I bought two of these Tang Band w6-1139SC from a local audio shop during the summer (had lots of money at the time) when I was getting some other things at the store. I wanted to get two of these to fool around with. That weekend I threw a box together. I'm new to woodwork so everything takes a long time, but I really just threw this together in about 1.5 hours. It is a 1ft^3 bass reflex cube tuned to 35hz.
A friend of mine gave me a pro audio speaker with a built in 250w amp last week. Tonight I was able to tear apart the pro audio speaker and hook the amplifier up to my w6s. The play low frequencies, but there is no SPL. I was planning on building a really nice sub when I got the funds, but since there is no more summer there is no more work, only school.
I wanted to know what you all would suggest to get the maximum SPL out of these two w6-1139s.
Thanks,
Josh
A friend of mine gave me a pro audio speaker with a built in 250w amp last week. Tonight I was able to tear apart the pro audio speaker and hook the amplifier up to my w6s. The play low frequencies, but there is no SPL. I was planning on building a really nice sub when I got the funds, but since there is no more summer there is no more work, only school.
I wanted to know what you all would suggest to get the maximum SPL out of these two w6-1139s.
Thanks,
Josh
Check your enclosure for air leaks. That size with that much power tuned to 35 Hz should give enough SPL, about 105-110 dB.
After I built the enclosure I knew it had air leaks because it was so poorly built, so I went back and put silicone in every joint. There is a small airleak where I missed putting a screw into the vent so I think right below the vent is a small hole where a screw went through, but otherwise that should be the only hole. Because the joints aren't super tight the box vibrates quite a bit.
I used to be big into car audio and obviously these can't compare to my single eD 13kv.2 with 400w, but these don't seem to have even half of the output or anywhere near it. So I can't compare these to much except for car audio that I have built.
Will things like a larger port area give me more spl?
Thanks,
Josh
I used to be big into car audio and obviously these can't compare to my single eD 13kv.2 with 400w, but these don't seem to have even half of the output or anywhere near it. So I can't compare these to much except for car audio that I have built.
Will things like a larger port area give me more spl?
Thanks,
Josh
Larger port area will give you less port noise at high SPL, not higher SPL. Did you check the tuning to be sure it's 35 Hz?
Did you close the small screw hole? That could rob you some SPL for sure.
What kind of wood thickness did you use? Vibrations kill the SPL, since you're from car audio I think you know that hehe! Put a bunch of heavy books on the sub and use wood clamps to hold the box together, check if SPL climbs.
You're comparing two 6 inches to a 13 inches with twice the power. In theory it would take 5 drivers of 6 inches to equal the output of your 13 inches, so you lose about 5 dB here. Also your old 13 inches had more excursion so better low end and also had a twice as powerful amplifier so another 3 dB you lose there, so 8 dB lost in total.
8 dB is near 10 dB which is in fact usually considered as twice as loud for our ears, go wonder hehe!
Did you close the small screw hole? That could rob you some SPL for sure.
What kind of wood thickness did you use? Vibrations kill the SPL, since you're from car audio I think you know that hehe! Put a bunch of heavy books on the sub and use wood clamps to hold the box together, check if SPL climbs.
You're comparing two 6 inches to a 13 inches with twice the power. In theory it would take 5 drivers of 6 inches to equal the output of your 13 inches, so you lose about 5 dB here. Also your old 13 inches had more excursion so better low end and also had a twice as powerful amplifier so another 3 dB you lose there, so 8 dB lost in total.
8 dB is near 10 dB which is in fact usually considered as twice as loud for our ears, go wonder hehe!
You could get way higher SPL, with a horn, but you said your woodworking skills are poor. A project like this would improve them for sure on the other hand.
I built the box from scrap .5" mdf.
The eD13kv.2 is actually a 12" Here is the link
I'm not poor at woodwork, I'm just new to it and 17 years old. This project was poor woodwork, because I didn't want to spend any money on a box and I just wanted to listen to them.
