couple sub related questions (1 Viewer)

[Jon Torres]

This is my 1st home subwoofer. Okay, over the weekend I put together a box ~125 liters for my sealed dayton dvc 15. I figure the bracing I put in will reduce the volume to about ~110 liters and then heavily stuffed should give me a qtc of .57-.60. Earlier today, I fired it up w/out stuffing w/ my dad's old pioneer receiver giving it roughly 80 watts rms. The only bass dvd I had was LOTR, so I let it go. In some scenes such as when the dragon in the cave breathes fire, I hear a popping of some sort. When I turn down the volume on the pioneer receiver, the popping stops. So is this distortion or is the amp clipping? I plan on getting one of the 250w amps. Oh, and it still shakes the house.

My other question is if you can use a flush trim bit for baltic birch. The enclosure was made of BB because it was fairly cheap at $23.75 for a 5x5 sheet. I've seen people list it in the ~$50 range, so why not. I screwed up putting together the frame, so I have a significant amount of wood to cut flush. Would the flush trim bit ruin the BB.

Last question, what kind of finish can I put on BB? It's much better looking than MDF. Thanks.

 

[Anthony_Gomez]

The popping is definately the amp clipping. The drivers is most likely wired at 4ohms. I would bet that the reciever is gasping with that 4 ohm load.
It will be a night and day difference (IMO) when you power it with a proper amp.
and a little nit pick. ..it is a balrog, not a dragon

 

[Mel Silva]

Jon,
I may not know from building my own subs, yet, but I do know that Baltic Birch can be stained any number of colors from deep mahogany red to golden oak and still look great. I have tried pickling (whitewash) once, but it was very plain looking. I have also tried linseed oil which came out nice.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Mel

 

[Jon Torres]

Anthony, I have it wired at 8 ohms. One channel to each VC. So about 40 watts by 2. I went through a few more dvds and it's a big difference between no sub and a sub. I hope for a nice improvement w/ a plate amp. Re: the balrog, I knew it wasn't a dragon, but didn't have the name off the top of my head. I played that scene over and over.

Mel, thanks for the info. I'll definitely look into it. I'll probably end up w/ some shade of red.

 

[Anthony_Gomez]

Jon, 8 ohms...much better
as for baltic birch...

(uses 17 and 13ply Finnish Baltic Birch)
more pictures here