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McStyvie's 15" Sealed Sub Build

10K views 42 replies 9 participants last post by  McStyvie 
#1 ·
HI Guys,


thanks for all your help over the last weeks in helping me figure this out Thanks especially to Mr. Cazadores for the wiring tips. I have officially started!


Woofer:

Ultimax 15"


Amp, will be using it bridged (4 ohms 1k Watts):

Inuke NU1000


For connections:


From mini DSP to the inuke via subwoofer cable:

RCA to male Neutrik adapter


If there are too few volts to power the inuke coming from my unbalanced mini DSP (.75 input needed for the inuke, and the unbalanced puts out .9 max.)

ART Clean Box (bump box)


This is going from the inuke to the speaker terminal via bare wire (to banana plug)

Neutrik NL4 FX





This is the terminal I will be using:

5-Way Binding post


Stuffing, at least 8 bags of this (am open to alternatives here...would cheap pillows do just as well?):

Vistaon Damping Material


Wood is 19mm (3/4") MDF with a double baffle in front. Dimenisions are roughly 20" cubed on exterior (18.4" cubed inside for a total volume of about 3.2 Cubic feet after bracing, or roughly 90L)


I had the local hardware store do the cuts for me, all I have to do is glue, sand, and paint basically.


I am going to paint it black matte, it will be the third sub in my setup and I plan to build a second of these, if this one impresses me.


This is the expected SPL.





For the box, you will need these parts cut out for you (or cut yourself) from 19mm MDF. This gives you roughly 3.6 cft. or 102 L without bracing internal volume. With bracing, you should be able to get it down to 90L or 3.3 Cft.


Back = 50cm x 50CM x 1

Front = 50CM x 50CM x 2 (for double baffle, or 1x 38mm MDF)

Top = 50CM x 46CM x 1

Bottom = 50CM x 46 x 1

Sides = 46CM x 46CM x 2


Star with the bottom, and glue the sides to it first. The top will rest on top of the two sides after gluing them to the bottom, then you can add your bracing, and glue on the back and the front. Drill the holes for the woofer.


Paint it, wire it and hook it up!


If it is really nice, then I will be selling my two other subs and making a total of four of these.
 
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#3 ·
Here some pics






Does this look ok for bracing?



Or better some cross bracing as here?

The 2*2"boards are not glued in yet.



I can move them up, they are just laying on the bottom
 
#5 ·
You don't brace the front baffle to the back?

Anyway, thanks, two cross braces and fixed.


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#7 ·
Thanks mate, baffle is double, and braced, gonna put four cross supports in there for good measure, will be more than sturdy.


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#8 ·
First layer of paint on


 
#9 ·
Box finished, with added bracing. Looks like they are at the back of the sub I am this pic, but they are just near the middle point.



And the beast showed up today...do I need to add any sealing to the sub in addition to the gasket it comes with?

Also, can I use anchor bolts and screws to bolt it in?



Thanks!
 
#11 ·
Yup, got that too. The amp and stuffing are out for delivery, so hope to have this done by tomorrow



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#12 ·
Man, knackered, but got the Bastid finished, and hooked up today for initial testing.

Initial impressions are very good. Box is solid, coming in at 92lbs all said and done.

Got about three lbs of stuffing inside.

I will do some Rew measurements next week. Initial impression though is it digs deeper than my epik empire, but what surprises me the most is how musical the ultimax is. It is unbelievably smooth, tight, clean. Really super. The wiring tips were spot on, and the extra bracing was a good idea too.


I still can't believe how good the sub is for the price. I will never buy another sub again!

Will do some more pics and put the graphs up within a few days.

I think I am going to order a second one and sell my empire.
 
#14 ·
Haha three more!


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#16 ·
Hi JP,


Only reason I didn't use it was the $180 shipping fee to Germany, the woofer alone cost me 330 bucks with shipping, which is still the best value for me, as anything close to that over here is still considerably more.


