I’m getting around the ’crappy sounding sub’ problem by going infinite baffle bass (a pair of Acoustic Elegance HTIB 18" woofers) in a somewhat custom built room, the construction of which is on hold due to building prices for now.
But, I’m really sold on IB. All the benefits of open baffle bass sound, but without that one, single drawback when it comes to slam and impact.
I was running out of room in my home for my system as I kept growing the rig. Was also looking for a workroom space to maybe start my own business. Adding onto the house seemed cheaper than moving, and simply building a metal outbuilding and finishing it out on the inside was even cheaper than adding on.
With the equity in my home, I will get a 21.5’ L, 17’ W, 11.5’ H interior listening room with a 1400 cu ft workroom on the other side of the system’s front wall, that wall being made from cinder block to handle the reactionary forces from mounting the 18-inchers directly in the front wall, using the workroom as the rear enclosure.
But, I love how neatly IB sidesteps All the traditional problems of putting a woofer in a box, most of which stem from the air pressure issues fighting against the woofer, regardless of which direction it’s moving in. Completely free pistonic movement that doesn’t ever require anything extra in the way of motor structure, amp power, enclosure size, distortion control, cost or anything else. IB bass works perfectly, well..."right out of the box", uh..to coin a phrase...
Looking at solid, in-room response down to 10 Hz, at the lp, as well.