What would you do?

What would you do?

  • More singles!

    Votes: 14 60.9%

  • Go double!

    Votes: 9 39.1%
  • Total voters
    23
Evan Kirkendall

Evan Kirkendall

Senior
Jan 10, 2011
903
4
18
Abingdon, MD
www.harfordsound.com
Another year, another time to make a smart business decision.

I currently have 14 of my single 18" subwoofers in my inventory. It has reached a point where I do not have enough boxes yet again. The obvious answer you're probably thinking is: "Why don't you just build more boxes, Evan?" Well, I have considered it. But, I've reached a point where I'm starting to think that having 24 single 18" subwoofers is just silly. Now, I could easily mock up a dual 18" cab and start building those. But, the issue becomes they won't be the same size as the single 18's, and won't stack nicely. Plus, when I need all of the subs, I'll have different styles of boxes, which just doesn't look nice. So, I guess I could sell off some of the single 18's, keep a few around for misc stuff and start building a bunch of doubles. But, then I'm basically starting over again on low end, which kind of sucks.

So, what's the lesser of the 2 evils here? Toting around a ton of single boxes, or basically building an entire new line of subs?



For those of you wondering- I do events ranging from bar gigs all the way to multi stage festivals. So, I need a rig that can scale up and down easily. I have a box truck with ramp to transport them, so it's not a huge deal to move any type of box.


So, what would you do?



Evan
 
Re: What would you do?

Since you're designing your own boxes, how about designing a latching system where 2 boxes could easily bolt together and move around like a single box? I'm thinking something like the latches on road cases could work pretty well. Need a dual 18? No problem. A couple twists of the latches and there you go. Now, all you'd need is a jumper cable between the boxes and you have the best of both worlds.
 
Re: What would you do?

I voted to keep the singles and build more. The investment of time and sweat into your existing stock of cabs is not insignificant, I think you would be taking a step back to try to sell some of them off.
 
Re: What would you do?

I think that the single 18 is the most versatile way to go. Easy to stack by yourself, and the most flexible if you want to get creative with sub arrays. And you can also take just the right amount for any gig.

Cheers Dave
 
Re: What would you do?

Ron Kimball said:
You can't design a double that's exactly the same size as two of your singles side-by-side?
Click to expand...

It's an awkward size. I designed the singles to be a little on the large size, so when you try to make it into one cabinet, in order to get enough port space, it ends up being like 54x22.5x30. A Big cabinet!

It's looking like singles may be the way to go. They are a little more labor intensive, but it's a good box. ...and if it ain't broke, why fix it?


Evan
 
Re: What would you do?

Brian jojade said:
Since you're designing your own boxes, how about designing a latching system where 2 boxes could easily bolt together and move around like a single box? I'm thinking something like the latches on road cases could work pretty well. Need a dual 18? No problem. A couple twists of the latches and there you go. Now, all you'd need is a jumper cable between the boxes and you have the best of both worlds.
Click to expand...

I did exactly this with some EAW LA -118 boxes. Works like a charm!
 
Re: What would you do?

Hi Evan,

Been there, done that …. I end up with 12 or 16 single 18s before I bit the bullet and changed over to double 18s. Now the only single 18s I have are powered RCFs.

If you want to grow your business in a direction that allows you to do more national acts I would suggest you need some high powered quality double 18s.

While I’m sure you will be better off with name brand subs that match your tops I don’t see a huge problem building your own (as I think you have done with your single 18s) provided you get it right.

About 15 years ago in conjunction with another company I designed a double 18. It’s a general purpose sub designed to truck pack. It’s approximately 1200H x 550W x750D with a centre curved port (see note 1) and now uses 2 x 18sound 18NLW9000.The design is suitable for quite a few other 18 inch drivers such as - B&C 18SW115, RCF 18P300 etc.

The subs were very professional in both build quality and performance. I have never had any acceptance problems however they were always used in combination with some of the best top boxes available. In my part of the world (South Australia) I think there are possibly more of these in use than any other concert sub.

Note (1) http://koti.mbnet.fi/jahonen/Audio/Papers/AES_PortPaper.pdf

 

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Re: What would you do?

You need flexibility? Single 18" cab's give you extreme flexibility.

If you need an easier way to move them around, build good carts with great locking casters. I'm sure you can stack probably 2-3 on a cart and still fit it through a standard single door. This will also make it easy to load in a truck. I expect you have some method of interlocking skids on the cabinets already.
 
