diy sub help

[panny300]

want to upgrade my yammaha yst305 sub but short of funds at present how easy is it to build my own to a really good standard and spec,i don't really know where to start e.g crossovers,cones,ports,baffles etc are there any sites that show step by step and where to buy necessary parts in the uk, can they be as good as the retail versions when they spend thousands on r&D,i am an electrician by trade and am fairly competent at diy(built my own extension for my cinema, why im skint) so is it worth building my own.and if it cost lets say£200-£250 to build, roughly what sort of equivalent retail sub would it equate to.

[GaryG]

Here's a few links that should answer your questions:

http://www.adireaudio.com/diy_audio/...dire/shiva.htm
http://www.adireaudio.com/Files/Seal...plications.PDF
http://www.adireaudio.com/Files/Vent...plications.PDF

http://www.design3dw3.co.uk/audio/audio-subw.htm
http://www.design3dw3.co.uk/audio/audio-hypex.htm

http://members.tripod.com/~terrycthe...um/page12.html
http://www.hometheatertalk.com/DIY_P...ub/ib_sub.html
https://home.comcast.net/~ttriff/
https://home.comcast.net/~ttriff//page2IB-Gallery.html
http://f20.parsimony.net/forum36475/index.htm
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...?s=&forumid=22
http://hometheatertalk.com/httalk/vi...3e057defacd0a9
http://www.diyaudio.com

[panny300]

thanks for the reply gary looked at the sites a bit over my head at this stage need something a bit more basic eg how large of enclosure, does it need to be ported and if so how large, what size of cone and what freq range is best, how would i know a good speaker cone and amp plate and no one has answered as to how good diy subs are

[GaryG]

To answer your question more directly the Shiva driver and the HS200 amplifer in a suitable enclosure will outperform a Servo 15 in sound quality although not in absolute output. If you need more output then you need to look at a 15" driver, something like the Tempest, preferably a pair of them. The downside to a 15" driver is that it generally needs a bigger cabinet than a 12" to give the same frequency response although you do get higher output.

For a first time effort I would suggest you stick to something straight forward, either a sealed cabinet, or a 'reference' design if going for a ported or passive radiator.

This link should get you up to speed in the differences between the alignments.

http://www.diysubwoofers.org/

When you've digested that come back with your requirements and we'll get you going.

[Mat-Moo]

Also check out Retro and Taz's stuff on here :-
DIY Sub Mk.5 RTP-XR
DIY Sub Mk.3 RTP-12 *Completed*
DIY Sub Mk.4 RTP-X
www.retrotaz.co.uk
DIY Sub Mk.2 RTP-15
DIY Sub Mk.1 RTP-10

I'm getting the parts to build a copy of the rpt-12 in the not too distant future I hope (Also check out Relinquish RELinquished finished which is the same thing, in fact *cough* just printed out the plans for that one from the linked site in that thread!)

[shodan]

Mat, I am the lucky owner of said RTP-12. I've had it for 6 months and I can honestly say that it still surprises me everyday! In fact sometimes it scares me! When I'm watching a movie (and I mean giving it some welly with the volume control) then the dog won't even come upstairs and the ornaments in the cabinet downstair actually shake! How cool is that! Hee hee hee!
If you get yours even half as good (RTP have all the proper industrial toys for making boxes...) then I'll think you'll be very pleased.

Don't know too much about other subs but I really can't imagine anything matching this sub unless you are laying out BIG bucks! If I knew how to do all the proper tests (and understood the results!) then I would do them and put them on here for people to see just how good a DIY sub can be!

[Mat-Moo]

I'm getting all excited! Just need to find 22mm mdf as most places around here only seem to stock 18mm

[GaryG]

This has got me excited!

http://www.adireaudio.com/Files/Dan/Parthenon/

[eviljohn2]

0.8T?!

I'm not sure I'd even want that in the same house as my TV, let alone within a few metres if it's not properly shielded!!!

[buns]

Originally posted by GaryG
This has got me excited!

http://www.adireaudio.com/Files/Dan/Parthenon/

damn, beat me too it....

I wouldnt be so sure on that field either..... quite sufficient to cause dangerous metal object excursions.... or death of pacemaker users!

ad

ps. at those fields you need non magnetic tools..... interetsingly (after you find the cost) will be the attention you get from international terrorism agencies..... such tools are heavily used for bomb purposes

[shodan]

They'll be thinking "submarine" not subwoofer....

[panny300]

thread seems to be going off in another direction,anyway spent the last few nights looking at all the threads that have been kindly recommended plus others,all these snippets of info flying round my mind like a jigsaw.what makes a one subwoofer cone or active amp better than another,is the volume of the box critical,how low of freq should the amp and speaker be rated,wilmslow audio sell a tornado 10,IPL have a sw3 for about £300 how good are they,my yamaha 305 it has 8" speakers rated at 150w with a range from 20hz tried it with two towers only kicked in when sub volume was at 90% adjusting the subs high cut freq cut off dosnt seem to make an dfference so what makes this sub inferior to others,sorry for all the questions just trying to understand it all dont want to spend loads of dosh to find no diference in sound, the rtp12 mentioned above sonds a good project

[GaryG]

Let's start from scratch.

What do you want a sub for? Music, movies or both, in which case which is the priority?

What is the partnering equipment?

What size room will you be using it in?

What is your budget?

[panny300]

sorry to be a pain gary,mainly movies, denon 3802 amp tannoy eyris 2 fronts+centre,harmon kardon dvd,panny 300 proj 7ft screen,18ftx10ft room, £300 tops but if i can get good sound for less that would be better (tightwad)

[GaryG]

That's a fair sized room. My room is 13ft x 8ft and I found that a pair of 15" drivers was needed to really 'feel' the impact of the bass. I would suggest you go for at least a single 15" driver but it would be better if you could stretch to two of them. We'll come back to that later.

Now for the type of sub.

Let's start with the best option first. Can you accomodate an Infinite Baffle sub either in your ceiling or behind one of your walls?

https://home.comcast.net/~ttriff//page2IB-Gallery.html