My DIY Subwoofer

[Brett D.]

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen!

I am fairly new here, I hang out over on the HFT and spend most
of my time there. But I always read the DIY forums due to the fact
that there is such a large group of people from all around the
world. There also happens to be so much knowledge here that it
truly is astounding. Ok enough flattering your pants off!

I know a sub isn't the greatest accomplishment in history but I may
as well share it and get some comments.

The enclosure is 14"H x 14"W x 15"D constructed of 3/4" MDF
no screws just glued butt joints and two internal braces placed
off center tying all of the walls together. Stuffed with 50% Polly
Fill and of sealed design. The feet are 1.5" ^2 Oak with billet
aluminum tips. The amplifier is a Bob Carver 500 Watt RMS TDC
Sunfire that was meant for the Acoustic Research ARS500 OEM
Sub. I bought this amp cheap off eBay brand new from a surplus
outlet ($54.00 USD) it is meant to run on 240 European voltage
but has a flexible input cycle so it can run 50 or 60Hz.

Lucky for me I have a 220V circuit right where I needed it!

The driver is a Stryke Audio AV-12 with 23mm of one way linear
excursion (all T/S Params are Dumax tested by Stryke) These
drivers were manufactured for Stryke by TC Sounds.

The results to my ears are seamless integration with the mains.
The sub does not call any attention to it's self, rather it's mostly
invisible as it should be!

Here are some images of the construction:










The finish is Parts Express Vinyl Laminate (Black Ash). This finish
and this enclosure are temporary. I am going to start a Line Array
project very soon and the ultimate goal is a pair of AV-12's in
sealed enclosures (.5 Q) running Stereo Bass off a Pro Amp of
some sort (QSC or Crown) with 500W Rms x2 Channels)

[Therac]

WOW

Great work! It looks really nice! Only got one question. What is that "thing" on the top of the cabinet???

[Brett D.]

Therac,

Thank you for the kind words. The thing on top of the cabinet is
a Gain Control (Slider) plus a blue power LED and a switch
(A/V) which enables bass boost (V) or flat (A).

[Audiofanatic]

Hi Brett,

This is nice!
Is this a sub you built in a few days? It looks like you've been working on it for months.
Looks better than REL.

Enjoy it !

Audiofanatic

[Brett D.]

AudioFanatic,

I am not sure I would go as far as saying it looks as good as REL
but you certainly have me blushing! Thank you for the compliments!


As far as design I had bought the AV-12 to use in an enclosure
similar to this one many months ago. Then I decided on using a
dual AV-12 setup but I was waiting untill I had my Line Array's
before doing the sub enclosures.

I came home from work Saturday Morning of last week (I work
steady 3rd shift) and I had all intentions of going to sleep. Then
for some odd reason I got the bug to drag the table saw outside
and make some MDF Dust.

A few hours later this is the result of my dust making adventures.
I have no plans on keeping this particular enclosure in my setup
permenantly. After I have my main speakers built then I am going
to see how much floor space I have to play with and build my
Stereo Bass dual sealed AV-12's. I will probably go with a slightly
larger enclosure when I do the new boxes.

[SiliconIce]

I ended up grabbing the same amp as Brett after I found this thread so I thought I'd post how my project went

I had the somewhat crazy idea (joke suggestion by friend initially) to turn my living room closet into a subwoofer. So one weekend, my roommate and I went out and bought a new solid-core door and did just that. Amp and 2x15" woofers all mounted in the door. Sealed around the door with weatherstripping.

Here's a pic:
http://siliconice.net/nuke/modules.p...view_photo.php

The odd part is that the closet is still a closet...door opens for access to the wiring, etc. Not that we really store anything in there anymore, but if we need to hide some junk real quick it does just fine. I meant to do the calculations and measurements for the woofers and box size but I haven't gotten around to that yet...but hey, got it built and it sounds fantastic, far better than I ever hoped for. My towers sound puny in comparison. Not to mention people's faces when they come over

[Vikash]

Brilliant (and crazy). Your neighbours must love you!

[Brett D.]

SilicionIce,

You cheated!

I bet that sounds mean! How do you keep the door from vibrating
in the frame?

[JOE DIRT®]

the sub is nice and would be great in a ebony pianio finish.....and good choice of amp...I do like Bob carvers work despite the purists

[Timn8ter]

Hey Brett,
Nice job on the sub. It's not every day I see a sub where the plate amp takes up the entire back of the cabinet You've obviously picked up a lot of good tips from the forums. I thought you were going to build some arrays, is that right? Did you get started on those?