making a sub? (1 Viewer)

[Armand_Boivin]

ok here goes right now I am running 5.0 utilizing Tannoy M5's (front), MC (center), M1's (surrounds) and pushing them with an Outlaw Model 1050 receiver. I have been looking for a sub and thought I had settled on an HSU STF-2 for $350 but after talking to my neighbor he said we could build a nice sub for about half that.. he has done most of his building utilizing car audio parts. I am coming here to ask where should I look to get parts and pieces to build my own sub. should it be powered? any help on this would be great. also if anyone has any websites to look at and or by pieces from it would be great.

also would it be feasible to do a dual driver sub? and what are some possible designs??

Thanks in advance

 

[mazersteven]

www.partsexpress.com

 

[SethH]

PartsExpress is probably your best bet -- I believe they also have plans you can use. Please do yourself a favor and do not use car audio parts.

And yes, definitely build a powered sub unless you plan to buy an outboard amplifier as well.

 

[JohnRice]

Definitely do NOT use car parts. Think about the volume of the standard car. Is your HT room roughly the same volume? Would you put a sewing machine motor in an RV?

 

[tundraSQ]

I hope you are not suggesting that a car audio driver can't be used in a HT subwoofer project if you put it in a proper box

 

[Robert_J]

As I said earlier, it's just marketing. You have to judge individual drivers based on their parameters. If you can't find the parameters to run a simulation then just mark the sub off of your list. It's probably not worth it. A good example is Fi Car Audio. They are marketing directly to the kids with booming systems. But Scott Atwell, the owner, is a very experienced driver designer and created different lines of subs that work well in both car and home environments. And if you aren't familiar with Scott, his factory used to produce drivers used by Adire Audio and SVS.

-Robert

 

[Brent_S]

This thread's probably better off in the DIY section.

Half of $350 is $175...that's stretching it a bit for a DIY sub the equivalent of the HSU and that's also a decent match for Tannoy mains, IMO. What kind of woodworking skills does your neighbor have...will you be willing to put this in your living room when it's done?

Something like the Parts-Express RS12-HiFi ($130) in 3.0 - 4.0 ft^3 tuned to 20hz powered with the BASH 300 ($150) would probably put you somewhere between the HSU VTF2 and VTF3 in terms of performance. A TC Sounds db500-12 ($109) with a 500 watt amp ($230+) will give you 2-3db more output across the board.

There are 10" versions of the RS-HiFi and db500 drivers, but you only save $10 respectively.

The tried and true budget build is the PE Quattro 15 ($86) in 3 ft^3 sealed with the SA240 ($130) has satisfied quite a few first time DIYers...and some not so first timers. Still, $220 before shipping and cabinet parts. Probably the lowest cost "known quantity" option now that the db500-12 isn't on sale for $75.

Some of this also depends on your listenting tastes...how much output and frequency extension do you want/need. Have you auditioned any subs to get an idea? Do you have any physical size limits for placement? That sort of thing.

With modest enough requirements, there may be some

 

[Armand_Boivin]

wow thank you all for the information. I am still looking at the possibilities of making a sub. but by the looks is it will be more expensive. although it I did make one I was thinking dual driver, long box similar to my M5 on its side and the 2 drivers pointed down with ports facing up and down?? does this sound like it would work?

on a side note what is the consensus of the outlaw sub with my speakers?

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/lfm2.html

 

[Robert_J]

Outlaw makes a good product. If I'm not mistaken, those subs were designed by Dr. Hsu of Hsu Subwoofers.

A ported, dual driver enclosure is a very real possiblity. What's your budget and maximum size? From there, we can start to work on a design.

-Robert

 

[ChrisWiggles]

At such a low budget, I think you're better off just buying a sub. You also need to consider the cost of an amplifier to drive a DIY sub.

If your budget were higher, you could build a killer DIY sub, a sonotube design or the like. But quality drivers aren't cheap, nor are amps. But for under a grand you could build a couple killer subs and kick the crap out of a lot of really expensive subs, and beat the value of similar designs like SVS/HSU.

 

[Armand_Boivin]

ok so let's say that since i cannot spend a grand on a sub i will go with a production sub. which would match my system the best and be the best bang for the buck??

outlaw lfm-2
hsu vtf-2
hsu stf-2
home theater direct level 3 sub
av123 x-sub

Thanks in advance