Help me make my 84 dollar sub sound like a SVS!!!!! (1 Viewer)

[SteveSpoon]

Well, couldn't wait to build my own or purchase an expensive (more) sub, so for now, would like any suggestions on getting a little better sound out of it.

Let me back up. Went to ABC Warehouse and bought one of their Jensen JS1000-A subs for 84 bucks. It's my first sub, so was pretty pumped up on getting started with subwoofers. Twelve inch woofer with a 100 watt amp. Has a nice looking cabinet. Popped the woofer out (pretty light duty as expected) and noticed that it did have some insulation in it. Insulation was white in color, about one half inch thick on walls of sub.

Couple questions: Should I add more insulation? If so, what type do I add? Any other suggestions that may "tighten" up a sloppy, cheap sub?

Will end up messing with this sub for a while and then probably throw it on Ebay and move on. Thanks for any help.

Steve

 

[Jeffrey Noel]

Steve, does it have any acoustic fill/stuffing inside of the enclosure? If it doesn't, I would suggest adding some to it. How much I don't know, but you could play around with it. The fill is what is highly recommended to add to the Sony SA-WM40 sub to make it less sloppy.
Just a thought!

 

[ColinM]

Strap a stick-o-dynamite to it.

It'll sound like an SV for about 3 seconds.

Thing is, this only works once.

Do the polyfill. $2 tweak.

Pack it 50%, then listen....add some more and decide if it's better or not.

Also, keep the crossover as low as feasible, to keep it from getting too boomy.

Have Fun!

 

[Anthony_Gomez]

Sorry, but you will not come close to an SVS (save for the dynamite)
about the only way to tweak anything is as mentioned ..with the stuffing. It may help..may hurt. Too hard to say. There is only so much you can do with an $84 sub...maybe make it a $100 sub?
..but...be careful or you will turn into a bass nut. Most of us started out with a cheap setup at one time...Mine was a passive bandpass sub with dual 5.25" drivers..if you call that a sub!
...now click at my system and you will see where the addiction leads!

 

[Johnny Mac]

Strap a stick-o-dynamite to it. It'll sound like an SV for about 3 seconds.

That's some funny stuff.

 

[SteveSpoon]

I'm going to run down to radio shack tomorrow and see if I can find some type of insulation to plug into the sub.

Who would have thought for 84 bucks how much fun a person could have!! Yeah, it's a boomy bass, but I never realized how much sound there is coming out of the subwoofer port on the receiver. Sure is fun climbing the ladder to bass success!!

Very addicting is an understatement!! Thanks for the help.

Steve

 

[Juan_R]

"Strap a stick-o-dynamite to it.

It'll sound like an SV for about 3 seconds.

Thing is, this only works once."

That is the funniest thing I have heard today.

 

[Denton]

If the sub is a ported design, I would not add fill. If it is sealed, buy polyfill from your local Wal-Mart or fabric store. Try adding about 1 pound per cubic foot of space.

 

[SteveSpoon]

It has two ports on the rear of the sub. At first, I thought somebody had stuffed a couple old empty toilet paper rolls in the rear of the thing. Actually, it doesn't look that bad. If anything, the wood (or whatever it is made of, pressed pig pooey, whatever.) on the cabinet seems a little thin. When I tap on the cabinet with my knuckle, it seems a little thin. Kinda echos a little.

Oh well. I'm having fun with it and the next step is obvious....the only way to go from here is up, so that decision is already made for me!!

Steve

 

[Phil Iturralde]

Denton is correct when he says "If the sub is a ported design, I would not add fill." I didn't with my dual ported AudioSource SW15 (besides, the Design Engineer said that it would compromise the lower Hz frequency).

The key for making it sound good (until you get an SVS) is to carefully integrate the sub to your room and REF Calibrate it with the rest of your HT Speakers.

Once you find a location in your room (start in the corner), REF Calibrate it with Video Essentials or AVIA and then verify everything by listening to your favorite DVD's and music CD's.

My Yamaha allows me to set the level/save for Subwoofer (SW) for my CD Music (same for TV Broadcast, VHS tape, audio cassette, tape, LD) then once that is done (sampling my Jazz CD music volume is a little above AVG and the sub foundation balanced, with deep impact, but not boomy or bloated), I then REF Calibrate the Dolby Digital LFE DVD side using the LFE Test Signal in Video Essentials. Once that is accomplished, on my Yamaha, I just add 10 to that DD LFE figure, to complete my DTS LFE.

SW = -20

DD LFE = -4

DTS LFE = +6

AudioSource SW15 Volume @ 3/4 gain (2 o'clock knob position)

Finally, I then sample my blockbuster DVD's (Jurassic Park III; Star Wars The Phantom Menace; Pearl Harbor; U-571; etc.) @ or near (if the wife is home) REF Level in Dolby Digital and DTS, to make sure that it sounds gloriously balanced with the overall DD/DTS 5.1 frequency and not boomy or bloated!

You should be able to do the same thing until the SVS is . . . 'in the house!'

Have fun,

Phil

 

[EricHaas]

"Denton is correct when he says 'If the sub is a ported design, I would not add fill.'"
That's odd. Everyone, and I mean *everyone*, is modding the Sony SA-WM40, a ported sub, by adding polyfill. I just finished doing it yesterady with my Sony and I am so far pleased with the result. This is what Tom Noussaine has to say on the subject:
Link Removed

 

[Phil Iturralde]

Like the AudioSource SW15 Designer told me (Oct. '99), . . . to quote Tom in the article you linked above

And with the ported box, the peak of the impedance curve on the lower side of the tuned frequency became heavily damped below the box's point of resonance.

I also found that stuffing gets less effective as box size increases. The morale: The bigger your box is, the harder it is to fool your woofer

My AudioSource cabinet size = 21.5"H x 16"W x 19"D / 68 lbs.

Thanks for the link though, it makes interesting reading and I may add some stuffing to my 80w 8" JBL ARC Sub @ my vacation house, when I go up to do some spring skiing!

Phil

 

[Denton]

There's not much to lose in trying polyfill on this Jensen sub. The owner might even try plugging the ports. A well designed ported enclosure is usually best lined with egg-crate foam. Jensen has used polyfill as the next best (cheap) alternative.
There is legitimate concern about altering the tuning of a vented box by stuffing it. Maybe the phrase "well designed" does not completely apply to the Sony.