subwoofer enclosure

[ruferto]

I am currently being considered to make a sub , but wanted to save space, so I thought the fibers.
Fiberglass or carbonfiber are any good for home subwoofer enclosure.
Or wood is better?

regards,

RUF

[steviedon]

Well, disregarding any specifics (driver size, cab alignment, intended use, room size, etc. etc.)

If you desire to make a very specific shape, fiberglass can be an option if you have some chops with it. As for carbon fiber......unless you have a good source for sheet material and the ability to clamp and bake it into molded forms, not really feasible...and I'd guess it would be cost prohibitive as well. In short yes, a engineered sheet wood product (ply, mdf, hdf) is better.....easier volume calculation, easier fabrication, easier to brace, etc.

With that said, if you wanted to do something cool like a spherical enclosure, it will take up more space at it's largest dimensions than a conventional box given the same volume.

Do keep in mind that if you intend to place the sub in a specific place within your room, that space may very well be the worst possible place to put it acoustically.
I myself would build something small than you can move around post-build for the best results.

[ruferto]

thanks for the quick response,

I was thinking of doing a half ellipse tower with 30 l volume,
but i do not have much space in my living room, and wood will add another 5 or 6 cm to the size of the box, I immediately thought the fiberglass, but I'm afraid that it is not stiff enough and then vibrate and cause noise.
1 cm plywood is enough for a one xls10 + passive radiator

RUF

[steviedon]

Ok, I hope I can explain this sufficiently. I searched but could not locate the thread where this process is outlined.

Make the skeleton of your radius in the form of 8 identical cutouts (bottom, top, and two braces . Glue those to your flat back/baffle and begin laminating 1/4" material around the radius. Repeat until you've glued 4 1/4" panels around the radius (ratcheting nylon tie-downs work great for this). Then flush trim to the flat panel with a router.

I'll search more for that thread in the meantime.

[head_unit]

Originally Posted by ruferto

...i do not have much space in my living room, and wood will add another 5 or 6 cm to the size of the box...

If you're THAT tight on space, I think you should describe your whole situation, hopefully with pictures. I think your problem is really "how do I cram a subwoofer in here" more than "should I build with fiberglass."

Fiberglass will be a LOT of work, and still needs thickness to avoid resonating. So I doubt you can save so much space versus wood. If you want it to LOOK cool, we all support that, go for it!
...but that's a different issue.

Do carefully choose stuffing to reduce the box size. That can reduce the size up to 30(?)% for a sealed box (by changing the heat exchange within the enclosed air from adiabatic to isothermal, making the enclosure seem "bigger" to the speaker).
Stuffing can also be used for vented, but not near the port due to mucking up the airflow. And you have to spend more time monkeying with tuning.
In the passive radiator situation, I'm feeling it should be fine to use stuffing, since the airflow is not "jetting" from the inside of the port. Vance Dickason's Loudspeaker Cookbook has a number of pages comparing the bass and midbass and midrange performance of various stuffings.
--> If you want a slim-walled enclosure, damping internal midrange will be very important. Also a steep low-pass filter. Also good internal cabinet bracing.

Don't compromise a solid enclosure for the sake of size. If your external size is limited, even after stuffing, accept a somewhat lower net volume and tune the PR a little lower by adding mass. Solid enclosures make solid bass; crummy enclosures make crummy bass.


You want to make this thing?
Peerless XLS10 10" Subwoofer (830452) and Passive Radiator (830481)

[ruferto]

Thanks,

I am going to study the subbox in 2cm plywood.

much obliged,

RUF

[GM]

Sheet metal construction is ideal for this and 12 ga (~3.2 mm) CRS (cold rolled steel) is rigid enough that it won't need any bracing at this net Vb and if you don't want to pay for welding/finishing, then there's plenty of suitable epoxies to choose from to bond it together using either scrap from the metal shop or store bought angle or even plywood scraps. Use a fine file to cut the sharp corners and paint/veneer/whatever to satisfy the 'better half'.

GM