New subwoofer build for a friend....

[Favelle]

Not a big console gamer, but I went to a friend's house with another friend last night. Both of them are big into PS3 gaming and are always bickering back and forth (puke). Anyways, the guy who's house were at has a sweet setup for gaming (Optoma HD20, 110" screen, Energy 7.1 surround system, PS3, Xbox 360). Pretty cool. He was running an Energy 10" that he got from FutureShop for like a grand (http://www.energy-speakers.com/na-en...-v10-overview/). Sounded ok, not that impressive to use DIY-ers, obviously.


Anyways, upon leaving, I could tell my other buddy wasn't at all happy with his setup so I got to talking with him about beefing up his low end DIY-style. This got him all excited, of course and I said I would look into it. He's not rich, but there is NO WAF, no size limitations, but only a $350 budget. Wood is free, parts, terminals, labour, etc etc is also free. So basically $350 for amp and driver. I got to thinking about making an SDX10 in a 12" sonotube, maybe 60-70L, tuned to 21hz with a BASH300. Possible? Would it sound any good? This is strictly for gaming and some movies, but I'd like to go as low and clean as possible...

That was the initial thinking....

Another guy on AVS contacts me and has a Shiva-X 12" driver for CHEAP ($150 CDN). This is a legendary driver with 27mm xmax!!! One-way! Talk about displacement. So we grab that. 300W is not nearly enough to make the Shiva dance, so we get the HPSA 540W plate amp. Officially, we're over budget (by about $100). No matter, he is still happy.

So the build got finalized. 200L "LLT-type" down-firing sonosub, tuned to 18hz. For those that have never heard (felt) REAL bass, even this mini LLT would blow your mind.....

[Favelle]

Next up, we have the free 7' piece of 5.75" PVC....nothing beats FREE!




And rounding out the "materials" portion we have the free sheets of 3 x 4 x 0.75" MDF!




Cutting starts this weekend, at the latest.

Thanks to Mike P. here, Kevin @ DIYC, and Bob @ CSS for all their help. These guys really go above and beyond for noobs like me.

[Favelle]

16" sono is in my possession to start working on tonight. Probably cut at least the sono and the PVC port to size. For people who have never seen sono, even the 16" stuff is HUGE. Amazing. Not "Sonotube" brand....something called "Redi-pour". Its quite thick. 16" precise interior diameter.

[Favelle]

Just using masking tape and a jig saw to cut the sonotube and port to the appropriate lengths:







Well, had a grand idea for a compass to draw my circles......



Only problem is, the string winds up on itself and gets smaller and smaller.....no good!

So I built a little jig. Counter-sunk the holes so just a pencil-tip can go through....viola...any diameter I want!

[Favelle]

The sonotube and the port, cut to size (68.25, 26.75).....




This is the size of the sub people. A $450 sub that would absolutely destroy any $1500-2000 sub you'd find at the big box stores.....it'll make my other friend's $1000 Energy sound like a tin can.


The whole port endcap assembled (dry-fit) just to see what it looks like. No sanding, no roundovers, just sitting together for the fun of it:



Its upside-down if it confuses anyone. The small bit at the top is my home-made flange that will be IN the sonotube. Should be glueing/caulking all this stuff together tonight, plus hopefully lining it with some sort of dampening material.....

[Favelle]

Also managed to piece together the driver side endcaps. These circles are ridiculously round for being hanf-cut with a jig saw. Broke my flute-bit for my router and I figured I had a steady enough hand.....more dumb luck than anything. With the sanding, these are basically perfectly round to the naked eye:




Also sealed the whole inside with caulking. I figured this would make a nice natural gasket when its fully-dried....no chances of any air leaks from what I can see! Should be ready for final sanding on Sunday and then maybe some painting!




Also cut and sanded the driver protection base plate. Attached the legs and this should also be good for painting this Sunday!


Here with the legs just standing in place:




Screwed them in and counter-sunk the screws on the other side. That's the side that will be on the floor, and it will also have a big felt pad cut out and stuck to it.

