Looking for DYI Subwoofer Links

[Guest]

to go with my AR94's (Front) and AR48's (Rear).

I want to make this baby myself with a passive crossover circuit and nice US$100 12" Sub/s and 100W amp module.

Got any good links?

I did hear of one in a 15"x3' form board tube used for concrete that pointed to the floor and you couldn't even tell it was a sub.....

[Guest]

Quite a challenge. I believe you mean DIY.

Here is some sites:

http://www.decware.com/diyboxes.htm

http://www.tnt-audio.com/

http://www.partsexpress.com/?AID=1457534&PID=863605

Given the speakers you have, you want the high end of the sub 3 db down at 45Hz, and serious output below that.

Some software:

http://www.partsexpress.com/resources/pebox.html

With only 100 Watts, you are talking some sort of vented system, which will not match the sound of your ARs.

Layne:

http://layneaudio.hypermart.net/AR.htm

has some:

"For the bass-aholic we also have a special HD version of the poly/rubber woofer [$65 ea, very limited availability]. This guy has a 50% bigger double-stacked magnet, full 2" voice coil, and twice the linear throw of the standard version. Downside? they need power to get the heavy cones up and running, not appropriate for 2-way use, so good only for the systems with a dedicated midrange [93/ 94/ 338/ etc]. In the right cabinet with a good amp these are spectacular sounding woofers, originally custom built for an 8" 3-way speaker that sold for $2000/pr."

If you do not have powerful amps for your current AR's I'd spend the money there first. An Adcom 545, 545 II or 5400 for each pair you have. That will improve the sound much more than any sub.

If you really want a sub, I suggest a copy of an AR9 with just the woofers. Figure around 4 cubic feet internal volume, well braced, stuffed, and a pair of AR woofers. And a 500W to 1000W amp.

Nigel

[Guest]

Here's another good one:

www.madisound.com

A friend uses these guys, and loves em. They do have some pricey raw drivers!

Later

Chris

[Guest]

I was looking to design and build including an amp module - hence the price bracket. Willing to spend US$150-200.

So I'm not looking for a kit...more sites that give me the info to design my own + possible PCB layout and parts listing/circuit...

[Guest]

If you budget limit is around $200, you're going to want to stick with a smaller sub [10"] if you want decent performance. For a hair over $200 you can get a good 10" woofer [$60 to $70] and a quality 200w sub amp [$159]. For that $$ you can build a sub equal to commercially produced models selling for $600-$800.

There are few 80-100w sub amps available on the surplus market, but they are only suitable for 6.5" or 8" woofers. Wayyy too wimpy for a decent 10" or larger woofer. To get your woofer to sound right it needs to have an amp big enough to stay clean on the peaks, a too small amp will wind up clipping continually, making even a high quality woofer sound bad. For $159 you can get a very high quality, low distortion [.02%] 200w RMS amp that will push a hard 4 ohm load and not overheat or shut down. You'll see some $120-$130 amps touted as being 250w or 300w into 4 ohm, but at .2% distortion [10x higher, clipping level distortion]. These amps cost the retailers about $35 each at wholesale, and this cheap construction shows in their overall performance. Even though they retail for only about $30 more, the better amps cost 3x as much at wholesale, and are produced with much, much better quality components. These same amps are used in many high end subs that sell for well over $1 grand at retail, the others only make the odd appearance in bargain priced no-name systems.

Both Sonotube and heavy gauge PVC sewer pipe make good sub enclosures, it often comes down to which is easier to find cheap. Some lumber yards sell Sonotube by the foot, and you can often find large diameter PVC as scrap from plumbing contractors. My first car sub [dual 10's isobaric] was in a 14" PVC pipe enclosure, 15 years later I still use it as a test box [very durable]. Construction is simple, make the end plugs from 1.5" MDF or birch plywood [laminate two .75" pieces] and glue/ screw them in place. Just be sure to get a pipe at least 2" bigger than the woofer diameter. If you cram a 10" woofer onto a 10" pipe you get nasty resonance modes, plus Bose will sue you for patent infringement:> 14" or larger tubing/ pipe is perfect for a 10" woofer, you can offset mount the woofer and port the tube out the same face as the woofer [several advantages to this].

Drawbacks?? Some woofers do not like to be down fired. If the cone is heavy and suspension loose, it will “sag” forward a mm or two and you’ll loose some sound quality. Long Xmax woofers are generally better at this as it affects them less, a raised flat spider helps as they are inherently more linear.

[Guest]

Thanks for that....

Here's a doosy...

http://www.decware.com/wicked1.htm