DIY Subs

[Derek Gilmer]

Not exactly a mastery of wood working but I wanted to post these with out hijacking the end table that thumps thread.

I just finished building my two sonotubes out of the C12.2s I ordered a while ago. I've gotta say I love these 12s. It really makes me want to try some 15s or 18s :)

The finish is koana brown from Home Depot with 3 coats of sprayed on poly over it. No build pics cause I accidental formated my memory card. Construction was pretty straight forward. A friend a church had two 36" pieces of sonotube (16" dia) left over from a construction job so I used them. Slightly smaller than I'd like but I can't complain about free. The end caps are 2 pieces of 3/4" mdf, sanded down with 150 grit, then a coat of 50/50 water/titebond III, sanded, then another coat of 75/25 water/titebond III and sanded again with 150 grit before painting. The baseplate is built the same way and the legs are 6" long 1 1/4 oak dowels. The covering is some sort of pleather from hobby lobby that matches our couches fairly well to improve wife appeal. The pleather is kept on with 2" x 12" strips of industrial velcro on the back so the look from all around is pretty clean. None of the "barber pole" look of the sonotube shows through like I've seen on some fabrics. Although on one tube you can see a line where the fabric is folded over.

The speaker wire will be hidden MUCH better later, still working on positioning right now.
Details:
Amp:
o-audio 500w plate amp
HPF set to 20hz
Speakers are to present a 4 ohm load to the amp.

1 Tube- 3.718 Cf
20.5" x 4" round port 1/2" flare = 19.5hz tune

Both tubes:
Projected F3 - 22hz
Projected F6 - 19.5hz
Projected SPL 30hz - 117db
Projected SPL 20hz - 112db

Measured spl so far 113db @30hz w/ room gain and spl meter correction.

Fun facts:
Can vibrate plates out of the cabinets
Very little port noise for test tones @ 20hz and it is inaudible during movies
Found the resonant frequency of the fireplace, entertainment center and fan on its first try.
Shakes the furniture in the master bedroom during movies
http://i627.photobucket.com/albums/tt354/dgilme/img_1174.jpg
http://i627.photobucket.com/albums/tt354/dgilme/img_1175.jpg
http://i627.photobucket.com/albums/tt354/dgilme/img_1176.jpg
http://i627.photobucket.com/albums/tt354/dgilme/img_1177.jpg
http://i627.photobucket.com/albums/tt354/dgilme/img_1178.jpg
http://i627.photobucket.com/albums/tt354/dgilme/img_1179.jpg
http://i627.photobucket.com/albums/tt354/dgilme/img_1180.jpg
http://i627.photobucket.com/albums/tt354/dgilme/img_1181.jpg

[John Keeton]

Fun facts:
Can vibrate plates out of the cabinets
Very little port noise for test tones @ 20hz and it is inaudible during movies
Found the resonant frequency of the fireplace, entertainment center and fan on its first try.
Shakes the furniture in the master bedroom during moviesAnd, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!!

Neat job on those, and I like the look. Excellent work on getting the MDF to finish out.

Can't say much about the electronic aspects - not an audiophile.

[John Thompson]

I know little about speaker boxes.. electronic housing.. etc. but.. that sure looks nice regardless of how it functions which I have no clue how to gauge. :)

Nice job...

[Derek Gilmer]

I appreciate all the kind words. I know mdf isn't "fancy" and that the craftsmanship on this could be better. further proof that smc is a great place with a very supportive group of people. After I've been here hopefully I can remake them a little fancier :)

[drew hutchinson]

Great project! - I am an audiophile and recently replaced the amp in my Paradigm subwoofer with an O-audio. It has worked out really well.

I bet those subs sound awesome - I am curious what else you are using in your system. As much as I love wood and woodworking, I have ended up with cement speakers (Green Mountain) and am considering making a cement subwoofer enclosure.

[Mike Heidrick]

Looks awesome.