I start many projects by just adding cheap speakers to my bill. For example I bought some pioneer B20s when I was buying some crossover parts and a tweeter for my wr125. I found myself a week later building boxes for them out of scrap wood, and now I've built some pretty nice boxes out of them (check the web link).
I'm not afraid of building a horn because of woodwork by any means, but I'm afraid of the mouth area. I was also considering an MLTL, but the line would be gigantic and I'm not sure I want to give that much room to these 6.5" speakers.
Right now I have some bookes on the subwoofer because my room is too cluttered.
Thanks,
Josh
The eD13kv.2 is actually a 12" Here is the link
I'm not poor at woodwork, I'm just new to it and 17 years old. This project was poor woodwork, because I didn't want to spend any money on a box and I just wanted to listen to them.
I start many projects by just adding cheap speakers to my bill. For example I bought some pioneer B20s when I was buying some crossover parts and a tweeter for my wr125. I found myself a week later building boxes for them out of scrap wood, and now I've built some pretty nice boxes out of them (check the web link).
I'm not afraid of building a horn because of woodwork by any means, but I'm afraid of the mouth area. I was also considering an MLTL, but the line would be gigantic and I'm not sure I want to give that much room to these 6.5" speakers.
Right now I have some bookes on the subwoofer because my room is too cluttered.
Thanks,
Josh
You might want to look into a TL. Right now I'm listening to a Tang Band W5-1138SG (the 5" little brother to your driver) in a tapered TL, tuned to 35 Hz. When placed in a dorm room (where I am right now), it reaches down into the 20's. Box size is 11.25" wide, 12.25" tall, and 18" deep. Amazing little sub. Great sound, and I still haven't bottomed it out. I started on the project about 3/'4 a year ago (when I was 17 as well), and it took me about 1/2 a year while in school to design and build. Worth every minute.
Reece
Reece
Sure thing!
The speaker uses a single TB 5" driver (the one I mentioned previously), forward firing. The design has 3 folds, each spanning the full depth of the enclosure, ending in a front-firing terminus next to the driver. The closed (driver) side of the TL measures 5 x 7 inches, while the terminus measures 5 x 2 inches. The first quarter of the enclosure is stuffed with acousta-stuff, at a density of 1 lb per cubic foot. I don't have a picture (working on that - soon), but I believe I have a few CAD drawings laying around. The walls are all 3/4" MDF
Quarter-wave resonance is 35 Hz. 1 watt will get you to about 85 dB (there is a slight boost over the base sensitivity). Obviously, this is not a HT "subwoofer". This speaker was designed to sound as good as possible for music on a limited budget (about $40 spent on this thing) and in relatively small space (to help you get into my head in terms of the SQ I wanted, ported was out of the question). In smaller rooms, it's amazing. In larger rooms, I think it might be lacking. My current room is approx 15x15x8, and it has taken things off the wall (and opened cabinets in the next room over).
For reference, I measured about 110 dB from this speaker in a smaller dorm room at 1 M at 30 Hz, with over 100 dB into the 20's, corner loaded. So, it goes loud enough for anything I need. The sound is very tight, and slightly harsh. The previous subwoofer this replaced was a bass reflex design, which was not as tight, and had a lot more of a mellow sound to it. So, it depends on what you want.
All in all, I love it. If you want some drawings or more plans, let me know!
Reece
Edit: All that, and I still didn't answer your question! The line is about 69 inches long.
