Warpdrv's Dual Opposed 18" LMS's..... "The XLerators"

[Warpdrv]

Well the day has finally come and its officially becoming reality.

Its been a long wait, I started in on this journey at the beginning of the year, Feb or so. I contracted John at AE Speakers to build me 3 boxes for my build. Today I got 2 of the boxes, waiting on the last to get done.

When I first saw John's boxes, from the original 15" w/dual 18" PR's at my GTG to his latest creations, veneered with large radius corners for his kits, I could appreciate what he could do. I have to say I am very very happy with the results and glad I contracted with him, even through the long wait, which was likely harder on him then me. John's got some mad CAD skills and a really nice CNC machine to aid in the design implementation, but his assembly skills are unquestionable as is the final veneer work. Color me very impressed.


Design Criteria
Double Wall top, bottom and sides 3/4" 13 ply birch
10.5 CuFt net - 13.3 gross
Box dimensions external - 25x28x33
Magnetic Grills
Extensive Bracing
Large Rounded Corners
Aluminum Legs
Mahogany Veneer

Power - 6 x 4000w (1 Crest 8002 per driver)
EQ - DCX 2496
3 x 30 amp circuits

3 LMS's up and running in my DIY 24" cubes in house to be transferred, and ordered 3 more LMS's still in boxes that have been anxiously waiting the arrival of their new homes.

I also have a 15" TC3000 in the mix in this room behind the seating location, powered by an EP2500 currently, which I may replace with another LMS if need be. I have an extra Crest 8002 to utilize or serve as a stand by in case of failure.

Now, I guess the work begins, time to stuff with some pillows - wire up the boxes, and drop in some drivers...

OK, here are some teaser pics...
John's CNC

Amp rack with new Supermicro 24 hot swap bay for streaming media

Fresh off the truck, Nice toy to have to do the heavy lifting

 

[Warpdrv]

Freshly unboxed before they get rained on

 

[STRONGBADF1]

I'm sitting here laughing. Not at your build. I'm jealous of that. I'm laughing at my wife and how crazy she thinks your build is. I think I need to build some thing similar!

 

[annunaki]

Warp that is mighty impressive!

So you can change net atmospheric pressure within your room now!! Watch our for sudden rain clouds forming near the ceiling!!

I do have a question though, your external dimensions do not add up to your gross internal volume figures? I get 8.61Ft^3 gross internal volume with a 1.5" thickness on all panels.

Gross volume using external dimensions are 10.91ft^3??

 

[Warpdrv]

Warp that is mighty impressive!

So you can change net atmospheric pressure within your room now!! Watch our for sudden rain clouds forming near the ceiling!!

I do have a question though, your external dimensions do not add up to your gross internal volume figures? I get 8.61Ft^3 gross internal volume with a 1.5" thickness on all panels.

Gross volume using external dimensions are 10.91ft^3??

Ahhh yes, I didn't calculate for 1.5" thick bottom and top, which John made them or the rounded corners (my lack of thinking)... Either way, the smaller the external box the better for me, and it will still perform optimally down to 7 cu ft net, which is what Kyle from TC suggested, I wanted to go a bit bigger.... So I'm still in the realm of being just fine performance wise. I should have enough output here to not be having to boost down low too much if any.

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/enclosure-volume-calculator/
I'm still getting 13.3 for external with that calculator, not including the corners.
25x28x33 / 1728 = 13.368 - 1.5" material == 9.549^3 net without bracing or drivers

Outside corners don't effect internal volume.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

The 6x amp+24 drives rack must weight over 400 lbs !!! For the structural sanity of your house I do hope the living room location is only a temp and you're planning to move the rack to the basement and rest it on the solid concrete...
I guess Epik Empire was the inspiration for this MONTER
I'm still puzzled thou - Each of this sub by itself is a monster, I can kind of see the need for two... but Three ??

Then I thought Matt's Folded tuba sub build can't be overdone, quietly Warpdrv sneak behind and brings those three subs from hell....

I'm so so envy... These will blast the roof out of your house if ever fully powered...

 

[Warpdrv]

Ha, overkill Seems that pic always makes it into my threads, I love it.

Yes - the amp rack is and has always been in the basement on concrete floor, and my main HT is just up above that room. The fan noise of just 3 of the amps alone were too much noise for me in my great room, adding the Supermicro server (not shown in that pic - replaced the Norco) is much louder then the amps by themselves (haven't swapped fans out yet) and can still be heard down in the basement if the door to that room is open...

The Epik Empire is very late to the game with this design of dual opposed, that design has been around for quite some time, in fact bossobass has been building dual opposed "Ravens" even before Mark Seaton's submersive. I have always had this design in the back of my mind for my room but there were really no 18" drivers that worked properly in a relatively small box that had the extreme output I needed for my build. Oh and they have to be sealed, I don't care for the effects of ported, horns, IB's.

