subs for home amp

[tater]

Im about fed up with my 27 yr old yamaha receiver. and i just feel like doing something about it. Im wondering about home amps and what subs you can and cannot use with them.

The amp i have located gives rating for 2-4-8 ohm loads so i can only assume it can handle 2-4-8 ohm loads. my question is can i take Car subs and Wire them to say a 2 ohm load and put them on a home amp? or do i need to buy home subs? and if i do where can i get some?

[craigzter]

I got a pair of 15s that would wang in a HT setup

got a single 4ohm and a single 8ohm

[Savage]

Pretty much any sub that is built for a Car can be used for HT. Some subs work much better than others, much of which is largely box dependent (for example, my SDX15 hit much lower, and was much less peaky than my DD 9115 in the 6.5cuft net box I built). One thing you may find is that subs marketed towards HT use are often ALOT cheaper than similar subs marketed for car audio.
Using a receiver to power subs is easily doable, but most receivers are relatively low power (compared to plate or rack amps), and few receivers have a low pass xover (variable or fixed). The Yamaha receivers that I've had will handle 2 ohm loads only if the main channels are used (IIRC, there's a switch on the bottom for these apps).
If your main HT receiver has a sub-out that has an adjustable xover, then you're golden and don't need a separate xover. Separate electronic home theater subwoofer x-overs/EQs do exist, and are not that expensive. Reckhorn makes a couple (Reckhorn F-1 and B-1) that fit the bill.

As for subs that make good/great HT subs, here are a few options: Some are dirt cheap, others like the TC subs are not.
Exodus Shiva-X
Exodus Tempest-X
Creative Sound Solutions SDX15
TC2000
TC3000
TC5400
Adire Shiva/Tempest
Dayton Titanic, probably alot more.

Other car subs can be used with good results, but these are some of the most common DIY HT subs. I'm currently using a CSS SDX15 in my home theater, and for the price it is amazing.

[tater]

Originally Posted by Savage

Pretty much any sub that is built for a car can be used for HT. Some subs work much better than others, much of which is largely box dependent (for example, my SDX15 hit much lower, and was much less peaky than my DD 9115 in the 6.5cuft net box I built). One thing you may find is that subs marketed towards HT use are often ALOT cheaper than similar subs marketed for car audio.
Using a receiver to power subs is easily doable, but most receivers are relatively low power (compared to plate or rack amps), and few receivers have a low pass xover (variable or fixed). The Yamaha receivers that I've had will handle 2 ohm loads only if the main channels are used (IIRC, there's a switch on the bottom for these apps).
If your main HT receiver has a sub-out that has an adjustable xover, then you're golden and don't need a separate xover. Separate electronic home theater subwoofer x-overs/EQs do exist, and are not that expensive. Reckhorn makes a couple (Reckhorn F-1 and B-1) that fit the bill.

As for subs that make good/great HT subs, here are a few options: Some are dirt cheap, others like the TC subs are not.
Exodus Shiva-X
Exodus Tempest-X
Creative Sound Solutions SDX15
TC2000
TC3000
TC5400
Adire Shiva/Tempest
Dayton Titanic, probably alot more.

Other car subs can be used with good results, but these are some of the most common DIY HT subs. I'm currently using a CSS SDX15 in my home theater, and for the price it is amazing.

Thanks. Im not interested in using a receiver. gonna go right for a rack mount amp. Probably a cheap one. These are some ive seen on ebay for cheap. but idk of the quality

http://www.technicalhifi.com/prods.php?prod=H-B1000
http://www.technicalhifi.com/prods.php?prod=H-B2000

or its actual power rating. I was mostly wondering if car subs would work. If so im thinking like 4 12" kicker comps, or 2 15" CVR but right now its just idea's in my head. I would have to do some saving before i could really do anything.

[Ricci]

Savage listed a lot of the good subs for HT. Other really popular ones are the

ED 160 & 190v2.
Mach5 IXL18.
Soundsplinter RLP15 & 18
Fi Q15 & 18's
Exodus Audio Maelstrom (not quite out yet.)

The main things to look for when using a sub for HT or home stereo is a lot of Xmax, and low FS( that 33hz fs is not that good) look for 25hz or lower. You are looking for a lot of displacement in the 16-32hz band or even lower and SQ. Some people tune their big ported systems to 11-14hz. Most of the SPL drivers are not that good for HT because the application is so different. The enclosures are usually way bigger too for low freq's extension.

Some other good drivers are
Treo SSI & SSX 18's
JL 13W7's & 13W6's
RE Audio new XXX's
AA Havoc's

Also I wouldn't buy either of those amps. Your best bet is a Behringer EP2500 it's been tested to put out a real 1700watts(rated at 2500) bridged. You can score these under $300 sometimes. You can get more power but you've got to pay more. These are the big 3 of pro amps.
Crown
QSC
Crest