Old Drivers - Any use?

[MMaatttt]

Hi, I've got some old drivers lying around and wanted to know if there is any sort of build which would make good use of them . They seem quite limited by modern standards, but I thought I'd ask what you guys thought.

The drivers in questions are 2 Rockford Fosgate Punch Classics PCH-812.

http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/library/datasheets/pch-412_812-ts.pdf

Thanks.

 

[homeboydeluxe]

Hi Matt, i modeled those drivers with WinISD for you, and they are really not suited for Home Theater use, for music they would be pretty good. What size enclosure would be acceptable for you? and what are you currently using for a sub?.

What you could do is, build two 19" cubes(90 liter), ported with a 25Hz tune, then use the drivers you currently have and see if you were happy with them, if they were not up to much you could simply buy something like the JBL GT5-12" sub and swap them with the rockfords( the mounting hole for the jbl's is bigger so it would be fine), the JBL's are pretty good i have eight of them, and they only cost around 35-40 pounds each.

Do you have a amp to power them(say 100-300 Watt), and how are your wood working skills?. If you are upgrading from a sub that came from a "home theater in a box" even the rockfords would be a big improvement!

 

[MMaatttt]

I'm currently using these subs in an approx 65l box with a blocked port (probably losing 1-2l of volume - I stuffed a toilet role in the hole!). I went sealed so that I could EQ without worrying about over extending the drivers.

The current box is ugly and designed for a car, but does the job for now.

I must have quite favourable room gain as I do see a much better result in room than WinISD suggests, but I'm wondering if I entered some details incorrectly.

Power is provided by a second hand 2x100W pro amp. I've got to do a fan mod as it's currently the loudest part of my system.

I think you've answered my main question. If I were to build anything new, it would be best just to buy new subs.

 

[homeboydeluxe]

Yes, those drivers only have 5mm Xmax, which is very low for HT, and with a 25Hz tune port excursion will go through the roof below 20Hz. That said with two of these ported and 100 watt input power you may still see 100db at 20Hz and 108db at 30Hz which will be a lot better then the sealed aliment you are running currently.

For 70 quid for the drivers, 25 for the MDF, and around 20 for the ports and binding posts, you would have a very nice upgrade.

If you are planning to keep the 100 watt per channel amp, the just use the woofers you have, you would need twice to three times that to get the best out of the JBLs.