Early's DIY Sub

Early B.

OK, I spent the weekend putting my sub box together. The box is 30 inches deep, 24 inches high and 18 inches wide. It's a huge summa ****! The sub will house an Atlas 15 driver.

Here are a few pics of the box in the making...
The first one is the rear brace being attached ---

Early B.

This one is the bottom of the box (30" x 18"). I added a sheet of 15/32 plywood to the MDF for reinforcement and also because I was too lazy to deal with T-nuts for attaching the driver. With wood, I can use good ol' fashioned screws.

Early B.

Now comes the fun part -- assembly:
These are the two internal braces...

Early B.

No. 4 of 6...

Early B.

5 of 6...

Early B.

Last one...

Early B.

Got some paint today. I'll spend the next couple of days painting the box black. Then I'll test her out on Wednesday.

chunk

great job. please post more pics when you can and give us an update once you've listened to it. i just got a 15" sub and love it.

tryrrthg

Lookin good! You put that together fast! I wish I had access to tools so I could do the same.

What is the final internal volume of your enclosure?

Looks like my Atlas 15 won't be shipping until early June. They're still waiting on dust caps.

Dr. Spec

Really nice work. Are those dual 4" ports? What is Vb and Fb?

michael_w

Looking good Early... I'm still on the debate of how to finish the mdf on the one I am soon to build. I was thinking to go all out and use some cherry veneer or something but we'll see. Is that just regular 2" egg crate foam inside?

Early B.

Are those dual 4" ports? What is Vb and Fb?

The volume is 6 c.f. and the tuning frequency is 20 Hz, I think.

Is that just regular 2" egg crate foam inside?

It's 1-inch acoustic foam. Not the highest quality stuff available, but it should work out fine.

gmorris

Nice job there Early. Motivation......

I can't seem to get started on my sonosub. I've got the MDF & Plywood circles cut. That's about it. Hopefully this weekend I can get started assembling, and maybe even finish the darn thing.

Early B.

OK, I got my amp today and hooked it up for a test run. Popped in a HT DVD demo. All I can say is -- this **** focker is awesome!!!

I thought I had an incredible sub with my modded SVS PB-12 ISD, but there's absolutely no comparison. The whole room (13' x 20') vibrates much more than before. Hits hard, real hard. (BTW, the sub is right next to the seating position.) There's a big difference between a 12" and 15" Atlas. Not bad for about $400 DIY. Sold my other sub, built my own, and I got some change left over. Another plus -- the wife loves it. Oh yeah, gotta thank Sid for his technical advise throughout the design and manufacturing process. Next project -- modding the crossovers in my speakers (Norh 5.1's).

Don't ask me about specs -- SPLs, Xmax, and all that other stuff. I don't have a clue.

I'll post some pics once it's primed and painted.

michael_w

Congrats on the sucessful build. Hearing that the 15 makes so much of a difference pisses me off even more that my order got screwed up and he is sending me a 12".... since he hasn't shipped it yet hopefully I can get a 15 like I originally told him. [/bad mood rant]

VR3

No problem man...

I want to see the pics man, seriously...

What type of bit are you going to round the edges off with? 1/2" Roundover?

Make sure there are no nails/screws of any kind in the path when you route the edges. Just a FYI... and make sure the router is running before you start routing the edge (another FYI)...

Lots of pics...LOTS!! Are you going to build a base for it to fire into or just on feet?

Early B.

Are you going to build a base for it to fire into or just on feet?

I'll put wheels on it. If that doesn't work out, I'll remove them and add legs. I'm guessing it weighs about 110 lbs. Not sure, though. Oh, and I'll probably use a 1/4" roundover bit. Just wanna take a little bit of the edge off.

Early B.

OK, got some final pics here...

On this one, can you locate the sub?

Early B.

Another...

Early B.

And another...
Not the best pic in the world (please excuse the smudges), but I wanted to show the amp. I was expecting a puny digital-size amp, but this sucker weighs 12 pounds. Nice little transformer and big caps. If this amp was a woman, well... you know...

Early B.

Another one...

Early B.

Oops. OK, another...

Early B.

Last one...
Check the size of the sub in relation to the couch...

Ron-P

Beautiful man, beautiful.

I built a 177L 15" Tempest Sonotube sub several years ago and she is still the power house in the theater.

I originally built her sealed and she was hitting 22Hz before rolling off. Later (thanks to the Doc for his help), I added 2-3"x17" flared ports. Now she hits 17Hz before rolling off.

Good work man!

VR3

That router definetely added a nice touch, and nice choice on the 1/4" roundover!

That sub looks GOOD, seriously. Great job!

PS: Where did you get your cuts done at??

Early B.

Thanks.

Can someone calculate the tuning frequency of this sub for me? I thought it was tuned for 20 Hz, but I'm not sure. The sub is 6 c.f. and has two 4" diameter ports 17" long. What other stats are needed for the calculation?

Early B.

Where did you get your cuts done at??

I got them done at a local wood shop. Didn't trust my own woodworking skills on this first DIYer. Learned a lot, so next time I may do the cuts myself.

michael_w

The painted black looks really good. I think I might do that too but maybe I'll let my friend go crazy and airbrush some cool subtle design on it. My order has been fixed but my sub won't be shipped until mid next week I think. Hopefully I'll have my box well on its way by then.

Keep us posted with your findings and joys of your new creation / monster.

janmike

Nice Job. What did that over sized baby weigh in at?

Early B.

Michael -- a couple of suggestions:

-- the cutout size for the driver is listed at 14 1/8th. I'd make it a flat 14". My cutout was exactly 14 1/8th, and it was a tad too large.

-- the cutouts for the ports are much larger than 4". Instructions come with the ports, but they don't provide cutout sizes. I had to use a jig saw to keep cutting the circles until the ports fit. I also added weather stripping to the back of the port to eliminate air from seeping out.

-- if possible, measure the amp before you do the cutout. I used the manufacturer's dimensions for the cutout and it was too small.

-- paint is the fastest and probably cheapest way to go. Use an oil-based primer. I used a small 4" roller instead of spray paint.

-- once you paint it, add a couple of clear gloss topcoats. I used the best paint they had at Home Depot, but it is hard to clean and dulls easily by itself.

-- you'll definitely want to round off the edges. Got a router?

-- get a minimum of two 24" clamps and two 36" clamps.

-- the MDF is extremely messy when cut. Don't make the mistake I did and cut that stuff inside your home (I used my basement:( ). The back yard sounds good.

-- wood glue is great. I didn't use any screws.

I'm sure your box will come out great. I'm very pleased with the end result of my box, and my wood working skills are, quite frankly, not very good.

Good luck.

Early B.

What did that over sized baby weigh in at?

I'm guessing it weighs about 110 lbs.