Best 100$ Sub Driver

[Headfoot]

Hey everyone
I plan on building a subwoofer soon. I'm not going for absolute audiophile bliss, I'm thinking more along the lines of just a solid around 200$ project. (I can get the wood and tools for the box for 0$)

This sub is going to be used 95% of the time for music and maybe 5% of the time for HT.
Firstly, I'm planning on having a sealed enclosure (for the simplicity of getting a tight sound. I dont trust myself to get a vented system tuned correctly) of anywhere from 80-140 L, depending on the driver. Which leads me to my first question, what is the best ~100$ driver for music. I dont need obscene amounts of power and massive wattages or room-shaking bass, I just want a decent music driver.

What is out there for me in the 100$ area?

Thanks guys!

 

[WmAx]

Increase your driver budget and you can get a driver that is superb in terms of distortion and linearity. The Infinity Kappa Perfect 12VQ (single voice coil version) will have a F3 of about 23 Hz in a 140 liter sealed enclosure. It used to cost $250 or so, but since it has been discontinued, you can find it online for the $160-$180 range on clearance. I am not sure there is a better suited driver at any cost for a small sealed enclosure with the level of distortion performance of the Kappa Perfect 12VQ.

-Chris

 

[Seth=L]

Increase your driver budget and you can get a driver that is superb in terms of distortion and linearity. The Infinity Kappa Perfect 12VQ (single voice coil version) will have a F3 of about 23 Hz in a 140 liter sealed enclosure. It used to cost $250 or so, but since it has been discontinued, you can find it online for the $160-$180 range on clearance. I am not sure there is a better suited driver at any cost for a small sealed enclosure with the level of distortion performance of the Kappa Perfect 12VQ.

-Chris

I second this reccomendation, a great subwoofer (kappa perfect is a perfect name for it.).

 

[Sheep]

Actually, I think they make the VQ again...

Ta Da!

SheepStar

 

[Seth=L]

Actually, I think they make the VQ again...

Ta Da!

SheepStar

It's a DIY dream isn't it?

 

[Headfoot]

mmmmm

Oh this driver tempts me so!
Is there any benefit to the single voice coil one to the dual voice coil, since it seems the dual voice coil is back in action (or so the link tells me )? Besides the ohms of course.

Will this work fine still in a home environment? I see that it is a car audio sub, so I dunno how much of a difference the cabin gain would make in this instance.

 

[WmAx]

I should point out that I realized that the Kappa Perfect VQ in High Q mode works best in very small enclosures, about 1.5 cubic feet. If you use a substantially larger volume, the excursion limits are exceeded for full input power rating. What this means is that natural response in a 1.5 cubic foot enclosure is about -3 in the 28-29 Hz range. However, this is with a peak, as the qtc is about 1.25. Application of a single parametric EQ band of Center Frequency=51Hz, Q=0.7,Gain=-3.0, will provide a flat response with removal of said peak. This will end up with -3dB at about 33Hz and -6dB at 28Hz and -10dB at 22Hz.

-Chris

 

[Headfoot]

Are there any plate amps with a built in EQ that could do what you're saying?

 

[WmAx]

Are there any plate amps with a built in EQ that could do what you're saying?

The Dayton HPSA500 plate amp has a parametric equalizer that can do this. Parts Express stock #300-806.

-Chris

 

[starflight]

Man... there is some serious information in this treat. I think a DIY project is cool for a sub and the information given is very good. but just wondering if you care about the looks? What are making your enclosure out of, how will you finish it? the time and money spent may be more than some decent subs on sale....

 

[annunaki]

The Dayton HPSA500 plate amp has a parametric equalizer that can do this. Parts Express stock #300-806.

-Chris

It is a very nice amplifier. I have first hand experience with it. The notch filter and parametic eq are very nice features. One can make a sealed system extend quite low with this amplifer, or help to tweak a room resonance issue.

 

[WmAx]

the time and money spent may be more than some decent subs on sale....

Indeed. However, if you use a properly designed cabinet, and with a sufficient amplifier, this driver will not work out to be of decent performance, it will work out to be of superb performance.

-Chris

 

[Headfoot]

Thanks!

@ Starflight
I am not the person to be asking about how I build the enclosure, this is my first DIY sub and frankly my enclosure might suck it up a bit. I've done all the research on how to go about building it (Well, except how to get the actual hole for the driver perfectly circle without just using a jigsaw really slow like)
but research does not equal field experience. These guys really seem to know what they're talking about.

@ Everyone else
Thanks for all the really great info, you all really know your stuff!
I'll post more whenever I get to building it (Might be a while since I need to round up the cash first)

Also, I am going to get some nice ADS towers from the early 80's. Sorry I cant be more specific, as they are my grandparents and couldnt even tell me the brand name without me digging a little deeper!