First off - I am not asking for help, yet. I feel that I have to do more work on my own before I have any right to bug you who already know stuff - I know that there are a lot more threads on audioholics and elsewhere that I need to read before I start asking stupid questions. At this point, I am just announcing the project because I am excited about it. But just because I can't ask for advice, does not mean I won't take it. Anyone who
wants to weigh in right now is more than welcome - this stuff is fun, no?!
I will do my best to document the project as it happens (photos, measurements, etc.), for the benefit of future generations. And I will undoubtedly be asking for help later on.
I am pretty good with construction (carpentry and such), and I am familiar with home and car audio. I've read a bunch of stuff about speaker design over the years, and as a kid I built and played with many speakers. But this will be my first serious effort, so practically speaking I'm a know-nothin'-newbie.
Now's known details:
Goals / design considerations: To (have fun) build(ing) a sub for music and HT, with SQ and LF extension being priorities over SPL. I'd like it to play from around 15Hz - 35Hz. Within reason, I am happy to go big and odd with cabinet size, if it allows me to maximize performance. (For example, I have a corner where I could place a 36" * 18" * 48" cabinet. On the other hand, I cannot place a 50' long horn with a 50'^2 mouth - I would if I could, but I live in a rental.)
Right now I'm thinking I'll power it externally, mostly because I'm more familiar with conventional home amps than plate amps.
Known components: Yesterday I bought two JL 12w6v2s off ebay.
Associated equipment: My current mains are Definitive BP10s, which have respectable (and clean) output down to 35Hz or so. My receiver is an Arcam AVR280, which has 2 unused channels that can power surrounds or zone2, but sadly not LFE.
I also have a Klipsch RW12d that I got for a very good price from newegg. I've been hopelessly into home audio for decades, but the Klipsch is the first real sub I've owned. It's good enough to make me appreciate having a sub, but bad enough to make me want a good one. It adds body to the 30-40 Hz region, and rumbles when things blow up, but it's too slow for music, and below 25Hz the only real output is port noise. (Yes, I have a port-noise complaint. No one's ever made that joke before, have they?)
Areas in question:
Cabinet - Yep. Probably vented, probably big. I'd like to maximize output in the range of 15 - 35 Hz. I've played with cabinet design s/w, and will continue to do so. Then I'll ask for help from people who know stuff.
Electronics - Right now I'd be more comfortable using a standalone amp, for familiarity, flexibility, and cost. I aim to learn more about plate amp options, but ebay has lots of good monoblocks (Marantz, Adcom, whatever) for cheap, so that's pretty appealing. That said, I want to include filtering (low pass and infrasonic), and I imagine that phase control is good, perhaps even very important. I know that filter circuits are simple enough to build, but I don't know if
GOOD ones are as easy. (I want to go as diy-cheap as I can, but I don't want to degrade SQ. I want the final product to be good.)
I recognize that using a fancy - I'll say equalizer - would probably be best, but again, for familiarity and cost, I'd like to go simpler. I will continue to read up on components like the recommended Behringer speaker manager. But they're costly and I have little experience with them. So, if I can achieve similar results with gain adjustment and a simple crossover circuit, I'd rather go that route.
Well, I think that's about it. Oh, in the interest of taking measurements - I have not been able to find documentation on using MeAud, so if anyone can point me to a manual, FAQ, or forum, that'd be great.
So, thanks to all the audioholics whose knowledge I've already gained from, and everyone here for making this such a lively, fun, and informative forum. I can't wait to have something real to share about this project.