Hi everyone, i'm in need of a bit of help: I'm studying a music technology degree and for my dissertation (final project type thing) i've decided to build a sub. And in true student style i've left it until the very last minute! Now, as the meat a bones of the project will be the design of the cabinet i've decided to order myself a pre-made sub, take it apart and re-wire the bits into my own cab. Would it be possible to order something like this:
DAS Arco 12 Subwoofer : Speakers - Passive : Maplin Electronics
and replace the band pass configuration with a front ported design.......
DAS Arco 12 Subwoofer : Speakers - Passive : Maplin Electronics
and replace the band pass configuration with a front ported design.......
Anything's possible but it seems like a horrible waste to buy a complete sub, throw away the cabinet, and just use the driver. Better to buy a driver, IMHO, and go from there. An important point is that if you want decent results, the cabinet has to be designed with the driver's TS parameters in mind. There's free software available to help with speaker design, but if you don't have those parameters, you're lost.
Thanks for the reply! Ok, so you don't think i could find the technical specs for the driver online? the reason i wanted to do it this way was that i knew the amp and driver would work together. i'm aware of a few bits of software that'll do most of the sums for me, but i didn't know if i had to be aware of amp/driver compatibility.
could you possibly recommend me a driver/amp combo that i can use, i have a budget of about 300 pound (sterling) so any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
could you possibly recommend me a driver/amp combo that i can use, i have a budget of about 300 pound (sterling) so any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
Hi djbmc,
For your purposes a premade subwoofer may be a good choice. But, the sub you reference in Post #1 does not seem to have a build in amplifier. You are looking for a powered subwoofer, e.g.: take a look at PE's powered subwoofers, Powered Subwoofers Add Deep Bass to Home Theaters
Regards,
For your purposes a premade subwoofer may be a good choice. But, the sub you reference in Post #1 does not seem to have a build in amplifier. You are looking for a powered subwoofer, e.g.: take a look at PE's powered subwoofers, Powered Subwoofers Add Deep Bass to Home Theaters
Regards,
How to design a sub 101 
1. Figure out what kind of sub you want based on bandwidth and SPL requirements, what it will be used for (music(type of music), Home theater, effects, sonic boom simulators, etc.)
2. Find a driver that will work in that application and with the box type and size requirements.
3. Find a amp that will give adequate power and has the technologies (HP and LP filters) you need to integrate the subwoofer into a system.
4. Design the box.
5. Build the box.
6. Add driver and amp.
7. Test the system.
8. Modify the system.
9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 until happy.
10. enjoy.
You are at step 1.
In order to give you guidance we need to know the requirements. (bandwith, spl, room size, program material, etc. etc.)
1. Figure out what kind of sub you want based on bandwidth and SPL requirements, what it will be used for (music(type of music), Home theater, effects, sonic boom simulators, etc.)
2. Find a driver that will work in that application and with the box type and size requirements.
3. Find a amp that will give adequate power and has the technologies (HP and LP filters) you need to integrate the subwoofer into a system.
4. Design the box.
5. Build the box.
6. Add driver and amp.
7. Test the system.
8. Modify the system.
9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 until happy.
10. enjoy.
You are at step 1.
In order to give you guidance we need to know the requirements. (bandwith, spl, room size, program material, etc. etc.)
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The Driver and box make a system that the amp has to work with. If you change to box/driver system the amp requirements change.
Sealed cabinets have less to go wrong, are more tolerant of driver variations, and are sometimes considered to be more "musical". 100 quid should get you an excellent quality driver (woofer), 10" to 15". Perhaps this one: Peerless XLS10 BK also has amp modules.
@dangus, thanks that driver is pretty cheap, i think i may just purchase that!
@revboden the idea for the sub is to compliment my existing speakers, i've already done some tests on the room, here's a chart of dB at different frequencies:
It's hard to make out but u can see the drop off is pretty pronounced at around 100Hz. (reference was 80dB at 1kHz) I want to extend that down towards 30Hz, for more accurate monitoring of subs in the music i make (which is bass heavy electronic stuff) If i get time i'll also build a few bass traps but i'm not at that stage yet!
Thanks for the info people, you've already been a massive help, i will post pics and keep u updated with how it's going.
@revboden the idea for the sub is to compliment my existing speakers, i've already done some tests on the room, here's a chart of dB at different frequencies:
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
It's hard to make out but u can see the drop off is pretty pronounced at around 100Hz. (reference was 80dB at 1kHz) I want to extend that down towards 30Hz, for more accurate monitoring of subs in the music i make (which is bass heavy electronic stuff) If i get time i'll also build a few bass traps but i'm not at that stage yet!
Thanks for the info people, you've already been a massive help, i will post pics and keep u updated with how it's going.
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