Ordered Driver, it's enclosure time...

[bmccord]

Hey all, my 15" TC-3000 and twin 15" TC PRs are on the way and it's time to make the enclosure. Amp will be a Behringer EP2500 bridged wired in a 5.6 ohm configuration providing a little over 1600 watts. The enclosure is going to be a 19” cube internal dimension and with bracing and drivers will be about 4.25ish ft^3. It will be 2 layers of ¾” MDF netting an overall size of 22”x22”x22”. I read that you should use a pound of Acoustistuff per cubic feet so I am going to use a tad over 4 pounds worth. I am trying to find a nice 2” stud binding post so I can maintain 1-1/2” thickness even at the posts. As it is now, I was going to have to make a small 2”x2” cutout in the inside layer as a relief so the posts only have to go through 1 layer of ¾”. I was planning on using 8 or 10 gauge wire as well. I am planning on tuning it to 14-15 Hz. I have heard something about wanting to isolate the stuffing from the vent in the driver with chicken wire or something of that nature. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I am getting pretty excited about this one.

Brett McCord

 

[WmAx]

Hey all, my 15" TC-3000 and twin 15" TC PRs are on the way and it's time to make the enclosure. Amp will be a Behringer EP2500 bridged wired in a 5.6 ohm configuration providing a little over 1600 watts. The enclosure is going to be a 19” cube internal dimension and with bracing and drivers will be about 4.25ish ft^3. It will be 2 layers of ¾” MDF netting an overall size of 22”x22”x22”. I read that you should use a pound of Acoustistuff per cubic feet so I am going to use a tad over 4 pounds worth. I am trying to find a nice 2” stud binding post so I can maintain 1-1/2” thickness even at the posts. As it is now, I was going to have to make a small 2”x2” cutout in the inside layer as a relief so the posts only have to go through 1 layer of ¾”. I was planning on using 8 or 10 gauge wire as well. I am planning on tuning it to 14-15 Hz. I have heard something about wanting to isolate the stuffing from the vent in the driver with chicken wire or something of that nature. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I am getting pretty excited about this one.

Brett McCord

No reason to go with double thickness MDF. Just use appropriate bracing. In fact, I would use hardwood cabinet grade ply, not MDF. Ply is easier to work with and makes normal sawdust(as opposed to that horrible stuff resulting from MDF). Perhaps use double thickness on the side which the driver mounts. It will make it easy to recess the driver for flush mounting (for cosmetic purposes) and to get a nice deep portion of wood so you avoid strip outs on the screws.

Do not use any stuffing in a ported or PR subwoofer. In low amounts, it effectively does nothing substantial. In moderate to high amounts, it will reduce the efficiency of the port/box air mass coupling, thus reducing the port/PR output. There is zero reason to use stuffing in this subwoofer box unless you plan to play midrange over the subwoofer(a rather bad idea. ).

-Chris

 

[bmccord]

Thanks Chris for the fast response. Should I even use egg-crate foam on the (3) non-driver panels? I did this for my current sub per the boards suggestion. I only thought to do double thickness because the is a driver in the 'front' and passives on the 'sides' so to speak and leave only the rear, top and bottom to brace. Would this still work? I would rather t-nut the inside and 'bolt' the drivers to the box but t-nut with MDF don't work well together. Thanks for the input.

Brett

 

[WmAx]

Thanks Chris for the fast response. Should I even use egg-crate foam on the (3) non-driver panels? I did this for my current sub per the boards suggestion. I only thought to do double thickness because the is a driver in the 'front' and passives on the 'sides' so to speak and leave only the rear, top and bottom to brace. Would this still work? I would rather t-nut the inside and 'bolt' the drivers to the box but t-nut with MDF don't work well together. Thanks for the input.

Brett

Egg crate foam will do nothing. It is typical for these suggestions to be made, even though the suggestion(s) may be worthless.

