First listen of my new sub! (pic links) (1 Viewer)

[Brian J Dupuis]

Hey guys!
Big day yesterday! I got a whole lot done at lunch yesterday, so late last night I decided to finish things up and give her a listen.
First things first... new pictures! Here's some direct links, since I didn't have a chance to do anything but throw them up on my web server.
Here is a picture of a test fitting of the DVC in the baffle. Perfect!
Here is a dry fitting of the interior bracing I've been talking about. And you can see my one misrouted hole... 3" instead of 4". At least it's in the center, so it looks like it could have been planned for some esoteric airflow reason .
Here is the glued-in 1/2" edge bracing I was talking about. Note the copious sealant .
Here is everything glued up except the top. Merle band clamps to the rescue.
This is the sloppiest sealant application in history. But hey, the top is on.
Stuffing! And I ain't talking Stove Top.
Here it is! The "finished" sub, sitting in my living room. All I have left to do is rabbet the edges a bit more to fit 3/8" square stock, then round that over, then flush-mount the amp (forgot that part), then stain and finish. One last look, for good measure.
Okay, back to the story... all I had left to do was drill the holes for the amplifier mount. That went smoothly, so I went ahead and mounted the sub after wiring the VCs in parallel. Fit beautifully, really, really well. After all the horror stories I'd heard about people not being able to line up the bolts with the T-nuts, I was worried, so this made me feel good. Hooked up the amplifier leads and inserted the amplifier and had no problems with that either. When everything was in, I pushed on the cone a bit, and it did not want to move... maybe it's sealed decently after all! Yeehaw!
Lugged it in the house (yeah, it weighs a bit... I'll have to get a scale and weigh this thing), and hooked it up! It was in far from the optimal location, placed on top of one of my little JBL 4410 mains, since I don't have an RCA cable of appropriate length yet to reach the intended corner of the room, but I figured I could at least make sure things worked rudimentarily. Popped in a bit of Marc Antoine which has some decent funky bass in it and stood back.
Whoa! I haven't actually felt music in my house before. What a completely awesome experience. I flipped through tracks, then popped in a Marcus Miller CD with some significant deep bass guitar work on it. Very lively. Very punchy. Figured I had to try out some DVD LFE stuff, and had heard that the Toy Story 2 intro had some decent stuff in it. Wow! First, that moo cow robot THX intro was quite awesome. Good God, my wife was sitting with her hand pressed to her chest. Then on the zooming in of the logo, man the room shook. And I didn't even have it really cranked! Just at our regular, relatively low listening level. I adjusted the sub level and crossover point a bit to get it to be a little less overbearing (the Buzz flight scene was pretty much overshadowed by the little sub ), and tried again, and this time it filled in the bottom octaves nicely without overwhelming it. But it still shook everything! I'm going to love watching movies and listening to music.
By this time, it was pretty late, so I called it a night. I took it back out to the garage and removed the components so that everything could completely dry without ruining my stuff. What a day! Thanks agian to everyone on this forum... I literally could not have done this without your assistance.

 

[Chris RE]

You did a good job on that sub. Its much more gratifying building your speakers, especially when they sound awesome. Keep up the good work. I need to get into a subwoofer project again too. I can't decide how I want to go about it though. I've already got 3 but you can't see any of them anyhow so I don't think I would have to get too technical on the box construction. If its ugly I dont care. Yours looks great. My home theater link. Link Removed

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Great job, Brian, congratulations! (I think it's ludicrous when people congratulate one another on mere purchases, but a DIY project in another matter entirely, and you should be proud.) Good idea to take the components out 'till the sealant cures, those acetic acid fumes have been known to damage surrounds and driver adhesives.

It's amazing what can be had for really a very nominal investment, and that DVC really is nice in a small box. The new U2 cd has some very cool bass, also.

Let me add that it's a pleasure to help someone out (in my very small way) who not only takes the time to throw out a "thank you" once in a while (not common enough) but whos questions and follow-ups are thought out and indicate that he read and understood the advice previously given (just speaking for myself, that makes me feel that I'm not wasting my time.)

 

[Brian J Dupuis]

Let me add that it's a pleasure to help someone out (in my very small way) who not only takes the time to throw out a "thank you" once in a while (not common enough) but whos questions and follow-ups are thought out and indicate that he read and understood the advice previously given (just speaking for myself, that makes me feel that I'm not wasting my time.)

