[EndersShadow]

I am posting this for a friend of mine.

I built a Martycube and LOVE it. He saw my sub and wanted me thoughts on a DIY build for his setup for the basement area which is fairly large (600 sq feet open to another 250 on one side).

His budget is between 500-700, with parts purchased over time either used or on sale. So we can stretch his dollar a bit here I believe. He is open to just about any design as he is NOT limited too much by size.

Since he's not limited like I was for a size constraint I wanted other opinions on build suggestions to do. I am not that up to speed on designs OTHER than the Martycube as most of the ones that dig super low are MASSIVE and that wasnt an option for me.

So if you have suggestions for a build please let me know. We are not limited by driver size, enclosure size or what amp to use. Preferably something with a fan that runs quiet, and if possible quiet without modding the fan.

Below is his layout. This is a old pic, but he's got it setup in the blue positions currently.

 

[asarose247]

check out the DIY, high WAF forms at
http://billfitzmaurice.info/index.html
maybe 2 of the table tubas for that large an area
should be close to budget but I'm just shooting from the hip

 

[LTD02]

how will the system be used? i.e., what are the goals?

 

[cubalis2]

I'd suggest not one but two full size 'martysubs' or simply large ported enclosures with good 18" drivers tuned to ~16Hz or so.
As you've built a cube I'm sure you've seen it, but if not check out chalugadp's great write up here.

2 x SI HT18 D4 $350
1 x Inuke NU3000DSP ~ $240-$280
wood, glue, wiring, etc.

If using mdf should come out around $750 or slightly higher. The amp has been known to go on sale so it could be slightly lower, but get the DSP for the HPF. The inuke does need a fan, a small inconvenience for the W/$ ratio with DSP.

That's what I'd do if limited to that price without serious size issues. If he is only going to do this once, I'd think two subs are the way to go.

 

[FriscoDTM]

Do Nyt's ported dual 18" box and blank off one opening until he gets a second driver. You would lose placement flexibility but reduce the assembly workload quite a bit. I have upgraded my inuke6kdsp to a fp14k and will put it up for sale soon if interested.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[whodunit23]

Johnnysub Box FTW!!!

 

[EndersShadow]

how will the system be used? i.e., what are the goals?

Its mainly going to be used for HT. If I had to guess he wants something that digs deep with a decently flat response.

I did suggest going for duals if its in his budget as that would allow a more even response through the room.

We will be chatting a bit later tonight to hammer down some more details and I will be sure to post.

Thank you guys for the suggestions already.

I did think about 2 Martysubs for him with a iNuke 6000 or a Crown of sorts.... but I figured if we can go with a tuba or horn build in a big enclosure we might be able to get even lower than the Martycubes go...

But this area isnt my forte.

 

[LTD02]

tuba subs have a corner frequency around 23hz or so. the big martysubs are tuned around 17hz or so.


if you want extension, the latter is probably your best bet.


that room is going to present crazy modal effects, so duals would be a very good idea. try to find a form factor that allows placement experimentation in his room as the first spot might not work very well.

 

[EndersShadow]

tuba subs have a corner frequency around 23hz or so. the big martysubs are tuned around 17hz or so.


if you want extension, the latter is probably your best bet.


that room is going to present crazy modal effects, so duals would be a very good idea. try to find a form factor that allows placement experimentation in his room as the first spot might not work very well.

Yeah.... he doesnt have tons of access to tools so the tuba stuff is out.

I'm thinking a Stonehenge enclosure with a 18 either Dayton or SI w a iNuke 1000 DSP. That would be at his budget and allow a second sub to be used later with the same amp. A iNuke 3000 DSP would be a better option, but push his budget beyond what he wants.

He doesnt listen loud often, but I still think he needs something big because of that room situation.

Also looking at Parts Express kits to see what they might have for a knock down enclosure

 

[K9woofer]

With a room that big go straight for the NU6000dsp. Then add full Marty's with SI HT-18's as the budget allows. Get the dual 4ohm version.

"He doesnt listen loud often"

Because he is sub-limited.

 

[rhodesj]

Yeah.... he doesnt have tons of access to tools so the tuba stuff is out.

I'm thinking a Stonehenge enclosure with a 18 either Dayton or SI w a iNuke 1000 DSP. That would be at his budget and allow a second sub to be used later with the same amp. A iNuke 3000 DSP would be a better option, but push his budget beyond what he wants.

He doesnt listen loud often, but I still think he needs something big because of that room situation.