[Favelle]

Starting to add the dampening material. Covered the port first:




Dry fit of the sonotube.....looks good! Nice fit. Stays in place without any adhesive too because it wants to be flat so it pushes itself outwards.




Got all 3 pieces secured, glued, and in place:




Inside the tube.....I must say, if I ever make another sonosub over 5 feet, I'll go to a larger diameter. It was simply WAY too much hassle to try and get the middle piece in.

[Favelle]

Here's the beast, thanks to Danielson from Kelowna!




And all wired up in parallel for a 4-ohm load:

[Favelle]

Did a LOT of sanding today....not quite ready for painting, plus it was raining...HARD. But I did manage to start my "amp box". I have the PE HPSA 500W plate amp and I am making a little box for it. Should be kinda cool. Making binding posts and a handle for it...that way it can be portable. Hard to visualize now, but I think it should turn out kinda neat.

The inside faceplate:




Inside faceplate and outer faceplate being glued together:




Box frame being fit together:




Dry-fit of the bottom of the amp case. Hoping to stain the whole thing black walnut (mini-wax). Should look pretty sharp:



Dry fit of the box and the faceplate on top:



Got the first coat of stain (Black Walnut) on the case and counter-sunk the binding posts and added a handle. I dry-fit the amp just to see what it would look like. Pretty cool! Couple more coats and it'll be good to go.

[TripleHBK]

More photos! More Walk throughs! more! More! MORE!


Seriously though, I can't say I understand much of whats going on in the first post, but the pictures and play by play commentary is very interesting, and I'm actually excited to see how it turns out. I'm in the need of a new sub myself, however I want to see how this thing comes together and where your friend is going to put a beast like that!

[godamongmen]

Thats awesome man great work keep the updates coming. That driver is sick! How did you wire it for 4ohm thou? are both voice coils 8ohm? and wired in parralel?

[Favelle]

More photos! More Walk throughs! more! More! MORE!


Seriously though, I can't say I understand much of whats going on in the first post, but the pictures and play by play commentary is very interesting, and I'm actually excited to see how it turns out. I'm in the need of a new sub myself, however I want to see how this thing comes together and where your friend is going to put a beast like that!

Thanks man!

Hey, if you're serious about building a new sub, drop me a line (or start a thread here!). My 2nd home is the DIY forums on AVS and HomeTheaterShack. I can walk you through just about any build or at least point you in the right direction. Once you've heard actual REAL bass and not the tinny shyte that commercial subs puke out, you'll never go back!

As for location, once you get into it for real, you'll find out the only true place for a SINGLE large sub is a corner (any corner). Its called "corner loading"....but when there's multiple subs, corner loading isn't so necessary.

[Favelle]

Thats awesome man great work keep the updates coming. That driver is sick! How did you wire it for 4ohm thou? are both voice coils 8ohm? and wired in parralel?

Thanks bro! Yes, the Shiva is a VERY capable driver. Very impressive for a "piddly" 12-incher!

The original Shiva-X, which this one is had dual 8-ohm voice coils. So you need a parallel wiring for a 4-ohm load. The new Shiva-X 2 is a 2-ohm dual voice coil. So a series wiring is needed for a nominal 4-ohm load.

Its ubelievable what is possible for such little money and a little work/knowledge.

More updates coming tomorrow, plus will be dusting the SPL meter off for some action. Testing it at my house first, so no PS3 games....but LOTS of Blu-rays!

[frogmeat69]

I hope your friend doesn't live in an apartment complex, for his neighbors sake, lol!! Can't wait to see this thing when it's done,will prolly feel it here in New York!

[Favelle]

I hope your friend doesn't live in an apartment complex, for his neighbors sake, lol!! Can't wait to see this thing when it's done,will prolly feel it here in New York!

Ha ha nope, standalone house, so he's good to go. I'm trying to convince him to spend $200 in materials so we can "treat" the room with bass traps and sound absorbing panels....but that might be for another day. You can have the world's best sub sound like crap in the right (well wrong) room.