks very universal. My concern with something that large in the wall/ceiling/floor is the hassle in switching it out later. If you have it in an open floorplan this gets a little messy. That unit looks like you can swap the driver with a little basic creativity.

I saw these in an audioholics article once. They have dual 10's and the port can have a rectangular look:

https://rbhsound.com/si1010.php

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I did think about this. Not big on building anything myself, but I wondered what would happen if I just bought the box and grille, then added a much more robust 12” sub, kinda like slot of those DIY guys do when they build those monster stand alone subs. As long as the cubic cavity meets the subs requirements, I wonder how it would sound? Then power them with some of those low cost but highly rated huge output Behringer or Crown amps. It’s tempting

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19 minutes ago, lippavisual said:

The Triad ceiling subs are very nice as they are fully enclosed and can put out some boom. They also have their own outboard amp.  I’d give them a look as well, they sound fantastic. 

These?

https://www.triadspeakers.com/products/subwoofwer/ic-bronze10-sub/

Nice that you can order them so you can wire up two units and you can paint them.

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Yep, that's one of them.  They are 4 ohm standard for single sub applications and can also be ordered with 8 ohm drivers if doing 2 subs in the room.

Recently just did one of the Mini 8's and was pleasantly surprised by its output, especially where this was located in a large garage.  Sounded fantastic.

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I like the Episode in wall subs (dual 8”) with the matching episode amp. One amp can drive two of the wall sub units. They sound good and pricing is reasonable compared to Sonnance, etc. I think most would be hard pressed to tell the difference between Episode and something costing 2-3x more. 

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I will look into those. Sometimes I wonder though if someone would buy the Tannoy backboxes which are 2.8cubic feet internally, then buy something like the Dayton 12" reference subwoofer (very good reviews), and buy the Tannoy grill, what I would end up with. Subwoofers are about the easiest speakers to build. Then run them off some 700 watt Crown amplifiers that 12v triggers. I bet those would rock and could be done very cheap

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43 minutes ago, rf9000 said:

I will look into those. Sometimes I wonder though if someone would buy the Tannoy backboxes which are 2.8cubic feet internally, then buy something like the Dayton 12" reference subwoofer (very good reviews), and buy the Tannoy grill, what I would end up with. Subwoofers are about the easiest speakers to build. Then run them off some 700 watt Crown amplifiers that 12v triggers. I bet those would rock and could be done very cheap

I think if you are a DIY sort of person and enjoy the project, yes. I'd do something like that which is why I mentioned it earlier. Other times I'm just busy on something more interesting and not as price sensitive to a solution. Just buy the thing and install it.

I've had some Dayton subs and thought they were decent. I'd buy more also. I have not had great luck with their plate amps. On average I get about 3 years out of them. More or less on the same timeline as my typical upgrade/change schedule so it's never been a deal breaker.

 

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I’m really not the DIY guy either when it comes to building speakers, but there really isn’t anything out there for serious in ceiling subwoofers. Unless you want to spend the money on JL fathoms, everything else are small 4” to 8” to 10” subs that cost A ton and would not give you much output. It would be fun to build basically an equivalent to a free standing sub into your ceiling, but I don’t rrally have time either. Just a thought 

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Triad Slim Subs and amps are fantastic and the color matched grills are a huge bonus.

Episode are cheaper but don’t like them as much as the triads.

None of them aren’t in-room subs so don’t expect that, unless you want to spend around 5k for a JL Audio in wall set-up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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  • 2 months later...
On 2/18/2019 at 9:12 PM, cdepaola said:

Triad Slim Subs and amps are fantastic and the color matched grills are a huge bonus.

Episode are cheaper but don’t like them as much as the triads.

None of them aren’t in-room subs so don’t expect that, unless you want to spend around 5k for a JL Audio in wall set-up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

What is the price breakdown of Triad sub+amp vs Episode sub+amp?

thx. 

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