Questions about DIY subwoofers

nevermind I'll just figure it out, but I can't figure out how to delete this post. sorry.

 

Best subs I ever heard were DIY. Two giant cylinders, like 5 feet tall each, both had an 18" sub at each end. DSP with like 2000 watts going to each...it was incredible, oh sealed as well

 

Ok, now that I'v done a bit more research, does anyone have any design/schematic recommendations for a closed subwoofer to pair with magnepans? Prefer non-downfiring because I live on the second floor and have a neighbor below me.

I would like to keep the price as low as possible for a few reasons: one, I'm a graduate student. money is extant, but precious. Also, I will be building a pair. I recently heard a two subwoofer setup, at one ponit he turned one of the subs off and the difference is, I feel, with one subwoofer you're mostly hearing your room but with two you're hearing the recording. Night and day such that I felt that a single sub is basically unacceptable.

Including crossover/amp (can be DIY too), and a budget of $500-600, would this be possible? Or would I be better off just getting a pair of pre-built subs for the time being?

 

Have you trawled through your local classifieds? (craigslist, etc) You can probably find a pair of powered pro audio subs for pretty cheap.

 

Not directly to your question, but subs plus a shared wall in your case floor are going to most likely be trouble. Low bass is unidirectional so regardless of what way it's firing it's going to annoy the hell out of your neighbors in the building at any real volume. My subs in my old house were actually louder in my upstairs bathroom than in the theater room in the basement. Dual DIY with an amp is a fairly tall order for $600 depending on your output desires and you might be better suited with either a prebuilt pair or a single DIY sub and amp with room to expand later.

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/155-diy-speakers-subs/
Tons of knowledgeable people, plans, and build thread found here.

I can add that the knockdown sub cabs from parts express are extremely solid and very easy to put together solo with glue and a few clamps, I have two of the 4.3ft sealed boxes with 18s and enjoy them a ton.

 

Thanks guys.

First things first, I'm on good terms with the girl who lives below me. She's a friend, and former roommate, and well aware of my love of loud music. We have a pact, for the most part, since I hear her music too (although she's not as loud as I am). So, bothering the downstairs neighbor isn't much of a worry. Hell, sometimes she'll actually come up and join me to hang out for a bit. Plus, this is Austin... "live music capital of the world". We have bands on either side of us. Noise happens, ain't nobody worried about it until it goes on after midnight on a Tuesday.

Also, I always keep a close eye on craigslist, but pairs of subs are harder to come across there than a single.

I was certainly curious about the pre-built Parts Express boxes, so it's good to hear that they're solid. That's probably the easiest and cheapest choice, then. So that would take care of the boxes and woofer selection.

re:amp/crossover, it's just occurred to me that I have a Nikko Alpha II stereo power amplifier that I got for free (semi functional) that's currently in the process of restoration. Pretty sure I'm almost done with it and it will be back to sounding great again. Perhaps I could just use that to power both subs? Then all I'd need is a stereo attenuator (easy: schiit sys, $50, done) and a crossover. I don't know jack about independent crossovers, though.

PS I tried to check out that link but within a few seconds an ad started playing audio and I bailed. I'm sure AVSforum is a great source of information but to hell with websites that think those ads are okay. that's a shame. thanks anyway though

 

weird, I've used ad blocker so long, I wasn't aware AVS evan had intrusive ads. The Nikko is a decent amp, but prob will not offer the power needed for the subs, nor with it be happy with the 2 or 4 ohm loads presented by most subwoofers. Something like a iNuke DSP-3000(under $300 new) would work very well for a stereo sub setup, offer tons of power, and a nice software suite for doing eq and setting crossover points. Beyond that, plate amps can also work on a more constrained budget and offer crossover point adjustment.

 

Wow, how the effin' f**k did I go so long without adblock? seems it had totally skipped my mind since my last install. thanks for reminding me, man!

I just realized that my funding is going to get cut off in May, so I'm going to have to start looking for a real job sooner than later, finished with my PhD or not. That is to say, now is probably not the time to start an expensive DIY project. Who knows? Maybe I'll get a job where I can actually afford the good stuff.

Thanks for the help though y'all

 

When you decide to pursue this project again, I would first look at smaller subs, like a pair of 10s in separate enclosures. Being a Maggie owner, I found larger subs harder to integrate with the panels so they sounded natural. Unless you're after loud and slammin, and in that case just disregard what I wrote.

 

Most AVS guys are just chasing numbers. It's like looking for amps/DACs with 0.000000000000000001% distortion. An exercise in futility that sacrifices more than what it's worth.

I have the 15" sealed PE knock-down cabinet with an Eminence Alpha15 in it. It's pretty damn good for what was essentially a salvage project. You can find different/better woofers of course.

 

Here is a project that uses a 10" subwoofer and a passive radiator.

http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/26W-4558T00.htm
http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/26W-4558T00-II.htm

The good thing about a passive radiator is that you can still have deep bass with a smaller box. The bad news is that the project is wildly out of your price range. The plate amps alone make your price target. But as long as you are getting a job, why not?