My First Subwoofer's Almost Finished! (1 Viewer)

[Peter_A_M]

After about six months of research, my father and I finally almost finished my first DIY project - a Stryke AV12 sealed subwoofer. It's a 3/4" MDF 15" internal cube ~.6 Qtc alignment, braced with a combination of JL Audio's Types A, B, and C braces, stuffed with about a pound of fiberglass insulation stapled to the sides, and powered by the Adire AVA250.

Here are a few pics:

Stryke Audio AV12 subwoofer driver (top)

Stryke Audio AV12 subwoofer driver (bottom}

Adire Audio AVA250 Subwoofer Plate Amplifier

Unfinished box

Semi-completed AV12 subwoofer (front, left, top)

Semi-completed AV12 subwoofer (front, right, bottom)

Semi-completed AV12 subwoofer (back)

I wish now that I had taken some more pictures detailing its construction (especially the bracing and stuffing), but I only have limited access to a digital camera.

But how does it sound? In a word, fantastic! In direct comparison to the affectionately called "Little DLS," Dayton's 10" powered subwoofer, the AV12 subwoofer can play deeper, louder, and, much faster (more on time?). The DLS sub lags behind my SCH K05B50s on pieces like Bach's Toccatta and Fugue in D Minor, but the AV12 keeps up admirably. I'm still curious to see how it would compare to Adire's DPL12 or Tumult in similar alignments, but so far, the musical presentation of the subwoofer is all I can ask for. (Until I get my hands on an LT and a bit more power, that is.

)

So what do you all think? I'm not satisfied with the looks of the subwoofer yet, particularly the seams. :b I have some pine trim and some nice hardwood lying around and hope to to finish it like Jeffrey_S finished his Tempest, but that's only a hope. I would've went with legs or spikes for the bottom, but since I'll be moving this thing around a bit during the next few months, I figured the wheels would come in handy.

In any event, thanks to everyone for answering my questions and for giving feedback by helping others finish their own projects. I'd like to take on Linkwitz's Orion and a pair of dipole subwoofers as my next project, but for now, I think I'll give my wallet a rest for a year or so. Think, anyway. :wink:

Edit: Couldn't tell my right from my left.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Nice, Peter, looks like fun. I just put my AV12 in a smaller (30L) sealed cab with the same amp, very nice combo!
A Linkwitz transform circuit really ups the ante, in case you wanted it to reach even deeper.

 

[Chris Carswell]

Welcome to the wonderful world of DIY Peter
BTW, does the cone really look like that (with all the imperfections/streaks) or is that from the flash? It seems to be in all of the pics. Just might have to call John on this one.

 

[Cam S]

It almost looks like the sub has a protective plastic sheet over the cone. I see weird marks on the cone, is that normal? Btw nice sub!

 

[Brett DiMichele]

The streaks only show up in pictures not really with the
naked eye. There was some interaction between the glue used
to secure the dust cap and the clear powdercoat that is
baked onto the cone. It caused "spider webbing" in the clear
powder..

Here you can see them on mine also..

 

[Ryan Schnacke]

Bryant Brunner, who frequents this forum, mentioned to me that his AV12 looked like it had little scratches or somthing like that on the cone. Apparently in his case it is visible to the naked eye. So this seems to be common among the AV12 drivers, or at least the ones with no logo on the cone.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Well it's a cosmetic thing.. I guess some may be anal enough
to return the sub, honestly it doesn't bother me in the
least.

I actually wish John just would have shipped these with
natural alloy cones (no powder coat) which would have
been cheaper to produce and would have made it easier for
me to polish the cone.

The powdercoat could be removed, it would be tricky and
would require some through masking and very careful
application of stripper and if you mess with the cones
too much you could leave finger marks in the alloy.

So it's goin in the box as it is..

 

[Bryan Michael]

hope the av15 dont suffer from this problem i am bulding covers that show the woofer and vents. and you will be seeing my sube everytine you enter and leav my ht

 

[Peter_A_M]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I've been away and haven't had access to the internet, but to make up for it, here are some pictures of the finished sub:

Finished AV12 subwoofer (front, left, top)

Finished AV12 subwoofer (front, right, top)

Finished AV12 subwoofer (back, top)

Finished AV12 subwoofer (back, left, top)

There are still some imperfections, but I've had enough of stain, paint, wood, sawdust, and tools to do anything about it. Hope you enjoy!

Jack,

Thanks for the advice. I read your and Jonathan's replies in the Sealed AV12 thread, but though I think an LT is a good idea, I don't think anyone would be willing to do a custom job for me at Anthony's prices. :frowning: Maybe Marchand's BASSIS.

Chris,

Thanks for the welcome. The cone really does look like that. There seems to be hundreds of scratches all over the aluminum cone, all of them visible to even the undiscerning eye. I'm not all that upset by it, but when I buy a driver in part because of its cosmetics, I expect it to arrive cosmetically perfect, or at least as close to perfect as possible. It's unfortunate that it arrived in such poor condition, but it at least sounds excellent.

I have, however, noticed a problem with the AV12 when playing at high volumes. I connected the subwoofer to my computer to run a slow sweep through WinISD Pro (alpha), and, to my dismay, I heard a loud rattling sound at around 55 Hz. Turning down the volume solved the problem, turning it up brought it back. It sounded like the cone was beating against the surround, and after a little trial and error, determined it was at the bottom. I don't know whether this is a common effect in all subwoofer drivers or a common defect among all AV12s, but it is certainly unsettling. Could anyone shed any light as to why the driver would make this sound?

