[Haoleb]

I am posting this information to add to the available options for folks looking for subwoofer designs. I have spent several days on the cabinet design and several weeks actually building these and figure i should post the information for others who may be interested. I have been lurking the forums for a few months and for a while prior to deciding on this looking at ideas and designs so I wanted to give back!

Over on the audioholics forums I have a thread I started before I began building the subwoofers and you can follow along with more photos if desired. Located Here:

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/dayton-18-ho-ported-build-thread.93086/

In this you will find relevant information needed to build these subwoofers. Since it seems many folks also build similar cabinets with either the Dayton RSS460HO-4 or the Stereo Integrity 18" driver interchangeably you could probably adapt this for that as well!

Here is a small preview of what this project is all about.

The total outside dimensions of the box are as follows.

24.5" Wide
27.5" Tall
34.5" Deep

Finished Weight- Approx 220lbs Each

Attached here is the BassBox specifications compliments TLS Guy on Audioholics forums

Also attached is the Cabinet design in sketch-up. This is the final design I built. The only thing not in the design is the roundover's I put on everything... Which you can see in the photos. But all the dimensions are correct.

Because I can't upload the sketchup file or the bassbox file direct to the forum server I have hosted it on my personal server. Click the link to save the file.Or right click "save link as"

http://www.haoleb.com/subwoofer/Dayton Audio RSS460HO-4 18 inch slot vent.pdf

http://www.haoleb.com/subwoofer/Dayton HO Cabinet Rev 1.skp

 

[Haoleb]

This design will require the following materials to build one pair. This is how I built them. You can change the parts to suit your personal taste but keep in mind the sketchup file is designed with 1" MDF so a redesign would be needed to utilize any other material that is not 1" thick.

QTY 5- 1" MDF 4x8 sheet
QTY 2- Dayton Audio RS460HO-4 18" Subwoofer Driver
QTY 16-Type 316 Stainless Steel Socket Head Cap Screw, 1/4"-20 Thread, 1-1/4" Length (Mcmaster-Carr P/N 92185A544 (box of 10))
QTY 16-Zinc-Alloy Tapping Insert for Wood, Hex Drive, with Flange, 1/4"-20 Internal Thread, 63/64" L, (Mcmaster-Carr P/N 92105A300 It is a 50 pack so.. you need one.)
QTY 6-8 Standard size tubes of PL Premium Adhesive.
QTY 4-16Oz? Bottles of Titebond III wood glue (or get the big jug if available!)
QTY 1- Rockwool 60 or 80 2x4'x2 Inch Thickness.
QTY 2?-Yards Burlap fabric
QTY 2- Binding post pair
QTY 2- Binding post mounting plate
QTY 1- Tube 2 part Expoxy
QTY 2 Bags- Firmit Connecting Screw 7x50mm (ROCKLER P/N 42343)
QTY 1-Confirmat Screw Two-Piece Drill Bit 7x50mm (AMAZON P/N B003ASBBSE)
QTY 1- 3M Super 77 or Super 90 Spray Adhesive to attach the rockwool & burlap
QTY 1- Small can of Original Bondo. Personally I do not like the wood bondo.

Router Bits Required:

3/4" roundover bit
1/8" roundover bit
Flush Trim Bit
1/2" Straight cut or spiral upcut bit. Used for cutting dado and holes. Bigger size is more stable. But removes more material. More material removed=more dust.

The flush trim and straight bits need to be long enough to fully cut 1" material.

When it comes to router bits it is best to get ones with the largest shank your router will take. If you can get the same bit with 1/4 or 1/2" shank always go for the bigger one. It will be much stronger.

Other items:

Clamps. The more the better. You need at least 48" clamps for some parts due to the size of the cabinet.

Rags. PL and glue are messy. Have plenty.

New saw blades... Sandpaper... putty knife... drill... speed square... framing square... pencils... tape measure... You get it.

Tips:

1. Because there are SO many parts in this design it is crucial they are all cut to their respective dimensions precisely. If you are off by a 1/16 on a few parts it will add up and the end product will not fit together as perfect as it could.

2. If you use the 1/4-20 screws to hold the driver in you will likely want to enlarge the holes in the driver mounting flange slightly. Completely stock they WILL fit 1/4 size fasteners but there is zero tolerance.

