DIY Sub to add to Vandersteen Setup

Hey, I have just finished tweeking my setup. It includes 2 Vandersteen 2Ci's Powered by The APT Holman Pre Amp and Amplifier I have the old AudioControll Model 520 for basic EQ purposes.

I know all this equipment is old, but it sounds amazing. Although the vantersteens do a respectible job of reproducing those lows I would like I sub woofer to help them out alittle.

I DJ part time and Just bought a crown XLS-602. Which, I would like to use to power a future DIY sub. (I have an Electro Voice 18" Driver... It's an instrument speaker... and its too muddy... not good at reproducing the lows)


I have a couple Questions:
1) What Driver Would you recomend (less than 150$)?
a) Do certain sizes sound better than others? Brands to look for?
2) Should I use a passive or an active crossover?
3)What type of enclosure would you guys recomend... IB is not an option (moving soon)
4)What frequency would be the best to crossover at. I listen to a large variety of music. Not so much classical. Alot of modern stuff. Rock, Soft Rock, Alternative. I'm not a fan of bands that 'over-use' distortion I like the clean crisp sounds with crisp drums.

I realize that the Driver price is on the cheap side (alright really cheap side) but It's all I can afford at the time.... There must be a decent driver in this range. I don't even know where to start looking.

This will mainly be used for music. However, after I complete this one I am thinking about building another for our home theater.


I am not sure of the model number. It is currently installed in an enclosure. I will see if i can maby find some paperwork.

The "DAYTON RSS315HO-4 12" HIGH OUTPUT SUBWOOFER" driver looks very interesting. I have a 12" sub enclosure that i picked up for 5$ at a yard sale a while back. Its rather small and it's Downfiring. I'm not sure of the demensions off hand. But I bet with the addition of a tuned port, proper damping and a new finish, it could sound pretty decent.

Also, What is a good active crossover unit. I have a "AudioControl Richter Scale," but I think it leaves too many of the higher frequencies in the signal.

The 12" Enclosure is 15-3/4inches by 18inches by 10-1/2inches.... on the out side the wood thickness appears to be about 3/4 inch.

I think that comes out to a volume of about 1.7ft^3... minus what ever the wood is.

The Richter Scale isnt the 3 series which appears to have better sub support. It is the 2 Series... older model? Although, It should work out If I tune the box low enough right..?. the crossover is selectable eather 100Hz or 800Hz

The electrovoice is an EV-18....Something I THINK although I could be completly wrong

I wonder If the 18" would sound better crossed over at a lower frequency. The lowest I have been able to get it was 100Hz with the richter scale. Ill try my computer sound card for a quick test, as it has an adjustable sub crossover output.

okay im testing out the 18" from the computer sound card.... 60Hz is the magic crossover frequency. My problem was that I was always crossing it over too high... I read somewhere that 100Hz is best. Although, after listing to this it sounds amazing. Now i just need to find a stand alone unit to work as a crossover. So i think I will continue to use this 18" with the vandersteens and will use my new DIY with the home theater.

Thanks for your tips. They are greatly apprecieated.