The Dave's Fi IB Quad 18" Build Thread

**Avus_M3** · **03-26-08, 05:19 PM**

BTW any recommendations on what should be my first demo material??

**robertcharles123** · **03-27-08, 03:29 AM**

I'm going to try "1812 overture", "Wellington's Victory" and "superman returns" for starters. Lots of others to follow.

Good luck,

Robert

**robertcharles123** · **03-27-08, 03:33 AM**

My vote would be the "1812 overture" or "Wellington's Victory March" -lots of cannons. Time Warp by telarc is good also. These are mostly music content with lots of cannon fire, and not really computer generated effects. I really like the effects in "Superman Returns". I plan to use these selections when I get my subs completed.

I wish I had the place for a sub like yours. That thing will really kick. I have been exposed to infinite baffles for the last 25 years. The father of my best friend used to work for RCA during the 40's through the 90's when he died, and he told us about using 2 adjacent rooms to separate the front and the rear of the speaker, and we even made our own speakers out of coffee cans, copper wire, magnets, and tables. This guy had everything in the house working as a transducer. The same kind of stuff you see in parts express, but all made by hand.

I've always wanted my own infinite baffle, but that will have to wait until some of the other projects are completed. Also, I definitely think that the third layer really helps to beef things up. The third layer made my cabinet feel like a solid mass and not just a box. You will definitely be glad you did it.

Good luck,

Robert

**Avus_M3** · **03-28-08, 02:15 PM**

Quote:

robertcharles123 wrote:

My vote would be the "1812 overture" or "Wellington's Victory March" -lots of cannons. Time Warp by telarc is good also. These are mostly music content with lots of cannon fire, and not really computer generated effects. I really like the effects in "Superman Returns". I plan to use these selections when I get my subs completed.

I like the 1812 overture and plan on using that but am not to familiar with Wellington's Victory March. Thanks for the input.

Quote:

robertcharles123 wrote:

I wish I had the place for a sub like yours. That thing will really kick. I have been exposed to infinite baffles for the last 25 years. The father of my best friend used to work for RCA during the 40's through the 90's when he died, and he told us about using 2 adjacent rooms to separate the front and the rear of the speaker, and we even made our own speakers out of coffee cans, copper wire, magnets, and tables. This guy had everything in the house working as a transducer. The same kind of stuff you see in parts express, but all made by hand.

That sounds like an awesome neighbor to have! Sounds like you learned a lot from him!

Quote:

robertcharles123 wrote:

I've always wanted my own infinite baffle, but that will have to wait until some of the other projects are completed. Also, I definitely think that the third layer really helps to beef things up. The third layer made my cabinet feel like a solid mass and not just a box. You will definitely be glad you did it.

Good luck,

Robert

I will report back the results and let you guys know! Just from looking at my own build, I am shocked that more IB'ers don't have bracing

?? The manifold seems so to flimsy without it. The brace tightened it up SO much and really made it feel SOLID.

**Avus_M3** · **03-28-08, 02:18 PM**

Well, after getting pretty loopy in the garage last night while working on my wife’s car from the fuel and cleaners, I took a little bit of time to prime the box. I couldn't cut the 2 remaining panels for the sides (second baffle layer) because of the dust and my wife’s car being under the knife opened up so that is still left to do.

I had some Killz'It sealer/primer from some time ago when I did my cabinets so I figured I would use that for the base sealant/primer. I also bought some Glidden grey primer/sealer yesterday that is made for use under dark coats. I cleaned the MDF of dust and taped off the OSB where the sub sits.

I mixed the Killz'It and poured some out. I started in the corners with a small brush and everything was fine or so I thought. Then I pulled out the small foam roller to hit the rest. I started rolling it out and noticed "chunks" in the paint

. It seems that the latex congealed in the paint

.

Maybe it was the lighting or maybe because I was pretty high from the car stuff and now paint as well

, but I didn't notice the chunks when I poured the paint. I thought they were air bubbles from shaking. I can actually pick the chunks out and they feel like soft gummy rubber between my fingers.

At this point in the night I said screw it and continued to roll out the primer for a few quick coats. I will sand it pretty good before I lay the Glidden primer on top to ensure an even surface. After the MDF is sealed and primed pretty good I will do some serious sanding before the black coats are applied.

Anyone see any issues with the primer I applies that can bite me in the @ss later? Pics to follow shortly.

**Avus_M3** · **03-28-08, 06:10 PM**

Here's the pics as promissed:

My niece "playing" in the manifold - kids hehe

Masking the OSB (woofer mounting ring)

Ready to prime/seal

**Avus_M3** · **03-28-08, 06:11 PM**

Primer problems (chunks)

After another coat

After a few coats

**SQCherokee** · **03-29-08, 12:07 AM**

If I may make a suggestion...I know that you said that the bracing added alot of ridgity...If you want to make it stronger I would cut some 1"x1" strips of MDF and attach them in the joints and then maybe add some across the sides between the strips.

**Avus_M3** · **03-29-08, 03:06 PM**

Quote:

SQCherokee wrote:

If I may make a suggestion...I know that you said that the bracing added alot of ridgity...If you want to make it stronger I would cut some 1"x1" strips of MDF and attach them in the joints and then maybe add some across the sides between the strips.