The speaker uses a single TB 5" driver (the one I mentioned previously), forward firing. The design has 3 folds, each spanning the full depth of the enclosure, ending in a front-firing terminus next to the driver. The closed (driver) side of the TL measures 5 x 7 inches, while the terminus measures 5 x 2 inches. The first quarter of the enclosure is stuffed with acousta-stuff, at a density of 1 lb per cubic foot. I don't have a picture (working on that - soon), but I believe I have a few CAD drawings laying around. The walls are all 3/4" MDF
Quarter-wave resonance is 35 Hz. 1 watt will get you to about 85 dB (there is a slight boost over the base sensitivity). Obviously, this is not a HT "subwoofer". This speaker was designed to sound as good as possible for music on a limited budget (about $40 spent on this thing) and in relatively small space (to help you get into my head in terms of the SQ I wanted, ported was out of the question). In smaller rooms, it's amazing. In larger rooms, I think it might be lacking. My current room is approx 15x15x8, and it has taken things off the wall (and opened cabinets in the next room over).
For reference, I measured about 110 dB from this speaker in a smaller dorm room at 1 M at 30 Hz, with over 100 dB into the 20's, corner loaded. So, it goes loud enough for anything I need. The sound is very tight, and slightly harsh. The previous subwoofer this replaced was a bass reflex design, which was not as tight, and had a lot more of a mellow sound to it. So, it depends on what you want.
All in all, I love it. If you want some drawings or more plans, let me know!
Reece
Edit: All that, and I still didn't answer your question! The line is about 69 inches long.
One other thing I might add for your current subwoofer is to give it some break-in time. Both the current subwoofer I built, and the previous one I bought, when new had very poor SPL capabilities. However, with break-in, both became much sweeter.
Reece
Reece
5" sub, 110dB @30hz, 1m?
rjon17469 --
Just saw this thread and I must say, congrats on a terrific small subwoofer! I have two of the TB w6-1139SC woofers, like edjosh23. I'd love to see some drawings of your TL....for inspiration if nothing else. I'll be using these in a similar application -- building a system for my dorm, moving in in about 2months for spring semester. Sounds about perfect for my needs!
Thanks....
rjon17469 --
Just saw this thread and I must say, congrats on a terrific small subwoofer! I have two of the TB w6-1139SC woofers, like edjosh23. I'd love to see some drawings of your TL....for inspiration if nothing else. I'll be using these in a similar application -- building a system for my dorm, moving in in about 2months for spring semester. Sounds about perfect for my needs!
Thanks....
Absolutely! I'll pull those drawings back up, or if I can't find them, I'll recreate them. Also, I'll work on getting a camera to get a few pictures up.
If you're interested in transmission lines and haven't already spent some time there, I highly recommend visiting Martin J. King's website, www.quarter-wave.com. Lots of very helpful information, including the modeling software for TL's!
I must say though that I modeled the W6-1139SC a few times in the software, and obtained some good results. Two however would produce a very large speaker. If you have the space, I'd recommend it though!
When I built my sub, I actually designed it to fit right in the narrow, deep space I had between my desk and the wall of my room, in the corner. Something to consider when planning. 😉
Drawings soon.
Reece
If you're interested in transmission lines and haven't already spent some time there, I highly recommend visiting Martin J. King's website, www.quarter-wave.com. Lots of very helpful information, including the modeling software for TL's!
I must say though that I modeled the W6-1139SC a few times in the software, and obtained some good results. Two however would produce a very large speaker. If you have the space, I'd recommend it though!
When I built my sub, I actually designed it to fit right in the narrow, deep space I had between my desk and the wall of my room, in the corner. Something to consider when planning. 😉
Drawings soon.
Reece
Attending Texas A&M in College Station, but plans within the family have constrained against my attending the spring semester. Next fall I'll be in though, hoping for a major or above in electrical engineering (what else? 😀 ) ...dunno if I will have enough room, but I was thinking about building two seperate but identical cabinets and bringing one, and if I have space bringing the second later on.
Plenty of time has been spent at MJK's site, have actually modeled a TL of sorts with the NSB -- just for fun, but I'm getting decent response to (using the "golden ear (TM)" method 😉 ) about 80ish Hz, enough to integrate well with a small 8" subwoofer. However, a TL sub is very interesting to me, as I absolutely love the smoothness of the bass with the NSB TL, it just doesn't go deep...at all.
Can't wait for drawings or pics! Thanks a ton!
