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DIY Subwoofer
I am looking to build a subwoofer for a home theatre I am currently building in my basement. I will be running a Pioneer VSX-1014. My space is about 14 feet by 20 feet. I am pretty good with all my power tools so I don't anticipate any big issues on building the box once I decide on the size and design. And that my friend is where the problem begins to take shape. Can someone give me some ideas on what might be the proper size and components necessary to make the thing work. At this point I have more time than money and need to make good purchases. I was hoping I might be able to buy the electronics and build the box all for about $300 - $350 dollars.
Am I foolish to undertake this or does anyone have plans that can be shared/purchased, recommendations for hardware etc. Any help will be appreciated.
Am I foolish to undertake this or does anyone have plans that can be shared/purchased, recommendations for hardware etc. Any help will be appreciated.
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The $300-$400 range is where the DIY subwoofers really start pulling away from commercial offerings, because that's the price where you can start to employ higher excursion 15" drivers in your design.
The classic in that range is the Adire Tempest . The Dayton DVC 15" is very similar to the Tempest.
The new kid on the block is the Ascendant Audio Atlas 15" .
They'll all make some pretty great bass in your room.
My recommendation would be a ported Tempest in a box of about 7.5 cu.ft. of net volume tuned to 20 Hz. Powered with a Rythmik 350 plate amp.
There seems to be some problem getting Adire drivers at the moment, so if you need it soon I would go with an 8ft3 ported Atlas 15" or a 6.5ft3 ported DVC 15". Either will provide similar performance to the Tempest. The only downside of using the Atlas or DVC drivers is that their coil resistance is below the recommended level for use with the Rythmik 350. There really isn't another amplifier in that power range for a price that will keep your project within budget, so you'd probably have to go with this or this .
I wouldn't hesitate to use any of these setups, they're all good.
The classic in that range is the Adire Tempest . The Dayton DVC 15" is very similar to the Tempest.
The new kid on the block is the Ascendant Audio Atlas 15" .
They'll all make some pretty great bass in your room.
My recommendation would be a ported Tempest in a box of about 7.5 cu.ft. of net volume tuned to 20 Hz. Powered with a Rythmik 350 plate amp.
There seems to be some problem getting Adire drivers at the moment, so if you need it soon I would go with an 8ft3 ported Atlas 15" or a 6.5ft3 ported DVC 15". Either will provide similar performance to the Tempest. The only downside of using the Atlas or DVC drivers is that their coil resistance is below the recommended level for use with the Rythmik 350. There really isn't another amplifier in that power range for a price that will keep your project within budget, so you'd probably have to go with this or this .
I wouldn't hesitate to use any of these setups, they're all good.
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According to the Rythmik site, the amp is stable into 4 ohms. Both the Atlas and the DVC (with it's dual 8ohm voice coils in parallel) are 4 ohms. These drivers should not be a problem with the 350 amp.
-Robert
| Originally posted by jjdche The only downside of using the Atlas or DVC drivers is that their coil resistance is below the recommended level for use with the Rythmik 350. |
-Robert
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If you look in the manual for the 350 you will see this paragraph...
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The DC resistance of the DVC is 2.6 ohms and the Atlas is 2.8 ohms.
| Originally posted by rlj5242 According to the Rythmik site, the amp is stable into 4 ohms. Both the Atlas and the DVC (with it's dual 8ohm voice coils in parallel) are 4 ohms. These drivers should not be a problem with the 350 amp. -Robert |
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| Originally posted by Rythmik Audio Other Recommendations This subwoofer amplifier is NOT recommended for sealed box speakers with DC voice coil resistance of less than 2.5 ohm, nor for vented box (passive radiator) speakers with DC voice coil resistance of less than 3.0 ohm. Otherwise, the thermal protection circuitry will be activated more often. |
If you don't want to build a box quite as big as mentioned above,I recommend this driver: http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=295-560
I built this in a 5.5 ft^3 box with a 4" port. It is also said to work in a 3 ft^3 or so sealed box. I'm using mine in a bigger space than what you described and am loving it. It is also just a bit mote than half as expensive as any of the afoe-mentioned drivers.
I can tell you flat out that you are going to come up with great sound no matter which way you go here.
I built this in a 5.5 ft^3 box with a 4" port. It is also said to work in a 3 ft^3 or so sealed box. I'm using mine in a bigger space than what you described and am loving it. It is also just a bit mote than half as expensive as any of the afoe-mentioned drivers.
I can tell you flat out that you are going to come up with great sound no matter which way you go here.
How about an Atlas in an 11 cubic foot box tuned to 16hz as recommended on their site with either the PE 250 watt plate amp or this??? http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/...se_pid/482052/
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I'd check with Rythmik but I'm sure they would say that these subs would work just fine.
