Li'l Sonosub

Early B.

Been thinking about building a passive sonotube sub using a Vifa PL series 8" woofer for use on my 2-channel system. To save money, I'm considering using a 100-watt plate amp instead of a monoblock and crossover device. One hundred watts should be more than sufficient for my purposes. The sonotube would be 10" in diameter and maybe 16" - 18" high. I'm considering a sonotube for aesthetic reasons -- I don't need to hide it and I can dress it with some nice fabric or colors that match the living room.

Any ideas?

unc2701

Ok, the Fs is too low for you to make a straight TL sub if you've got 8 foot ceilings (the TL would need to be about 10 feet). So:
1)I would go with 12" sonotube, to reduce the final height
2)Decide if you're going to do ported or sealed and figure out your volume
3)Cut a two squares of 3/4 inch plywood and use a circle jig to route a groove into each for the sonotube.
4)After you've routed the groove, use the circle jig to cut the hole for the driver in the one and the port (if ported) in the other
5)Get four pieces of threaded rod like you'd use for a flexirack drill a hole about 1" in from each corner of the two pieces of plywood
6)put your glue of choice in each groove of the plywood, insert the sonotube, insert rods, tighten down and they'll serve as a clamp. Leave enough rod and they'll also be the feet to hold the driver off the floor.
7)Pretty it up, install the driver, rock out.

unc2701

Hell, see tryrrthg's:
http://www.angelfire.com/alt/tryrrthg/DIYsub/sonosub.html

Better than I could describe and the rods are hidden inside the tube...

tryrrthg

Have you modeled this woofer? My guess is it won't be much of a SUBwoofer, and you'll just be reinforcing the bass/mid-bass of your mains. Just buy the 10" titanic or better yet, get that High Fidelity 12" from PE. Throw it in a sealed sonosub.

Early B.

tryrrthg wrote:

Have you modeled this woofer? My guess is it won't be much of a SUBwoofer, and you'll just be reinforcing the bass/mid-bass of your mains.

Yep. That's all I'd be trying to achieve. If I got 35 Hz out of it, that would be cool. Bookshelf mains peter out at around 50 Hz. Will use on fairly low volume. I'm consiering the Vifa PL22WR09-04 woofer because it can hit 32 Hz. I'll have to play around with modeling it. Just in the conceptual stage right now. Hadn't even decided if it's worth the effort yet.

VR3

Everytime I see the title of this thread, I keep reading Sono"tub" - and keep picturing an old fashioned bathtub... haha

Sounds like a cool project, you thought about the 8" sub from Adire or Ascendant?

Keep us posted.

Early B.

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote:

Sounds like a cool project, you thought about the 8" sub from Adire or Ascendant?

Yep. The 8" Ascendant Assassin is very interesting. It's on my short list. Hadn't looked at Adire yet.

I considered the Vifa because Norh uses it in their marble subwoofers. BTW - the folks at Norh recommend stereo subs because they preserve the stereo image -- "The problem is that most subwoofers are designed to offer quantity and not quality of bass. We believe that subwoofers should be sold in pairs and we believe that subwoofers should use smaller woofers in larger cabinets... We use Vifa's most expensive 8 inch woofer (PL22WR09-08)."