3. When laminating sheets together such as when attaching the port assembly to the bottom panel or attaching the two front baffle's be sure to spread the glue out evenly. Do not just drizzle on the glue all over the place and expect it will spread evenly when you throw the pieces together. Get a putty knife or bondo spreader and spread the glue out in a good even coat covering the entire surface. Personally. I prefer to clean up a bunch of squeeze out rather than have a dry joint because I was too conservative with the glue.

4. When attaching the double thickness front baffle it is better to first attach the inner baffle to the cabinet so you can screw it to the port assembly and get everything clamped tight. Then cut out the port hole with a flush trim bit. Then attach the outer baffle which covers all end grains and any fasteners used to screw the first baffle. Then cut out the port hole again tracing your first cutout.

This is the following cut layout I used. Not ALL of the parts are on this layout but you will have plenty of leftover to arrange them how you please.

 

[Haoleb]

Placeholder 01

 

[Haoleb]

Placeholder 02

More to come as time allows. I will do my best to answer any questions.

 

[ShamrockLex]

220 lbs! Each! They look awesome.

 

[coolbrezz]

looks really clean heavy heavy

 

[chalugadp]

Awesome thread . nicely laid out details. The 1" mdf and amount of bracing is probably overkill but you can guarantee your sub is inert. If you listen at + 5 over reference or louder then your superstrong build will help. Your sub name could be " take a lickin and keep tickin"

Let us know how it sounds

 

[goonstopher]

How many people will be capable of building this?

I'd think very few...

 

[michaelddd]

Those are seriously-classy subs! They look like they could be in a product brochure! You really put a lot of effort into the construction/bracing scheme. You put roundovers on everything inside the box; that took some time...and a dust mask or 20.

It's pretty safe to say your cabs are dead. NO flex, ringing or anything else...total brick schoolhouse cabs.

Thank you for sharing your cutlists and diagrams.

 

[chalugadp]

How many people will be capable of building this?

I'd think very few...

Not really. Most who have built there own sub could build this. Its not a curved cab or exotic veneer. He just used more mdf than most. Would take a little longer.

 

[Doradoguy]

How do those beuts sound. They look amazing.

 

[Haoleb]

I think if someone can build most of the designs here they could build this. I did not use anything more than a table saw, skil saw, router, drill, circle jig, random orbit sander and some clamps... You just have to look at it one piece at a time rather than a whole. A lot of parts to fabricate yes and a lot of effort and time is needed but nothing too bad. Patience is a must. This is not a throw together in one weekend type of build.

I am working on getting some graphs posted but I am a little hesitant because the place I am living in now is a pretty poor example of a proper room for these. Or anything for that matter. So far I have found them to be very musical and clean and I get pretty hefty response down to 15Hz or so in room. Sometime in the summer I may be able to wheel one of these out into my driveway to get a little bit better idea of actual response.

 

[Haoleb]

I took a couple of quick measurements this afternoon. I am using the UMIK-1 with a Teac UD-501 USB DAC as my output into my preamp.

First one is just the subwoofers alone with my main speakers muted. Second one is all the speakers. I have a 2.2 setup. No HT here. Due to the room placement I am forced to use I have the sub outputs on the DCX summed from the L and R channel but the intent is to use them one per channel the way I had my stereo setup in the past when I had dual subs. Of course I will have to listen and see which way sounds best however as well

I will admit I have not spent a ton of time tuning everything. In a few months I plan on moving out of this rental I am in and in the meantime I can't really even enjoy the system because of neighbors that are usually home. And I am still trying to learn the REW software. There are so many things i am sure it could tell me that I just do not know how to use.

I should also add this is the response with some EQ. On one subwoofer I have [email protected] and [email protected] and on the other I am [email protected] and [email protected] though I am not sure how much that last one is doing as they are crossed over at 75Hz with a butterworth 24db slope at the moment.

 

[cellarnoise]

They fill your room well! Maybe moving them around some or a bit more e.q. could help but u are at the margins.

I admire your build and it is built like a tank. More bracing and more work on a slot port than I would take on though. The bracing is a bit overkill and the port much more work than a full width slot.

They sure look great!

 

[Nuno C]

Hi, Great share. Much appreciated. Just making sure but the boxes are tuned for about 19Hz correct? Basing my assumption on the cone displacement graph.

 

[LTD02]

nice work and nice thread!

 

[Haoleb]

Hi, Great share. Much appreciated. Just making sure but the boxes are tuned for about 19Hz correct? Basing my assumption on the cone displacement graph.

Someone else had already done the modeling for me but looking at the file it is showing Fb-19.05Hz so I would say yes indeed you are correct.