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Peter,

Looks great!

The Bassis would be a great solution, but an expensive one compared to a LT. A Behringer FBD eq would likely work as well in-room and is a good addition for improving room response for any sub.

My AV12 also has the "checking" on the cone/dustcap.

I've had my AV12 up to extreme excursions, and have even bottomed it outside an enclosure listening for any extraneous noise, but it always sounded perfectly clean.

 

[Bryan Michael]

do everyone who got a av12 have the problem with the cone?
do you think the av15 will have the same problem?
if my av15 have that problem i will send them back. caues i might not be able to make a cover for them.

 

[Bryant Brunner]

Peter,

I just got my sub together for a trial run and I noticed the exact thing around 50 Hz. I thought that it was the wires from the amp hitting the speaker until you said something. As I said, I still haven't put the final touches on it so i didn't worry about it too much..... until now.

Bryant

 

[Brett DiMichele]

I ran my AV-12 Free Air (my box isn't built yet, too cold
brr...)

I ran a sine sweep from 17hz to 150hz and I sent 500 watts
into her, and had the gain on the amp damn near maxed out
and I had the LFE limiter off on my Reciever...

The only noise I heard is when she bottomed out Other
than that like Jack said it was all clear!

I am sorry about you guy's cones mine is barely noticeable
with my eyes and it's just around the seam between the cone
and the dust cap (it's not scratches it is actualy checking
in the paint (small cracks))

Yeah a perfect cone would be nice.... But I am cool with
it.. Like I said though, mine is barely visable I think I
would send mine back if it looked as bad as Pete's cone.

 

[Bryan Michael]

hey brett what amp are you using to run your sub? i am planing on geting a samson s1000 amp for mine at around 350 it is prety good bang for the buck. or would you recomend a different pro sound amp brand? thanks for all the advive. i am also thinking of geting the svs black box to have a ss filter and a way to improve the sigonal to drive the amp to its fullest.

 

[John E Janowitz]

Hi Guys,

The marks you see on the cones are from the screwup from the cone manufacturer. This was originally the cause for the delays. The cone manufacturer screwed up and for some reason used clear paint instead of clear powdercoat on the cones and dustcaps. TC caught the error, ordered a whole new batch of cones, and when they came in put them together and shipped them out to me.

They all looked fine at TC, and looked fine here too, so I assumed all was ok. It turns out the replacement cones also had the clear paint instead of the powdercoat. When they get bumped around by UPS, or as soon as they are played loud at all, the paint cracks and spiderwebs like that. It will crack for a little bit, then stabilize and after that won't do it anymore.

Since this is a manufacturer defect, I'm trying to work out something with TC Sounds for this. I realize that those who bought them, do deserve to get drivers without the crack marks. I will get new drivers out to everyone who wants one as soon as I work this out with TC. I will hopefully be sending return labels to get the drivers back to me, then having TC send replacements out direct.

I need to verify with Thilo that they have proper cones that will not have this problem again. I also need to check on the 15" cones.

For those who are concerned with the look and do want replacements, please let me know.

John

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Good of you, John. Mine isn't really noticeable to me across the room, though, and there's no way you're getting this thing away from me.

 

[Magnus Lindqvist]

Nevermind.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

John,

Sorry bud.... You couldn't pry my AV-12 from my cold dead
hands.. No you are not getting my baby back

Thanks for comming in though and letting everyone know what
caused this. I don't even want to begin to imagine how much
of a logistical nightmare it is, to undertake something
like this.. The communication across oceans, working with
numerous vendors.. Hey mistakes are made but it's when the
guy comes in and stands behind his product that you know
you have dealt with a Buisnessman and not a Shoe Salesman!

I commend you John!

But no, you still ain't getting my AV-12 back

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Bryan,

I am using an ARS-500 amp that is meant for an Acoustic
Research Hi-Res ARS-500 Subwoofer (15" Slot Loaded Cabinent
with a 500 watt RMS Sunfire TDC Amp)

Most people will tell you don't go this way because it
could have bass boost built into it to make up for a
certain lack of output in the "prebuilt sub" etc etc..

I gathered info on how to measure the amp to see if there
is any bass boost but I haven't had the gumption to sit
down and see if there is.. Right now I am using the amp
to drive the pair of 10" bass reflex subs in my AR9 mains
and I notice no particular bump in output so who knows..

Anyway this amp wouldn't work for most people. It was a
brand new unit I got off ebay (for a meesly 54 dollars!)
that came from AR's warranty repair centers, it was a euro
model that is suposed to run on 240V @ 60Hz... But after
careful examination by myself and my Electronics Engineer
friend we concluded it's a flexible voltage input it will
run on 50/60Cycles anywhere from 200V up to 250V and I just
happened to have a 220V line in my livingroom right where
the sub is going to sit

For me it was a deal I couldn't pass up.. Even if it does
have a boost circuit.... (It was less than 60 dollars for
a Sunfire amp and to me it was a no brainer)

But for someone else I would recommend just going the
traditional plate amp or external pro amp solution instead.

Ohh hey Pete.... Beautiful Sub Enclosure by the way!!!!

 

[Bryan Michael]

this is good to hear the 2 things i look for is a good bang for the buck and good customer servis. another company that comes to mind is polk with i also baught from. i would rather wait a little longer and get a product free from defects than try and make them ship a bad product earlyer.