Shiva Project Finished (first DIY project) (1 Viewer)

[Leonard B]

I've finished my first DIY sub, a Shiva 142.5L EBS design. I went with this design because it offered a lot of performance for home theater applications. Thanks to all of you who offered suggestions and advice during the construction process. I followed the design from the Adire website exactly because I didn't want to mess the whole thing up. After a lot of cutting, drilling, and over 100 screws, almost a tube of caulk later, plus a lot of glue, I am very pleased with the results! This sub blows away my old D Box 302 (which was a good sub, given its performance and price point). I just recalibrated my system because the sub takes up a huge amount of space and I had to move my speakers farther apart. With the volume set at 1/3, I got strong response down to 20hz in my large and semi-open room (14w x 30L). I chose the 300-794 amp from Parts express (250 watts) and the FP-4 flared port kit. To help me move this beast around, I decided to add a base plate, and I think it looks better and adds only 3/4" to the overall height. Due to my lack of skills with finish surfaces, and my impatience to get the sub up and running, I used a textured spray paint and sealed it with 3 coats of clear coat spray. I think it looks really nice and I have the pride in doing all the project myself! It reminds me of an SVS boxed sub. To anyone looking to take on a project like this, I can say that it is very important to make sure your cuts are straight, predrill (I was very fortunate not to get any splits) and use glue. I took pictures of the building and finished product, which hopefully I will post this week.

 

[minhG]

leonard,

great to hear! i'm in the process of building this exact design.

one (dumb) question, when you started to assemble things, what order did you put things together?

i'm trying to figure out how to get the braces etc in the box. I cut everything with a jigsaw (yes, it was slow), but i got everything pretty straight, i need to do some sanding on the edges so i need to glue things together slowly to square things up.

thanks for any tips!

 

[Leonard B]

When I put the box together, I attached the top to a side board, then attached all the sides after that. I made an accidental discovery when I installed the braces. I found that in order to attach the front to back braces to the side braces and center brace, that I had to use a some L brackets. When I used connected all the braces together into one unit, they fit in snuggly into the box. I then predrilled some holes on the sides and put screws in so that there was no possibility of the braces moving. As a result, my box is as tight as a drum and there is no rattling.
Hope this helps.