ProSound Horn VS 1850 Horn

try reading this mate

Well lets put it this way, you want bass that drops low but handles the transients well, I dont think either cab is suitable on its own. You need a combination of a short kick horn for the higher frequencies and a cabinet for the sub bass range

The lab sub is a good cabinet and it would be unwise to even think about scaling any cabinets up or down. That statement tells us all that you are new to this sort of thing. Horns are VERY specific, the lab horn was designed for the lab 12 driver. The driver comes first and is essential. If you go messing about substituting drivers and trying to scale things up because you think its that simple you're going to end up with a costly error.

Anyway here are some facts that might help you on your way better.

Longer horns such as the Labsub tend to have two main characteristics which make them suitable for one type of bass. The first of these is the simple fact that due to the length of the horn the mass of air that the drivers have to move is higher. Therefore you tend to need a driver with a very strong motor system and a reasonably high Fs or you get a sound which appears "slower" or in other words has a poorer transient response (kick frequencies). Using smaller drivers such as 12"s helps to negate the problem due to their size they tend to have better control over their cones than larger 18" drivers for example and are less prone to tearing due to the smaller diameter between supports.

One other characteristic of a longer horn is that is usually has more folds which filter out more of the upper bass frequencies. As a result horns which are designed for this sort of application usually sound honky above 100Hz and/or may start to roll off the upper bass range earlier depending on how specifically they are designed

A short horn like the HD15 will give you a good transient response due to the shorter horn and better kick punch, but wont do the subbass so must be supported below.

An 1850 is kind of a compromise, its a relatively short horn that plays to 50Hz comfortably and is a one box solution.

So you have a bit of a choice depending on your mid top cabs

If you go for example Labsubs 30-80Hz then HD15s 80-140Hz then mid tops above that.

Or if you have tops that go to 80-100Hz then use either the Lab or 1850 from 30/40-90/100Hz then mid tops from there up, but a mid top that plays loudly to 100Hz usually involves at least a 12" driver.

Stu

Well these are all my own opinions and many can offer the same but I try my best to keep things relatively factual. The truth is there are so many different options out there, that without knowing a lot about sound you really wont know what you need unless you have a considerable amount of experience of building and listening to boxes.

Anyway the labs are powerful cabs and if you have the money and know what you are doing they will sound great, just be sure to read all the caveats such as making sure you use enough of them!

The point is about the labs they go low, but they dont go low in singles, with bass horns the output in the low end is determined primarily by the total mouth area (the frontal dimensions) of the horn.

Check out this page for an idea http://melhuish.org/audio/horndesign.html scroll down to mouth size and enter the frequency you want to achieve into the Fo parameter i.e. 30Hz

Assuming the lab is placed in the middle of the floor (and my working out is correct) you will end up with something like

1/2x4Pi * (344/30)^2 = 0.0796 * 131.48 = 10.465

So you need a fair few cabinets to get the super low bass you want at full power

Anyway with regards to the HD use the best drivers you can afford, the PDs should have a stronger cone than the Eminences for example and generally better longevity.

It all really depends on your budget

The rest of the aural spectrum, well its difficult, there arent a lot of perfect designs out there for the DIYer as everybodys needs are so different. Would need more info about the situation where you are going to be using them to make a judgement.

Stu

I thought the length of the 1850 was only long enough to load to 50Hz fully regardless of the mouth size

Rezsbc you say they play down to 38Hz is that -3dB or -6dB or what?

Stu

In singles as far as I know the response is rougher (more peaks and troughs - but thats the same with all speakers, stacking flattens out response) and obviously has less extension, in the case of some horns they roll off slowly below the cutoff in the case of some its a quick roll off, the 186 and 1850 Horns are two of these kinds based around the size of the rear chamber and the spec of the driver.

http://billfitzmaurice.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=398

Stu

Sounds like what I'm looking for.
Was there a thread on this setup?

Newbie question, apologies in advance:
"kick boxes, a pair of usb"

Where can I get plans for these boxes?