Also looking at Parts Express kits to see what they might have for a knock down enclosure

There's no reason to get an NU1000DSP when the NU3000DSP is only $80 more. The Stonehenge is a perfectly nice enclosure, but you can build a Full Marty for less money if the budget is tight. That doesn't take complicated tools.

 

[EndersShadow]

With a room that big go straight for the NU6000dsp. Then add full Marty's with SI HT-18's as the budget allows. Get the dual 4ohm version.

"He doesnt listen loud often"

Because he is sub-limited.

I gave him some options. I honestly dont think he will crank it much, with a small kid and a wife that isnt a fan of bass, so the 6000 is a bit of overkill. Plus if we go with the SI 18"s they only need 600 RMS anyway, so the 3000 would be more than enough.

If we budget 200 for each part we should be within budget easy with some overage for the driver or amp.

I suggested we look at the following drivers:

18" Dayton SHO
15" Dayton UM
18" SI HT

Enclosure:

DIYSoundgroup Stonehenge
DIYSoundGroup Cube 15

Amps:

iNuke 1000
iNuke 3000
Crown XLS1000 - lets us use RCA inputs and Speaker wire rather than XLR and speakon

My goal is to give him something that digs deep so he can appreciate it even if listening low levels. But I have mentioned possible wanting duals given the amount of space he has.

If we did duals, we would either look at dual Cube 15's with a Dayton 15" driver, or full Martysubs with the same.

 

[wormraper]

I gave him some options. I honestly dont think he will crank it much, with a small kid and a wife that isnt a fan of bass, so the 6000 is a bit of overkill. Plus if we go with the SI 18"s they only need 600 RMS anyway, so the 3000 would be more than enough.

If we budget 200 for each part we should be within budget easy with some overage for the driver or amp.

I suggested we look at the following drivers:

18" Dayton SHO
15" Dayton UM
18" SI HT

Enclosure:

DIYSoundgroup Stonehenge
DIYSoundGroup Cube 15

Amps:

iNuke 1000
iNuke 3000
Crown XLS1000 - lets us use RCA inputs and Speaker wire rather than XLR and speakon

My goal is to give him something that digs deep so he can appreciate it even if listening low levels. But I have mentioned possible wanting duals given the amount of space he has.

If we did duals, we would either look at dual Cube 15's with a Dayton 15" driver, or full Martysubs with the same.

those SI 18's can take a lot more power than 600 watts. most of us feed them about 1000-1100

and I'd go with the SI 18 D4... if he gets one, wire it up for 8 ohms off a bridged Inuke 3000 and you're feeding it about 1000watts. get a second one later and wire them both for a 4 ohm load off the amp and get the same 1000 watts per driver... easy peasy and perfect

 

[EndersShadow]

There's no reason to get an NU1000DSP when the NU3000DSP is only $80 more. The Stonehenge is a perfectly nice enclosure, but you can build a Full Marty for less money if the budget is tight. That doesn't take complicated tools.

Yeah, and those are things we are discussing. I know lowes will cut things to length for you. I could see him doing that as the 3000 would let him run 2 later on if needed.

I cant see the 6000 being viable for what he needs.

But I'd like to see him go duals if he can, we might try to disguise them as something else if we go front firing as he has small kids so pokey pokey could happen.

 

[wormraper]

Yeah, and those are things we are discussing. I know lowes will cut things to length for you. I could see him doing that as the 3000 would let him run 2 later on if needed.

I cant see the 6000 being viable for what he needs.

But I'd like to see him go duals if he can, we might try to disguise them as something else if we go front firing as he has small kids so pokey pokey could happen.

custom speaker grills will solve that problem

 

[EndersShadow]

custom speaker grills will solve that problem

Yup, thats something we talked about too. Although downfiring solves that entirely, just makes it super tall.....

 

[More is Better]

those SI 18's can take a lot more power than 600 watts. most of us feed them about 1000-1100

and I'd go with the SI 18 D4... if he gets one, wire it up for 8 ohms off a bridged Inuke 3000 and you're feeding it about 1000watts. get a second one later and wire them both for a 2 ohm load on each channel off the amp and get the same 1000 watts per driver... easy peasy and perfect

Fixed your post.

 

[K9woofer]

Fixed your post.

Both ways work.

 

[More is Better]

Both ways work.

I can't see a reason why you would ever want 4ohm bridged unless both subs were in one box. Running them on their own channel will let you set delays and eq separately.

 

[K9woofer]

Yeah. Or if you're stacking them.