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FIRST DIY Build

611 views 12 replies 4 participants last post by  tential 
#1 ·
I'm trying to get started on my first build.


I currently have a RW-12D. I'm getting a TON of port chuffing(I think?) from it. Something is just sounding off. It's sounding a lot worse than when I first bought it. I thought it was woofer damage but I can't see any, and the port is intact and not wobbly on the interior. Something sounds off though but I can't seem to figure out what. Maybe I've been pushing my speakers too hard as I only listen at as loud as I possibly can handle usually.


This has lead me towards building a sub as it seems like a cheaper alternative. A lot of bang for buck which I like a lot. And my new amplifier (XLS-1500), seems to handle the Polk Monitor 70s way too easily. May plug them back into the amp for a little and use my amp to power 1 or 2 subs now that I have a better receiver.


I was looking at Parts Express since it seems that's where everyone picks up their subwoofer from on here. Or a least a lot of people do. I'm not really sure where to start and I've read through a LOT of the builds, and through the help but the links expect you to know quite a bit of knowledge that I just don't seem to have I guess haha.


I had two different plans for this build.


Option 1:

15 inch subwoofer - nicest one they have on parts express that I can afford

Build a very simple box. - I can throw away 50 dollars for a learning experience.

Use my amplifier to power it.

Upgrade to a new better box if necessary, because I'll definitely want to try to piano gloss black paint a new box.


Option 2.

12 inch subwoofer - whatever will outdo my current subwoofer

Still a simple box

Most likely use a built in amp

Sell it to someone in my fraternity if it works and outperforms my subwoofer and move on to getting the output I want from a 15 inch subwoofer.


Requirements:

I want it to get loud.



The RW-12D I didn't touch the gain, left it at 0 db for almost everything or even pushed it higher. Looking at Audessy setup, it wanted the Sub to be at -15 db on it's little control panel, but not positive this is correct since I didn't have a stand and I didn't finish Audessy setup because my tweeters are blown. Audessy can't complete setup til I get those in haha gotta wait a week.

Simple Build



Every build on here has very hard complicated braces. When looking at Parts Express, they're charging 200 dollars for a box of MDF with a crossbeam in it. How much bracing is really necessary? This will be my first woodworking experience so I don't wanna get caught up for hours doing something I'm probably going to mess up and am not skilled at enough. I was going to do simple braces that are easy for me to do. Is that ok knowing how loud I'm going to want this sub to get?

Sealed



Keeping with the simple theme, I think it'll be easiest for me to make it sealed obviously as it'll be less work.


This is the 15 inch subwoofer I was looking at are there any other ones that are better for the price?
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=295-420


Not sure what other information I need here sorry that it's all so random.
 
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#2 ·
You're on the right track. Forget that woofer though, this is the one to look at

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=295-514


Even when it's not on sale it's still better then the Titanic. You could check out my build thread for simple bracing ideas. A sealed box around 4 ft3 will work well with that woofer. If you're willing to go a few ft3 larger a vented box would be an option.
 
#5 ·
As far as the bracing goes, set my table saw to 2" and cut a bunch of strips, measured the specific inner dimensions and cut the strips to that length. I then measured in from the sides of my 4 sided box, drilled small holes where the braces were going, tapped the braces into place with glue, and screwed them in tight through the holes.


The ultimax is a more advanced deign, and its cheaper. The titanic will strain near its xmax, where as the ultimax basically has headroom. The ultimax is also better suited for a sealed box, it has an F3 about 5hz lower in the same sized sealed box.
 
#7 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by pgwalsh  /t/1463212/first-diy-build#post_23079360


Or you could go for this box and select one of the woofer's. That would make your first build really easy. There's also so boxes with amps.

http://www.diysoundgroup.com/subwoofer-flatpacks-2/3-sub-flat-pack.html

Link doesn't work for some reason.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay1  /t/1463212/first-diy-build#post_23079391


As far as the bracing goes, set my table saw to 2" and cut a bunch of strips, measured the specific inner dimensions and cut the strips to that length. I then measured in from the sides of my 4 sided box, drilled small holes where the braces were going, tapped the braces into place with glue, and screwed them in tight through the holes.


