My first DIY subwoofer

kawizx9r

ben62670 wrote: »

Again the 4 inch measurement is the id of the tube from the front to the rear. The ends will flare out anywhere from 5-8 inches.

I now see how the 4" id tube won't be a problem. I just had my wife help me hold the mdf up in place and wow, it's going to be bigger than I thought. Guess just pulling out the measuring tape and trying to picture how big it was wasn't enough. Don't even want to think about how heavy it's going to be :rolleyes:

ben62670

The port on my sonosub was 6x32

kawizx9r

ben62670 wrote: »

The port on my sonosub was 6x32

I've seen those things more than I'd normally think I would see. I hear you get alot of flexibility when tuning ports using a sonosub. Think I'm going to check out some audio stores nearby just for some port tubes. I'd go with PVC pipe but I wouldn't know how to go with getting a flared port on both ends. The pipe in hardware stores comes in just a few different types of thickness.

kcoc321

Hey Freddy,
I can't help with the ports, but I would recommend checking precisely the panels you had cut at the hardware store. I have tried that before I got my own table saw and found that they varied in size and square.
IDK if you know, but for square, check the corner to corner diagonal measurement, they should measure exactly the same if they are square. I would not want you to go to assemble this and not have the pieces fit perfectly.
I look forward to seeing what it all looks like.

kawizx9r

kcoc321 wrote: »

Hey Freddy,
I can't help with the ports, but I would recommend checking precisely the panels you had cut at the hardware store. I have tried that before I got my own table saw and found that they varied in size and square.
IDK if you know, but for square, check the corner to corner diagonal measurement, they should measure exactly the same if they are square. I would not want you to go to assemble this and not have the pieces fit perfectly.
I look forward to seeing what it all looks like.

I appreciate your concern, and did make a mental note of that earlier. I pulled out the measuring tape and had the pieces up together as they would go (wife helped on this one, she was like :eek:) and everything measured fine.

It's going to be one heavy SOB though :cool:

kawizx9r

Hmmm on 3 different forums I've yet to receive any feedback regarding my bypass switch I'll be utilizing. Do I need to worry about said DPDT switch (it handles 6A@125V) if lets say I ran an Adcom 555 or Carver M-400 amplifier or anything else that's even more powerful than the internal plateamp?

Also went to 2 car audio shops today; one didn't sell many ports at all that I could use while the other shop insisted over and over I go with one of their boxes. Like wtf? I'm building my own and he wants me to go with some carpeted, wrong-sized box when I was just wanting to purchase a port assembly

kawizx9r

Got an answer about my switch, although I don't think I'll be able to use a thick enough gauge as I'd like to.

On another note, the person that helped me out regarding tube lengths used WinISD. Does anyone else here use it, and can help me find out if a longer tube will ultimately hurt me? I'm taking into consideration the elbow and tube that extends down behind the driver magnet. My goal isn't maximum SPL, it's deep bass that will be used primarily for HT. This was done utilizing a 17" long tube

Systems

Adding length will lower the tuning freqency,small increases should prove insignificant.How much are you adding?

kawizx9r

GV#27 wrote: »

Adding length will lower the tuning freqency,small increases should prove insignificant.How much are you adding?

Alright cool. I was curious about what I'd experience if I unintentionally added a longer tube. Might add anywhere from 2-4 inches or so, yes I know it's not a significant difference but I was just a bit worried considering some DIY subs must have said-tube to be a certain length. Would be nice to see even 18hz or so at a decent level although it isn't required

ben62670

For HT you really need to go way deep. My sonosub was tuned to 15hz, and I will tell you for sure there is a lot of material down there. I couldn't believe how much I was missing!

kawizx9r

ben62670 wrote: »

For HT you really need to go way deep. My sonosub was tuned to 15hz, and I will tell you for sure there is a lot of material down there. I couldn't believe how much I was missing!

If I really like the way this comes out and get some good oomph for the money then I'll definitely look into one of those crazy sonosub projects. I'll ask for your recommendation before anyone else's :cool:

BUT if for some reason I end up hating it or something, EPIK subwoofers is just an hour away from me and they'll certainly have a cure for my depression

ben62670

The sono was great for finding the studs in the walls. After a while the heads of the nails/screws popped out so you didn't even need to turn the sub on to find the studs anymore. Bad thing about ports. If you cross the sub above 60 for music it will drive you nuts with port noise. After going sealed I won't go back to ports again. Also please keep in mind that I was driving my sealed subs with a straight amp without any sort of bass boost, or EQ. I know my sealed subs would do much better with proper bass management.

BTW you can do a sealed sono. It keeps the weight down, and due to the fact it is a cylinder you do not need any bracing:)

kawizx9r

ben62670 wrote: »

The sono was great for finding the studs in the walls. After a while the heads of the nails/screws popped out so you didn't even need to turn the sub on to find the studs anymore. Bad thing about ports. If you cross the sub above 60 for music it will drive you nuts with port noise. After going sealed I won't go back to ports again. Also please keep in mind that I was driving my sealed subs with a straight amp without any sort of bass boost, or EQ. I know my sealed subs would do much better with proper bass management.

BTW you can do a sealed sono. It keeps the weight down, and due to the fact it is a cylinder you do not need any bracing:)

Yea, I figured if I really liked this sub I can stick with it for straight HT. My 1C's don't require a subwoofer when I do any 2 channel listening but it'd be nice to have a music-only sub thats fast, tight and accurate.

kawizx9r

So earlier today I placed an order for a 17"x4" port tube (flared on both ends), acoustic foam panels and adhesive spray.

