Hi, I'm moving out soon, and I'm currently building a rather big 12" subwoofer (Dayton Audio RSS315HF-4 12" @115L), but that will not really fit into my small apartment. Also, this subwoofer is heavy overkill for this small room. But I do still want to watch movies and listen to music in the apartment, but I won't be needing the output power. So I was thinking of building another subwoofer, a smaller one at roughly 6-1/2", or maybe 8" (probably ported).
My plan is to tune this very low, just to have the lower extension. This will indeed come at the cost of output power, but I won't be needing that a lot anyways because I have people living 1 wall away, heh. But I'm still relatively new to this part of the audio world, so I'm wondering if this is possible. To make it more difficult: my budget is not very high, at roughly 200$, maybe a bit more if necessary.
My idea is to have a very shallow roll-off so I can EQ that to be a bit flatter if needed, hopefully reaching down to 25 Hz, maybe even deeper if that's possible.
So, is it possible to make a (probably ported) active subwoofer with a 6-1/2" driver, maybe an 8" (a 10" is still possible I guess, but smaller is probably better), reaching down to 25 Hz, or maybe even slightly deeper, within the rough budget of 200$, that is also under 80L? I don't need high output power. And if you have an idea for a driver, please leave that below (probably below ~100$).
Oh and I don't live in the US so Partsexpress is a no-go for me.
My plan is to tune this very low, just to have the lower extension. This will indeed come at the cost of output power, but I won't be needing that a lot anyways because I have people living 1 wall away, heh. But I'm still relatively new to this part of the audio world, so I'm wondering if this is possible. To make it more difficult: my budget is not very high, at roughly 200$, maybe a bit more if necessary.
My idea is to have a very shallow roll-off so I can EQ that to be a bit flatter if needed, hopefully reaching down to 25 Hz, maybe even deeper if that's possible.
So, is it possible to make a (probably ported) active subwoofer with a 6-1/2" driver, maybe an 8" (a 10" is still possible I guess, but smaller is probably better), reaching down to 25 Hz, or maybe even slightly deeper, within the rough budget of 200$, that is also under 80L? I don't need high output power. And if you have an idea for a driver, please leave that below (probably below ~100$).
Oh and I don't live in the US so Partsexpress is a no-go for me.
Any speaker with output reaching down near 25hz will annoy the neighbors regardless of volume because low bass will travel through walls quite easily.
Keep the 12" woofer, turn it waaaaaay down, and live with it until your manager complains and you have to turn it off entirely.
To speak to your actual question, it's very difficult to get bass that low in that small a box with a small woofer.
Keep the 12" woofer, turn it waaaaaay down, and live with it until your manager complains and you have to turn it off entirely.
To speak to your actual question, it's very difficult to get bass that low in that small a box with a small woofer.
5" SB13PFC25-4 :: SB Acoustics
A tall and slender tapped pipe with a 5 inch driver and with a slightly longer then normal L34 will reproduce 25 Hz while taking up very little floor space. It should be tucked up into a corner, and once corner loaded will reproduce 102 dB plus room gain at 25 Hz with 12 watts.
A tall and slender tapped pipe with a 5 inch driver and with a slightly longer then normal L34 will reproduce 25 Hz while taking up very little floor space. It should be tucked up into a corner, and once corner loaded will reproduce 102 dB plus room gain at 25 Hz with 12 watts.
Attachments
1700 mm high, 172 mm deep and 176 mm wide if built out of 18 mm plywood with double layer in the baffle (more room for the magnet).
This is a total volume of 52 liters, well below your goal of "under 80 L".
SB Acoustics SB13PFC25-04 5" 4 ohm Paper Cone Woofer: Madisound Speaker Components
SB acoustics SB13PFC25-4 5 inch midwoofer | Loudspeaker freaks
$23,30 in the US and EUR23.94 in the EU.
This is a total volume of 52 liters, well below your goal of "under 80 L".
SB Acoustics SB13PFC25-04 5" 4 ohm Paper Cone Woofer: Madisound Speaker Components
SB acoustics SB13PFC25-4 5 inch midwoofer | Loudspeaker freaks
$23,30 in the US and EUR23.94 in the EU.
Attachments
With the addition of a 24 liter (32,6 x 32,6 x 32,6 cm box) Helmholtz resonator making this into an 8th order bandpass/tapped horn hybrid it will gain a few Hz downward extension and 15 Hz upward usable bandwidth with a small but nice peak around the midbass. It will sound much more punchy and exciting with the frontresonator.
Attachments
How about a near field dipole subwoofer, to avoid bothering the neighbours?
Neighbor friendly dipole sub
This is a great way to minimize the effect of room modes as well.
Comparison of different near field and far field subwoofer configurations
Neighbor friendly dipole sub
This is a great way to minimize the effect of room modes as well.
Comparison of different near field and far field subwoofer configurations
Last edited:
Near field bass makes a ton of sense in this noisy apartment home theater context.
Thanks Wolf - this looks like a great affordable driver. I've been lurking around here (sub woofers) for months now, looking for diy sub / helper woofer build to try and knock up a FAST system. Like the OP I also don't need high output and have a limited budget. Will be used for music mostly and my lounge area is small - almost nearfield. You suggested a ported enclosure, but can this driver also work here in a sealed enclosure, and what size/volume?
I actually also love Circlomanen's suggestion because of the small footprint. Very helpful thread so far - thank you.
I strongly suggest going to local car salvage/scrap metal shop, and get an Mercedes ML3xx series subwoofer by Bose. It is tiny - in car it is mounted under a seat, but it uses dual ported bandpass design, and has very deep bass. And it in working condition, can be bought under $50. Here are some pictures for reference: Mercedes Bose Sound System for the W163 ML - What's Inside
I have it mounted under my sofa and run via separate sub amplifier - provides an excellent oomph in music and nice explosions and FX in movies. In fact, it is so deep, that you'll need to pair it with at least 5' or 6.25' bookshelf speakers, otherwise, you'll have a dip at around 100Hz.
I have it mounted under my sofa and run via separate sub amplifier - provides an excellent oomph in music and nice explosions and FX in movies. In fact, it is so deep, that you'll need to pair it with at least 5' or 6.25' bookshelf speakers, otherwise, you'll have a dip at around 100Hz.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.