A new sub project (2 Viewers)

You might be wondering why I'd be building yet another sub when I have two 220L tempest in the theatre. Well this little guy will be for the living room which is our second zone. There's presently two Paradigm Atoms up there that do a nice job for what we need but bass is something they simply can't do well...which is no surprise given their tiny size. Some time ago Bob Reimer from Creative Sound Solutions asked me if I'd be interested in building one of their new subwoofer kits based on the Shiva, EZSub14 and the Sub100 plate amp. Bob happened to be flying to Winnipeg this weekend so I met him at the airport and picked up the box containing the driver, amp, box and all the little goodies needed (glue,wire,stuffing,screws etc) The box it comes in weighs in at 45lbs which didn't seem to heavy when I picked it up off the airport baggage carousel but by the time I got to my car my arms were now a good 4" longer and I'll be visiting my chiropractor soon Anyway I told bob that I'd build this sub the way someone without access to tools and a "shop" to see how viable these would be for a complete novice to DIY so here goes...

The first thing I did when I got home was to open the box to see what was in the box. Click Here to see the box and Here to view the contents. As you can see it’s a very well thought out kit with everything needed all provided in a nice well packaged box.

The first thing I noticed after unpacking the MDF for the box was that the edges were routed so that they had a nice dove tail like edge which makes putting the box together incredibly easy and fool proof. Because of these routed edges you won't need clamps to hold the box together...in fact all you'll need is the supplied duct tape to hold it together while the glue dries. Click here to see the box been assembled. Here's a close up of the routed edges and here's a picture of the box being held together with the provided duct tape while it dried. Here's a picture of the bottom of the box showing the cut out for the driver and the amp. It only took about 30 minutes from the time I opened the box to the time I had it glued and taped so it’s very easy to build!

Once the box had dried for a few hours I decided to install the t-nuts to the back side of the bottom plate. Bob was kind enough to include a few extras which is a nice touch in case you happen to loose one during the building process. I was able to hammer the t-nuts into the pre drilled holes but it would have been a lot easier if I'd done that before assembling and gluing the box. You can see the installed t-nuts in this image. You'll note the excess glue along the joints...I doubt it was needed given the nice routed joints but I'm a creature of habit and come from the school of you can never have too much glue That's as far as I got today since I wanted to let the glue dry fully before I installed the amp and driver....stay tuned for part B tomorrow night.

Wow, that looks like an outstanding kit for someone who doesn't want to spend more on tools than the sub itself (a major impediment to DIY, as we know).

You're right Jack so far this has been extremely simple to build. In fact to try and mimick an apartment dweller I built the sub in my living room not in the shop so it is possible for nearly anyone to go the "DIY" route no matter what living arrangements you happen to have.

Andrew.

The Cuts are a 45 lock miter.Once the edges are glued with a small mixture of the glue and water.This is inportant to allow the cabinet to lock with out using clamps.
Straight wood glue is very very thick and the cabinet would only lock with clamps.So I got to a mixture of water in the glue,And with the brush the whole lock can be coated.
Only hint.You should place 2-3pieces of tape on each side.And they do not need to be a mile long.
Now for those not having tools.This is the easyest way to build a sub in a day.
I have glued one at 8 am after lunch removed the tape broke the corners with sand paper(I used a 1/4" round on another one) and painted it with a cheap black paint first coat.$3.99 Wal-mart.Then after 1 Pm I sprayed it with Bed Liner spray.Using the base coat,this sub can be sprayed even the bottom with 1 can of liner spray.
And it sets in 1hr.
Time goes by 3PM set in the insulation,driver( you can wire this while you are waiting.Drop in the AMP.And a sub in a day finished.
The holes are cut so the Sub100 AMP as well as the DT300 fit the same hole.
The DT300 is a tight push in fit the Sub100 just fits with a few C hairs left

And the best part the feet are cut into each side panel.

