Subwoofer Advice - looking for a pair on a low budget

[ryanosaur]

Big speakers of the past were made from common plywood. It can be used now, but I would ONLY go to a good lumber yard or a place that sells to the cabinetmaking industry because the stuff from big box stores is absolute crap. I tried to use some and it never went well- I cut the parts for a small cabinet for storing screws, sanding discs/paper & other things- I cut them on one day and when I went out to assemble it, I had a pile of potato chips because it had warped. I have other (good) plywood that has been in the same garage, under the same conditions, for ten years and it's totally flat.

The cost does make Sonotubes an attractive option, though.

I've seen people using Arauco Plywood in some large builds... it is not as solid/void free as Baltic Birch, but held up to assembly, including screws.
Plywood is a little lighter than MDF, too. I think I had seen roughly 1# per square foot difference between sheets of MDF and Baltic Birch (3/4" / 18mm thickness).

 

[highfigh]

I've seen people using Arauco Plywood in some large builds... it is not as solid/void free as Baltic Birch, but held up to assembly, including screws.
Plywood is a little lighter than MDF, too. I think I had seen roughly 1# per square foot difference between sheets of MDF and Baltic Birch (3/4" / 18mm thickness).

Ever hear of this guy? He may have been on AH in the past, but I don't remember when. He uses plywood and lots of bracing, so the cabinets can be lighter- often, his designs are for bass players.

https://billfitzmaurice.info/

 

[ryanosaur]

Yeah... He uses the Yoda avatar on several platforms I've see him post.

The Pandemy has made so many problems for lumber, all well documented and oft lamented.

I can only expect now, that the availability and cost of Baltic Birch will suffer tremendously. (Less available, higher cost.)

The only concern with other plywood product is that the voids in the ply can yield problems in more complex assembly. Beyond that, I fully support Plywood as a construction alternative.

Sadly, out here in Cali, Plywood is still running high in cost compared to MDF. Especially for better quality Ply. Most of the stuff I can search on easily is in the neighborhood of $75 per sheet compared to ~$50 per for MDF.
*shrugs

 

[Fried Chicken]

What's desirable in the cabinet? Should it not move at all?

I can buy rough-sewn wood and joint it. I just finished building a countertop using this method: 1.75" thick hard Maple. Beech is cheaper, something like... $5/board foot?

 

[highfigh]

Yeah... He uses the Yoda avatar on several platforms I've see him post.

The Pandemy has made so many problems for lumber, all well documented and oft lamented.

I can only expect now, that the availability and cost of Baltic Birch will suffer tremendously. (Less available, higher cost.)

The only concern with other plywood product is that the voids in the ply can yield problems in more complex assembly. Beyond that, I fully support Plywood as a construction alternative.

Sadly, out here in Cali, Plywood is still running high in cost compared to MDF. Especially for better quality Ply. Most of the stuff I can search on easily is in the neighborhood of $75 per sheet compared to ~$50 per for MDF.
*shrugs

Depending on the sizes of the panels, reclaiming materials from older cabinets can be a good source. Check Facebook Marketplace, Craig's List and the local ads- sometimes you can find casework from schools, commercial and institutional places. Does The Recycler still exist?

I would bet you have Habitat For Humanity Restore locations- I have seen a lot of good stuff there.

 

[Pogre]

Ever hear of this guy? He may have been on AH in the past, but I don't remember when. He uses plywood and lots of bracing, so the cabinets can be lighter- often, his designs are for bass players.

https://billfitzmaurice.info/

One of his designs popped up for sale out here. A Tuba. Price wasn't bad either iirc. It was a big old beast but I'll bet it digs deep.

 

[Pogre]

What's desirable in the cabinet? Should it not move at all?

I can buy rough-sewn wood and joint it. I just finished building a countertop using this method: 1.75" thick hard Maple. Beech is cheaper, something like... $5/board foot?

You need something inert like MDF or baltic birch. Needs to be stiff and non resonant and those 2 are considered about the best. Lesser materials will vibrate and muck things up.

 

[highfigh]

What's desirable in the cabinet? Should it not move at all?

I can buy rough-sewn wood and joint it. I just finished building a countertop using this method: 1.75" thick hard Maple. Beech is cheaper, something like... $5/board foot?

You want the cabinet to be as inert as possible, but if that's not possible, any resonances need to fall outside of the range of the drivers that can cause them which, in the case of a sub or other woofer, means they should be in the upper midrange.

Add it up- a 24"x32"x18" cabinet will use about 25 board feet, but only if there's almost zero waste. That's a lot more than sheet goods would cost (unless they're already veneered). Then, there's the extra time in planing/jointing and sawing just to reach the glue-up stage and that's before anything is cut to size for the panel dimensions.

One of the arguments for using sheet goods is in its consistency. Tiny voids really don't matter if it's for bass, especially if they're only in one layer.

 

[ryanosaur]

Very skilled woodworkers can accomplish using real wood in a Speaker. It is very difficult, though. Wood needs to move. Speakers need to be fixed with no air leaks, even when utilizing a port.