If you are not going to recess for flush mounting, there is no really good reason to double up on any surface. But if you are going to have 3 faces of the box with a mounted unit in them, I would just double those three faces. However, depending on your particular building process, it might be easier for you to double all of the faces. As for T-Nuts. For MDF, they are better than screwing directly into the MDF. For ply, a T-Nut is serving no real function. The ply will not strip easily unless you carelessly over-torque the screws, which would be difficult by hand in thick hardwood ply with coarse thread screws.

-Chris

 

[bmccord]

Update...

The amp is on the way...this toy should make some noise...

 

[darien87]

WOW


What the hell are you trying to do, shake your neighbor's house apart?!?!

 

[bmccord]

Well, the SPL's will be nothing legendary but I want earth shaking LFE's and I believe this will do it. I have about 5 other project layin around that I will turn into more music based units. I am a true LFEaholic. I once sat in on a sub demo at a friends house that made the numbers on an LCD clock dance everywhere...however that was an IB alignment but none the less...

 

[dem beats]

You mad man!!!

You're crazy!!!

Bah I'm only mad because I wanted to do this EXACT same set up. I will have to use an 18" now!!

I wanted it to be something wild and crazy I hope all the best for you on this one I am really impressed. it's like you plucked the idea from my mind. I have been going back between TC and a few other brands recently and just now saw they did passives..... I nearly died.

You lucky bastid. Let me know how it turns out I may just copy cat you on this as I have been saving pennies for this for a while!

I like the passive idea but I didn't know how clean it would be.. I know the earthquake 18" with a passive is pretty impressive. For me size isn't an issue but it would be nice to have that smaller size rather than a 22' cubic enclosure with 16" bent horn configuration

=)

A few questions. Why did you ultimately decid on the 3000 as your driver of choice? Did you consider Down firing the driver? I am verry excited on hearing a review and seeing the finished product!!!!

 

[bmccord]

Well, after months of modeling, the TC-3000 seemed to be the best fit. It needed a small amount of volume for how deep it would go and it was about as much as I want to spend. I cut out all the boards today and with be cutting out the driver holes tomorrow and will begin assembly after work. When that is done I will wood fill the countersunk screws and sand it down and have it Line-X'ed for a nice semi-gloss rubberized finish that will NEVER come off. Then it will sit on 1-1/2" titanium pirches for a nice clean look. The only issue I have left is what to do to seal the back of the drivers against the Line-X'ed surface. I bought some soft triple-seal rubber gasketing to use in case I cannot scrape back a smooth bit for a better seal. At some point I will make a new box that is dual layered to recess the drivers but for ease of removal, I will do it this way so I can fine tune the VMP's. That's all I have for now.

 

[dem beats]

Well, after months of modeling, the TC-3000 seemed to be the best fit. It needed a small amount of volume for how deep it would go and it was about as much as I want to spend. I cut out all the boards today and with be cutting out the driver holes tomorrow and will begin assembly after work. When that is done I will wood fill the countersunk screws and sand it down and have it Line-X'ed for a nice semi-gloss rubberized finish that will NEVER come off. Then it will sit on 1-1/2" titanium pirches for a nice clean look. The only issue I have left is what to do to seal the back of the drivers against the Line-X'ed surface. I bought some soft triple-seal rubber gasketing to use in case I cannot scrape back a smooth bit for a better seal. At some point I will make a new box that is dual layered to recess the drivers but for ease of removal, I will do it this way so I can fine tune the VMP's. That's all I have for now.

Bump!!!

How is this going I am having dreams waking up in cold sweats thinking about this sir. I have to know!!!



It's like my first crush in middle school, only with a speaker not a woman.

I may need therapy now...

 

[bmccord]

Sorry, I forgot to post the results on this forum. It is all done as of two weeks ago. I have never heard such clean, deep, tight bass from such a relatively small enclosure. War of the Worlds craft emerging scene declared war on my drywall...

 

[jazzisnumberone]

Looking for a pair of subs to replace my LFE'S

Where can i go to buy a nice used pair? Looking at least 250 watts each.