DIY speaker stands with built in subs

rooftop59

I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, finally got around to it. Found a good deal on these Usher tiny dancers that have been on my short list for a while, so I *had* to build new stands since the old ones didn’t fit. Each one has a Dayton Audio RSS210HF-4 8 inch sub built in, and I am using a Crown XLS-1002 to drive the subs. The sealed enclosures are 1 cubic ft with a chamber in the bottom filled with sand and garden pebbles. I used standard 3/4 inch MDF but made the baffle 1.5 inches thick. I bought this cheap router kit from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07CQK4ZL4?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title and was able to cut the circles and recess the drivers. TBH the cuts weren’t super pretty, but you can’t tell once they’re installed. I didn’t weight them but I would guess they are at least 50 pounds each. The Ushers are 40 lbs and the stands definitely weight more. The enclosures are extremely inert. Even at high volumes there is no vibration at all.

I am still trying to get them dialed in. Right now I have them crossed over at 50hz and the volume almost all the way up on the crown. I switched the sensitivity to high on the crown which seemed to help. Now I think I need to bump the crossover down a hair, as I am getting a bit of lower mid bass fatness...

kevhed72

Those are beautiful....nice work!

rooftop59

Thanks kev!

Gardenstater

Very cool! Great idea to go with the mass loading in the bottom. I notice they state F3 is 24 Hz vented with 1.76 ft^3 and 48 Hz sealed with 0.55 ft^3. Does the subwoofer see that entire 1 ft^3 or is that before you subtract the volume of the sand and pebbles enclosure?

What are your listening impressions of the combo so far?

vmaxer

Awesome job.

rooftop59

Gardenstater wrote: »

Very cool! Great idea to go with the mass loading in the bottom. I notice they state F3 is 24 Hz vented with 1.76 ft^3 and 48 Hz sealed with 0.55 ft^3. Does the subwoofer see that entire 1 ft^3 or is that before you subtract the volume of the sand and pebbles enclosure?

What are your listening impressions of the combo so far?

Partsexpress used to list another option: -3db at 27hz in a 1 cubic foot enclosure. If you read through the comments that is one of the more common builds, and what a customer supervise recommended to me years ago, so that’s what I went with. So far, so good. I am a big speed and texture guy when it comes to bass, and so fat I’m liking what I’m hearing...

JayDog

good job! i like the end result!

Conradicles

Great work!

guyincognito

Very nice 👌!

Gardenstater

I am just getting interested in this subwoofer design stuff so I hope I'm not annoying here. I found this link that allows you to input thiele small parameters and such and I got this. It's great to see DIY here.

https://www.ajdesigner.com/fl_subwoofer/subwoofer.php

rooftop59

Conradicles wrote: »

Great work!

Thanks man! Haven’t noticed you around these parts much lately. Hope everything’s alright!

Conradicles

All good. Thanks for checking!

rooftop59

I am listening to the cinematic orchestra’s every day right now, lots of really deep upright bass (and some get electric bass as well). Several subs I have had over the years couldn’t cleanly reproduce the rattling low E on the upright, but no problems here. Earlier I was listening to Bruno Mars uptown funk. The bass line has jump the right amount of metallic pop and grit, and you can easily discern the baritones sining along with the bass line. So far so good!

BlueBirdMusic

Gorgeous both the stands and Tiny Dancers. Love the contrast!!

Toolfan66

Those look fantastic!!!

rooftop59

BlueBirdMusic wrote: »

Gorgeous both the stands and Tiny Dancers. Love the contrast!!

Thx man! My initial thought was to go with black for the stands, but the spouse nixed that idea. She thinks the grey is less obvious/obtrusive/obnoxious, pick your word. I do like the grey and I do think it fits the room better.

I got the ushers two weeks ago, and my 13 yo girl has commented multiple times about how ugly they are haha. When I was caulking and painting the stands instead yesterday (because all of the sudden we love on the North Pole) two of my kids asked if the speakers were gonna go inside the stands, and my daughter reiterated to me how ugly they were 😂😂😂

EndersShadow

Love DIY subs. Those look good and sealed is the right choice for your application.

In addition to setting the Crown to high sensitivity I’d increase the signal going to it.

rooftop59

EndersShadow wrote: »

Love DIY subs. Those look good and sealed is the right choice for your application.

In addition to setting the Crown to high sensitivity I’d increase the signal going to it.

Thanks Dan! I am digging it for sure. Turning to sensitivity to high, crossover to 50hz, and putting the volume about 2 notches from max made everything come to life! (There is no way to increase the signal from the musical fidelity integrated’s preamp output). Two 8 inch sealed subs in a room this large aren’t going to bowl you over, but that wasn’t the point. The bass is fast, tight, and plenty deep for all the music I listen to...

EndersShadow

Agreed. You just wanted to extend/augment the low end of the ushers.

As long as you are digging it that’s all that matters!

PSOVLSK

Those look great. Really nice work. I agree with @BlueBirdMusic about the contrast. Black would be the obvious choice to paint them, but I think the gray looks much better. +1 for the wife.

rooftop59

PSOVLSK wrote: »

Those look great. Really nice work. I agree with @BlueBirdMusic about the contrast. Black would be the obvious choice to paint them, but I think the gray looks much better. +1 for the wife.

Thanks paul! I like the combo and the wife tolerates it 😂.

