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Does anyone know anything about AcouPower subwoofers (www.acoupower.com)? Their drivers are several times more expensive than other manufacturers, but I don't know if it's worth it. I am planning to build two subwoofers for 2-channel audiophile use only. No HT. I wanted to build the North Creek Thunders, but they are no longer available so I'm looking for alternatives. I built two North Creek Thunders last year and they are by far the best sounding subwoofers I have ever heard. Amps are no longer available for the Thunders. I have built subwoofers from other manufacturers, but nothing comes close to the quality of the North Creek Thunders. The AcouPowers look interesting, but expensive. Possibly a good value if they're that good though.
Re: Any opinions on AcouPower subwoofers?
What are you looking for in a subwoofer? Musicality or power?
I believe North Creek used a 12"Peerless XLS and passive radiator. You can buy these from Madisound or Partsexpress. There are alot of other good drivers out there it appears, Partsexpress RS, TC Sounds, Aurasound. I built two subs last summer. One used the GR Research 12" and a passive. The other used the 15" Bully, now sold also by AcouPower. Both were very good in my opinion with the Bully having more output. Either would be a good choice for stereo. The AcouPower drivers certainly look interesting. Which ever driver you decide upon I think it is important to build a very rigid well damped heavy enclosure. I wonder if you could comment on the other subs you have built from other manufacturers?
I'm looking for both. My North Creek Thunder subwoofers were very satisfying in both regards. I just didn't realize they were being discountinued until it was too late so now I'm searching for an alternative.
Well; you might try Pispeakers new sub. They claim it is the most powerfull subwoofer ever made in the world so that might work for you. I don't know how price competitive it is though. Also I have never heard it so I can't vouch for it's musical ability. It's on the Pispeaker site.
The GR Research subwoofer kit does look pretty good. Could you describe more about your experience with it? What amplifier did you use with the GR Research? Was output inadequate for your needs? Did you use the Bully with a passive radiator? Ported? Sealed? How was the sound quality? What amplifier did you use with the Bully? I hired a professional woodworker to build two Bill Fitzmaurice Autotuba subs. The output was pretty good, but I was not satisfied with the quality of sound. I also built two Rythmik Audio Servo subs in a sealed box. Cabinet was 2 inches thick with bracing and net internal volume of two cubic feet. Sound quality was about the same as the North Creeks, but output was not adequate even with the gain modified by Rythmik. Rythmik Audio does have good service if you happen to do business with them.
Both the GR Research and the Bully subs were in my systems at different times each for month or two. I made them as gifts for my two sons. I liked both of them better for music than the sealed Tumult sub that I have. I never sat down to compare in detail the difference between the Tumult and the others other than the general observation that they each seemed a little "tighter" sounding. Of course they couldn't compete with the big Tumult in sheer output. The Bully was in 3+ cubic foot sealed box. I used identical plate amps with an equalizer from Partsexpress for both subs. Each sub alone struck me as having adequate output for music with the Bully having plenty of output for home theater. I hesitate to compare them in sound quality since I didn't have them at the same time. If you were going to build one sub and sound quality and output were the goals the Bully would be the choice. At 15" with 18mm of xmas it can be easily take a boost from a equalizer to bring up the very lowest frequencies. On the other hand if you are thinking of multiple subs the GR Research is half the price. If two Rythmik subs lacked the output for you, you might be happier with the Bully. My son uses his in room about 12'x 18' and has to turn it down quite a bit because it can vibrate things on the walls when watching dvds. When it was used in my house it was in a much larger room and was more than adequate for music(as was the GR Research)
I have a pair of Acoupower 15" woofers; however, I don't have first-hand experience with the competition from TC Sounds, Audire, Aurasound, or others. My top (though by no means only) priority was minimizing power compression. It's hard to find a subwoofer that can "keep up" with a good high efficiency system. I think one of the reasons is that while the high efficiency system is loafing along at a handful of watts, the less efficient subwoofer needs maybe 100 times as much power to keep up. This is one of the reasons a horn subwoofer works so well. But if you don't have room for a horn sub, or if you want bass extension south of 30 Hz, then a more conventional system optimized for minimimal power compression makes sense. You can find 15" drivers that will significantly out-displace the Acoupower. But I don't think there are any out there that can match its motor when it comes to minimizing power compression. I'm a subscriber to Voice Coil, a loudspeaker industry newsletter published by Audio Amateur Publications. Each month Vance Dickason, of "Loudspeaker Design Cookbook" fame, does a review of a couple of drivers. The only time I have ever seen him go beyond reporting "just the facts, ma'am" and indulge in outright praise was in his review of the Acoupower woofer. At this point I am very happy with the Acoupower, and have plans to build a big bucks high-end commercial subwoofer system around it. Duke
Thanks for the input. They do appear to be very nice drivers. I'll see what kind of cabinet design I can find to go along with them.
The AcouPower woofers work best in vented enclosures, whereas the TC Sounds offerings are ptimized for sealed cabinets. How low do you want to go, and how big a box can you live with? Duke
I want to go down to at least 20Hz. I listen to Sunn O and hard techno and I want to hear and feel everything. I've been in touch with Carlos at Acoupower and he will have some cabinet designs up on his website in the near future so I think I'll wait and see what he has to offer.
I'd be interested to see what plans Carlos posts as well. I'm using a six cubic foot enclosure tuned to about 23 Hz by two 4" diameter Precision ports, each 18" long.