If you happen to be that good as a woodworker, more power to you.

 

[highfigh]

You need something inert like MDF or baltic birch. Needs to be stiff and non resonant and those 2 are considered about the best. Lesser materials will vibrate and muck things up.

Damping larger panels isn't terribly difficult, though.

 

[Fried Chicken]

Very skilled woodworkers can accomplish using real wood in a Speaker. It is very difficult, though. Wood needs to move. Speakers need to be fixed with no air leaks, even when utilizing a port.

If you happen to be that good as a woodworker, more power to you.

I got that EZ. Just finished building and installing this thing:

I started with rough-sawn (Not surfaced!) hard maple. I'm not worried about cabinet construction at all. Just amp/speaker selection.

The workbench it's sitting on I also made and is American Beech. If hardness/density is desired, I could make the whole thing out of Oak I guess.

 

[ryanosaur]

I've seen several descriptions of not further bracing the corners as they are already reinforced. Imagine taking your standard window brace but turning it 45º so that you are bracing the centers of the panels. This cuts down on weight by targeting the areas the need bracing much more specifically. Same can be achieved using dowels.

Poes advocated for this in a thread a few years back where he recounted the story of a DIY he built in the basement. He had Shady come over and the two of them still couldn't move the thing.

Word has it, Poes left the Sub in the basement when he moved.

 

[highfigh]

I've seen several descriptions of not further bracing the corners as they are already reinforced. Imagine taking your standard window brace but turning it 45º so that you are bracing the centers of the panels. This cuts down on weight by targeting the areas the need bracing much more specifically. Same can be achieved using dowels.

Poes advocated for this in a thread a few years back where he recounted the story of a DIY he built in the basement. He had Shady come over and the two of them still couldn't move the thing.

Word has it, Poes left the Sub in the basement when he moved.

This could have let him move the sub- hey, it's good enough for IKEA.

Knock Down Hardware - Threaded Inserts

Shop Knock Down Hardware and more woodworking products for sale from Woodcraft! Buy online or find your local Woodcraft store. Free Shipping on select items.

www.woodcraft.com

 

[ryanosaur]

This could have let him move the sub- hey, it's good enough for IKEA.

Knock Down Hardware - Threaded Inserts

Shop Knock Down Hardware and more woodworking products for sale from Woodcraft! Buy online or find your local Woodcraft store. Free Shipping on select items.

www.woodcraft.com

And we al know how long Ikea lasts once you put it through a single move...

5...
4...
3...
2...
1...

 

[ryanosaur]

I got that EZ. Just finished building and installing this thing:
View attachment 54240

View attachment 54241


I started with rough-sawn (Not surfaced!) hard maple. I'm not worried about cabinet construction at all. Just amp/speaker selection.

The workbench it's sitting on I also made and is American Beech. If hardness/density is desired, I could make the whole thing out of Oak I guess.

Again... Not questioning your skill, rather raising awareness of the rigors of building a functioning Speaker.
It's not about hardness per se.
The natural damping ability of Maple could be a good thing.
However, the cabinet MUST be tight. It cannot have an air leak, anywhere, for it to behave properly.
Since wood naturally expands and contracts with weather (temp and humidity), you have to find a way to allow for that while maintaining an integral "airtight" structure.

 

[Fried Chicken]

Again... Not questioning your skill, rather raising awareness of the rigors of building a functioning Speaker.
It's not about hardness per se.
The natural damping ability of Maple could be a good thing.
However, the cabinet MUST be tight. It cannot have an air leak, anywhere, for it to behave properly.
Since wood naturally expands and contracts with weather (temp and humidity), you have to find a way to allow for that while maintaining an integral "airtight" structure.

Silicone lol

 

[Fried Chicken]

It turns out I know someone who just got a job working at a car audio place, and he can get me a pretty steep discount on woofers, and potentially amplifiers. I'm going to wait and see what he can offer, and then I'll start considering what sort of case I want to put together.

 

[lovinthehd]

It turns out I know someone who just got a job working at a car audio place, and he can get me a pretty steep discount on woofers, and potentially amplifiers. I'm going to wait and see what he can offer, and then I'll start considering what sort of case I want to put together.

Not all car sub drivers are suitable for home use, particularly for large rooms. You'd need to model the sub with the t/s parameters thru some software like winisd or bass box pro....

 

[Fried Chicken]

Not all car sub drivers are suitable for home use, particularly for large rooms. You'd need to model the sub with the t/s parameters thru some software like winisd or bass box pro....

I wasn't planning on installing car audio for HT, but without going into specifics, he could get discounts from well known manufacturers who do more than just car audio.

 

[Fried Chicken]

Ever hear of this guy? He may have been on AH in the past, but I don't remember when. He uses plywood and lots of bracing, so the cabinets can be lighter- often, his designs are for bass players.

https://billfitzmaurice.info/

This is really neat.

Are there known good subwoofer cabinet designs out there I can look into?