Ideas for a super-cheap DIY Sub?  

How cheap is cheap? And does it have to be tiny or can it be decent sized? Check out the various Quatro 15"/240 watt plate amp sub designs - Ambrose just made one, sensibull has one, 12andy has one, and many others find that design to work out well.

Just noticed the new forum. For ultra-cheap, first and foremost, size is the determinant. There was a thread in the sub forum where we looked at a bunch of budget drivers. Budget is always relative, and sometimes you can make use of things you have around like amplification.

Sealed Quatro 15", hands down.

With no point of reference in what you want to add a "little extra kick" to, it's a stab in the dark. For a killer value project, watch the sales at places like Parts Express and Madisound. There are drivers that could make some worthwhile noise ranging from $30-200. The Madisound Swan305($58) and Eclipse12"($61) are quite inexpensive, along with the Dayton Shielded DVC 12"($40) or the Quattro or Series II 12-15" drivers ($75-90), and of course it's easy to spend more. The amp cost could easily dominate the budget. Right now it looks like PE has a 100W amp on sale for $75 and a 240W amp on sale for $110.

So which is it? In the realm of DIY, size is relative. Some around here do have some compact little boxes, but many more have subwoofer enclosures the size of small closets. :cool:

Do a search on Google for "sonotube subwoofer".

Probably the cheapest and simplest sub design you can do. Not the most stylish though...

It is if you wrap the tube in veneer. I don't know why more sonotube owners don't do that? It looks awesome. Far better than a big black cloth covered tube.

Just like a cube sub in veneer looks better than one in black paint or vinyl.

I have 4 Adire 15" Tempests each in their own 7' long 18" dia sonotube -each wrapped in a wicked veneer that's the same as my GR Research Alpha line source kit main speakers.

People say 'Whoa! Cool!... What it that?' when they see it not 'Um... that's ugly.'... even chicks dig big wood veneer cylinders. -Insert filthy joke here hehe-

Not the 'cheapest' though for this thread's sake.

"-Really, I mean ultra cheap, and even size is not a big issue. I have plenty of power and I just want a little extra kick. In fact the smaller the better.-"

Ultra cheap? You'll have to steal one then. A 'real sub' isn't ultra cheap. And an ultra cheap sub isn't actually a 'sub'.

Find a cheap 12" subwoofer driver on ebay and build a small sealed cabinet for it out of a $20 sheet of MDF.

I mean you could keep going smaller in cabinet and woofer size but then it's 'not a real subwoofer'.

You could probably find a DIRT cheap ~8" woofer from Parts Express on sale(even not on sale you could find a $15-20 one) or on ebay and port it in a very small/cheap MDF box and get 'more kick' down into the 30Hz-ish range (which again... is not a 'true' subwoofer).

You should really say what electronics you have and main speakers, etc..?
What you consider 'ultra cheap'?
What you consider 'a little more kick'?

You may have a spare amp for a sub, but it may not be a sub amp with cross-over controls, etc... and you may not have the electronics to match up a cheapo little sub to the rest of your gear.

Hell.... any Rec with tone controls will give you a 'little more kick' from the speakers you already have. And nothing cheaper than 'free'.

I'm surprised no one posted 'Just hit the LOUDNESS button!' hehe

The more info you give us the more we can help you and you didn't give us much.

azryan, can you post some pics of your veneer wrapped sonosubs? When you get to a certain size, the number of smaller sections you'd have to attach goes up, and that means more visible seams. I also think when you start getting big, you want as unobtrusive a look as possible (black). Jon just finished his replica of my sub and he used some thick pine pieces for the caps and base plate and I think it looks really nice.

I built a sub a few years back that was Particleboard all around. I veneered it myself using a sheet of poplar veneer. definitely a good approach that combines strong structural components with a fine cabinetry finish.

You might want to rummage around here: http://www.apexjr.com/ for a while