Wow, thanks Jack, that sincerely means a lot to me. I really try not to waste peoples' time as much as possible (well, except for my epic descriptions... can't help that, I get excited and can't stop typing :b), and try to take every piece of information as important and useful. I'm just glad that there are people like you and Hank and Thomas and Rick (and others I know I missed, of course) who take the time to help total dolt newbies like myself. Not even a month ago I had never held a router in my hand, and today I have a decent little sub, solely from information gotten from you guys. That's powerful! So, again, I very much appreciate all the recommendations and advice.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Congrats on the new member of the family. I echo Jack's thoughts on people who do a bit of rumination on the advice given here (freely, I might add). That's a big part of DIY, it's a series of solving small to large problems.

Getting into philosophical mode: It goes back to that adage "give a man fish, he'll eat for a day, teach a man how to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime".

There is a sense of pride and accomplishment that is relatively priceless when a project comes together and meets or exceeds expectations. (There's a Master Card commercial in there somewhere...) It's something that makes DIY very gratifying for the right type of person.

 

[Brian Bunge]

Brian,
Great job! I wish my first sub looked that nice! Glad I was able to help out in a small way (can't believe you forgot to thank me though! I mean, we have the same name!)
"...but whos questions and follow-ups are thought
out and indicate that he read and understood the advice previously given (just speaking for myself, that
makes me feel that I'm not wasting my time.)"
I think Jack just misses his old buddy, Tyler!
Brian

 

[Neil Joseph]

What is the net voolume on your tempest sub?

 

[jeff lam]

Jack,

You have no idea how much of a difference your knowledge and experience make in these forums. Just from hangin around this forum listening to all of you has taught me a great deal. With you and everyone else that helps out those of us that are just getting started with DIY, it truely makes a difference. You are doing everything but wasting your time.

Thank you all for taking time to help.

 

[Kerry Hackney]

Brian,
OK, now you're bothering me... I am still a week or so from getting to try out my Tempest enclosure.
I'm really glad your sub is turning out nice. It will be fun to see/hear how your sub comes in once you have it corner loaded. You should gain a few db capability. Once you get it tweaked I'll bet you spend time going through all of the cds you own. Big improvements make everything brand new.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Pat put it better than I, and his adage is particularly applicable to the activities discussed in this area.
Jeff, you're very welcome for any help I may have been, folks like you make the interaction fun. And, for what it's worth, I have a long way to go before I can claim to have given as much help as I've received.
BrianB, you read my mind. :rolleyes
My own activities for today, since I'm home, include routing PR and driver holes for a new box and playing with my new flush-trim bit (1" long, 1/2" shank) from Ridge Carbide. I can see that doing the "oversize and trim" thing for the two outset pieces is going to really work well, beautiful result. Much too cold to be doing these things out back, though, I can't wait for spring.

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

Congratulations, Brian (not you, Bunge)! That baby is going to look great when finished. As Patrick, said, there's nothing like the feeling of a successful D-I-Y project! No product bought can be part of you, as is your D-I-Y project.

 

[Brian J Dupuis]

I'm really glad your sub is turning out nice. It will be fun to see/hear how your sub comes in once you have it corner loaded. You should gain a few db capability. Once you get it tweaked I'll bet you spend time going through all of the cds you own. Big improvements make everything brand new.

Yeah, it's really an eye opener. I mean, I've sat in demo home theaters for Parade of Homes houses, and at expensive audio "salons", and heard some amazing things (best yet, I think, was a Revel Salon setup with Theta components... that was pretty nice). But I've been so used to my meager little setup at home, that it really breathed life into it. Of course, now it makes the rest of my speaker complement pale in comparison, especially my center channel (don't ask... okay, it's a $20 Technics "center channel" that I bought many years ago when I got my first Dolby Pro Logic receiver and realized that a center channel would be recommended. It has one 3" (?) driver in it, and weighs about a pound. The awful truth, I know). So, I'll have to get cracking on filling out the rest now .
As far as the CDs go, I had a little bit of that experience last night... I popped in a music DVD (Mirrorball by Sarah McLachlan) to try out some 5.1 music. I must have seen/heard this disc a hundred times, but I'd never heard the foundation of the bass guitar like I did last night. Same with Marc Antoine, same with Metallica (yes, I know), same with some older Wes Montgomery and Joe Pass. Yeah, I'm going to be spending a lot of time "relistening" to things.

