PLease help designing my first sub.

[JiggaD369]

hey everybody. im putting together my first HT system and i got some really nice speakers. but now have no money left for the sub. so this is the place i belong too and thankfully found the site today. people here seem really educated and nice so i will expect alot of help, hopefully. i have about $300 left for the sub and the quality im looking for, i wont be able to buy any sub from paradigm, nht, m&k, etc...im 60% music, 40% HT.

so i want to deisgn a single driver or maybe 2 if possible. i've reasearched and found out that people here seem to like peerless and adire. im looking for all out sound quality. it should be little loud but i wanna take mercy on the neighbors. i will get a plate amp from Parts Express for around 150. so that leaves me with about 150 for the woofer.

also i need help on design aspects.
1. like what kind of dimnesions (WxHxL)

2. where should i place the flare port

3. should i fire the driver downward or forward?

and any other important information u guys think i should take in consideration. any help will be taken into consideration. thanx.

[Raoul]

Well, it is kind of hard to answer your questions on box dimensions, orientation, etc. without knowing what driver we are talking about. All these things are dependent on the driver. You might cruise over to www.adireaudio.com and look at some of the drivers. A lot of people have been very happy with Ascendant Audio's stuff (www.ascendantaudio.com). Partsexpress.com handles Peerless drivers. When you decide on a driver, then box details can be worked out.
Adire Audio's website has a lot of information in the technical section. They provide a formula for determining whether a given driver can be loaded in a downward facing enclosure, as well as a lot of tutorial stuff. Also, Adire has several suggested enclosure designs for many of their subs (as does Ascendant Audio and many others).
www.linkwitzlab.com has a sealed Peerless design.


P.S. One important consideration: How big do you want it?

[JiggaD369]

thanx raoul. i appreciate that info. im thinking of going with either 12" or 10" woofer. box size doesnt matter really because i have enough room. i need suggestions on what kind of woofer should i use because i've only dealt with car subs till now, have no experience with HT subs. so u all are experienced and are experts at this so please give me recommendations. thanx.

[Cyrus_s]

I've had great experiences with Adire, Peerless and Ascendant Audio drivers. Choose a driver that best suits your desired specifications and check out their sites about recommended enclosures. Once you've chosen a driver, some folks here can give experiences and/or ideas about enclosures as well.

IMO Go in just about any DIY driver direction and you'll be way ahead of mass produced subs.

[JiggaD369]

which driver will produce the best sq for the money? i bought some quality speakers and i want full justice done to them so this is like a one time thing u kno.

[simon5]

Best SQ? I would say the Ascendant Audio Atlas 12 since you want a 10 or 12 incher.

[Raoul]

How large are your front speakers? Do you know how low the response reaches?

[JiggaD369]

here is a link to my front speaker specs.

http://rds.yahoo.com/S=2766679/K=psb...mage%204T.html

[SSassen]

Start here:

Build your own 10" subwoofer, a detailed how-to
http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/article/1789/

Best regards,

Sander Sassen
http://www.hardwareanalysis.com

[Raoul]

If size is not a factor, I would think that a vented Adire Shiva (or something similar) might be a better fit for JiggaD369's mains. I just ran a cursory model on WinISD and the Shiva can achieve about 109+dB down to the mid-20's with a 150W input. Probably a good match for the PSBs, which are rated at 89dB and accept up to 150W, which should achieve just over 110dB.