stuffing the Sony SA-WM40!! JUST DO IT! (1 Viewer)

[ErichH]

Good tip here.
You can make it even better by adding more internal bracing - a front to back as close to the driver as possible and also along the corner edges(front to back) if they don't have any wood there. A 3rd area is top to bottom. Use 1 inch or 1 1/4 strips of hardwood and just glue them in, but make sure they fit tight, and don't get in the way of the driver.
This will make the box very high pitched when you tap on it. The higher the pitch, the more rigid the enclosure. Now add that stuffing(fluffy-not stuffy!)
This should help the driver go a little lower in your now stiff box.

NOTE: this mod is for inexpensive boxes that have little or no bracing with 3/4inch walls, and a well known trick in shops that make sub enclosures.

Eric

 

[Todd Christ]

Good tip here.

Eric - have you done this mod? i know people do this stuff when building enclosures, but never heard of modding like this - VERY COOL!

also, what kind of glue would you use? standard wood glue?

 

[ErichH]

Todd,
Yes, I've made the mod to a number of subs for myself and others. It works. Yellow glue is fine for wood - no need for anything exotic.
One such project was with an Audio Source 12. It made the 180.00 sub sound and perform more like a 600.00 sub.
You don't need great skills - just make sure everything's tight!

Eric

 

[Todd Christ]

got pics? i don't want to go dropping in 2x4's

thanks!

 

[JohnKim]

another idea is what i did to my audiosource sw-15 (gotta love those audiosources for modding)

i used to have just 3-4 lbs of stuffing all around the sub, but once i saw the promo (dont nkow if its still going on) from parts express for the $10 vibration dampening spray used mostly for auto body panels i jumped on it (ok it was a mistake, i never cleared my shipping cart and bought it by mistake ha!) and so i took out my stuffing, sprayed it all over the inside, and finished the entire can with 2 coats, replaced teh polyfill

and i defintealy think there was another jump in easily audible improvement!

 

[Mike Frezon]

Well, here's a 5 1/2 year old thread rising to the surface...

I've owned a previously-used SA-WM40 for a couple of years now. It will be quite a long time, probably, before I get a chance to upgrade it.

I have read in many different places about the various modifications people have made to theirs over the years. Finding myself in a craft store over the weekend, I thought I might as well get the provisions and finally give 'em a try.

So I purchased the bag of poly-fil and the jar of Mod Podge.

Turned out the previous owner had already loaded up the compartment with Poly-Fil. But, it looked like it was over-filled (or had shifted a bit) since the enclosure was jam-packed--including the bottom-area where the port is located. So, I actually removed some of the pre-existing Poly-Fil from the bottom section of the sub.

I also applied a couple of light coats of the Mod Podge to the cone driver...being certain not to get any on the dust cap or the rubber surround. This is the sort of thing I would normally be hesitant to do...except that I have read so many different accounts of people having done it with varying degrees of success (and no horror stories).

Results? Hard to say for sure. I'd say the performance was improved. But I'd also wonder how much of that is wishful thinking on my part. My test was the first 12 minutes of the BD of Master & Commander (from the beginning through the first engagement with the Acheron). This is my all-time favorite audio track. It sounded very, very good. The big guns never sounded better.

The best indicator that there may be a little more "ooomph" in the bass department actually came later in the evening when my wife and I were watching an episode of CBS' The Amazing Race--not exactly a traditional LFE powerhouse. At one point, when the contestants were hanging in an overseas airport, my wife turned to me and said "what was that?" I had heard it as well and wasn't sure where the noise had come from. We both thought it was a car passing along the front of the house with one of those crazy bass modifications. But, I played back the scene from the show and it turned out to be some ambient airport noise that the SA WM40 had really brought to our attention!

I'd say I think that emptying out the enclosure of some of the Poly-Fil gave some more punch to the output of the sub. I'm hoping that the Mod Podge gives a bit more definition to the bass output. It will take a few more tests to hear, for certain.

In particular, I'm hoping to hear some of John Clayton's bass lines in some of my favorite Diana Krall tunes to make that determination! I always thought they were a bit boomy and overbearing before.