Re: Cal Weldon...
I've seen your design posted more than once on here, and heard favorable comments....if i may ask, since I cannot find the Pioneer drone cone (I believe that's the one you used) at PE anymore, what would a suitable replacement be? And also, if it hasnt been mentioned, what wattage plate amp? PE 70w?
Thanks,
mista2
Plenty of time has been spent at MJK's site, have actually modeled a TL of sorts with the NSB -- just for fun, but I'm getting decent response to (using the "golden ear (TM)" method 😉 ) about 80ish Hz, enough to integrate well with a small 8" subwoofer. However, a TL sub is very interesting to me, as I absolutely love the smoothness of the bass with the NSB TL, it just doesn't go deep...at all.
Can't wait for drawings or pics! Thanks a ton!
Re: Cal Weldon...
I've seen your design posted more than once on here, and heard favorable comments....if i may ask, since I cannot find the Pioneer drone cone (I believe that's the one you used) at PE anymore, what would a suitable replacement be? And also, if it hasnt been mentioned, what wattage plate amp? PE 70w?
Thanks,
mista2
Sorry to double post...
...but a little more information might be helpful. I also have a pair of these woofers in my car, a 1991 Toyota MR2 turbo, in sealed boxes of ~.5 cu. ft. Replaced an all Rockford Fosgate system when I finally decided to get out of the "Boom-Boom" car audio scene and into some semblance of a balanced system. Very small space, but they do sound excellent, and I've never been able to bottom them out....Just thought it might be helpful to know that I have some experience with this woofer! They're receiving around 60wRMS each, and are more than loud enough for my tastes.
Can't wait to hear back...Thanks again!
mista2
...but a little more information might be helpful. I also have a pair of these woofers in my car, a 1991 Toyota MR2 turbo, in sealed boxes of ~.5 cu. ft. Replaced an all Rockford Fosgate system when I finally decided to get out of the "Boom-Boom" car audio scene and into some semblance of a balanced system. Very small space, but they do sound excellent, and I've never been able to bottom them out....Just thought it might be helpful to know that I have some experience with this woofer! They're receiving around 60wRMS each, and are more than loud enough for my tastes.
Can't wait to hear back...Thanks again!
mista2
Cal,
Can you give me a little bit more info about the drones? I've discussed these woofers with you in other threads, but only now can I really comment on them that I have sufficient power for them. The sound quality is great and bass is tight, but I just want more SPL from them, hopefully without losing much sound quality.
mista2,
First off, I love MR2s. I've worked as a mechanic for two years and am applying to NC State to gen my electrical engineering degree. I'm hoping to get in.
Today I did some more listening. The woofers have gotten better, but still don't have what I'm looking for. I've been contemplating different designs including TLs and even designs a 90" line that fits nicely into the space I'm not sure if that is the route I want to take. That TL would not have as much bracing as another bass reflex design that I came up with. I also designed a neat figure 8 design for the front and down firing port, but I'm not totally sure if this is the design I'm going to build.
This is going to double a a bedside table. The amplifier that my friend gave me is for the 2way PA speakers so it doesn't have gain or auto-turn off or anything like that, so I'm going to build it so that from my bed (where I watch my movies from) I can turn on and off the subwoofer.
I'm still very open to other designs, so please input ideas.
Thanks,
Josh
Can you give me a little bit more info about the drones? I've discussed these woofers with you in other threads, but only now can I really comment on them that I have sufficient power for them. The sound quality is great and bass is tight, but I just want more SPL from them, hopefully without losing much sound quality.
mista2,
First off, I love MR2s. I've worked as a mechanic for two years and am applying to NC State to gen my electrical engineering degree. I'm hoping to get in.
Today I did some more listening. The woofers have gotten better, but still don't have what I'm looking for. I've been contemplating different designs including TLs and even designs a 90" line that fits nicely into the space I'm not sure if that is the route I want to take. That TL would not have as much bracing as another bass reflex design that I came up with. I also designed a neat figure 8 design for the front and down firing port, but I'm not totally sure if this is the design I'm going to build.
