Stealthy subs

[tvrgeek]

I completed my stealthy subs. They have been hidden as traditional Chinese chests. The finish was kind of a pain to make the semi-translucent old black lacquer by staining different under coats and dry-brushing black tinted poly with several clear over the top. In my decor, they hide completely. Being right behind the mains, they also blend very well. Very high WAF and still sound fantastic. Just a little creativity. Yes, they do not match.

Tech: Peerless 830500's in 60L sealed and tightly stuffed. Q of .59, driven by a Behringer crossover at 60 Hz and a Parasound 1200 amp.

[tvrgeek]

They are much blacker in natural light than the flash.

[DrNick]

Nice! Got a thread for the little green two ways anywhere?

[djn]

Very nice. I am doing the same thing with these. They will be end tables. I also have sealed corner cab sub behind my speakers. After I get the sub drivers in and the cabs braced inside and the plate amps mounted on the bottom, I'll refinish them and put a piece of marble on the tops. They should make nice end tables as well as 3rd and 4th subs.

[ßart West-VL.]

Great creativity!

Originally Posted by tvrgeek

I completed my stealthy subs. They have been hidden as traditional Chinese chests. The finish was kind of a pain to make the semi-translucent old black lacquer by staining different under coats and dry-brushing black tinted poly with several clear over the top. In my decor, they hide completely. Being right behind the mains, they also blend very well. Very high WAF and still sound fantastic. Just a little creativity. Yes, they do not match.

Tech: Peerless 830500's in 60L sealed and tightly stuffed. Q of .59, driven by a Behringer crossover at 60 Hz and a Parasound 1200 amp.

[tvrgeek]

Originally Posted by DrNick

Nice! Got a thread for the little green two ways anywhere?

They are very close to the Zaph SR-71 but I used the metal dome tweeter of the same motor family and a felt ring around the tweeter. All 12 edges are 3/4 radius and the box is braced a little differently. Just a few tricks. 3/4 MDF, medium packed with wool. The baffle dimensions and radius are absolutely critical. A square edge prototype was unlistenably bright and harsh. I started with the soft dome. It is very good, but we found a slight advantage in detail with the aluminum dome.

They are my first pair that pass the toughest test I know: my wife's exceptional hearing. Only ML's and Vandersteins ever passed her test of anything we ever heard in a store or all of my previous attempts. Needless to say, I am very happy. Trying to decide my next pair is tough. Thinking the Satori's.

[tvrgeek]

The reverse hoof foot was a bit of a thinking challenge. Another bit of stealth, the taller of the two the top actually opens for a 2 inch space where my wife can hide a couple music sheets as the sub sits next to her keyboard. The shorter one is total faux.

My next trick is to make a TV lift so I can see the window again. It will be nothing like any lift anyone has seen ( or not as that is the trick) before. It is only now with the new screens with almost no edge that I can pull this off. It will also take that big reflective TV out from between the speakers for music listening.

DJN,
I do hope you will do some serious bracing to those boxes. A trick I have used is to epoxy a ceramic floor tile ( 12 x 12 ) to the inside. Very rigid for not much space.

[djk]

Looks like Realistic Nova 7 components, also Optimus 4

[djn]

Originally Posted by tvrgeek

DJN,
I do hope you will do some serious bracing to those boxes. A trick I have used is to epoxy a ceramic floor tile ( 12 x 12 ) to the inside. Very rigid for not much space.

Yep, I'll brace the crap out of them.

Originally Posted by djk

Looks like Realistic Nova 7 components, also Optimus 4

Yep, they are realistic speakers and share components with the speakers you mentioned.

[DrNick]

Originally Posted by tvrgeek

They are very close to the Zaph SR-71 but I used the metal dome tweeter of the same motor family and a felt ring around the tweeter. All 12 edges are 3/4 radius and the box is braced a little differently. Just a few tricks. 3/4 MDF, medium packed with wool. The baffle dimensions and radius are absolutely critical. A square edge prototype was unlistenably bright and harsh. I started with the soft dome. It is very good, but we found a slight advantage in detail with the aluminum dome.

Thanks, I am building a sub, and I like the idea of replacing my current two way front speakers with some new ones eventually, but possibly smaller as I won't have to worry about the lower bass coming from them. I thought I'd start by asking people with subs what they are using.

Originally Posted by tvrgeek

They are my first pair that pass the toughest test I know: my wife's exceptional hearing. Only ML's and Vandersteins ever passed her test of anything we ever heard in a store or all of my previous attempts. Needless to say, I am very happy. Trying to decide my next pair is tough. Thinking the Satori's.

My wife is allowing me to build a big sub on the basis that it can be hidden under my desk, and the front speakers can stay small. It's win-win for us both.