While that's coming in, I want to go with a simple but nice look. I don't know if I want something of a textured look or a black lacquer finish (which will suck to keep clean being the neat freak I am). Or should I just go with some of that self-applied vinyl stuff? Any suggestions? I want it all black or grey even, and the woofer will not have a grill on it.

So far its all come out to $243, and I've got plenty of MDF left over.

kawizx9r

So when the doorbell rang, I didn't expect it to be FedEx.

Order came in just a day later, so I opened her up and here it is. Everything I need I now have, minus whatever I'll be doing for the finish. I think I'd like to leave it as a plain MDF box in case plans change and I want it to look like an end table or something else.



No, the knife isn't part of the deal...thats military issued. Needed an extra hdmi cable, pretty much came free with the coupons I had from my last order.

kawizx9r

Don't have the luxury of having my own tools unfortunately and with all the other things I've been picking up lately I'm kind of limited in terms of $. Just bought this as well after hearing all the great things about it -
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00917244000P?keyword=all-in-one+cutting

So, it leads me to ask what clamps I should pick up once I want to glue things up? Unless someone wants to let me borrow some clamps nearby?

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00931508000P?mv=rr
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00980755000P?vName=Tools&cName=Hand+Tools&sName=Clamps
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00980756000P?mv=rr

Last one I believe will require you to provide your own clamps.....anyway if someone can recommend something affordable I'll go and grab it tomorrow. Forgot to mention, other than Sears I'm pretty close to a Lowe's as well as Home Depot and Wal-Mart.

-Freddy

I guess the "$250" dollar sub is coming out to be more, but who cares. The tool's I'll be able to keep for anything later in the future, and the DIY has it's fun factor.

kawizx9r

No advice?

Systems

For box assembly I use bar clamps and drywall screws to keep things tight and in alignment until the glue dries then remove them.Pilot holes for the screws are necessary to prevent the MDF from splitting.

Systems

kawizx9r wrote: »

No advice?

I must be on another ignore list.;)

kawizx9r

GV#27 wrote: »

I must be on another ignore list.;)

No not at all, no reason to have you on ignore. Only one bozo was on that list and he's long gone banned. I was just looking at some older threads + talking to the significant other.

Clamping it together using the Titebond and waiting til it dries won't be enough? I've never heard of anyone using screws for any reason other than heavily weighted subwoofers with huge 15"+ drivers, and that was as a secondary support to go along with the woodglue + extensive bracing.

Systems

kawizx9r wrote: »

Clamping it together using the Titebond and waiting til it dries won't be enough?

Sure that will work fine but I like using the screws especially on bigger panels to help keeping things square and the joints from sliding out of position which can happen with clamps alone.I also use dado joints instead of butt joints which also aids greatly in assembly.Post #2 in the link shows my dado method. http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71073&highlight=MID+BASS+MODULE

kawizx9r

So this - http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00980756000P?mv=rr plus bar clamps would be the better alternative seeing as I don't want to drill into my board?

Nice bass module btw, you even doubled up on the top and bottom walls. This subwoofer isn't some crazy 500-1000watt 14hz hitting project lol I've done alot of searching through other DIY projects and just got a good idea from there. Here in this project, I'm just trying to re-create the actual model this driver comes from. HSU VTF-3 HO

Systems

kawizx9r wrote: »

So this - http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00980756000P?mv=rr plus bar clamps would be the better alternative seeing as I don't want to drill into my board?

Those should help keep it square.

you even doubled up on the top and bottom walls.

top and bottom are just one layer of 3/4' MDF ,what you see is the groove resulting from the dado cut.

kawizx9r

GV#27 wrote: »

Those should help keep it square.

top and bottom are just one layer of 3/4' MDF ,what you see is the groove resulting from dado cut.

Nevermind, I only looked at the second pic and didn't take notice that the front piece is the same thickness as the top/bottom.

kawizx9r

With a whole lot of help from a friend here I was able to put together my box. Don't expect perfection, this is my first sub and MDF is a **** to work with. With that, here are some pics before I apply any foam in the interior walls. Solarseal caulking was used in the seams to seal up everything, and it'll be used on the port tube through the inner brace.

Pic of the front -


Pic of the rear -


It's one heavy SOB without anything inside, and pretty damn big too. Ignore the crappy flooring in those pics, I have the sub sitting out in my apartment complex' hallway lol

leroyjr1

Very nice

kawizx9r

leroyjr1 wrote: »

Very nice

Thanks Lee, I just decided to skip the bypass/terminal switch for external amp options. Obviously not done yet but I will say that I've enjoyed everything so far, and if anyone's building their own sub.....an extra hand is always a plus. :cool:

Systems

Nice solid(and square) looking box,a fine job for a first timer.

kawizx9r

Jesus, can I say that here?

This sub **** rocks. I remember how my Velodyne CHT-12 played, and I played back some deep-bass hitting music that I couldn't hear on the Velo. Well this sub played it with ease at such low volumes (sub gain is at 1/3 and LFE out is +0.5db). I heard some LOUD rattling and ran up to the sub to see if I left something loose, sure enough it was my windows. Think I'm about to just Dynamat all my damn windows. Can't wait to properly set it up tomorrow when it's early enough to listen to music at "moderate" volumes.

Btw, I give you heavy-sub-owners some props. This SOB clearly weighs a good +95lbs, I had to lay it on a make-shift carpet and drag it to a corner lol. Pics to come

kawizx9r

After applying the acoustic foam and assembling the port.


Inside look through the front. Port done and amp set inside, I decided not to run the wires the way they're shown. Was afraid they would rattle inside the hole or something.


Rear all done up


Complete and sitting next to my speakers. :cool: