Stereo Subwoofers with 4 ASCENDANT AUDIO 12" drivers each

hoosier21

I got a subwoofer project going on right now. I am building a pair of subwoofers using 4 ASCENDANT AUDIO 12" drivers in each subwoofer, for a total of 8 drivers, woohoo.

Everything is cut, and needs to be glued. Picture is of one of the subwoofer's inner cabinet, got to add the outer layer for 1.5" thick cabinet. I am building two of these for a stereo set.

Not much to report just yet, but I am still stuck on how to finish these. Don't really want black. Veneering them is most likely, but $$. I have a neighbor who does body work and painting, thinking of wiping these down with body putty, sanding them smooth and giving them pearl white paint job. I am planning on NOT having grills, and think the white cabinet and the four black drivers might look pretty cool.

Suggestions?

Ideas?

Bring it on.

tecmo04

that would look dam sexy i think. where are u going to put those monsters??

Early B.

Oh my goodness!! A pair of subwoofers with 4 drivers each -- I love it!!!!

Will some of the drivers be passive?
What amp are you gonna use?
How large is the room you gonna put them in?

I'd go with a darker color -- maybe silver or gray.

Give us lots of pics, please.

hoosier21

Early B. wrote:

Oh my goodness!! A pair of subwoofers with 4 drivers each -- I love it!!!!

Will some of the drivers be passive? No all will be active, no PR's
What amp are you gonna use? Searching for it now, maybe a Pro amp but I don't like the fan noise issue.
How large is the room you gonna put them in? Right now it is huge, a central room with 5 rooms connected.
Give us lots of pics, please. Will do

My goal is not huge output, I am looking for TIGHT TIGHT bass, and hoping the 8 drivers will fill the room without large excursions, a walk in the park is the goal.

Here is PDF of the cabinet, Per Chad at Ascendant Audio, they are 4 separate sealed compartments with a 1 cubic foot volume each.

tryrrthg

Very cool project! This is KILLING me. I can't wait to start on my Atlas 15 project!

Are you going to be stuffing the cabinets with polyfil?

Can you put the pro amp in another room? Closet? basement? any of those would be an option to kill the fan noise.

hoosier21

tryrrthg wrote:

Very cool project! This is KILLING me. I can't wait to start on my Atlas 15 project! Wish you were closer, I got lots of MDF scrap

Are you going to be stuffing the cabinets with polyfil? 1lb each compartment

Can you put the pro amp in another room? Closet? basement? any of those would be an option to kill the fan noise. maybe, no, my room is in the basement

Might bite the bullet and get a pair of the 1000w plate amps from P.E.? who knows

tryrrthg

hoosier21 wrote:

Might bite the bullet and get a pair of the 1000w plate amps from P.E.? who knows

For that monster sub I think I'd with out a doubt go with the pro amp. The pro amp is probably a better investement anyway.

Just splurge for a Crown K1 or K2! You should be able to find a used Crown K1 for the price of two 1000W plate amps. That would be the way to go (no fan in the K series).

What would you be using for a crossover? Any EQ in the mix?

Early B.

hoosier21 wrote:

My goal is not huge output, I am looking for TIGHT TIGHT bass, and hoping the 8 drivers will fill the room without large excursions, a walk in the park is the goal.

Well, you definitely chose the right driver for super tight bass. I've used the 12" Ascendant Audio driver and it was much tighter than the SVS ISD driver I replaced it with. Sounded better, too.

How low do you expect them to go?

madmax

How about granite or marble looking laminant like you use on counter tops? Get a router and it should be a piece of cake. Wouldn't paint crack around all the wood joints after a few rough bass songs?
madmax

gmorris

i think your idea of having the neighbor paint them is the best. I would go with a Mercedes gray or something.

I have my single Atlas 15 pounding away, and tight bass is all you get. You must be crazy using 8 12's. My single 15 sounds great, I can only imagine what 8 12's will sound like. Good luck and don't go deaf, or stop you heart from beating.

