LFE Sofa Couch Sub Subwoofer
So further to my last post about either building a box within the space underneath my sofa, or turning my sofa into the box itself, I decided to go for the latter. Mainly because to get a good response down to where I wanted it would need a very large box, probably larger than the space available just underneath my sofa.
This way the 'enclosure' uses the void underneath and in the back of the sofa. But as it's not a real enclosure, the idea was really more for LFE. Effects, rather than actual bass.
On to the practical...
Removing the underside cover
The arms came off with 3 bolts, nice and easy
Ready to start the modifying
Those panels up the back are just thin hardboard, and flex very easily. I didn't want those resonating, so I added some bitumen/tar sound deadening material.
One down, three to go
Then on to the springs. They would ring when knocked, and I didn't want to rely of the weight of just the cushions to stop them. So I got creative with some pipe insulation.
Shhh springs
Those backing panels were still no good with the sound deadening on. So I set about creating some tension on them.
Studs fitted
Tension applied, brackets added to keep the chassis straight
Lining up the 18mm MDF, minor alterations to the OSB sofa sides
Sides back on, screws going in
The all important bits. Feet chopped down 18mm to accomodate the new MDF
Nearly there
I called it quits at this point and tried it out as it was dinner time 🙂
There was going to be a metal grille over the cone to protect it, but the cheapy ones I ordered turned out to be very thin so I've sent those back and will be getting some thicker ones. I also need to run a silicone sealing bead all around the air gaps at the bottom, and obviously finish pinning the fabric back. The old pin marks came out a treat from the front valance with a steam iron!
All in all to get this far it has taken one and a half days of steady paced work, and all of about £40 ($60) since I already had the subwoofer. Oh and a fair bit of re-assuring the other half that I won't ruin her nice sofa 🙂
Results
I'll get straight to it. For normal music, bass isn't really enjoyable. There's something not right about having your body directly resonate with the notes. It's a bit like touching a bass cone at high volumes. Sounds nice, looks good, but doesn't feel so good on your finger!
Die Hard 4 happened to be on that evening, so I set the home theatre processor at 50Hz roll off, and LFE only to the sofa. The rest of the LFE and sub bass is handled by the main speakers (they're transmission line - so very good at 40 Hz upwards, and flat from 80Hz upwards).
We sort of forgot it was there and got into the movie. Then came a helicopter scene. Each whip of the helicopter blade resulted in a sofa shaking whopwhopwhop. Then the heligun fires up and we're feeling the gun rattle away as well as hearing it. And when the camera flips back to being inside the car being shot at, we can feel each bullet denting the car as if we're sitting right inside. Car crashes, explosions, the deep roar of flames, and a few other things all had an added dimension.
That's all I've been able to watch so far. I'll post back when I've had the chance to watch some more movies. Can't wait to watch a horror. Hope you like it
So further to my last post about either building a box within the space underneath my sofa, or turning my sofa into the box itself, I decided to go for the latter. Mainly because to get a good response down to where I wanted it would need a very large box, probably larger than the space available just underneath my sofa.
This way the 'enclosure' uses the void underneath and in the back of the sofa. But as it's not a real enclosure, the idea was really more for LFE. Effects, rather than actual bass.
On to the practical...
Removing the underside cover
The arms came off with 3 bolts, nice and easy
Ready to start the modifying
Those panels up the back are just thin hardboard, and flex very easily. I didn't want those resonating, so I added some bitumen/tar sound deadening material.
One down, three to go
Then on to the springs. They would ring when knocked, and I didn't want to rely of the weight of just the cushions to stop them. So I got creative with some pipe insulation.
Shhh springs
Those backing panels were still no good with the sound deadening on. So I set about creating some tension on them.
Studs fitted
Tension applied, brackets added to keep the chassis straight
Lining up the 18mm MDF, minor alterations to the OSB sofa sides
Sides back on, screws going in
The all important bits. Feet chopped down 18mm to accomodate the new MDF
Nearly there
I called it quits at this point and tried it out as it was dinner time 🙂
There was going to be a metal grille over the cone to protect it, but the cheapy ones I ordered turned out to be very thin so I've sent those back and will be getting some thicker ones. I also need to run a silicone sealing bead all around the air gaps at the bottom, and obviously finish pinning the fabric back. The old pin marks came out a treat from the front valance with a steam iron!
All in all to get this far it has taken one and a half days of steady paced work, and all of about £40 ($60) since I already had the subwoofer. Oh and a fair bit of re-assuring the other half that I won't ruin her nice sofa 🙂
Results
I'll get straight to it. For normal music, bass isn't really enjoyable. There's something not right about having your body directly resonate with the notes. It's a bit like touching a bass cone at high volumes. Sounds nice, looks good, but doesn't feel so good on your finger!
Die Hard 4 happened to be on that evening, so I set the home theatre processor at 50Hz roll off, and LFE only to the sofa. The rest of the LFE and sub bass is handled by the main speakers (they're transmission line - so very good at 40 Hz upwards, and flat from 80Hz upwards).
We sort of forgot it was there and got into the movie. Then came a helicopter scene. Each whip of the helicopter blade resulted in a sofa shaking whopwhopwhop. Then the heligun fires up and we're feeling the gun rattle away as well as hearing it. And when the camera flips back to being inside the car being shot at, we can feel each bullet denting the car as if we're sitting right inside. Car crashes, explosions, the deep roar of flames, and a few other things all had an added dimension.
That's all I've been able to watch so far. I'll post back when I've had the chance to watch some more movies. Can't wait to watch a horror. Hope you like it
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