Dual F8 or Dual L12 for classical music

Hi, I am looking into purchasing a pair of sub for music listening.

My main listening is classical symphonic music. My biggest goal is to be able to reproduce the type of fast, high definition bass I hear from the cello and double bass section in a real concert hall.

My room is 20x20x9 which is a moderate but problematic sized room. I currently have a pair of DIY 12" subs in a 1.5cuft box, unfortunately they are muddy and don't really serve the purpose. Mid/high will be from a pair of full range speakers that goes down to 30Hz or a pair of bookshelf that goes down to 80Hz.

I went through many discussions as well as the FAQ. I have pretty much narrowed down to at least a pair of smaller closed servo sub. L12 is cheaper but I am also intrigue by the claim that the F8 can go higher, which since it will be a pair, can give more flexbility to xover point, and that they are faster and more definition than L12.

In the future I will explore sub array setup.

Would love to hear any advice whether I am going the right direction and whether the F8 or L12 would be better choice.

Thanks!

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Originally Posted by jmpsmash

Hi, I am looking into purchasing a pair of sub for music listening.

My main listening is classical symphonic music. My biggest goal is to be able to reproduce the type of fast, high definition bass I hear from the cello and double bass section in a real concert hall.

My room is 20x20x9 which is a moderate but problematic sized room. I currently have a pair of DIY 12" subs in a 1.5cuft box, unfortunately they are muddy and don't really serve the purpose. Mid/high will be from a pair of full range speakers that goes down to 30Hz or a pair of bookshelf that goes down to 80Hz.

I went through many discussions as well as the FAQ. I have pretty much narrowed down to at least a pair of smaller closed servo sub. L12 is cheaper but I am also intrigue by the claim that the F8 can go higher, which since it will be a pair, can give more flexbility to xover point, and that they are faster and more definition than L12.

In the future I will explore sub array setup.

Would love to hear any advice whether I am going the right direction and whether the F8 or L12 would be better choice.

Thanks!

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Thanks for the inquiry.

This is large room, dual F8 will struggle and likely dual L12 as well. I would recommend stepping up and going with dual F12.

I have dual F12 in a 20 x 25 x 10 space. Works perfectly for classical music. L12 should work just as well. Crossover at 100 to 120 hz is seamless, to a high quality 5 1/4 inch woofers Hopefully your main woofers can handle that crossover frequency, so I am not sure why you would crossover higher. That would add unwanted directivity to the sub output. And I have never wished my F12 were tighter or more musical. Enjoy the music!

What did you decide? Another thought is to use F8 in the upper bass and use its hi pass crossover to mate with your old sub(s) for below 50 Hz.