[Mat-Moo]

Is it possible to build a reasonable first time active sub for less than £100 or should I just look to buy second hand. I have no problem with the DIY side of things (just finsihed a bed for my son at http://augier.planetdps.com/joshbed and also the garden furniture in those pics!) as well as plenty of other things. But I want to build one for a reasonable cost or it seems a bit pointless!

[ReTrO]

Don't see why not. The only things that are really going to cost you are the amp and driver.

Pretty much any decnt amp can be used if you are really on a budget, BKElecs modules will be worth looking at.

Probably best to increase your budget to £150 for good results.

[mike.hutch]

You could do it quite easily using one of BK's cheapest amp modules and one of their cheap subs, but is it really worth it? you can get a decent sub from Richer Sounds for less than £100, and the finish is going to be spot on.

I'm not saying you won't be able to make a good job of it - you obviously know what you are doing when it comes to carpentry, but given the amount of time and effort required to get a perfect finish, it hardly seems worth building a budget sub, that will probably not sound much better than a bought one.

For that budget I would consider building a passive sub - use a spare AV amp/integrated amp/poweramp that's lying around.

That £40 or so (BK electronics 100W plate amp) can then be spent on a better driver instead.

And if you've got off-cuts of MDF/chipboard in the shed then that's even more money saved, that can go into the driver.

[Mat-Moo]

I already have a passive sub, but it's not giving the performace I really want Do you know of any links to specific budget subwoofer projects (uk based preferably)?

[mike.hutch]

Nathan's right, the more money spent on the driver, the better the end result will be. Try looking at some car hifi subs, which have all the right qualities for a good home cinema sub.

[Mat-Moo]

Been doing some more reading on this, but it deos seems as though £150 is really the minimum it would come out at, perhaps I'll just buy second hand (which is a shame as I like doing my own stuff!)

[shodan]

http://www.iplacoustics.co.uk/

I haven't checked out the prices, but as I understand it, these guys are a DIY speaker persons Nirvana!!!!

Good luck!

[Mat-Moo]

Thanks for the link - however subwoofer price kits seem to start from around £250... (unless I'm missing something)

[micb3rd]

I have built a IPL Acoustics SW2 it is quite a nice sub they were quite popular with good reviews a while ago on the forums, I would place its performance would be pritty close to the Velodyne CHT 10.