I have no wood working skills, so I just modeled mine after theirs, had the local hardware store cut it for me, and it was less than a hundred dollars. I would buy theirs if I could, just would probably add a bit of bracing.

Whole point here was to show that diy is not hard, and there are great options stateside for flat packs.

And, here is the final product, still working on dialing it in, but nice so far.




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#18 ·
Dayton Ultimax 15"


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#20 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by McStyvie  /t/1529850/mcstyvies-15-sealed-sub-build#post_24685290


Hi JP,


Only reason I didn't use it was the $180 shipping fee to Germany, the woofer alone cost me 330 bucks with shipping, which is still the best value for me, as anything close to that over here is still considerably more.


I have no wood working skills, so I just modeled mine after theirs, had the local hardware store cut it for me, and it was less than a hundred dollars. I would buy theirs if I could, just would probably add a bit of bracing.

Whole point here was to show that diy is not hard, and there are great options stateside for flat packs.

And, here is the final product, still working on dialing it in, but nice so far.

Yeah, shipping will kill a deal like that. I've been swaying between building my own cab or just dropping the cash on theirs. Thanks for you thoughts.


Awesome pics, makes me jealous.
 
#21 ·
I have the spl I need with some headroom.

I wanted a third because my fam room is screwed for bass and I wanted to even out the response a bit.

Will post some graphs soon, just running Audyssey now after spending a few hours running Rew.


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#23 ·
I don't think the holes are pre cut for the amp, just outlined for easy cutting.


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#25 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pure-Evil  /t/1529850/mcstyvies-15-sealed-sub-build#post_24689392


oh! I didn't know that. I thought they were pre cut and the driver was too. is the drive hole precut?

Yes, the hole for the driver is pre cut based upon what driver is mated to the cabinet. The cabinet name tells you the driver that it 'supports'.

Ultimax 15 MDF Cabinet
Ultimax 15 Driver


Buy the above Cabinet and driver together and save money.
Ultimax Driver and Cabinet Package


From the PE description:
Quote:
Plate amplifier installation is made easy by following the scribed interior guide with a jig saw and by modifying one of the braces.
This means there is no pre cut hole for a plate amp, but they give you a line to follow if you need it. Alternatively you could use a rack amp and have no need to cut a large hole in the back of the cabinet. You only need to cut/drill a small one for a cable connection.


And as McStyvie has shown it is quite easy to save money and build your own custom dimensioned cabinet with the help of your local hardware store.
 
#26 ·
Here is the response on the DIY sub alone, you can see why I need multiple subs lol...this is with no audyssey, and no dsp. Unfortunately, bass traps are not an option for me as it is a family room, and already has ten speakers in it, two of which are rather large...




Here is the Epik Empire with no audyssey and no DSP, is that null just insane or what? That is the best I could get it believe it or not:




And here is the little 10" B&W ASW610 alone no Audyssey and no DSP with a 20hz high pass filter:





After spending the better part of three days, doing multiple measurements, sub crawls and doing, redoing Audyssey countless times, moving the subs as much as I can, this is the best I could come up with for all three subs together. My room is so screwed for bass, but I am happy with it insofar as I am fed up with trying to make it better, and you can see from above how difficult the room is, but it does sound pretty darn good now:)


This response is with all three subs, with mini DSP calculated for the main listening position, and then Audyssey XT32 on top of that, with a 20hz high pass on the 10" sub and all speakers crossed at 80 Hz..


I think it clearly shows the benefits of multiple subs.


Am going to take a break now and just enjoy it and break the sub in and then probably start all over lol.




And here is the waterfall. My noise floor is about 53db, which is why I cut it off there...my laptop is super freaking loud and the behringer puts out some noise too. Still some resonance issues, but I can't use traps, so have to live with it as it is.





p.s. will add the cut out sizes to the original post for those who want to have someone cut it for them.
 
#42 ·
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