I am doing this joint for the CSS 1.0 and 1.5 ELF as well.
The sub cabinets are at this time 14"-17"-21"
All for the Adire line.But the volumes can work with others.
And the large cabinet fits the Tempest and a 4" port on the bottom plate.Were the Shiva is sealed.

http://www.woodshopdemos.com/cmt-lm5.htm
Link for thos to see a 45 at work.
Now a teater.
Veneered MDF core. on lock miter.
That means a finished veneered cabinet in a day
Soon
Back to more subs.

Al

What a tidy little package and very well thought out. Great job in presenting it as well Andrew.:star: :star:

Andrew
Yes a very well done Job.
And glad to see you liked the Kit.
The packaging of the lock miter is the bigest head ache Bob had to solve.
I cut and build he sells.The finished products are on myand will be on CSS site with many more under way.

Also the Nuts are prop nuts work better in my world over t-nuts.
http://www.creativesound.ca/details.php?model=PROPELNUT
They have a different bite on them over T-nuts.
Still working out final product combos but this Shiva in a 14X14X17 cabinet is a good small sub or matched with the 1.0-1.5 works very well.

Al
Waiting to see your final review of the design.
But I tell you the DT300 AMP adjusting boost is just a flip of the toggle switchs on the back.
Makes adjustments very easy.

Allan can the DT100's boost be cut with a mod to the amp? I'm not afraid to do some soldering if need be.

I'm planning on buying some veneer for this sub today and staining it red mahogany to match the living room furniture.

The boost is in the AMP you got as that is what we had intended for this kit.Dan is doing some more calculations for Bob on the out put of these as well as all the kits we have going.

So the Solen AMP you have you can solder the boost as it is the same as the PE 792 AMP but not a sealed back and the cord is attached.Other than that it is the same in every way.

I can not find the link to the boost adjustment.Thought i had it.
Maybe someone else can jump in if I can not find it.

The veneer sounds great.

You can email me direct if you have anyother questions.

Al

I started applying the veneer this afternoon but its not going as well as I'd hopped. From some reason the glue is seeping though the veneer so I have glue on the finished side. I guess I'll try sanding it off but its not going to be easy

Andrew.
Too bad on the glue.
I have been using real wood veneer not lined,paper backed for years with no proble.
My guess the wood veneer was very very thin.

Email Brian at
Link Removed
Brain may have a few ideas to help you out.Keep in touch.

Al

Andrew, what glue did you use? I've used solvent-based contact cement on 10-mil paper-backed veneer for years and have never had the cement bleed through the veneer. Did you use unbacked veneer? Also, I discovered FSV adhesive last year. It is meant to replace contact cement, but you have to buy minimum 1-gallon jug. Let me know if you want to discuss your veneer problem.

I used normal wood glue since that was what was recomended in the instructions.

NBL or paperbacked Veneer?

NBL? this was just very thin real wood with nothing on the back at all.

So how it going Andrew

Al

I should have some pictures to post tonight of the finished box. I ended up taking my router with a 45 degree bit and putting an edge on the side of the box to clean up the edge of the veneer. I painted that exposed MDF with a dark green paint then stained the whole box with a red mahogany stain. The green paint soaked up some of the stain as well which gives it a nice "weathered" look so over all I'm pretty pleased with it. I've applied two coats of glossy polyurathane to help protect it. So tonight I should be able to screw in the driver and amp and take some pictures of the finished product.

As I promised earlier here's how the final product looks...

Here's how it looks in its final resting spot in the livingroom

Here's the front of the box. If you look closely you can see where the glue's showing though the veneer


Here's the side of the sub


Here's what the shiva looks like on the bottom of the box


And finally here's the plate amp

Wow - I want one of these kits !!!
How does it sound ? Any test data ???

I plan on doing some testing with some test tones and my laptop but I'm not sure when I'll get the chance to do it. My wifes' due with our first child any day now so my life might get complicated very soon Then again maybe the LFE sweeps will be soothing to a crying baby:b

Looks very good.
Not so bad on the veneer.
Now your review on the design.
What do you think of the small shiva down firing.

Al