My DIY Sub project (1 Viewer)

[MichaelBAr]

sorry about all the threads

 

[Rogozhin]

Check ebay for amps

I just picked up a NAD 902 (170watts peak into a 4ohm load with .05 THD) for $90-It's golden and will be driving my sister's 12" shiva

rogo

 

[Aaron Gilbert]

Hey now, I have built all kinds of speaker cabinets, and not once touched a table saw or circular saw. The folks at Home Depot or Lowe's are always kind enough to cut the 4 x 8 down to the sizes I need, most of the time not even charging me, although they in theory are supposed to. A jigsaw though, aye, there is a handy tool! You can do cutouts with a router as well, but I find the jigsaw a bit faster, and certainly much cheaper. I've also never used T-nuts to mount speakers, although none of mine have been these mondo-super woofers that weigh 30-40+ pounds. My Dayton Quatro 15" (15lb) holds just fine in 3/4" particleboard using wood screws, though I have an extra 3/4" wood behind the screw holes. On the other hand, I have never had a driver bottom firing, which should add a lot more stress to the mounting screws. I prefer, plywood or regular particleboard to MDF, they work fine, though of course plywood can be considerably more expensive for the good stuff. Definitely good advice on the adult supervision if one isn't skilled in the use of all the power tools needed.


Aaron Gilbert

 

[Frank Carter]

Someone over at the Klipsch forum puts mink oil on his subs with foam surrounds every few years and he claims that it keeps them like new.

 

[MichaelBAr]

OK I'm still considering those 2 drivers. I think I narrowed it all down to 2. I'm probably going with the mcm b/c its a better value. The only problem is the shipping. I don't have a credit card (needed to become a member) so I don't know how much it would cost. Anyone know how much it would cost to ship to California? Zip code is 91702.

I'm talking about 250 watt amp 50-6281A (incase I only want their amp); and then 250watt amp 50-6281A with the 12" woofer 55-2330 (If I want both)Thanks

This is what so far unless its used/refurbished

Also I'm not looking for loudness, I want a more nice sounding clear and acurate driver. Would I notice the difference in getting the 10" Dayton prebuilt sub and a DIY sub using the Shielded 12" one?

 

[MichaelBAr]

Also what does RMS mean? For Example: A woofer has a 120watt rms

 

[Patrick Sun]

RMS = Root Mean Square, it can be considered a power rating for continuous power output (vs. peak power output, which isn't as representative of amp performance for comparison purposes).

 

[MichaelBAr]

so if the rms of a speaker is 120watts while max is 175 watts does that mean I should get at least a 120watt amp or 200watt amp. I know more is better but I want to know the minimum needed for safe operation.

 

[perry web]

michael

i have not read all your posts but I have skimmed them. I think you are 15 and on a tight budget.

so I thought I would let you know that PE has a 100w amp on sale for $65 + shipping. might be big enough if you are just trying to pu some base in your bedroom.

 

[Rory Buszka]

A friend of mine down the hall in my dorm who also does speakers has just built a pair of subs using the 10" version (no longer offered) of that 12" driver that you are considering. He used the 125w MCM amplifier, which delivers 75watts into the driver's 8-ohm impedance. They sound like they are much more powerful than they are. I still think you should get a 4-ohm driver, which will allow the amplifier to put out twice as much power into the driver. (of course the amplifier is only stable into 4 ohms and above, and if you go any lower than 4 by chaining together more drivers you're liable to overheat and blow your amplifier.) The 250w MCM should be a good match for the Quatto 15". And then you get to tell your friends that you have a 15" subwoofer.

 

[MichaelBAr]

what does rms mean to me. I know its root mean square (I know now at least), but what does that mean. Does that mean that thats the highest yet safest wattage it can run at? Is that the minimum wattage needed to run? The max is 175 so does that mean that a 100watt amp will not utilize all of its potential but safe to run it all full.

 

[Aaron Gilbert]

RMS power when referring to a speaker, is the amount of continuous electrical input power which can be dissipated by the voice coil indefinitely. The electrical part is important, especially in the case of woofers. This is because you can easily overdrive and damage a woofer quickly, with considerably less power than the RMS rating, depending on the frequency. In your example above, a 100w amp may or may not fully utilize the woofer's potential. The only way to know for sure it to obtain a modeling program which can graph the excursion limited maximum SPL, taking into account the amount of power you have available. Loudspeaker LAB will do this, no doubt many others do also, like Unibox, maybe even WinISD Pro?


Aaron Gilbert

 

[MichaelBAr]

I'm kind of confused can someone check out the Dayton Shielded DVC 12" woofer at partsexpress. Its the one thats about $40. The Rms is 120watts and the max is 175watts or something like that.

 

[Joe Ku]

The 12" shielded DVC in the box I mentioned earlier will be able to use around 100w RMS before it bottoms out, the amp on sale at PE right now for $65 would be a perfect match for it. I would suggest you buy it quickly before the sale ends. You will have a very nice budget sub with this combo.

 

[MichaelBAr]

Yeah, I just wanted to know if 100-120 watts is enough. Thanks

 

[Frank Carter]

I also want to stress that you pick up that $65 Parts Express amp before the sale ends tomorrow at 6:00PM...you won't find a better deal.

 

[Frank Carter]

For another great deal at Parts Express look at the scratch and dent section. They have Dayton Series II 15" for $60, it's capable of moving twice the amount of air as the shielded dvc 12.

 

[MichaelBAr]

ok, thanks. Is 100-120watts enough for a 15 quatro. Generally is 100watts enough for a driver (the ones in the price range that I want at least). The only limitation is how loud it can get, right.

Also, should I make a ported or sealed enclosure with the 12" Shielded DVC?

 

[Joe Ku]

the 12"dvc should be ported if you want to use it for hometheater.

You would be safer to buy the 250w amp for the quatro. You are more likely to toast the driver if you do not have enough power than if you have too much. Basically if you are going to spend the time to build the quatro, do it right, don't half as* it just to save $20, you will regret it down the road when you do want to crank it up for whatever reason. just my opinion, take it for what it's worth.

 

[MichaelBAr]

yeah so minimum 250 watts for quatro and ported I was thinking of just getting 120/200/250 watts instead. Now, should it be downfiring, because that was the only plans I was able to find(At adire for shiva.)