[quote author=DirtDawg link=1133456820/0#6 date=1133480187]Braggi, :D
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Scaling the entire design may be better in this case because this driver's Vas=4.27 cubic feet. I would hate to see your driver have to face life in a bass cab with too much control over it's motion. Just a guess.
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Hmmm. I also have a fairly small Xmax so I don't want too much excursion either. It's always a tradeoff. That's one thing I've learned over and over on these forums.
60ndown, I wanted high efficiency because the tweeters are in the neighborhood of 110 db and I'd like to keep the system as balanced as I can. I'd like to be able to open up those HF horns and still be able to hear the bass. I'm building a PA system, so all the oomph I can get will be appreciated some day. If it works out I might even build a second pair. I chose readily available drivers partly for that reason. If they don't work as subs, I can always stick them in a DirtDawg style mid-bass horn, although, I got some less pricey 8 inchers for that little task. I have a 1,300 watt sub amp so I should have enough power for the WOs.
I have another reason for wanting a lot of efficiency. I'm hoping I can get a usable SPL using tiny digital amps. Not that I personally wil do much of that, but imagine a parade with a flatbed truck and a small band with a battery operated PA. Imagine a protest march where you can actually understand what the speaker is saying through what would otherwise be an undersized and overdriven PA. For voice only, the WOs wouldn't be needed, but most protests these days also feature a bit of live music. Activists typically have terrible sound systems. I want to offer a solution to that.
I've always thought that bass horns should work best while loaded somewhat more than the textbook amount; that is, similar to a compression driver. The additional loading should increase SPL and power handling. Seeing the plans for the Imperial SO and the WO-32 and hearing about DD's midbass setup supports that thought for me. The tradeoff, I'm sure, will be in the lowest octaves where too much loading will cause too steep a rolloff. I wish I could test it without building the boxes, but the build will tell. I may be able to make alterations after the fact if I'm not getting the performance I hoped for.
So, Mr. DirtDawg, I'd like to learn more about your midbass setup, although you did let a lot of the proverbial cat out of the bag. I've not figured out where such a discussion should take place. It seems we need a forum for PA applications.
Thanks for your observations everyone. It will be a couple of weeks before I start making sawdust, but I'll put up pictures and a nauseating amount of posts every time I panic and need support. Thanks for being there.