Plans for a Tempest DIY Sub????

Travis-J · 06-07-2003, 07:09 PM

I have been looking at the website for the tempests, but have been unable to find any of their design plans.
I know very little about this stuff, but really want to learn. I want to build sealed down firing sub box.
I was hoping to find a list of materials and instructions
any help at all regarding DIY subs would be great.

I also wanted to add what a great forum this is. I just found it a few days ago, u guys have been a great help already.

HT enthusiast and DIY'er in training!

GeoffM · 06-07-2003, 10:04 PM

I'm still doing research on building a pair of sonosubs so I really don't have any advice to give you ... at least no advice that's any good

But here's a link to some reference disigns for the tempest
http://www.adireaudio.com/tech_papers/tempest_apps.htm

Owen Bartley · 06-11-2003, 09:34 AM

Travis, I'm pretty happy with mine, there's a link in my sig. Let me think... for materials, I used 2 sheets of 3/4 inch MDF, the driver, the amp, some glue, some caulk to seal the inside, some polyfill and a layer of that eggcrate foam, used scraps for the legs... and the primer and paint. I think that's about it!

Travis-J · 06-11-2003, 06:17 PM

What amp did you use??
I was looking at ordering a full kit to build a sub.
With a Tempest
and an AVA 250 if possible I found a kit with a diff amp for $600 emailed to ask about substituting for the AVA 250 which is $150 cheaper than the other amp.
I figure if I can get a ready to assemble Sub for $450 ish I can go pick it up and save on shipping. Then I'd be happy

Jonathan_D · 06-11-2003, 09:25 PM

CSC in Canada offers several complete sub kits using the Tempest and other Adire drivers at very reasonable prices. Their EZsub21TDT looks to be the 122L sealed alignment with the Tempest and their 300 Watt (4ohm) plate amp for $519 US shipped.

Check it out at http://www.creativesound.ca/details....del=EZSUB21TDT.

Usual disclaimers apply, no financial interest, just think this is a good price on a complete kit.

**HTF Ads**

Travis-J · 06-11-2003, 10:50 PM

CSC is where I was looking Im only about 2 hours away from where they are. When I get the cash Ima order the EZSub17TDT but with the AVA 250 I think, $100 cheaper than the other amp that normally comes with it. This will be enough power for the sub right??

Owen Bartley · 06-12-2003, 02:41 PM

Mine is powered by the Adire AVA250, and it is enough power. Sure, some more headroom never hurts, but mine plays loud enough to shake most of the house as it is. I was looking at it and the Parts Express 250W amp, but ended up going with the Adire since CSS carried them both, and shipping stuff into Canada would have been pretty much just as expensive.

Jonathan_D · 06-12-2003, 04:45 PM

I power my 122L sealed Tempest with a 20 year old H/K integrated amp rated at, I think, 65watts RMS into 8ohms. Now, when I bought it they put it on a test bench and tested it out at 90watts at .5 THD per channel into 8 ohms. In my room (19x19x8) I haven't come close to maxing this out. Now, I don't listen all that loud, though my wife would probably disagree.

It will put out a ton of seriously low bass. I was watching the opening sequence of Lost In Space and there's a lot of inaudible bass, apparently, but it kicks you in the rear. Very cool!

Okay, long answer to simple question, yes, 250 watts should do the trick.

Travis-J · 06-12-2003, 05:11 PM

Thanks

Can't wait till I have a little more money to put it all together

cacu · 06-16-2003, 01:41 PM

Owen Bartley,
Thanks for the nice website. It gave me a good idea of how to approach mine.

I have a few questions for you though.
1) You indicated that you replaced some polyfill with eggcrate foam. You said that it made it sound better, which sources led you to this conclustion and how would you do it if you were about to start doing it like me? I.E. how much polyfill, how much eggcrate?

2) I noticed that you did 4 large holes in the braces instead of multiple small holes. What made you decide to do this besides its easier to do? Is there any performance considerations when doing this versus the Adire documentation?

3) I did not see a clear view of how the amp fit in without interfering with the braces. Can you explain or add a picture?

Suggestions and comments from everyone appriciated.

Travis-J, sorry if I had de-railed your intitial post.

Owen Bartley · 06-18-2003, 12:14 PM

Cacu, sorry, I thought I got back to you on this, I guess I just read it and meant to! :b

OK, lets see...

1) When I first built it, I was under the impression that ported subs could be stuffed like sealed could. I thought it would impede airflow, but had seen that people tried it so I did too. It sounded good, but then someone told me that it wasn't really the right way to go about it, and since I hadn't done any of the finish, and I had the speaker out again to do that, I figured I might as well redo the inside as well.
So what I did, was take a piece from the sheet of the polyfill (which came in a roll), doubled it up, and laid it out on the back (flat side) of the right sized piece of the foam (I had a bunch of this lying around, about 1" thick). Then with my sort of dual-dampening panel set up, I laid it in place, and staple-gunned it to the inside wall. Repeat for all inside surfaces. It made a huge difference from before when I'd put my arm inside and snap my fingers.
When I hooked it back up after I finished this, there was more air movement, and I think I got a bit more volume out of it. (Maybe not as much extension? But I'm not sure on that one. IT still pounds down low).

2) The bracing was just for convenience, I had a big port tube that I had to run through the bracing so it was cut slightly larger with a square-ish side, you can see it in the pics. And I didn't want to cut a ton of holes.

3)The amp took some planning to fit in. You can see it in my wireframe diagram ... it fits just below the horizontal brace, on one of the sides that the vertical brace does not intersect. This might be easier to see from the wireframe as well.

Hope that answers your questions! A bit long winded, I know.