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15" vs 18" subwoofer - which to buy?

If price and room space/aesthetics were not a big issue, is there any reason to get a 15" subwoofer over an 18" one? My main issue is not disturbing the neighbors too much. I'm confused about the difference between a 15" and 18" subwoofer. I want to get the best sound quality possible for low-to-medium volume use.

I've heard that an 18" subwoofer can be played at low decibels and provide good bass resolution and fullness of sound, while to achieve the same volume with a 15" subwoofer, the power has to be much higher. So for any given sound volume, the main difference is in distortion- and higher distortion sound may be more obtrusive. Is this true? it seems counterintuitive that an 18" subwoofer could be better for neighbors than a 15" subwoofer.

However, I compared a B&W800 (12") vs B&W850 (15"). I listened from the other side of the store wall (not as thick as my apt), and at minimum levels which I found satisfying for HT, I found the 12" more obvious and 'boomy' sounding while the 18" produced a more subtle (though actually more powerful), lower frequency vibration, like a very low-level rumbling background earthquake. The 15" subwoofer did seem more of a disturbance because of it's 'obvious' sound. However, I worry that an 18" won't even start producing quality sound until a certain volume that was much higher than a 15", and consequently potentially more disruptive for neighbors. Is this true? What is the relationship between subwoofer size, low sound volume, and subjective listening experience?

Unfortunately, it will be difficult to get an opportunity to hear both the DD-15 and DD-18 which I am considering, so I hope someone can help out here.
no_slouch
sean
6,231 posts
 
There are too many other design factors to consider than just cone area, especially in your "limited use" situation. This is why we have Thiel-Smalle parameters as it describes most all of the aspects of the driver. Once you know all of those factors, then you consider cabinet rigidity, volume, bass alignment, etc...

Other than that, driver size has nothing to do with efficiency or cabinet volume. It is quite possible to have a 12" that needs a bigger box and requires more power than an 18" driver. This all depends on the above mentioned factors and the over-all design of the product.

I can't really point you in any specific direction as i stopped looking at subwoofers a while ago. Most are ridiculously priced and under-designed. After all, a passive sub is basically a woofer, a cabinet, some stuffing, binding posts and some feet. How they think that this costs as much as multiple drivers, complex crossover networks, etc... I don't know.

The one thing that i would suggest would be to try and listen to / compare some sealed designs to vented designs. The one advantage that vented designs offer is that they will play louder. Since this is not a major concern of yours, you can take major advantage of the improved transient response, increased damping, lack of overhang and ringing, slower resonance, more controlled output at resonance, etc.... of a sealed box. You'll also get less "bloat", which means you probably won't annoy the neighbors as much. Whether or not you prefer the sonics of this type of design is a personal matter, but i thought i would mention it. Sean
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guidosarducci
4 posts
 
The Bag End Infra Sub 18 is the most musical sub I have heard. However it does not have the output of a Velodyne for HT applications. Since this is not an issue with you (as you prefer a lower volume/output)the Bag End is the way to go.It is extremley accurate and at low volumes is quite amazing.As far as the fallacy of an 18" sub being slow and innacurate that is just not true of a well designed unit. In fact an 18 " woofer has to move a fraction of the distance as a smaller woofer to provide the bass desired. Trust me you cannot go wrong with the Bag End Infra Sub 18.Hope this helps.
sgr's avatar
sgr
689 posts
 
Before you buy, check out the Revel Sub 30 system. You will get parametric equaliziers, a 1,000 watt amplifier, 15inch woofer with additional 15 inch dual-layer metal dome acoustic radiator.
For a review go to http://www.avrev.com/equip/revel_sub30/index.html
or Harman Specialty Group
If you want are interested contact Adidadi.
danielk141
489 posts
 
I have one Bag End Infra 18. It will shake the pictures on the wall. I recently purchased (2) conventional 12" powered subs from a local Phoenix dealer (Celestial) to augment it.
The Bag end goes low, I want to have more fleshed out bass above 20 Hz. The Celestial subs have the often used 12 NHT driver.
I also have a B&K REF 30, which is very underatted, in my opinion. This processor has very excellent bass management that allows you to notch filter & boost the bass, for your room. Anyone who owns this processor & doesn't appreciate the bass management, hasn't used it to it's full potential.
(I still have a dealer friend who tweaks mine with the on screen adjustments - whenever I make a room/system change).
c123666
871 posts
 
I asked Tyler acoustics for a quote on a custom subwoofer with the following design parameters:

purpose is to use with single ended tube amps and very efficient speakers....the sub must be "quick" enough to keep up with demanding bass passages and the mid/hi frequencies.

dual 8" drivers arrayed vertically
one speaker input straight to the drivers
one speaker input with a quality passive crossover (cut at 60 to 75hz)
non ported design
high efficiency so can be driven by a tube amp if desired (intention is to build a mono tube amp that will only operate in the bass frequencies and opimtized for bass duty)..output control on the amp would control the level

Tyler quoted me a price of 450 for a basic black ash woofer based on these specs and estimated the bass output would go to 30hz or slightly below.

An AudioAero dual 8" sub which supposedly hits 20hz recently sold very cheaply locally. I missed it by a couple of days.
This is supposed to be an excellent product but that is only hearsay.
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