Airplay355

tryin to 1 up ganzo? i thought 4 18's was crazy, but 8 12's seems even crazier....good luck

Polkersince85

I wouldn't worry so much for the cabinets cracking as I would for the load bearing walls in the house. I'm thinking butcher block maple panels, dovetailed joints, and about 40 sawblades.

michael_w

That will be crazy... as for a paint job I'm not sure what would look best with that. Hell, I'm still trying to decide how to finish my atlas 15 box

hoosier21

tryrrthg wrote:

Just splurge for a Crown K1 or K2! You should be able to find a used Crown K1 for the price of two 1000W plate amps. That would be the way to go (no fan in the K series).

What would you be using for a crossover? Any EQ in the mix?

A Crown would be nice, there are 3 K1 on the bay for 750.00 BIN, hmmm

I need a crossover and I am sure an EQ would help, as I have horrible room.

I had a Outlaw before for the crossover, will get one of those again.

ACI's R-DES is cool, but a little steep for an EQ
http://www.audioc.com/accessories1/rdes/rdes.htm

BFD is the most likely, it's cheap and works.
I had a Outlaw before for the crossover, will get one of those again.



Thanks for the ideas and support guys.

gatemplin

Hi Russ,

Cool project. I remember when you were still considering the Peerless drivers.

A BFD would be perfect here, I've tried to EQ two subs before (1 for each engine) it turned out fine.

As for the finish, auto paint would be sweet, but bondo is a **** and the surfaces need to be mirror smooth. That takes a lot of work.

I've tried red oak veneer, Krylon textured finish, and truck bed liner on subs. Consider the Krylon, very durable and it comes in a variety of colours. It also hides mistakes very well. Just my two cents.

madmax

hoosier21 wrote:

I need a crossover and I am sure an EQ would help

Cough, cough...

madmax

hoosier21

madmax wrote:

Cough, cough...

madmax

Subwoofer only

amulford

How are they going to be wired? What kind of load will you end up with? And why are you doing a stereo pair? Won't that give you cancellation problems?

I like the idea. I got my eye on this.

For finish, I'd go with laminate veneer. It shouldn't be too expensive, you just have to shop around.

madmax

hoosier21 wrote:

Subwoofer only

Yep, not the one you may be thinking of. I tried to send you a pic but the email wasn't delivered. Have you changed it lately?

madmax

hoosier21

madmax wrote:

Yep, not the one you may be thinking of. I tried to send you a pic but the email wasn't delivered. Have you changed it lately?

madmax

Our email at work is screwed right now, but try again. rabernathy @ aseng.com

madmax

Here is the controller. I'll try email again later.

http://www.hometheateraudiocontrol.com/product.asp?Product_Id=19890&d_Id=5648&l1=5648&l2=

hoosier21

amulford wrote:

How are they going to be wired? What kind of load will you end up with? They are 4 ohm speakers, I will wire them for a 4 ohm total load And why are you doing a stereo pair? When I have had a single sub, even if the sound is non dirctional, the pressure is not, I can feel the sub over on one side, so I wanted two Won't that give you cancellation problems? Hope not, why do you think it would? You have two columns of sub drivers on your Carvers

I like the idea. I got my eye on this.

For finish, I'd go with laminate veneer. It shouldn't be too expensive, you just have to shop around. Wouldn't the seams show as a black line

Russ

amulford

When I have had a single sub, even if the sound is non dirctional, the pressure is not, I can feel the sub over on one side, so I wanted two - Oh cool, I can dig that.

Hope not, why do you think it would? You have two columns of sub drivers on your Carvers - Yes your right, I see what your saying.


Wouldn't the seams show as a black line - What seams? You can get sheets 4' X 8', the only seams would be on the edges. And they hide well.

hoosier21

Seams on the edges is what I was thinking, how do you hide them?

madmax

Colored glue?

amulford

No colored glue. When you do the veneer, put the large area on first. Then use a laminate trimmer. Then do the edge (it will cover the sheet piece) and clamp it tight. Trim it then sand the corner a little bit to blend it. The seam will be almost invisible.

Or you could band it the face with real wood. but you'll still have a seam.

VR3

Stereo Subwoofers -

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=36397

Get to reading...

madmax

Great link Sid! I didn't realize about the phase differences mixing between left and right channels when feeding a single sub. That pretty much talked me into a stereo sub over a mono one.
madmax

VR3

This is almost tempting for me to get another sub after I get my power cords...

Glad you folks enjoyed the link...

amulford

Does make alot of sense. Especially for accoustical recordings.

Early B.

Dammit, Sid! Now I gotta build another sub.