DIY sub for a n00b on a budget (1 Viewer)

[Johnny>BU]

I've been reading around about subwoofers, mostly looking at the JVC PB10, PB12, but also looking into the Sony WM40.

So I keep hearing people say things like "well if you're going to buy it check out the " and that got me thinking. I'm a pretty handy guy, why not build the sub myself?

So can someone hook me up with some reading material that covers the basic n00b questions like...

1) Should I DIY?
2) Now that I want to DIY, what Driver?
3) Why the Titanic over the Shiva?
4) Isn't the Shiva cheaper than the Titanic?
5) what volume enclosure for the shiva?
6) oh, should I go ported or sealed.
7) MDF or play for my sealed shiva
8) what amp
9) is 250watts enough?
10) etc etc etc

I'm not worried as much about which amp, driver or components yet, but I'd like to get an understanding of the basic design knowledge first and go from there. I've been searching, but nothing's popped up yet. At this point it is my intention to make a really nice enclosure and use a less expensive driver & amp to keep costs down. I am on a very tight budget.

I saw one that looked quite a bit like a round table. It was cylindrical and had metal legs. The speaker was on the bottom with the speaker clips etc all out of sight. My wife liked this much better than a big black box.

Long post I know, but thank you for staying with me

 

[Anthony_Gomez]

Holy crap!!! Someone took the time too read that !!! woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think the best reference for noobies to start out with is here: http://www.diysubwoofers.org/
There is lots of info here with easy to understand pictures etc.

There are plenty of inexpensive amps and drivers that you can use. Amps get expensive when you need more power. more power is needed with inefficient subs (which tend to use smaller enclosuers). ..so if you can handle a larger enclosure, you can get a more inexpensive amp.

What type of budget is a tight budget? What is your Hometheater/Music ratio?

 

[TimForman]

Here's one suggestion just for the sake of comparison. You could build a sonotube sub with a Shiva and 250W amp that would leave the subs you've listed in the dust.

Shiva driver - $125
PE 250 amp - $128
Sonotube - $ 40
1/2 sheet MDF - $ 10
Vent tube - $ 15
batting, glue,
wires, misc.
hardware - $ 20
----------
$338 + whatever type of cover you wrap the tube in. It may be possible to do this cheaper. I'm pulling numbers from memory.

 

[TimForman]

You know, I'd do better at this if I spent more time actually reading the original post. What you may have seen is a Sono-Sub. Someone figured out that you can take the paper cylinders used in construction for round concrete molds (Sonotube) and used that as a speaker enclosure. It's cheap and easy. Find a program called WinISD and learn how to use it. There are others but this one's free and easy to use. After you've figured out what size of sub you want to build there are lots of people here that are more than happy to offer advice, maybe more than you want.Check out DIY Subwoofers.Org

 

[Johnny>BU]

Yea, I'm looking at spending around $300. I know that's tight. I can adjust that if need be, but any successful project starts with budget.

I think the one I mentioned was a sonotube. Basically to get this past homeland security (my wife) I need to make it look like a semi-attractive, functional piece of furniture. I'll probablly put a plant on top of it or something

The good news is I LOVE to do research and time is on my side.

All my music is on a hard drive of a PC so this will be 90% for HT. Any good sub for music will do HT though so if I build it for music it should sound fine in a HT. Am I right here or showing my ignorance?

 

[Anthony_Gomez]

most music subs are sealed for a "tighter" sound. ported subs trade this off a bit for lower extension (also uses a larger enclosure)

 

[Johnny>BU]

http://terryctheater.tripod.com/shiv...bum/index.html

This is what I'm going for. It even matches the Dania/Ikea furniture

 

[TimForman]

The design you're looking at along with your thought of putting a plant on top requires that the driver and the port both be located on the bottom of the sub. You'll need a large diameter tube (18"-24") to accomodate that. Besides putting a plant on top you could even put a tablecloth on top. Go with the ported design for HT. You'll be much happier with the results. As a side note, the term is WAF or SAF (Wife/Spouse Acceptance Factor).

 

[TimForman]

Whoa...another thought. Consider Infinite Baffle designs. This requires having the appropriate space to build one but they are even less expensive, easier and high SAF. Visit the Cult of the Infinitely Baffled.

 

[Johnny>BU]

Hahahaha SAF/WAF lol Nice

 

[Mark_E_Smith]

May I suggest a 15" Dayton quatro about $86 and a 250w PE plate amp about $130, in a 22" external dimension 3/4 MDF cube. Sealed with some good bracing inside and some poly fill. should play MUCH lower and louder than any $300 commercial sub.