subwoofer cabinet kits? (1 Viewer)

[Philip_G]

Has anyone tried any of the subwoofer cabinets that parts express (and I'm sure others) sell? I was considering trying to build a first DIY sub with one of their sealed 10" boxes (1.0 cu ft) and a 10" driver, titanic maybe, or something else if there are any suggestions.
Unfortunately I don't have access to any shop equipment, so cutting is a bit of a problem for me

 

[chris hunigan]

Phil,
I have no experience with the PE sub enclosure kits. But based on my experience with MDF these should be very rigid enclosures. The only thing that you have to make sure is that you seal them well to minimize any air leakage.
If I were you I would go to your local woodworking shop, whether it be Lowe's, Home Depot, etc...and ask them to cut a full 3/4" or 1" MDF sheet (4' x 8') and tell them to cut it down to your specification needs. They may charge $1-$1.50 per cut/rip, but it will be almost half the cost of the PE 1.0 cu ft enclosure that they offer. Trust me on this! If you want I would be kind enough to place some enclosure dimensions via AutoCAD and see what type of enclosure cutouts you need.
Also If I were you I wouldn't limit yourself to a single 1 cu ft enclosure. Now if you have space and wife issues then you should consider going small, but if you have room that can accomdate a larger enclosure (maybe 2-3 cu ft) then you will probably get more satisfaction with the bass performance. Now it also depends on your listening needs/tastes. If you want sealed sub then you will compensate a few dB's down below. However, on the bright side a sealed enclosure is relatively small in size and gives off tight/punchy bass (which some say objectively). Although some say that ported or PR subs sound quick and tight in comparison to sealed enclosures. All in all it depends on how well the sub is designed...!
Also model the Titanic 10" in WinISD and see what type of results you come up with. Usually 1 cu ft is the minimium enclosure size for the Titanic 10". You can place it wihtin slightly larger enclosure if you prefer. Also another similar drivers that seem to be talked about are the SV10 and Stryke 10" drivers. I have no experience with either drivers, but they seem to offer good bang for the buck. www.audioc.com www.stryke.com
cree

 

[Philip_G]

I've considered having someone make the cuts for me, but I can't seem to find anybody in town that will do it. The nearest lowe's or home depot is Minneapolis MN, however I jsut thought of lumbermart here in town, perhaps they could do it.
As far as size I'm single, it's a small room but I can MAKE room for a good sounding sub, it's just a matter of a simple, cost effective design that I can build myself (on a college student's budget..) so really I'm open to anything. The shiva 12 is cheaper than the titanic 10" if that's a better driver maybe that's the way to go, though the titanic "looks" to be better constructed.

 

[Philip_G]

oops N/M

 

[Chris Sherman]

Phillip, I built a couple of sub cabinets from mdf and it wasn't too difficult , however my wife was not real thrilled with them , mdf smells terrible and it being winter here I was not able to paint them. I finally compromised and bought a prefinished oak veneer cabinet from MCM electronics . It looks great and the woofer hole is already cut and you can get the back cut for either a terminal cup or their plate amp. The cabinet sells for $79.00 and looks absolutely identical to the one adire audio uses in their new Rava sub. It took me about an hour to install my woofer ( Dayton 12" DVC ) and cut holes in the back for my plate amp and a 3" flared port, very easy project and looks great.

 

[Philip_G]

chris-
thanks for the tip! I'll have to check them out!
the obvious question is; how does it sound??!

 

[Philip_G]

well, I checked out the cabinet MCM sells for 80$ It looks pretty ok, it's 2.178 cu ft, I modled the shiva 12 to it as best I could if anyone would like to share some opinions feel free! I modeled it as a sealed, I can add a port if it helps any, I'm not too swift with winisd though, so I might have messed up the sub specs
www.onlinemac.com/users/philip/shiva12.wid
right click/save as if you'd like to check my model.

 

[Chris Sherman]

Phillip , I think it sounds great and I don't see how you can go wrong at the price. It really is a nice looking cabinet and it's cheaper than the unfinished kit ones at parts express.

 

[Philip_G]

very very true, I think 80$ for a finished cabinet with grille is a steal, going to call and order one shortly. Not much of a DIY project with a prefab case, plate amp, and shiva 12 though, more like a snap together project

 

[Eric M L]

Hey Philip! This message has nothing to do with HT. I just wanted to say Hey! to a fellow UNDer. I graduated in '99 with a degree in Mech Engineering. Of course, I'm sure you're in the aviation program.

 

[Philip_G]

WOAH very cool! You don't run into UND alumni outside of ND too often! (well I don't anyway)
how'd you guess I was in aviation?

I'm sure you've kept up on the ralph englestad fiasco and the name change ordeal?

 

[Eric M L]

Yeah, that place has been going downhill since I left. First the logo change...what's with that Notre Dame look-a-like anyway?? I can't wear any of my UND stuff out because people always think it's Notre Dame. "Whoa! When did Notre Dame switch to green??" What a crock!
At least good 'ole Ralphie boy's putting up some resistance to the name change.

I'm sure pressure from him is the last thing they want...$100 million dollar donation buys a lot of power.
Hey, when do you graduate? I've still got a couple friends in the aviation program. Wouldn't it be weird if we knew some of the same people??

 

[Philip_G]

Ahhh graduation... I dunno? maybe may of '02 if I get all my crap done on time. A lot of the people you know might be around as flight instructors, I'd know a few that way, all in all I don't know many people up here
I agree the new logo pretty much sucks. Did you hear about the letter he sent to the president threatening to walk away from the half complete arena if they change the fighting souix name? I gotta give it to the guy, he has some guts... and even more money.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Hi Philip I'm just across the boarder from you Personally if you were going to order a pre made box, driver and amp i'd skip the whole thing and just but the Riva from Adrie. The cost is nearly idential but you'll get a sub unit that Dan's tweaked with until he's happy. Now if you we're willing to do Sonosubs then thats a different story
------------------
The Pratt Home Theater

 

[Philip_G]

Andrew-
Nice theatre setup!
well, for better or worse I ordered all the parts seperatly, we'll see how it turns out