This is going to double a a bedside table. The amplifier that my friend gave me is for the 2way PA speakers so it doesn't have gain or auto-turn off or anything like that, so I'm going to build it so that from my bed (where I watch my movies from) I can turn on and off the subwoofer.
I'm still very open to other designs, so please input ideas.
Thanks,
Josh
Woofers are way louder in a car
woofers are always much much louder in car. The cabin gain from being in a closed space gives you a HUGE boost at low frequencies.
If I were using your woofers, and wanted to go louder, I would just use twice as many of them. If you double the power and double the number of boxes, it will go six DB louder.
That TB won't take much more power than what you are throwing at it. And it is a lousy candidate for a horn. It *is* a decent candidate for a bandpass. That would buy you three DB or so. But not as easy as just buying more. They're only $40, right?
woofers are always much much louder in car. The cabin gain from being in a closed space gives you a HUGE boost at low frequencies.
If I were using your woofers, and wanted to go louder, I would just use twice as many of them. If you double the power and double the number of boxes, it will go six DB louder.
That TB won't take much more power than what you are throwing at it. And it is a lousy candidate for a horn. It *is* a decent candidate for a bandpass. That would buy you three DB or so. But not as easy as just buying more. They're only $40, right?
Re: Woofers are way louder in a car
Greets!
A horn is a bandpass with a big vent, so why is it 'lousy' for one and 'decent' for the other?
GM
john van ommen said:
Greets!
A horn is a bandpass with a big vent, so why is it 'lousy' for one and 'decent' for the other?
GM
edjosh23,
I love this car too! 😀 😀 😀 Tons of fun, gets looks everywhere, and at the local supermarket, I've been asked if its a Ferrari! And good luck for your application!
john van ommen,
Agreed, cabin gain, especially in such a small car, makes a huge difference, but seeing as I'd be gaining output by going TL over sealed (right? same as vented over sealed...i think), and that I'm not needing wall-shaking output down to 10hz (but decently loud output down to mid or high 20s in room would be nice...decently loud being mid 90's @ listening position....in a dorm, so around what, 4-5ft away) because it'll be in a dorm room, and that it'll be space constrained, it should be good enough...and you see the limitations. I'd take my open baffle system if space wasn't an issue.
And spending $80 more on woofers isn't a good option right now...have other things to worry about (like paying for college)
GM,
So are you saying that these are a good candidate for a horn with a fairly low cut-off frequency? I know basically nothing about horns other than they're huge (but can be folded into a manageable size?) and they have a very distinct sound....I find this intriguing! Any more information would be great!
Thanks all!
mista2 (@edjosh23...think MR2 = mister 2 = mista2! 😀 )
I love this car too! 😀 😀 😀 Tons of fun, gets looks everywhere, and at the local supermarket, I've been asked if its a Ferrari! And good luck for your application!
john van ommen,
Agreed, cabin gain, especially in such a small car, makes a huge difference, but seeing as I'd be gaining output by going TL over sealed (right? same as vented over sealed...i think), and that I'm not needing wall-shaking output down to 10hz (but decently loud output down to mid or high 20s in room would be nice...decently loud being mid 90's @ listening position....in a dorm, so around what, 4-5ft away) because it'll be in a dorm room, and that it'll be space constrained, it should be good enough...and you see the limitations. I'd take my open baffle system if space wasn't an issue.
And spending $80 more on woofers isn't a good option right now...have other things to worry about (like paying for college) GM,
So are you saying that these are a good candidate for a horn with a fairly low cut-off frequency? I know basically nothing about horns other than they're huge (but can be folded into a manageable size?) and they have a very distinct sound....I find this intriguing! Any more information would be great!
Thanks all!
mista2 (@edjosh23...think MR2 = mister 2 = mista2! 😀 )
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