M&K 150THX v. DIY - WAF - many questions (1 Viewer)

[Antony]

Hello, I'm relatively new to the forum, but really enjoy reading everyone's responses.

Here's my problem: I'm running no sub, and seriously need one. My wife doesn't want anything "visible" in her living room (my HT).

Our system: Pioneer Elite 43TX running M&K 750THX L/C/R with in-ceilings for the surrounds & surround backs. The TV is (temporarily) a new Panasonic Tau 27 incher, which resides in a wood entertainment center/wall unit. The center channel spkr sits on top of the TV, and the L/R spkrs are about 28" to either side, with the tweeters sitting at the same height as the center channel.

Our living room is built on a slab, so no basement mounting is available. Also, it is on the first floor of a 2 story house, so no attic mounting. I suppose I could build an in-wall unit, but that would mean some drywall creativity.

We use the system for about 98% HT, and about 2% music.

I was all set to buy the M&K 150THX to "complement" our speaker system, but the wife put her foot down. She also states that we do not need any "new end tables" or the like, so a free-standing sub (even in the corner) is out.

So here are my questions:
1. Are the DIY subs better than a "store-bought" variety?

2. If I go DIY, which driver best suits my needs? Should I use a sealed/ported/PR setup?

3. Has anyone built a sonotube enclosure and placed it horizontally on top of furniture (this would be the only tube location acceptable for WAF!!

4. Would I be better off sacrificing one of the "cabinets" in a lower corner of the entertainment center for the sub? I have this planned out: remove the 2 doors, build a 3/4" MDF enclosure to fit the space, then finish to look like the entertainment center. The space available is 34"w x 24"h x 13" d.

I'm very used to building sub enclosures from my old car audio days, so I'm not opposed to creative woodworking. However, I'm completely confused as to what to do. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Antony

 

[Anthony_Gomez]

1) Absolutely! Price wise, it all depends if you value your time to build it

2) Since your wife doesn't want to see it, then the smaller the better. This rules out ported/PR.

3) you should be fine, but you will have a different room responce than typical corner loading. May or may not better,...you have to model this.

4) This really limits placement (like in #3), but if modeling shows it to be fine, then go for it. You will have to brace the inside of the cabinet pretty good.

Will your wife allow for a small enclosure that is visible? You could always do something like the tumult in a 16.5" cube with a 1kw amp and LT. Plenty of clean/low bass in a small package.

 

[Rory Buszka]

that's enough bass to...shake a slab!

 

[Greg_R]

You could build an IB (infinite baffle) sub that wouldn't be in the room at all. You would just have a hole in the wall, floor, or ceiling which could be camouflaged as an air return duct.

 

[Anthony_Gomez]

IB's are usually use an attic, basement, or the space under the stairs for the back wave. I don't think Antony has these available to him.
A closet could be used for a small IB, but I doubt his wife is willing to give one up

 

[Antony]

Well, technically I could mount 1 or more subs in the ceiling, using the space between the floors of the house for the IB, but I'm not a huge fan of IB installs. I even entertained the idea of tearing a good 6 foot section of drywall out of the ceiling and mounting a custom MDF box between the floor joists, then drywalling! That would be the ultimate stealth install, but my wife didn't like the idea of having "a big hole in her living room for a couple of months" (I have a habit of indefinitely extending DIY projects!).

So I'm just about 90% sure that I'm going to build an enclosure into one of the lower cabinets of our entertainment unit. After taking a rough measure of the space, I could actually get a 4.3 cu ft enclosure into it!!

Now I just have to be sure that the "built-in" enclosure is what I really want. The alternative would be a "normal" enclosure sitting on top of the unit.

Thanks for everyone's help. I'll try to take photos and show off the work once I get started.

Antony