Newbie looking for advice on DIY sub (~$600)

[Melvin]

Hi everyone.

I've recently started doing a bit of research on DIY subwoofers and think I might be interested in building one. I've been reading quite a bit here the last few days, but I'm very new to this, so there's a lot I don't know or understand yet.

I'm looking to spend around $600 total (willing to go up a bit if I need to). It will be mostly for HT use (some music too, though). I'd like to get as much low end extension as possible with a reasonable size cabinet. Something around 200 L would be ideal. I'm assuming a vented cabinet would be the best choice for me? The room it would be in is about 14' x 20' x 8'.

Any suggestions on what driver(s) and amp would fit my requirements? I've looked at the Mach5Audio IXL-18.4 in WinISD and it looks like I can get a pretty good looking frequency response in a 200 L cabinet tuned to 17 Hz. But, like I say, I'm very inexperienced with this, so maybe I don't know what I'm looking at. I've also looked at the Tempest X 15 in WinISD, but it seemed like I needed a much larger volume to get a similar frequency response to the IXL 18.4. For the amp, would something like the O Audio 500W BASH amp be a good option or something from parts express? Or should I be looking at something else?

I could probably ask a bunch more questions but I'll leave it at this for now. Any help would be appreciated very much. Thanks.

[Warmon]

Melvin wrote:

I'm assuming a vented cabinet would be the best choice for me? The room it would be in is about 14' x 20' x 8'.

Hi Melvin. Before you do anything else, go read this page. Since every alignment has pros and cons, you need to know what they are - decide on an alignment and then find a sub that has parameters suited for it. Since I am a firm believer in multiple subs, I would urge you to build more than one and at least two. The Oaudio is a good amp. If you are inclined to go sealed, two of those amps with six of the onsale 10" NHT Sub2's [3 10" drivers per 4.5cf box] would be in budget and have more output than two 18's.

[Melvin]

Hi Warmon, thanks for the reply.

From reading that page, I think a vented design is best suited to what I want. I'd like the sub to play as low as possible (I'd like good response down to at least 20 Hz or lower if possible). I don't need super high levels of output. The cabinet can be relatively large (at least compared to retail subs), 200 liters would be ok, or a little bigger if need be.

What would be some good drivers to consider. Are the few I've mentioned (Mach5Audio IXL-18.4, Tempest X 15) good options for the type of sub I want or are there other drivers better suited for this type of subwoofer?

Unfortunately, due to room layout, I'll probably have to stick with just one subwoofer.

[Warmon]

Okay, you will have to do some homework then. Best results are going to be with subs that have higher EBP [50-100], Qts < .40 and lower to moderate Vas to keep box size reasonable. EBP is calculated as Fs/Qes - the higher number the better. I would develop a short list based on Qts first and go from there. Assuming you are going to go with the Oaudio amp, you would want 2 - 12" drivers in a single box with 4ohm DVC's and if you go with a single 15 or 18; you would want a 4ohm SVC or a 2ohm DVC.

I think a good match for what you are wanting to do might be a single CSS SDX15.

[Mike P.]

Another option to consider would be the Mach5Audio IXL-15. For HT applications it works in a 170 liter cabinet tuned to 17 hz. It's on sale for $210 shipping included.

[hjmiller]

If you are willing to go with 200l cabinet and want dual 12" drivers. One suggested to me and which I bought (just starting my design) is this the 13OV2 D4 at elemental design on sale still for $70 (their website seems to indicate they still have stock as they are a clearance item). Two of those will be less than a single Shiva-X or Tempest

[mayhem13]

hjmiller wrote:

If you are willing to go with 200l cabinet and want dual 12" drivers. One suggested to me and which I bought (just starting my design) is this the 13OV2 D4 at elemental design on sale still for $70 (their website seems to indicate they still have stock as they are a clearance item). Two of those will be less than a single Shiva-X or Tempest

I like the price on those too but the high Le makes it impossible to tune them flat. WAAY loud from 60hz on up IMO. I like the SDX15 with the Oaudio amp idea. Keeps within budget and should have no problem sub 20Hz.

[AudioZuki]

Question is would they sound noticibly better then
HSU $600 sub
SVS $600 sub
?

I am looking for sound quality. Same price range. I want to see the mallet hit the base drum in the music. Rumble is secondary but really important as well.

I am quite interested in this thread.

[Ricci]

What sub do you have now? I ask because it may help us give better advice. I don't think you can realistically tune an 18" driver below 20hz in 200L, with a port, without getting into some serious design issues. PR's maybe but that adds a lot to your total cost. Sealed 18" has a much better shot in 200L.

For $600 you may want to look at the Rhythmik servo 15" kit, or maybe even the dual 12" version. They aren't known for wallcracking out-put, but they go DEEP and are said to have great SQ. Illka tested the 12" version in a tiny little sealed box and it did quite well. The 15" should be easily more powerful.

[mgboy]

Why not a LT'ed TempestX or SDX with an EP2500 to back it up? Would be under/around budget, and should still rock the house. I'm kind of on a LT "run" right now - but it seems like a good choice all around, if you like things small. *shrug*