help on building a diy sub (1 Viewer)

[Riaad]

Hi

I am quit new to the home theater scene.I have been reading this forum for a while and i think its great and have learned alot.

I would like to build a DIY sub as my father is a cabinet maker and building it should not be a problem. However I live in South Africa and im not quit sure where to get the drivers and amp for the sub.Could you use a car subwoofer or are there special HT drivers ?.

What would I need to get to build one? . Could I order them online? , however i think that would work out very expensive due to the exchange rate.

I really need your help on this one and any suggestions will be appreciated .

Regards
Riaad

 

[Rob Lloyd]

Go check out Link Removed for help on this. He can now ship international and can probably give you an estimate on shipping.
Rob

 

[Kerry Hackney]

Riaad,
In "general", car subs don't usually work out well for HT applications. You can deffinately order on-line from several good manufacturers. You may want to check with Dan at Adire to see if he could arrange international shipment... www.adireaudio.com
Also, www.madisound.com / www.partsexpress.com both have good options.
Otherwise, post some of the car sub options that are available to you and maybe the guys can help you make the best of what you've got...

 

[Riaad]

Hi

Thanks for all the links . I have checked them out and have requested shipping cost prices . However there is so many drivers and amps to choose .

My room is small to medium .

Any recommendations on what drivers and amp to get.I would like something that really sounds good.

Another thing is that , is it true that building your own sub is much better that just buying one in regards to performance and price ?.

Regards
Riaad

 

[Rob Lloyd]

You can get Parts Express and Adire stuff from Acoustic Visions.

I have the 12" Adire Shiva w/ an Adire 15" PR. On the back of the sub is the Parts Express 250watt amp. It's a great sub that I'd compare to a $1200+ retail sub. So yes they are much better and less $$$. It's tuned to about 19-20hz.

My room is 12x15 and I can only turn it up a little less than 1/2 way. Lots of room left for the new house.

Rob

 

[Riaad]

Hi Rob and Kerry
I searched the web yesterday and came across a local website that import spekers . This is what they have available .It will be much cheaper for me .
http://www.scotronics.co.za/paudio.htm
Have you guys heard of P.Audio subs.
E12 -300S
E15-300S
HP-15W
Would it be more helpful if i provided the t/p specs of these. Could i possibly email them to you guys ?
Regards
Riaad

 

[Kerry Hackney]

I looked at all three you listed. All have very small xmax and relatively high Fs. I am guessing they're aimed at horn loading applications. I don't see them as a practical choice for home theater subs.
Here's a quote from another thread on this forum.

"You've probably heard of EBP before? Small's recommendation using Fs and Qes to determine driver applications? You divide Fs by Qes to get EBP, and Small gave some recommendations.

HOWEVER, in my experience here's what I recommend from EBP:

EBP < 40: sealed box
40 < EBP < 80: sealed or vented box
80 < EBP < 120: vented box
120 < EBP: not a subwoofer

Essentially, if your EBP is too high, you simply cannot get adequate response down in the 20s - you have a tough time breaking past the 32 Hz range. And I don't consider that a subwoofer. You need to be in the 25 Hz range or lower to be a sub, IMHO."

That's from Dan Wiggins at Adire. I did the calc for the E12 and the result is 188 = Not a sub... For the E15 it is 158 = Not a sub, and the HP-15 it is 56 which is suitable for sealed or vented enclosures... However... it has a very small xmax of only 3mm and a huge VAS of 254 liters. I don't think you want a box the size of your room unless you're doing an infinate baffle. NOTE... the Vas works out to 9 cu/ft. For many people that's pretty big. If your into the water heater type tubes... it could be an option. To work well, i think the enclosure would have to be even bigger.

You might want to contact them to see if they have other drivers available not shown on the site or if they can point you to another South African distributor. If they are speaker guys themselves they have proablably looked for sub drivers too.

As for good US choices... Adire Shiva or Tempest.
from Madisound ... NHT 1259
from Partsexpress... the Titanic series