The ultimax is a more advanced deign, and its cheaper. The titanic will strain near its xmax, where as the ultimax basically has headroom. The ultimax is also better suited for a sealed box, it has an F3 about 5hz lower in the same sized sealed box.

Did you use actual nails? It seems like everyone uses glue and some type of nail or bonding that isn't metal and dissolves. I'll have to look into modeling the drivers in WinISD just to get a feel.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Louquid  /t/1463212/first-diy-build#post_23079421


Flat pack, Dayton UM15, some PL Premium and clamps and you'll have a sub that would destroy that RW-12D in every way possible.

You have to tell me what you mean haha. I don't know what a Flat Pack is or PL Premium. I did a google search on both though and I got Glue and a prebuilt subwoofer box. Not sure what I'd need the clamps for though.


I am doing some modeling in WinISD though I'll post them in a little bit.
 
#9 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by tential  /t/1463212/first-diy-build#post_23085245


Link doesn't work for some reason.

Did you use actual nails? It seems like everyone uses glue and some type of nail or bonding that isn't metal and dissolves. I'll have to look into modeling the drivers in WinISD just to get a feel.

You have to tell me what you mean haha. I don't know what a Flat Pack is or PL Premium. I did a google search on both though and I got Glue and a prebuilt subwoofer box. Not sure what I'd need the clamps for though.


I am doing some modeling in WinISD though I'll post them in a little bit.

Screws, with pl premium for glue. After it dries you take the screws out and fill the holes.
 
#11 ·



Here are the plots of both subs. It seems that the Ultimax only loses 2 dbs to the Titanic.

As you can see, both are done in 5 ft cubic boxes, both 700 Watts of power, and both are measured 10 ft away from the enclosure. Not sure how far people use. I think the benefit from going from 4 to 5 cubic feet isn't much when I look at the graph. It smooths out a 40 Hz bump but not by much. The bump from going from 3 to 4 though is quite big.


I also looked at a 5 ft ported box (that's vented right?) using the WinISD. This added 2 dbs between 30-50 HZ but isn't flat at all. This is where the bump happens at that frequency.


I'm guessing this is calculating a graph using max power driven and that 105 DBs will be quite loud? Also, shouldn't I get some room gain considering that I'm going to be in a 12 by 12 room for awhile and my next room after that isn't too much bigger?


From the graphs I looked at though, it seems that ported would help me on the lower end by 2 dbs, not sure if that's worth it, and that the difference between 4 and 5 ft cubic boxes isn't much just a SLIGHTLY smoother graph.

It seems that the Ultimax is therefore the best bang for buck currently, but if I went a 2 sub build, I'd want to wire 2 subs at 2 ohms each channel to my Crown XLS 1500 for 775 watts per channel. I can't think of any way to wire this to get this to happen with the Ultimax but I'm a complete noob.


Does what I said sound reasonable or did I make some huge mistakes modeling. This is the first time I've ever used WinISD.

My final "Optimum" (not sure how this is calculated), is 1.734 width, 2.7 height, and 1.090 Depth. box for 4 cubic feet.


Is there anyway to add the RW-12D stats to this graph so I can see how it matches up? I'd really like a direct comparison.


Edit: Also, these optimum stats, could someone explain that to me? Those ft are really weird dimensions. The last thing i want is a subwoofer that's almost 3 ft tall lol. Do you guys mostly use the Optimum or do you just fiddle with the dimensions til you get what you want? My pick based on my current setup (my subwoofer is directly in front and slips right under my TV but barely, is 20.66" width, 21" height, 20" Depth.


After this, I guess I'm only looking at design of the actual box itself and then I'll be off to actually building. Quite exciting!
 
#12 ·
I think there is a tear in my current subwoofer from overdriving it all the time (go figure I blew my tweeters too partying too hard). I'm going to see how Klipsch's RMA process works. If it requires me to ship my sub back, which will cost me about 50 bucks I think, then I'll probably go through with this DIY build. I'd rather spend 200 dollars on a new sub that bumps, then 50 dollars and wait a couple weeks/months for a replacement. Hopefully they just ship me a replacement woofer.


Also wondering if I could just replace the woofer in my RW-12D. Either way though, I'd like to know how the RW-12D performs compared to a DIY subwoofer in a graph.
 
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