Building The Beast

[NINaudio]

I've been absent for a bit because my Ultimax 18 kit arrived and I was busy getting it all together. It didn't go quite as smoothly as I would have liked, but the end result is amazing. Thanks to @lovinthehd for answering so many of my questions through PM.

I was quite happy to open this bad boy up.

Got all the primary colors here:

Getting there:

Mounting holes drilled and slab nuts installed:

Attaching the last baffle piece:

All sanded down and ready to paint, unfortunately sanding in the garage wasn't an option, but it did give me an excuse to clean my entire place once I was done.

Feet on, wired up, painted, and ready to go:

The finished product:

I did two coats of roller grade duratex, the first coat was applied with a smooth foam roller. I then lightly sanded it down to knock off the roughness. I thinned the second coat out with a bit of water and applied with the smooth foam roller again. This ended up giving me a slightly textured finish. I will see if I can grab a closeup pic of the finish.

I ran into a few issues along the way:

The baffle cutout wasn't large enough to fit the woofer, PE thinks they may have inadvertently shipped me the kit for the HO series subs. I used a dremel to enlarge the hole a bit so that the sub would fit in quite nicely.

I had a few slab nuts that weren't straight and couldn't be used. I ended up drilling new pilot holes and mounting the driver with coarse threaded wood screws.

I just finished it on Friday and put it in place (previously determined best sub position by doing the sub crawl). Ran audyssey, bumped up the sub level quite a bit and have been enjoying it ever since.

 

[shadyJ]

Very nice! What amplifier are you using with it, btw?

 

[NINaudio]

Very nice! What amplifier are you using with it, btw?

Thanks Shady, it's being powered by a Crown XLS 1502. Guess I need to update my signature now. lol

Here's a closeup of the finish:

 

[TheWarrior]

Thanks Shady, it's being powered by a Crown XLS 1502. Guess I need to update my signature now. lol

Here's a closeup of the finish:

Any thoughts or comments on that amp? Tried using any of the DSP functions?

 

[NINaudio]

Any thoughts or comments on that amp? Tried using any of the DSP functions?

The DSP functions are fairly limited. It is super quiet though, which is part of why I bought it. The Inuke's have more DSP functionality from what I can tell, but lots of people have issues with fan noise on them.

 

[NINaudio]

I plan to add a MINI-DSP in the future for it's powerful EQ/DSP functions.

 

[TheWarrior]

The DSP functions are fairly limited. It is super quiet though, which is part of why I bought it. The Inuke's have more DSP functionality from what I can tell, but lots of people have issues with fan noise on them.

Thanks! I am getting away from plate amps for my future custom subs. This amp was at the top of the list. Does it allow you to apply a filter to a specific frequency, with bandwidth (Q) and amplitude? That function is the only part of a mDSP 2x4 or plate amp that I use.

 

[NINaudio]

Thanks! I am getting away from plate amps for my future custom subs. This amp was at the top of the list. Does it allow you to apply a filter to a specific frequency, with bandwidth (Q) and amplitude? That function is the only part of a mDSP 2x4 or plate amp that I use.

No, it's dsp functions are limited to applying high, low, or bandpass filters.

Edit:

Something like this might be along the lines of what you're looking for?

 

[TheWarrior]

No, it's dsp functions are limited to applying high, low, or bandpass filters.

Edit:

Something like this might be along the lines of what you're looking for?

That's exactly what I am looking for, except it needs more bands of EQ. It's really surprising how limited that function's availability is!

Broken any dishes yet?

 

[NINaudio]

That's exactly what I am looking for, except it needs more bands of EQ. It's really surprising how limited that function's availability is!

Broken any dishes yet?

No, I feel like I'm barely pushing this thing before it exceeds my comfort level. lol

 

[TheWarrior]

No, I feel like I'm barely pushing this thing before it exceeds my comfort level. lol

Its funny because we see all these videos of woofers dancing, but in regular use, their movement is almost never noticeable. Cone/Dome transducers vibrate air molecules, which is different that the often used analogy of a piston pushing air.

I use 10" SEAS woofers that have 2inches of travel. Only time I've seen them really move is with the opening scene of Live.Die.Repeat!

 

[NINaudio]

Its funny because we see all these videos of woofers dancing, but in regular use, their movement is almost never noticeable. Cone/Dome transducers vibrate air molecules, which is different that the often used analogy of a piston pushing air.

I use 10" SEAS woofers that have 2inches of travel. Only time I've seen them really move is with the opening scene of Live.Die.Repeat!

I could get the old 12" moving pretty good at high volume levels.

I imagine I'd want to put earplugs in before playing this loud enough to see it really moving though.

 

[moves]

That's a lot of money worth is clamps! Nice though.. Super fun project.

 

[slipperybidness]

Thanks Shady, it's being powered by a Crown XLS 1502. Guess I need to update my signature now. lol

Here's a closeup of the finish:

That Duratex is awesome! Great durable finish and easy for noobs to use. It is a little pricey though.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Thanks! I am getting away from plate amps for my future custom subs. This amp was at the top of the list. Does it allow you to apply a filter to a specific frequency, with bandwidth (Q) and amplitude? That function is the only part of a mDSP 2x4 or plate amp that I use.

If you insist on having dsp and amp in one box, maybe Crown DSi 1000 or QSC GXD4 is what you're looking for. There is also of-course budget friendly Behringer iNuke DSP models. In all of these options, you'd still better off invest in external minidsp for much more flexibility.

 

[TheWarrior]

If you insist on having dsp and amp in one box, maybe Crown DSi 1000 or QSC GXD4 is what you're looking for. There is also of-course budget friendly Behringer iNuke DSP models. In all of these options, you'd still better off invest in external minidsp for much more flexibility.

This looks fun:

https://www.crownaudio.com/en-US/products/xti-2002

And $70 off right now too....

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

This looks fun:

https://www.crownaudio.com/en-US/products/xti-2002

And $70 off right now too....

 

[TheWarrior]

Yup! I think this will be perfect for subs!

 

[lovinthehd]

That's a lot of money worth is clamps! Nice though.. Super fun project.

I got a great deal on a 30pc set of clamps when I started building subs....this one https://uedata.amazon.com/Denali-30-Piece-Bar-Clamp-Assortment/dp/B000NDMO94

 

[lovinthehd]

That's exactly what I am looking for, except it needs more bands of EQ. It's really surprising how limited that function's availability is!

Broken any dishes yet?

The XLS dsp is more about setting a crossover for a top/bottom set.