Multiple BK Monolith plus subwoofers DIY clones

belgiansound

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Hi All,

I registered especially on this forum as I noticed there is a big BK Monolith following here.

I bought 4 Eminence LAB12C subwoofers and I'm planning on building some DIY clones of the BK Monolith Plus, or an 'improvement' over the original design. I would like to get the maximum out of the drivers, while using a limit of 100L per driver.

I have a stereo setup, 2 Canton CT2000 main speakers. Would like to add subwoofers to improve the bottom end and release some strain from my main speakers.

First off, I would like to know if anybody has some experience with multiple BK monolith subwoofers in their system? Do they reach the claimed 20Hz and below in room? My room is 9x11m in a L shape, so quite long walls (as this affects room gain).

Secondly, i would like to know if anybody 'improved' the design? Looking at the design it seems like they use only 1 shortish port, I would expect some chuffing at higher volumes. Does anyone know the tuning frequency of the box used by the BK Monolith?

thanks in advance!
 
Well as your stealing BKelecs IPR why don't you do the decent thing and ask them if they are prepared to give you their construction specifications.
 
Hi, Thanks for your reply. First off, I want to clarify I bought 4 LAB12C woofers based on comparisons and deliberations, out of the possible subwoofers (dayton, rockford fosgate) they had for me the best price/performance ratio. I modelled them in a vented box of 100L with 2 10cm vents and they performed well until 20Hz, job done.

Before I had 2 tapped horns, 120KG each loaded with a Alpine R type 12", which I built myself, but they were not 'practical' so I sold them, and made this my new project. I already have the mini DSP and amplifiers, so building a passive box was the way to go.

DIY is not cheap, for people reading this thread and thinking they will be cheaper, that's wrong. If you want to clone the active BK monolith you can buy the plate amp from BK and the other parts online. To achieve the same finish you will be equal money or more.

My build will not in any way be a complete clone as I'm building a passive subwoofer and will have different DSP settings to the BK one.

While searching more info on the LAB12C I found 2 commercial companies using this same driver in their subwoofer: Zu Audio and BK Monolith. As I wanted to go ported, Zu Audio was off.

I think it's important to collect information when you are building a DIY passive sub, and if there is a comparable design already out there with hundreds of users, it is valuable to learn from this info to make a design which suits my needs better.

This is the main reason why I do DIY, I like to learn a lot, build something which fits my decor (I would like to make 1 dual sub into a side table) and be able to 'tweak' as needed.

Thanks!
 
My bet is you'll struggle to improve on the BK design. They seem to know what they're doing...

Do they reach the claimed 20Hz and below in room?

They're never going to go much at all below 20 Hz but they will reach this if the room, placement and listening position allows. I have in my room, although it is significantly smaller than your own which will help me a little at the very bottom end. There's an example of the in-room response I've got in this post:


I used my Monolith in a music focused system. Key to making this work well is the integration between main speakers and subwoofer, which in my case I achieved with the aid of miniDSPs. Originally the cheaper 2x4 HD and now the more expensive SHD. I wouldn't have been able to achieve particularly good results simply by adding the sub, although in your larger room you'd have a better chance of doing so.
 

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