sorry for the length, but looking for input on troubles

nyydmb12

My new setup the first I did all on my own came together pretty good aside from some minor annoying things.
So I have 2 12in polk momos 2124 each getting 400 watts(their RMS rating) However I built the boxes out of 3/4in ply wood. They aren't hitting as hard as I would like, and sometimes sounds like something is resonating (possibly the wood?) Also at first I didn't realize the wire I had bought was Hook up wire which is one wire instead of two(+,-), and it lacked other things speaker wire have(100% oxygen free and so forth) However it's my first build I was excited and pushed forward and was forced to do some patch work on the boxes (I thought they came out pretty good though).
So the questions.
1) could the wood be resonating.
2) could the hook up wire from the speaker terminal to the sub be wasting some power
3) Is it likely the seal isn't as good as I thought and losing some of the hit(sealed up most spaces with wood glue and saw dust, and occasionally liquid nails, also used silicon caulk where all pieces meet on the inside.

4) Finally Has anyone else Had a hell of a time trying to find a bit to fit the screws the sub's come with....I'm in a predicament taking the subs out be cause the screws wore down my bits that kind of fit.

robsatx

nyydmb12 wrote: »

My new setup the first I did all on my own came together pretty good aside from some minor annoying things.
So I have 2 12in polk momos 2124 each getting 400 watts(their RMS rating) However I built the boxes out of 3/4in ply wood. They aren't hitting as hard as I would like, and sometimes sounds like something is resonating (possibly the wood?) Also at first I didn't realize the wire I had bought was Hook up wire which is one wire instead of two(+,-), and it lacked other things speaker wire have(100% oxygen free and so forth) However it's my first build I was excited and pushed forward and was forced to do some patch work on the boxes (I thought they came out pretty good though).
So the questions.
1) could the wood be resonating.
2) could the hook up wire from the speaker terminal to the sub be wasting some power
3) Is it likely the seal isn't as good as I thought and losing some of the hit(sealed up most spaces with wood glue and saw dust, and occasionally liquid nails, also used silicon caulk where all pieces meet on the inside.

4) Finally Has anyone else Had a hell of a time trying to find a bit to fit the screws the sub's come with....I'm in a predicament taking the subs out be cause the screws wore down my bits that kind of fit.

That is one reason folks don't use plywood. You can pickup some polyfil and stuff the box, will probably fix that issue Your best best rebuild in MDF.
On the power how exactly did you hook up? Also what size wire?

MacLeod

Yup. Plywood not only flexes like a **** but the different plys can actually rattle off each other! Afraid youre gonna have to build another box out of 3/4" MDF.

Run down to Walmart and buy you some 14 gauge speaker wire. 50' for $12. No excuse not to use it.

Use wood screws from Home Depot. Ive never in my life used the stupid screws that come with speakers precisely because you cant use an ordinary screwdriver on them.

BradimusMaximus

If your building a new box anyway you can get some sweet mounting bolts and t-nuts for cheap from parts express. Tougher than screws and you just use an allen key.

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=260-776

nyydmb12

thanks for the replys...and as soon as I needed more wire to run from my amp to my subs I hopped all over that 50ft for 12 dollars haha. However that was after I screwed in the screws that ate away at my drill bits. So as i search for a drill bit that fits does anyone know if you can get some of the MDF at like lowes or home depot I got my wood from a local lumber store, but this being my first build I said particle board on accident instead of fiber, and I still ended up with plywood(I'm not sure if they carry MDF).

In reply to the wiring I have a alpine 850 that does 800 watts at 2ohms. So I just checked a wiring diagram and they should be getting 400 a piece.

nyydmb12

well it looks like lowes...i was hoping i wouldn't find the wood before the drill bit though haha