 

[Chris Davies]

Brian ,
Verry nice ! Could you please fill me in on all the info about where to purchase all the hardware and plans etc. I am very eager to build one . E-Mail me at [email protected] or just post it here . Thanks

 

[Brian J Dupuis]

Thanks, Chris! Once I complete the sub, I plan to do a nice site on the construction of it to try to "give back" some to the community. Until then, here's some details to get you started to see if this is something you want to pursue.
I bought the driver and amplifier from Parts Express. The actual design of the box, if you want to call it that is my own. I used PowerCADD 2000 on the Macintosh to draw it up, and I do plan on making the plan accessible once I figure out if I can export it to DXF or some other more common format. From that and a cut list I made up as well for the MDF and plywood, I was able to get started.
In terms of other miscellaneous things I used, here's a not so exhaustive list off the top of my head.
* One sheet standard 97" x 49" 3/4" MDF
* One sheet 4'x8' sheet 1/4" oak plywood.
* Some (4-6) pieces of 1/2" x 1/2" x 36" wood for internal edge bracing.
* Some (6-8) pieces of 3/8" x 3/8" x 36" quality wood for exterior finished edges (these will be the edges that are rounded over for the exterior finish).
* Eight 10-32 T-nuts and 10-32 2" machine bolts for mounting the driver.
* One container Titebond wood glue.
* One tube of silicon caulk.
* One tube Liquid Nails.
* One 5 lb. bag of polyfill (or two 1 lb. bags, since all you really need is 1 1/2 lbs.)
* Stainable wood filler, stain of choice, finish of choice.
That's about it. For tools, I used all of the following. You could probably get away with less.
* One plunge router (practically everything... circle cutouts, some straightening, roundovers, rabbetting, etc.) with Jasper circle cutting jig.
* One electric drill and one cordless drill (electric drill had General Tools precision drill guide for drilling perpendicular holes, and cordless was used exclusively to screw and unscrew extremely long bolts )
* One Jigsaw (initial cutout of amplifier hole)
* Two Merle band clamps for various clamping duties.
* Two 36" pipe clamps, also useful.
* Two 3"-opening spring clamps.
* Router bits used: 1/4" spiral upcut (most of the heavy cutting duties), 1/2" straight plunge (initial cut on outer flange to protect plywood finish), 1/2" flush trim bit (just the most useful cool thing ever... plan to use even more on next project), 3/8" rabbet, 3/8" roundover.
All that and I still saved money over retail . And it'll just keep getting cheaper as I build more.
Hope this gets you started. I'll (of course) post when I get the full construction page up. Thanks for the interest!

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Excellent post, Brian, having it all in once place like that will really help people. You do raise a good point, and that is that DIY really only starts to "pay off" if you plan on this being a fun hobby and not just a way to get a sub on the cheap. The tools themselves can be a major investment.

 

[Brian J Dupuis]

You do raise a good point, and that is that DIY really only starts to "pay off" if you plan on this being a fun hobby and not just a way to get a sub on the cheap. The tools themselves can be a major investment.

Absolutely. I'm looking at this as:
1) a fun hobby
2) a way to "create" things
3) a way of (continuously) upgrading my home theater
I think there would have been a general revolt in the Dupuis household if I acquired all those tools just to build one subwoofer. But man, it sure is addictive to create something of quality (wellll... I'm shooting for quality, and I'll hit it one of these years ) and actually listen to it for the first (and second, and third...) time.
I'm really looking forward to getting my hands wet with some full-range speakers now, starting with a very high quality center channel. I don't pretend to know about crossover design theory or driver selection, so I'll probably stick to someone else's design, but I still think it will be rewarding. One of these days I'll get to the point of being able to do the entire design.

 

[Eric Kahn]

Congrats on the sub

I wimped out when I went up to Parts express to get the amp

I ended up with one of Parts express's 15 inch sub kits with prebuilt box, price was too good

still plan on building sonotube sub this year

 

[Chris Davies]

Thank you very , very much Brian !
I can't wait to get started and to see the site when it's complete . Right now I would settle for a sketch drawing of the enclosure if you have one . Just scan it in , and I will be on my way ! I am a machinist by trade and have access ( after working hours ) to CNC milling machines to do all the cutouts etc. And a friend of mine owns a wood shop and I have access to all to wood working tools that I don't already have .
I am currently building new cabinets for all of my components combined with bookshelves above them . So I have the skills and resources to do the project , just need the plans ....

Thanks again !

 

[Chris Davies]

Here a few pics of the current project .
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I have the doors made up for the cabinets , but waiting to attatch them after I stain them .The unit on the left side of the fireplace has one coat of stain on it.
If you get out your magnifying glass , you might be able to see my front speakers :frowning: . And notice the subs.... now you know why i want to build a new one .

 

[Brian J Dupuis]

Here a couple of pics of the current project

Actually, I couldn't load any of those pictures. Kept getting a "forbidden".