-Robert
| Originally posted by jjdche If you look in the manual for the 350 you will see this paragraph... The DC resistance of the DVC is 2.6 ohms and the Atlas is 2.8 ohms. |
-Robert
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Its not that they wouldn't work, its that the thermal protection circuit would be kicking in more often. If it wasn't being pushed too hard it may not even be an issue, but if someone liked to listen loud it may become a nuisance.
| Originally posted by rlj5242 I'd check with Rythmik but I'm sure they would say that these subs would work just fine. -Robert |
Jack Keck, Tell me a little about your 5.5^3ft project. Is that the volume of the box or net volume after minus amp and driver. What is the length of your 4" port? What was it tune to? I'm interested in similar project but at a lost. Thanks,
I think my sub may be a little bigger than 5.5 ft^3. I desingned it to be about that size internally after the amp, driver and port were instlled. It is roughly based on the design listed in the Parts Express apge for the Quatro 15 driver that I used. I don't remember how I arrived at the volume of the driver. The port is a 4" Precision Port.. The center section is 11" long. I'm using the whole length. The total length is 17", I think. I'm not sure exactly what it's tuned to, but I think it somewhat below 20 hz.. I arrived at the dimensions using a program that I do not have access to at teh moment, but I'll put it in a post here tomorrow or maybe even tonight.
The notion was to build the whole thing from one 4' X 8' piece of mdf. It is 30 9/16" H X 22 1/2" D X 18 1/2" W. The height was supposed to be 31", but the lumberyard cut one of the sides too short. I have one brace running the height of the sub paralell to the front and back and a smaller brace above the driver from the front to the brace. It is lined with polyfill sheets and stuffed with polyfill, which was not originally intended, but my dog tore up a throw pillow, so I thought I'd try it in the sub. I think it helped.
I recommend Gorilla Glue because it expands to fill gaps, which comes in handy when your cuts are not 100% accurate.
Anyway, to answer your original question, the internal volume is supposed to be the space in the box only after subtracting out the volume of the driver, amp, braces, andm if you choose to use one, port. I estimated the volume of the braces and driver. The amp was easir to figure because it's a small box. The port is a close estimation because of the flares on the Precision Port.
Hope this helps.
The notion was to build the whole thing from one 4' X 8' piece of mdf. It is 30 9/16" H X 22 1/2" D X 18 1/2" W. The height was supposed to be 31", but the lumberyard cut one of the sides too short. I have one brace running the height of the sub paralell to the front and back and a smaller brace above the driver from the front to the brace. It is lined with polyfill sheets and stuffed with polyfill, which was not originally intended, but my dog tore up a throw pillow, so I thought I'd try it in the sub. I think it helped.
I recommend Gorilla Glue because it expands to fill gaps, which comes in handy when your cuts are not 100% accurate.
Anyway, to answer your original question, the internal volume is supposed to be the space in the box only after subtracting out the volume of the driver, amp, braces, andm if you choose to use one, port. I estimated the volume of the braces and driver. The amp was easir to figure because it's a small box. The port is a close estimation because of the flares on the Precision Port.
Hope this helps.
Now that I am at home, I can give you some more specific answers.
My sub is tuned to about 18 hz.. The f3 point is about 24. F6 is about 18. This is per WinISD, which you can download from here: http://www.linearteam.dk
I then used BOXY CAD from this site: http://www.audiodiycentral.com/tools.shtml
to design the box. You have to play some tricks with it because it assumes you are building a pair of speakers and doubles the number of braces that you aare planning to use.
Use lots of patiencee in your planning and don't be afraid to read lots of forum posts. That's how I learned. I have only built this one speaker. There are many posters here and elsewhere with lots of experience at this.
As it stands, I'm very pleasantly surprised at how well this turned out.
My sub is tuned to about 18 hz.. The f3 point is about 24. F6 is about 18. This is per WinISD, which you can download from here: http://www.linearteam.dk
I then used BOXY CAD from this site: http://www.audiodiycentral.com/tools.shtml
to design the box. You have to play some tricks with it because it assumes you are building a pair of speakers and doubles the number of braces that you aare planning to use.
Use lots of patiencee in your planning and don't be afraid to read lots of forum posts. That's how I learned. I have only built this one speaker. There are many posters here and elsewhere with lots of experience at this.
As it stands, I'm very pleasantly surprised at how well this turned out.
Your budget should easily allow you to build a good sub. I think a 4 cu-ft box is as large as you need to build. If you want excessive SPL, then maybe a bit bigger box would be better. It depends alot on your room and the driver. There are alot of trade offs. How loud do you want to have your bass effects.
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