Re: What would you do?

Evan Kirkendall said:
It's looking like singles may be the way to go. They are a little more labor intensive, but it's a good box. ...and if it ain't broke, why fix it?
Evan
Click to expand...

Having been in your situation many times, I conclude the lesser of the 2 evils is building an entire new line of subs rather than toting around a ton of single boxes, though I'd hang on to some for any situations that a single or pair would suffice.

You might be interested in a change because you could get around 6 dB more output using the same power from a slightly larger single 18" enclosure.

Keystone Sub Using 18,15,&12 Inch Speakers - diyAudio

A pair takes about 3 sheets of plywood, they are as easy to build as your single 18".
No port compression, and the magnet facing out to the exit facilitates cooling, reducing power compression.
Some changes could be made to dimensions and layout without affecting performance.
I'd be surprised if you did not find that one Keystone equals the output of a pair of your single 18" when driven hard, only caveat would be using a cone stiff enough to take the load, which from your comments about the 18" you use should not be a problem ;^).

Art
 
Re: What would you do?

Art Welter said:
Having been in your situation many times, I conclude the lesser of the 2 evils is building an entire new line of subs rather than toting around a ton of single boxes, though I'd hang on to some for any situations that a single or pair would suffice.

You might be interested in a change because you could get around 6 dB more output using the same power from a slightly larger single 18" enclosure.

Keystone Sub Using 18,15,&12 Inch Speakers - diyAudio

A pair takes about 3 sheets of plywood, they are as easy to build as your single 18".
No port compression, and the magnet facing out to the exit facilitates cooling, reducing power compression.
Some changes could be made to dimensions and layout without affecting performance.
I'd be surprised if you did not find that one Keystone equals the output of a pair of your single 18" when driven hard, only caveat would be using a cone stiff enough to take the load, which from your comments about the 18" you use should not be a problem ;^).

Art
Click to expand...

OT: Art, I have an 18TBW100 on the way to try out some cab designs, one of which is the Keystone. You've given me the bug :lol:
 
Re: What would you do?

IF you stay in the sound provider game and IF you continue to grow you will hit the point, sooner rather than later, that a double 18 is the more practical and accepted tool. The longer you put it off and the more single 18s you acquire, the more it's going to hurt when you make the change.
 
Re: What would you do?

So, here's the game plan guys.

I'm making some modifications to the subs I currently have. They currently have cheap rubber feet on their bottoms, and really don't create a nice "seamless" looking stack. My plan is to make skids to interlock the cabinets. Tops will have an area routed out 1/4", bottoms will have a skid that sticks up 1/4" to lock them together. It will make a much nicer "looking" seam between the cabinets, and they will almost appear to be a double 18 when stacked. Then, to top it off, I plan to create a dolly board that also has the same skid pattern on them to lock the bottom cabinet to it. They will stack 3 high on the dolly board, and get a nice black ratchet strap the hole the whole thing together. Transports in stacks of 3, easy as pie!

Time to fire up the wood working tools... Here comes another round of single 18's!



Evan
 
Re: What would you do?

If you already have the rubber feet you could just make dimples with a spade bit or the like so they interlock with the cabinet below. The EAW La118 has these and when you place one on the other they will are pretty locked in from the weight of the top unit.
 
Re: What would you do?

Steve Payne said:
a double 18 is the more practical and accepted tool.
Click to expand...


I'm not sure I understand this. Care to elaborate?

btw, I do understand that a dual 18" sub box is the typical subwoofer arrangement but I'm not sure why 2 single 18" boxes with the same drivers, alignment and build quality would not be as 'acceptable' to a BE as the double box. Are you referring to the fact that 2 single boxes will, all things being equal, take up a little bit more total volume than a double box of the same capability? The fact that it's a proprietary box in the first place seems to me to be the most significant factor here.

Further, as someone who does a lot of shows that are not rock bands in clubs or EDM techno twister raves I say kudos to Evan for using the smallest divisible version of his design. I'm not sure where most of Evan's rentals are going but the smaller boxes are much more friendly to smaller gigs as well as the testy event planner who values what her attendees see over what her attendees hear. What I don't understand is why Evan made run of the mill vented boxes when there are several other designs available [manipulated vortex anyone?]. If you're gonna build something proprietary, make it worth it. ;)
 
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