roducing prodigious bass in a space the size of Trinity
Church means moving some serious air.In previous instal-
lations, Marshall & Ogletree used subwoofers that resem-
bled refrigerators more than speakers. Standing 8 x 4 x 3 feet, the large
cabinets housed twin 15-inch drivers powered by 100-watt amplifiers.
While these speakers could reproduce an organ’s 16-Hz notes, they
took up so much space that installation proved challenging.
Douglas Marshall explained that he and David Ogletree prefer
to use “a multiplicity of subs, both for power and for individual note sep-
aration. So, space can become a real problem. Those huge subs
weren’t practical to use this way in most rooms.”
At a recent Marshall & Ogletree installation in Charlotte,
North Carolina, “we barely would’ve had room for one of them in the
organ chambers,” said Marshall, “and you would’ve had to remove
some of the pipe organ to get it in.” With the Trinity installation, the
organ designers turned to Definitive Technology for a solution.
Def Tech’s Sandy Gross elaborated:
“Marshall & Ogletree wanted a rela-
tively small powered sub that could
produce large amounts of energy
below 16 Hz. Reliability was also
important. The church was just totally
overdriving our SuperCube Reference
subs — which was understandable,
since the Reference had been
designed for use in homes, and
producing that same sound-pressure level in a large public space
is entirely different. You’re dealing with possibly 100 times or more
the air volume.
“Creating the Trinity sub was really an engineering exercise for us,”
Gross continued. “Wecame up with a concept that would appear
to be a double version of the SuperCube Reference. Basically it is,
in terms of driver complements, but when you increase the size of the
box and put those drivers into it, you have a whole new entity in
how you can tune it.
“We also developed a new tuning algorithm to optimize this sub, and
it really helped produce the results we’re getting out of it. Another design
challenge was how to get accurate measurements below 20 Hz in an
anechoic chamber, so we developed a new, proprietary process for
chamber calibration. Wealso had to make sure the sub would stay
together, so we developed a new protection circuit, a high-temperature
high-strength adhesive, and a new voice coil, different from those used
in the SuperCube Reference subs. Wealso designed it to perform equal-
ly well standing up or sitting down.”
The result is the SuperCube Trinity Signature, which is 313/4
inches high,18 inches wide, and 18 inches deep, tipping the scales at
175 pounds. The sub includes two 14-inch long-throw drivers coupled
to four 14-inch infrasonic radiators. Powered by a 2,000-watt digital
amplifier, it can produce in excess of 128 dB at 20 Hz and 116 dB at
16 Hz in a normal-sized room. In essence, the Trinity sub delivers
bass powerful enough to move the mind, body,and soul. —J.S.
S.GROSS
DEFINITVS
TEK
11433 Cronridge Dr. • Owings Mills, MD 21117 (410) 363-7148
Visit us at www.definitivetech.com
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NOVEMBER 2007
soundandvisionmag.com
P
“In essence, the Trinity sub delivers bass
powerful enough to move the mind,
body, and soul.”
“Creating the Trinity sub was really an
engineering exercise for us”
“With the Trinity installation, the organ designers
turned to Definitive Technology for a solution.”
Definitive Technology
SuperCube Trinity Signature
Z
Subwoofer of the Gods