You must understand that my great room is truly gynormous - 8200^3, 20ft vaulted ceilings open to to the rest of the house which can't be closed off, so attaining deep impactful bass has taken extreme efforts. As it sits right now, I have 3 x 18" subs sealed + 1 x 15" subs in that room, and performance is very impressive, but I am pushing the limits of the drivers and I can't afford to damage them. This setup will perform well in excess of what I already have, but far more effortlessly. Plus I wanted the benefits of the totally inert cabinets, and most importantly - elegant looking boxes....

This is my solution, albeit a bit over the top.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

They look great. I am glad they are finally done.

 

[its phillip]

Those look great. You can never have too many subwoofers

 

[jostenmeat]

I'm genuinely happy for you Warpdrv, you crazy subwoofer freak.

 

[billy p]

Hey Warp, I just read through your AVS thread too. You sure know how to make a guy feel inadequate..subwoofer speaking of course....

 

[annunaki]

Ahhh yes, I didn't calculate for 1.5" thick bottom and top, which John made them or the rounded corners (my lack of thinking)... Either way, the smaller the external box the better for me, and it will still perform optimally down to 7 cu ft net, which is what Kyle from TC suggested, I wanted to go a bit bigger.... So I'm still in the realm of being just fine performance wise. I should have enough output here to not be having to boost down low too much if any.

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/enclosure-volume-calculator/
I'm still getting 13.3 for external with that calculator, not including the corners.
25x28x33 / 1728 = 13.368 - 1.5" material == 9.549^3 net without bracing or drivers

Outside corners don't effect internal volume.

Hmm?? Not sure what I did earlier? I was getting less volume. Now I do it again and what you had was spot on. I think I may have removed the 3" of baffle twice on one of the dimensions by mistake.

Oh well all should be fine.

 

[Matt34]

One of those would be overkill in most people's room and here Warp is going to have three (6-18" subs) plus a TC 15" in one room....crazy he is.


I really want to do another DIY build (21" Mal-X) but don't want another "ugly box" in the family room but AE just might be the other option I've been looking for.

 

[mike c]

i hate you. and i'll be back. right after i buy some more more lenses.

congrats!

 

[Warpdrv]

One of those would be overkill in most people's room and here Warp is going to have three (6-18" subs) plus a TC 15" in one room....crazy he is.


I really want to do another DIY build (21" Mal-X) but don't want another "ugly box" in the family room but AE just might be the other option I've been looking for.

I probably don't really need 3, 2 would likely have gotten the job done, but I didn't want to "just get by" like I have been doing for so long already.... My single day off is on tues so I should be able to get the inside wiring done, pillows in and drivers dropped in...

I'm really glad John made the outer baffles 1/4" larger then the drivers instead of 1/8 like he wanted to do. All my other boxes I made the hole a touch too small and it made it very difficult to drop in and remove being 80 lbs each.

Also tested out the clearance of the right angle speakon connectors, I will be putting the connectors on the bottom of the box so I don't have to drill through the nice veneer or see it on the side.

 

[krzywica]

Looking good man....you gotta update the pic of the rack though. Thats the old POS server chassis.....I'm surprised posting a pic of that case didn't crash the internet.....it certainly screwed up everything else it touched!

Lemme know if you need me to come over and [strike]drink[/strike] help you set stuff up.

 

[Warpdrv]

Looking good man....you gotta update the pic of the rack though. Thats the old POS server chassis.....I'm surprised posting a pic of that case didn't crash the internet.....it certainly screwed up everything else it touched!

Lemme know if you need me to come over and [strike]drink[/strike] help you set stuff up.

Yeah that old server was horrible, I couldn't believe how many issues we had with it - pathetic.

LOL [strike]DRINK[/strike] !!!!

 

[oppman99]

Very nice my friend! I was jealous of your subs before. I can only imagine what it will be like when everything is in place. I'll start taking bets as to how long it takes the neighbors to complain!

 

[annunaki]

One of those would be overkill in most people's room and here Warp is going to have three (6-18" subs) plus a TC 15" in one room....crazy he is.


I really want to do another DIY build (21" Mal-X) but don't want another "ugly box" in the family room but AE just might be the other option I've been looking for.

The enclosures for the AV subs with passive radiators do not get overly large, 4.0ft^3 or so. That may be something to consider.

Nugu is going to be doing a JL Audio 12W7 with dual 18" passives in 5.2ft^3 gross volume. This will equal what the driver is capable of in a vented application.

The 21" Mal-X needs a fairly large enclosure from the models I have done.

Whatever you would decide, John's enclosures look really nice!

Speaking of which, I need to see if he has the drivers & radiators done that I have on order!

 

[sawzalot]

Gorgeous Woodwork

That is some fine cabinet skills I am very envious of the workmanship. I think you just may have finally fulfilled your appetite for ultimate BASS in your great room (for now). I would like to see more pics of the finished unit could you take one of the bottom with the leg assembly and the speakon hook up, Thanks and congrats on the three new additions to the family.