Actually, I planned on trying out some triangles in the front corners to further reinforce those. It would also help with the grill. I also thought about running a strip of wood parallel with the brace (one above and one below) that wouldn't really block airflow but tie the side walls together above and below the brace. Only problem is that it would block the subs from being loaded.

As for the strips in the corners, I didn't think that 1 X 1 in the corners would really do much?

**Avus_M3** · **03-29-08, 03:08 PM**

Not really an update but I recieved the mounting hardware yesterday. I couldn't work on the box because I was at my brother-in-laws birthday party last night. This box is taking a lot longer than I thought but it's also because I am doing more than originally planned - which is good. I just want this to be my do it all ultimate sub setup

.

Here's a pic of the cap screws:

**Avus_M3** · **03-30-08, 01:42 PM**

Well, got the box lightly sanded and primed with the new primer last night. This is my Friday so a lot will get done tonight and tomorrow

.

**Owen Bartley** · **03-31-08, 10:41 AM**

Looking good man... keep at it! Are you sure that's going to be enough bracing? I guess it's different than a sealed or ported enclosure, and a lot less stress on the manifold, so you're probably pretty good. Either way, get it cranked up and tell us how it sounds!

**Avus_M3** · **03-31-08, 07:58 PM**

Quote:

Owen Bartley wrote:

Looking good man... keep at it! Are you sure that's going to be enough bracing? I guess it's different than a sealed or ported enclosure, and a lot less stress on the manifold, so you're probably pretty good. Either way, get it cranked up and tell us how it sounds!

Hehe thanks. Three layers will be plenty.

Setup a heating fan to speed up the dry time inside the manifold.

My custom paint booth

Heat Rack

Opened Up

**Avus_M3** · **04-01-08, 11:52 PM**

Close To The Finish Line!!

I sanded the primer flat (sucks around the brace) and I put on 3 coats of black paint on. The box has been sitting in the garage with a heater in it for a few hours now to help it cure.

I also completed the custom wall plates with heavy duty bindings. I used the heavy duty binding post from PE. I drilled some blank wall plates for the barrel to slide into. Then I used washers to tighten the binding post in the plate. I honestly didn't even need them the holes were so tight though! Then I bent back the spade terminals a little to give space to the wire. These things are STOUT! No chincy connectors here! I was not happy with the crap at home depot.

I stripped 5 lengths of cat 5e to make my custom cables. I found a great DiY here: http://www.venhaus1.com/diycatfivecables.html

I enrolled the help of my wife to assist the braiding. I am using 27 twisted pairs which is equivilant to 9.79 awg wire. The wire bundles aren't quite finished but will be shortly. I used this cat 5 Wire calculator from TnT Audio to help me figure the amount of pairs to use: http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/wirecalculator.xls

**Avus_M3** · **04-01-08, 11:54 PM**

Here's a few pics of the box being painted:

First Coat

Last Coat

**Avus_M3** · **04-01-08, 11:55 PM**

Here's the wall plates fabbed up:

**Avus_M3** · **04-01-08, 11:57 PM**

Last but not least the cat 5 speaker cable bundles:

Wifes Technique for Braiding

**atledreier** · **04-02-08, 12:10 AM**

Oh, man.. That braiding is such a pain in the butt!

I braided (and the missus) bi-amp sets for my fronts and center. They were 6m runs. We also did 27 pair runs. My fingers were so raw.... I Will never, ever do that again. And when the results weren't very good either I figured it was not at all worth it.

**Avus_M3** · **04-02-08, 12:20 PM**

Quote:

atledreier wrote:

Oh, man.. That braiding is such a pain in the butt!

I braided (and the missus) bi-amp sets for my fronts and center. They were 6m runs. We also did 27 pair runs. My fingers were so raw.... I Will never, ever do that again. And when the results weren't very good either I figured it was not at all worth it.

How did you braid it? You didn't clump all the bundles in one jacket together did you? I saw ssabripo (no offense) do that in his DiY which is the wrong way.

Well, I am pretty tired. After putting my wifes car back together yesterday (after doing the work in the above threads) I glued the top and bottom of the box. I also cut the third layer sides and glued those on.

I pushed the manifold up into the attic military press style and cleaned up the area to be installed. I drilled the mounting holes by taking off the gasket, laying the sub in through the outside, and drilling the first hole out. Then I put in a cap screw to hold it's position and did the same thing on the opposite side. Next, I proceeded to drill out all the holes and follow with a 1/4" for the hurricane nuts.

After pressing in all the hurricane nuts I loaded the first woofer in. I have to say that these things are a major pain to line up. After loading the first woofer in I called it a night. After all, I do need a few hours of sleep.

If I am not too tired tonight I will finish it up and if not tomorrow. It's all on the downhill now!

**atledreier** · **04-02-08, 12:29 PM**

We braided three pairs, then braided three of these triples together. So 9 pairs for each run. Then I bunched all the 'whole' colours together, and all the 'dashed' colours together. No idea if that was right or not. I tried the cables a few weeks, but never felt comfortable with them. The bass seemed muddy, and the top was grainy. No idea why. I went back to my cheap multicore QEDs, and was happy again. They have been sitting in a box since.

**Avus_M3** · **04-03-08, 12:46 PM**

Quote:

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