DIY Sub Where to start?? (1 Viewer)

[dave_brogli]

Ive searched a bit and found pretty much nothing.

Ive got a 10"jbl car sub... can I use it?
Ive got a 4X6 Sheet of MDF board.
Ive got speaker wire.

What do I need? DO I really need to make it powered? Or can I just run it staright from my receiver? Or do I need drivers and all that other stuff I know nothing about...
Oh and I dont wanna pay a lot for this, I wanna keep it as cheap as possible!
And lastly where can the INEXPERIENCED DIY'er go for guidance... plans, ,schematics, dimensions??

Thanks guys!!!

 

[Wayne Ernst]

Dave, You'd be surprised by how much you can learn by reading through the past threads in this area. Most of what you need to know is contained in this forum.

For example:

1) Plate amps for powering your sub.
2) Enclosure sizes
3) Software: WinISD, LSPCad, etc.
4) Pictures and stories from members who have gone through what you are going through, etc.

While I don't think one individual could answer all of your questions, you'll find a lot of your answers here.

Finally, the best thing you could do at this point is to dig up the specs for the driver that you plan on using. This information will be essential for plugging into the software to determine the best enclosure size to build.

 

[Rob Formica]

There is a wealth of info on these forums... but there are several steps to starting your own DIY project...

1- The specs that wayne is talking about are referred to as the Thiele / Small Parameters (T/S). They are variables used to describe the characteristics of a driver. These should be available at the JBL site.

2- Take a look at the general info pages at http://www.diysubwoofers.org/ and then choose what type of enclosure you want to use for your needs. Sealed would be easiest for a starter sub.

3- Get software to calculate the enclosure size and vent size (if you build vented). Again check out the freeware wanye mentioned

4- get yourself a power amp. The subwoofer output from a receiver is unamplified, so you'll need to feed it to some type of amplifier. This could be a plate amp, a pro amp, an old receiver or stereo amplifier... etc...

5- Get started building...

good luck...
Rob

 

[dave_brogli]

Thanks guys... all this you talk about is foreign to me, I will sart researching....you've given me good direction to start in.

Ill keep everyone posted as to how it goes!