I really wanted to buy your larger ushers! But 1. I knew I would spend a lot of marital capital getting those into the house, and 2. This combo was about 1k cheaper, and 3. Since the speakers and front ported and the subs are sealed, I think I can get away with keeping them a bit closer to the wall: much farther into the room would be a no go...I was glad you sold yours so quickly!

msg

"marital capital' - I've never heard that one before. Saving that.

rooftop59

msg wrote: »

"marital capital' - I've never heard that one before. Saving that.

The spouse got a real nice Valentine’s Day gift this year, we normally don’t do v day. Gotta keep the marital account even 👍

WLDock

Nice work Paul! DIY is always pretty darn cool. I've been wanting to do a project like this myself ever since having the Polk RT3000p/RT5000 set years ago.

Here recently, I'm currently putting together a budget music system. The Usher S-520 is one speaker I'm looking at. Your sub/woofer project makes me think of the SW-520 that they once offered to turn the speaker into a 3-way.

rooftop59 wrote: »

I am a big speed and texture guy when it comes to bass, and so fat I’m liking what I’m hearing...

rooftop59 wrote: »

I am listening to the cinematic orchestra’s every day right now, lots of really deep upright bass (and some get electric bass as well). Several subs I have had over the years couldn’t cleanly reproduce the rattling low E on the upright, but no problems here. Earlier I was listening to Bruno Mars uptown funk. The bass line has jump the right amount of metallic pop and grit, and you can easily discern the baritones sining along with the bass line. So far so good!

Aw Man, I think we may have similar tastes when it comes to the lower register. Here are some tracks I love for evaluating midbass/lower registers.

EARTH WIND & FIRE - 'Let's Groove' (tight, slamin' midbass!)

DUA LIPA - 'Don't Start Now' (Up temple Dance track that moves out! Fast, tight bass, TURN IT UP!)

FOURPLAY – 'Chant' (The floor tom hit is killer!)

IGOR STRAVINSKY - DAVID ZINMAN/BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA- 'Infernal Dance of King Kastchei from the Firebird' (The big orchestra hits on this one can tear a weak system apart)

CHESKY RECORD - 'Bass Resonance Test' (very realistic upright bass test with all the resonance in the mix! I like to put this one on repeat when adjusting for speaker and/or sub bass placement.

rooftop59 wrote: »

I got the ushers two weeks ago, and my 13 yo girl has commented multiple times about how ugly they are haha.

You can always tell the family there are other more expensive / pretty options that might blend with the decor better.

WLDock

anonymouse wrote: »

That positions the bookies really high up above ear level. Cannot imagine that works too good.

The look tall in scale in the above picture but remember the S-520 is a small mini monitor. Also, Usher Audio produces some amazing products and know a thing or two about speaker design.

https://web.archive.org/web/20110718094905/http://www.usheraudiousa.com/products/loudspeakers/usher-series/SW-520

S-520 - 7.09" x 10.43" x 11.81"
SW-520 - 7" x 15" x 29.5"

Combined total height = 41.31"

The center of the tweeter is about 3-4" from the top and the the center of the mid about 7-8" from the top. Sounds perfect to me!

https://6moons.com/audioreviews/usher3/1.html

6moons.com wrote:

Conclusion: How many have ‘traded up’ from a treasured product only to sacrifice something in turn? Not here. Owners and prospective owners of the S-520 monitor can live bigger without regrets. Usher’s S-520/SW-520 combination offers a clear upgrade path from monitor to floorstander that challenges pricier fare while matching with ancillaries from modest to top tier. Those preferring to leapfrog the evolutionary path and invest in both pieces immediately can do so with confidence and save the anticipation. Either way is a winning scenario.

Who won’t be impressed? The SW-520 is capable of superb bass quality but anyone demanding subsonic depth will want more. The dynamics though improved will still not be acceptable to those whose playback levels approach hearing damage. Other than that, this product should have immense appeal. Usher has lavished a high level of attention on the quality of this value proposition. The sound is far from budget and the value far beyond the ordinary. Easily recommended as a high-performance high-end bargain.

Gardenstater

Thanks for that 6moons review. It sounds like an excellent combination for many. I was a bit surprised that Usher only managed a -3dB point of 38Hz! I like reviews that give test tracks used but I chuckled to myself that the author didn't use something like "Also Spracht Zarathustra" just out of honesty or to explore the true limitations, or any good pipe organ classical music, like J.S. Bach, Organ Music, Gabor Lehotka and Hannes Kastner.

The author states:

"It should be noted that the SW designation is a misnomer. You will hear but not feel excellent bass. Usher specs the bass tower down to an honest 38 cycles and while the speaker extends past that point with authority, it does not reach subsonic territory. So while it is a very good woofer, it is not by definition a subwoofer. It does however get close and does so in an impressive fashion to leave few people short-changed."

Maybe Usher is conservatively rating it, because to me, subsonic is more like below 24 Hz or even the typical accepted value of 20Hz. I think I'd like this with a true powered subwoofer that could be hidden away somewhere, with its crossover set around 35 Hz.

rooftop59

My combo is 40 inches high. Pretty much perfect. Tweeter is pretty much right at ear level in my normal sitting position. I could see how higher night yield a taller soundstage, but unless the tweeters have really good vertical dispersion, it would also seem to put the vocals too high...

audioluvr

anonymouse wrote: »

WLDock wrote: »

That positions the bookies really high up above ear level. Cannot imagine that works too good.

Think how high the tweeters are on the SDA 1.2's

tophatjohnny

Looks amazing brother! Glad those ushers are doing their thing ! We love em too! Congrats!