Is it worth it?

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J

jacbri

Member
Joined 2007
Is it worth it to use my acoustic elegance AV12 for home theater or should I just buy an aftermarket sub???

Thoughts

I have a facility I can fabricate at with all sorts of glues, laminates, grinders, saws etc

I dont know much about tuning subs, but I think 22hz would be good, again this is for home theater.

Want an all around performer doesn't have to be the bass queen

I have no idea what type of box, measurements.. what I would need etc

Is this going to be affordable?

Can someone point me in the right direction?
 
I

idaho

Member
Joined 2006
It is worth it

first download WINISD here
http://www.linearteam.dk/default.aspx?download=winisd
Then go here
http://www.partsexpress.com/speakers.cfm
Pick a 12 inch or 15 inch sub that you want.
The Dayton RS line are recommended

Use WINISD and input your preffered sub using the menu database maintenance and then to play with the subwoofer's tuning and box size. Let sawdusts fly! Fun Fun Fun! Its DIY

Or the easier route, just build an existing design
such as this:
http://www.partsexpress.com/projectshowcase/rs1200/index.cfm
or this:
http://www.partsexpress.com/projectshowcase/boogieman/index.cfm
and this.
http://www.partsexpress.com/projectshowcase/drake/index.cfm


Have fun and good luck!
 
J

jacbri

Member
Joined 2007
idaho,
I have an AV12 this has I believe 23mm Xmax (someone correct me if im wrong). I am also told this can handle 600rms no problem. The optionial kits above looked ok, but still is a bit pricey. I was hoping to do this project in under $250.... is this unreasonable.

My preferences would be sound quality over total headroom. Doesnt have to be extreme spl, but would like it to go low without being overly boomy.
 
I

idaho

Member
Joined 2006
GM

GM

Member
Joined 2003
Greets!

The AV12 in a ~3 ft^3 low Q sealed cab should meet your stated needs, so spending your $$ on plenty of power seems the smart thing to do for now and if it turns out you want more SPL you can add a Dayton/whatever to it as the budget permits.

GM
 
GM

GM

Member
Joined 2003
You're welcome!

It's a high excursion driver in what is an acoustically fairly large box for its specs, so it will play down to the 10 Hz cut-off of a typical sub duty amp without reaching Xmax. Also, since it has a 500 W continuous rating it should have no trouble with 1+ kW bursts, so between some room gain down low and EQ to flatten it in-room, it should pound pretty good.

If you have the space and want more output, then spending more on wood and building a large corner loaded pipe horn will net you 6 - 12 dB more acoustic efficiency so you don't have to spend as much on an amp.

GM
 
J

jacbri

Member
Joined 2007
GM,
Went to home depot today, the guy working showed me some oak plywood 3/4 '' a large sheet was $48, probably enough to build two boxes. I thought it looked pretty good, what do you think of this material for my application, They also had baltic for around $30 a sheet.
 
J

John_E_Janowitz

Member
Joined 2004
aespeakers.com
The majority of all woofers, including the AV series, we sold in the past were for the DIY home theater crowd. A sealed 3 cubic foot enclosure would be a good start for a DIY sub. An AV12 sealed with the high Xmax will be able to outperform the VTF-2's 10" vented driver provided you have enough power. Those 240W PE amps look pretty good for $99. That will save you plenty of money for enclosure material and finishing it.

I'd go with 3/4" MDF or 18mm 13ply baltic birch. The MDF is a lot cheaper though and available at home depot, etc. Oak plywood, standard birch plywood, etc has too many voids to be used for enclosures. You get voids sometimes and gaps where the layers will actually vibrate on each other.

If you really want more output you can go with a vented enclosure tuned to around 20hz or so. The only issue then is an adequate port in the enclosure, but if you use the 240W amp it won't be so much of an issue as if you were using more power. You can expect to get 6-10dB more output at the tuning frequency compared to the sealed enclosure. If you want I can do a model and walk you through what you're looking at. Let me know, or feel free to ask up on our forum too.

John
 
GM

GM

Member
Joined 2003
jacbri said:
GM,
Went to home depot today, the guy working showed me some oak plywood 3/4 '' a large sheet was $48.........
Click to expand...

Greets!

What JJ said, the furniture grades are pretty veneers skinned to all the scrap they had left over. The only void free plywoods are Baltic Birch and Appleply. Fir based marine grade use to be, but in recent years they've begun using plugs, which potentially can break loose over time, so caveat emptor.

GM
 
J

jacbri

Member
Joined 2007
Thanks guys, John do you have a link to a specific build either closed and vented with results? Maybe this sounds unreasonable, but I think I would want to give the AV12 as much power within its limits.... but your the pro here and know what sounds best from experience. 99$ amp does sound tempting though
 
J

jacbri

Member
Joined 2007
Here is another users recommendation with the 500 watt amp

My recommendation is a 3 cubic foot enclosure with two 3" ports, tuned to 23 Hz, which will give you a F3 of 20.5 Hz. As you'll recall, F3 is the frequency below which the enclosure's response is no longer "flat". This is the configuration that will perform the best for home theater and music applications
 
J

jacbri

Member
Joined 2007
John_E_Janowitz said:
The majority of all woofers, including the AV series, we sold in the past were for the DIY home theater crowd. A sealed 3 cubic foot enclosure would be a good start for a DIY sub. An AV12 sealed with the high Xmax will be able to outperform the VTF-2's 10" vented driver provided you have enough power. Those 240W PE amps look pretty good for $99. That will save you plenty of money for enclosure material and finishing it.

I'd go with 3/4" MDF or 18mm 13ply baltic birch. The MDF is a lot cheaper though and available at home depot, etc. Oak plywood, standard birch plywood, etc has too many voids to be used for enclosures. You get voids sometimes and gaps where the layers will actually vibrate on each other.

If you really want more output you can go with a vented enclosure tuned to around 20hz or so. The only issue then is an adequate port in the enclosure, but if you use the 240W amp it won't be so much of an issue as if you were using more power. You can expect to get 6-10dB more output at the tuning frequency compared to the sealed enclosure. If you want I can do a model and walk you through what you're looking at. Let me know, or feel free to ask up on our forum too.

John
Click to expand...

Still looking for the walk through, checked out strykeaudio.com, but it says it is "coming soon"???
 
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