Killer DIY Sub build needed!!

Well, its time to get something started for the dedicated room. For those that may not have read, I was one of the folks who had issues with ED a few months back. Thankfully, I was able to get my refund and now I'm psyched the deal went south, because I think I am on to much better things. I finally have the family room situated: 5.2 setup with Denon4520, full Revel setup, outlaw amp and two of PSA's new XS30 subs(diy was not an option in there).

On to the real fun stuff. My dedicated room is going to be constructed here shortly. It will be fairly large, at 6500ft3 or so. I will be forking up the $$ to have, more than likely, Dennis Erskine's operation design the room for me and I will construct it to his specs. It will be three rows of seating total, with five seats in each row. I am seeking well above ref capabilities, with huge, knock you over slam in the chest, as well as the lowest extension reasonably possible. I have been back searching in the DIY forum and it seems the LMS Ultra is still king for now. I was set to buy two powered captivators or even orbit shifters, but can't help feeling that the same $$ and some effort could result in a higher performance sub system. I believe Jeff will be sending the Noesis out for a GTG here in CT late winer/early spring at my place. I can't imagine that I would end up with those for mains. Ok, enough rambling...I am prepared to spend the same $$ on a diy project as I would have to ship two caps to me.(approx $5300) I was intitially looking at 4 LMS ultras in two dual opposed enclosures with a couple thousand watts to wach driver. I have also seen some folks with the XXX drivers and they seem to have good results, but the inefficiency up high is a touch concerning as compared to the lms. I don't really have an issue with enclosure size..I will have a false front wall with three feet of depth and 20ft from end to end.

I have built enclosures before, I'm sure not to the level of quality as some, but pretty good none the less. I have no experience working the system manualy, eq'ing, etc though. Is this too much to take on for a first project in that realm?? I just can't help but feel like it is the only way for me to accomplish bone crunching, startling bass for my budget. Any thoughts are much appreciated!

Jake

Thanks for the replys guys! I have read a bunch about the Dayton projects, but am a big believer in quality over quantity.(not that the daytons aren't decent drivers).

I am absolutely open to IB. I have expressed interest in it before and have seen a couple of folks using those RE XXX with what seems like great success. I would end up with, after considering the build out for the Noesis LCR, somewhere around 13,500 liters behind the false wall. it works out to just over 7x vas for 4 XXX 18s. Seems like that might be pretty tough to beat too. What would that reduce amp requirements to??

Thanks guys..and Jay, as I said, I was not trying to imply that the Dayton is low quality. I am just the overkill type, the guys that will spend four times as much to be sure I won't question the decision later. That said, the Fi IB drivers have intrigued me for some time. I am registered over at the cult, and have read through many threads. I feel like I have a good idea of how to get the ib set up, just not sure on the power reduction vs other alignments. I watched the thread that JapanDave has going with 4x RE XXX and it seems that those monsters put out some obscene levels of bass...just my style:D

...And for you fight fans watching tonight, how about Benson getting it done vs Diaz!! Just waiting on Manny vs Marquez now.

I agree 100%, I just haven't had the experience with any of the above to properly compare them. I would love to spend half the money on 8 Fi IB18s vs 4 LMS or XXX, I just want to be sure that the result is at least as good. I need to learn next how to model the drivers so that I cna compare the potential output. Obviously, as you point out, more drivers moving less has the potential to create "cleaner" sound...less distortion. I have more than enough room for 8 FI IB18s and it would certainly save me money vs the LMS or XXX and the power requirements they have. I could potentially have 4 2 driver mainfolds or two four driver manifolds, or a line array of 8 or line array of 4x2. It would seem that the manifold options would be best based on the fact that I won't have to fight wall flex like I would with line of them.

I just spent the last hour reading Gorilla's DIY thread and it has me thinking quite a bit. If I purchased 8 18" Daytons, the cost is like $1875. I figure about $300 in materials, adn $1500 in budget for amps. That would put me at $3675. From the data-bass info and Gorilla's experience, it should surpass what dual powere caps can do at any frequency for $2k less delivered to my door. I would place four enclosures, dual opposed, at the best point in the room for response once that can be determined. Am I missing anything here, other than the fact that I should budget for the addition of 8 more later:D

Absolutely... the thought of the sixteen ultimately attracts me for this reason, along with, of course, the extra output of 16 18" drivers:eek:. If I have great room response, and can co-locate more subs, even better! I think I would start with 8 if I go this direction and see where I am end when the dust settles.

Wow, thanks for posting! I think they look pretty great right there. I wonder what the actual in room response will look like. Based on Gorilla's impressions, I bet really good.


I thought about a big IB as well, just like the idea of the sealed boxes and being able to move location is it helps with response. I don't "need" them right way, the room won't be ready for a bit. I could wait and see what the SI drivers turn out like in the hands of some users.

You know, I thought about that too. The only thing holding me back is that idea of availability. If I started with two cabs, each with two drivers and ended up wanting more, that would be fine...unless they go out of stock or something crazy like that. Not sure if that is a realistic concern, but I thought of it none the less. Today I actually though about just ordering two and copy cating your box for testing. I figured this way, I can try them out for a minimal investment and its not like one of wwhatever amp I get will be useless if I change the project up or even need to use it for something else in the future.

I'm starting to see it:)

I may order a pair of the Daytons today to experiment with while I wait for the room construction to be finished, and by finishd, I mean started.

For a $500 investment, I can get a very good idea if I will be happy with them in multiples I think. It would be great if I started with four enclosures, all DO drivers and it worked well, eventually adding four more DO subs. 8 18"s in each corner sounds great!!

Yeah, I figured that much based on history. I actually did a DIY 3 way component build in my Cadillac doors a couple of years back using the HO, I think RS180 model.

I think I would opt for the Daytons just because they are well know, readily available and have been tested. If I knew the SI had been out for years like their prior car models and testing, maybe I would wait. I thought about ordering them all now, but I have no place to put anything as it is until the new house in done next month. As it is, I will have two PSA XS30s and the DO Dayton 18 enclosure all together in my current living room. Although the idea of 8 18s and the XS30s all together sound slike fun...just need to hire a divorce attny.
Edited by ChopShop1 - 12/10/12 at 8:52pm

So I have gone ahead and gotten 8 of the Daytons to start with. While I wait to have the theater completed, I would like to also use a cab or two in my current living room. I was going to pickup an amp or two for that, but can't decide which. I love that Gorilla's exact design and power combo is tested and yields great results, but the Crown is just going to be too loud for the living room(the fan of course). It seems like the ep4000 or epx4000 have been tested to put out between 870 and 950 watts at 4ohm, 2 channels. I figure that effectively works out to about 1.5db loss compared to the XLS5000. Is that really worth the trouble of re-locating amps temporarily in another room?? Ultimately, the theater room will have an AV closet and I can use whatever amps work best without regard for fan noise, etc. I just figured if I really like it, I can make one cabinet work with one ep or epx in the living room for less than $1k.

..Oh yeah, Gorilla, please take my imitation of your design as a compliment. I was very impressed by it so I figure why waiver on my first real HT project:)