Can a DIY Sealed Subwoofer Beat Mass Produced Models?

[gene]

Are you a serious bassaholic on a tight budget? A DIY subwoofer might just be the fix you’re after. For not a lot of cash it’s possible to build a sub that can compete with the very best manufactured subwoofers on the market. In this article, we take you though a step by step procedure on how to build a high performance DIY subwoofer on the cheap.

To see how to do it yourself read on.

Read: Building A DIY Sealed Subwoofer

Based on the hardware in this DIY sub example, do you think it has what it takes to compete or exceed readily available manufacturers subs in the market place? How do you think it stacks up to the likes of SVS, Powersound, Rhytmik, HSU, etc???

 

[shadyJ]

Terrific article, Steve. This should be enlightening even for those who do not intend to build their own subs since it explains a lot of what is occurring in subwoofer designs.

 

[Steve81]

Thanks! Needless to say, this was a fun one for me to write up.

 

[utopianemo]

It's ironic you used the examples you did; after listening to a lot of advice, I decided to forgo buying an SVS sub, and bought 2 Dayton Ultimax 18"/flatpack combos, powered by an iNuke 6000DSP.

I have niggling frustrations but in general I am very pleased. I have decent speakers(Epos Epic 2), but those subs FAR outperform every element of my system. They cause the walls to shake.............on the other side of the house. A few weeks ago, I cranked it just because, and my kids were yelling at me to turn it down. I had a hard time hearing them because my eardrums were chuffing. No joke.

 

[lovinthehd]

Nice job Steve! Since going diy there's no going back for me, the performance to cost ratio can't be beat. As to a WAF friendly finish....maybe not but then I have no WAF to consider but they still are living-room worthy (using stained baltic birch ply myself).

 

[chitwood]

One typo, "A reasonably low Qts is desirable as well (>0.5)", I believe this should be "less" than 0.5.

Thanks for the fun article,
Sam

 

[XIANV]

Could Audioholics build & review - with measurements! - the Dayton/flatpack/iNuke sub? That would provide a valuable comparison. And answer this thread's question!

Slightly related: I still kick myself once in a while for skipping THE sub bargain late last year. Stereo Integrity's 18D2 & the Crown XLS 1502 were on closeout at the same time. With flatpacks, you could DIY a pair for under $1k. Killer value in big displacement.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Could Audioholics build & review - with measurements! - the Dayton/flatpack/iNuke sub? That would provide a valuable comparison. And answer this thread's question!

Josh already done it and you could compare it with some other systems he already measured
http://www.data-bass.com/data?page=system&id=116

Josh dropped it in slightly larger box, but numbers would be close.

 

[Steve81]

FWIW, Josh's test cabinet (4.2 cf internal) probably isn't going to result in a significant difference vs the 4.0 cf internal cab of the flat pack on basic metrics like sensitivity, FR, group delay, etc. That said, Josh tests with a Powersoft K20, which is substantially more powerful than the NU3000. You aren't going to see 125+dB top end burst numbers with the iNuke. OTOH, Josh provides a sensitivity graph, so it's not hard to get a fair idea of how much output you're likely to get with the Behringer.

 

[XIANV]

Outstanding. Thanks, folks.

 

[Eng-399]

Steve quick answer IMO yes diy can beat mass produced store bought models. I have 12 subs in my room all diy and very happy with the performance with them. There's so many options out there with subs and different types of boxes. Building and finishing a diy box Also creates a conversation piece in the room and the cool little sentence when around friends saying ya I built that.
If someone doesn't have any tools these flat packs are really easy to put together. My buddy Pete did a clamp-less build for his 18" sub and held the box together with painters tape while the wood glue dried. Ya everyone you guys heard right painters tape pretty cool he didn't need any clamps at all. Here's a few boxes I built for friends and myself diy.

that box was turned into a entertainment center.

Theres a few I've built they all were so much fun to build and very addicting once you finish one.

 

[apilon]

Sorry i am a newbie at this. So understanding correctly, i choose a driver that i like let say dayton ultimax 15 inches for example, use a modeling app , enter the driver specs and qtc i want to achieve and it will let me know the internal box cu feet dimension i need ? Ok but then after how do you figure out the external dimension ? I.E if the modeling suggest an intrnal cu feet dimension of 4 cu, how to i translate that to L X W X h ??

 

[shadyJ]

The external dimensions don't matter with respect to performance, but the internal dimensions do, or, more properly, the internal volumetric space matters. You don't want the driver to have too small of a space behind it, or its performance will suffer.

 

[lovinthehd]

Sorry i am a newbie at this. So understanding correctly, i choose a driver that i like let say dayton ultimax 15 inches for example, use a modeling app , enter the driver specs and qtc i want to achieve and it will let me know the internal box cu feet dimension i need ? Ok but then after how do you figure out the external dimension ? I.E if the modeling suggest an intrnal cu feet dimension of 4 cu, how to i translate that to L X W X h ??

Try this http://www.bcae1.com/spboxnew2.htm

 

[Aaron9100]

So, how do you covert this amp (behringer) to home use? I assume rca to 1/4" adapter for the signal. What adapter would you use for the power?

 

[lovinthehd]

Rca to 1/4" TS would work. not sure what you mean by adapter for power....

 

[Dannob]

Thank you very much for your input, I am going to be building a couple of subs, they are the Q-power deluxe, 2200 max 1100 rms dvc. I will definitely be checking in with you quite often. I am going to try and use with my 3 ohm 1000 watt home theater system. So I think everything will work out. Please keep me in your prayers!? Lol if you have any information I should have, please feel free to contact me. My email address is available I believe. Thank you again for your information.

 

[Verdinut]

@Steve,
I read your interesting article but there is an oversight in your text.
You mention that a 6dB boost equals 4 times amplifier power and 2 times the driver excursion which is inexact. The cone also has to move by a factor of four to produce that SPL increase of 6db.
Cheers,
André

 

[shadyJ]

@Steve,
I read your interesting article but there is an oversight in your text.
You mention that a 6dB boost equals 4 times amplifier power and 2 times the driver excursion which is inexact. The cone also has to move by a factor of four to produce that SPL increase of 6db.
Cheers,
André

Double the displacement equals double the amplitude, so the driver only has to move twice as far to achieve a 6 dB increase. Maybe you are thinking of maintaining the same SPL for an octave lower in which the excursion increase must be a factor of four (so long as ports or passive radiators are not involved).

 

[Verdinut]

Double the displacement equals double the amplitude, so the driver only has to move twice as far to achieve a 6 dB increase. Maybe you are thinking of maintaining the same SPL for an octave lower in which the excursion increase must be a factor of four (so long as ports or passive radiators are not involved).

If double the displacement equals double the amplitude, a 6db increase in amplitude is 4 times the amplitude so 4 times the amplitude has to equal a displacement multiplied by a factor of four.
I agree with the situation of the frequency being halved, the cone excursion is increased by a factor of four when ports or PRs are not involved.