stuffing the Sony SA-WM40!! JUST DO IT! (1 Viewer)

[Todd Christ]

wow - so i opened up my WM40 today, i've had the bag of polyfill for about 3 months now, but i wanted to really hear the sub for what is was just out of the box...

so - i used about 10-12 oz. of the fluffy poly pillow stuff (WallyMart for $3.50 for a 20oz bag) and HOLY COW WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!

there's enough play in the cabling to do this project with the sub in it's normal playing position, just be careful not to "drop" the speaker when taking out that last screw

there was an 8" by 12" (about 1/4" thick) piece of poly stuffing/filler already in the box... pretty much useless... but with the 10-12 oz. of stuffing the box is pretty full (losely packed)

incredible sound, not boomy at all anymore... (which i'll now admit the original was a bit boomy)

oh yah, one thing i noticed is that the AMP wasn't even in the same chamber as the speaker so there's nothing to worry about with messing with electronics - very cool bonus!!!

anyhoo... the cliff notes version is to put 10-12oz. of poly (fluffy) stuffing in your Sony SA-WM40 for truly excellent sound from a sub $500 sub...

 

[Todd Christ]

so - i got some emails on "how to do this"...

here's my best shot...

1. unplug the sub (duh!)
2. unplug any cables connected to the sub
3. you can either place the sub on it's back, or just have it sitting up (like normal) i did the latter (by myslef)
4. remove the speaker cover (4 push-plugs on the corners)
5. remove the 8 screws holding the speaker in place, be careful you don't drop the speaker!
6. there's enough cabling for you to take the woofer out and place it on the floor
7. stuff the box (loosely - not tight) with 10-12 oz of stuffing (about 1/2 a bag) and be sure not to block the port at the bottom of the enclosure
8. put everything back together!

That's it! i did this in about 30 minutes by myself, easy mod to do.... there are no electronics inside the enclosure itself - just a few cables and the woofer...

happy sub modding!!!!

 

[Cagri]

Todd, did you just fill the whole enclosure loosely or stapled/glued the polyfil onto the walls? If you stuffed it into the box how did you manage not to block the port?
I am waiting for my spikes to arrive and then I will do the mod and if putting the stuff inside is working instead of stapling or glueing it, I will do that way.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

I would have used Cat Litter.... (Sorry, Old Forum Joke!)

Good Job

 

[Mark Hedges]

I wonder if something like this would help my 8" 100W sony sub that came with my HTIB kit. Has anybody tried doing this on a smaller sony sub?

Mark

 

[Todd Christ]

Todd, did you just fill the whole enclosure loosely or stapled/glued the polyfil onto the walls? If you stuffed it into the box how did you manage not to block the port?

i just stuffed the box, no glue or staples, it has enough "lift" to hold itself in place and it's light enough that i'm fairly certain that it won't drop down into the port (which is at the bottom/front of the enclosure) it's SOO EASY!!!

sorry Brett, but i was fresh out! but i heard the multiple-cat extra clumping style provides a more "digital sound" you know, like 1's and 0's - THUMP/WHUMP... HAHA

 

[Neil Joseph]

More stuffing tips....

Make sure to leave cooling space around the amp. Not doing so can cause it to overheat. I had blown a transistor in my current sub due to overstuffing (PSB Subsonic 6). I diagnosed the problem to a small power supply card (no larger than 2" x 3" in size) that was mounted on the amp assembly. PSB wanted to charge me cdn$600 for the amp. They would not sell me the card alone. I ended up buying the 4 power transistors on the card and replacing all 4 myself as this was the most likely cause of such a problem (electronics in college payed off ) and it fixed it.

 

[Jeremy:L]

I'm assuming this would void the warranty, correct? If so, I'll probably just wait a year and deal with the boominess...

 

[Todd Christ]

i would assume that this voids the warranty - but at $135 i'm taking the risk... if it blows up, it's just God's way of telling me i need to upgrade to an SVS

 

[BrettisMckinney]

Hey todd, thanks for your tips, i've had this sub for a while now(mod free) and love it. I havnt found it too boomy at all, i just change settings from music to HT. What settings do you have for you cross-over and volume? I'll have to get some polyfill and give it a try i think! Can do no harm hey!

 

[Todd Christ]

What settings do you have for you cross-over and volume?

well from the research i've seen on this site - i have my crossover turned the whole way up and i'm letting the reciever's crossover run @ 80Hz...

i still have yet to borrow/play with my buddies AVIA setup so volume is pretty much adjusted to taste right now

my biggest problem is that i have a 15x30 room with vaulted ceilings - i have the sub loaded in a corner which creates some spikes in the lown end... i know this sub doesn't exactly "pressurize" the room - but i can't watch HT with the windows open because the neighbors hear me

 

[BrettisMckinney]

Coss-over way up? No wonder you thought it was boomy! I set mine to about 80 and the volume can sit just over half to be plenty loud. WHen i do the 20,000hz drop tone on the TXH optimizer it intergrates perfectly. I have the lfe set to sub on my amp which has it set to 80hz. I havnt put a disc in like Avia yet though and done a spl measurement so i'll fiddle more then. Be interesting to hear the difference with the filling..whether it decreases volume etc

 

[Todd Christ]

hmm - well i thought the onboard crossover didnt' matter when you only sent signals 80hz and below from the reciever... ??? am i wrong?

i haven't really noticed a decrease in sound output (as some have stated), but then again - i'm not really out to blow the roof off with this guy

 

[Kevinkall]

I did this mod this weekend and I could instantly tell the difference. WOW! What a difference $3.50 and about 10 minutes can make. Was kinda nervous about opening up the sub at first, but this couldn't be easier. Since I have a small home theater this made a BIG difference. No more BOOM and alot more PUNCH! I also have a question about the levels on the sub. I have mine set to around 80hz since my receiver(kenwood 6070) has a 80hz cutoff when in THX mode. I'm guessing that this setup is correct.

 

[Michael.Cu]

It's my understanding that if you are using the receiver's crossover you want to set the sub's crossover as high as possible so there's no interference with the signal from the receiver---especially since the sub's crossover probably isn't as accurately calibrated as it should be.

 

[BrettisMckinney]

Ok...i just got some polyfill..gonna wack it in now. I'll chime back soon and let ya know what i thought!

 

[BrettisMckinney]

Just before i close it up..how much do you fill it up? Did you kind of pack it in tight or leave gaps. I've filled it up and left space at the bottom front for the port

 

[BrettisMckinney]

Hmm..ok, i think i filled it too full. Just found this guys tute..http://www.nonsensicalgibberish.com/sony.html He's only got it to the sides,top and back and left a hole in the middle for the driver. I just filled it all up full not too tight but full. Didnt notice too much diff..a little less loud. Might try it without as much?

 

[Todd Christ]

yep - his site pretty much looks like what i did... not too tight though, you don't want a solid wall in there

 

[BrettisMckinney]

OH i filled like a turkey! I'll be digging my hands in tonight!