Hi all DIY gurus

cmsajith

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Hi all DIY gurus,

I am planning to build a DIY >12" sub for my HT and music. My problem is getting a good quality woofer and a good plate amp with good power(>200w continuous). If possible, planning to use passive radiators for port free design for low frequency extension. Where can i find a better deal? Please help..

Initially i was planning for a 12" Polk audio DSW PRO 600 or Velodyne Impact 12. On speaking with some DIY gurus, esp. George, i made up my mind to go DIY route. Please help..

regs
Sajith
 
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Hi,
Give our Audio gurus at least a day to respond. I suggest you PM to some guys who have posted their DIY projects under the DIY section in this forum. You may get faster response that way.
Regards,
 
Suri

Getting all that heavy MDF shipped across when one can do it easily here is not worth it, IMHO. The best thing, in my view, is to get the driver and plate amp and make the enclosure locally.

George
 
Suri

Getting all that heavy MDF shipped across when one can do it easily here is not worth it, IMHO. The best thing, in my view, is to get the driver and plate amp and make the enclosure locally.

George

Oh yes George, absolutely,and the MDF we get to buy here is better!
 
Hi all, Thankyou for your valuable comments. I am planning to do the enclosure here with the best sub and an amp. Please suggest the options available apart from Eminence Lab12 (obviously better than this). For the amp, it seems OAudio 300/500 is a good option and another option is a professional power amp (Tapco Juice 800, with 30Hz filter), If possible, i can use it for stereo setup. Asked the local dealer and he was quoting 16K with 1 year warranty.
Are there any better subs available? I am comparing the performance with Polk Audio DSW PRO 600 and Velodyne 12.
 
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Even I am getting frustrated with the sub purchase, which is going no where. I have a huge room, about 6200 cubic feet (living with dining and open kitchen and a staircase) in which the music system is kept. To get good results, I would need a killer sub, which would cost a lot.

I might be able to get woofer and plate amp from US from friends. I think need atleast 12" and some 350 watts of power min and a big cabinet. Assuming I can get these and have a good carpenter, what else is involved specially in making a cabinet. I know I need good 3/4" or 1" wood for the cabinet. What else is required... And apart from the woofer and amp cost, how much money are we talking about here.
 
A friend here in Bangalore bought a Bash plate amp-he ordered two units actually, one for him, and another for Ashok (aks07), let me check how he ordered it and what the customs problems he faced if any-I know he got it shipped and it came to Bangalore postal customs on Museum Road. He paid by credit card I think.

George
 
Even I am getting frustrated with the sub purchase, which is going no where. I have a huge room, about 6200 cubic feet (living with dining and open kitchen and a staircase) in which the music system is kept. To get good results, I would need a killer sub, which would cost a lot.

I might be able to get woofer and plate amp from US from friends. I think need atleast 12" and some 350 watts of power min and a big cabinet. Assuming I can get these and have a good carpenter, what else is involved specially in making a cabinet. I know I need good 3/4" or 1" wood for the cabinet. What else is required... And apart from the woofer and amp cost, how much money are we talking about here.

Hi doors666,


for your huge room, the killer subwoofer system would be the Dayton sub/s
(see cranky's post)

if ordered from Parts Express and delivered by fedex, cost would be (see cranky's post - customs =12.5%)

apart from the woofer and amp -

cost of one MDF board = Rs. 1250 (8 feet by 4 feet) (might need two)

custom automotive paint finish = Rs. 2500/-

carpenter labour = Rs. 350 per day into 8 days = Rs. 2800/-

of course, wife will have to be bribed to allow you and your earth shaking subwoofers ingress, so Nakshatra ear-rings = Rs. 49,999/-:)

and make sure your carpenter does not take the easy way out and use nails - it should be done thusly-



 
At this time, another option( to PE) that I can think of-and have used- is an outfit called Acoustic Elegance, run by John Janowitz.They specialise in subs and are the successors to Lambda Acoustics, considered by many to( before they went belly up) have made some of the best subwoofer drivers( their Apollo drivers ever , and were like the Rolls Royce of subs) Check their site out-their user forum is very interesting.

Their drivers are very high quality, using materials that most others will not use, and being a small unit, operate on low overheads. They will also give you info on the best enclosures-they can run the numbers using their software, and John has been in this line for upwards of 10 years. Their driver typically cost $225 or more, with shipping being a significant extra cost. They also make PRs

George
 
Sorry for the late reply. I was searching for the different options.

PartsExpress seems to be very expensive in shipping (FedEx). I was looking for Dayton Titanic MKIII, 219.88$ (10994/-), but the shipping cost is 178.13$!!! (8906/- @ 50/- per $). Plus the customs, may be around 2.5K. (Around 35K just for the parts, way out of my budget)
Dayton Reference was for 159.8$, but with the shipping cost of 184.71$!!! (more than the sub), 33K for the parts.

I donno what to do. Can somebody please help me in bringing it through any of your friends or relatives, since i dont have anyone in US.. It will be so helpful..
For Amp, probably i will go for Tapco Juice 800, 13.8K.
 
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Sorry for the late reply. I was searching for the different options.
. Can somebody please help me in bringing it through any of your friends or relatives, since i dont have anyone in US.. It will be so helpful..
l

hi cmsajith,

my (very own) sister refused to lug the subwoofer that i bought from madisound. these things weigh in excess of 10 kilograms and i think that you better ask siva of corrson (bangalore) to source one for you. it will be expensive though.
 
They are best known as music subs with servo controlled (non servo subs and amps are also available which can be upgraded later with a servo controlled board, not the sub) and with closed enclosures. Not sure about the HT performance, however spec seems to be good.

I've heard great things about the rythmik. If my plans to get a sub from US dont work out, will go the diy route with probably rythmik woofer and amp. Anyone here tried the rythmik subs? How does it compare to the daytons mentioned above.
 
Here's the HF (high-Fidelity) version of the sub you need:

Dayton RSS390HF-4 15" Reference HF Subwoofer 4 Ohm

This will work in a small sealed enclosure (not even a passive is required) and go down to 28-30 Hz in-room. Ultimate output is lower than its HO brother which requires a ported enclosure, but this one is a lighter and faster sub. Two will be able to massage your furniture with uncanny precision, and push down to 25Hz.

And here's the amp to run this beast:

Dayton HPSA500 500W Subwoofer Amplifier

OR:

Bash 500W Digital Subwoofer Amplifier

Two of these subwoofers should put you in jail pretty quickly. One will be a minor annoyance to the neighborhood, and cost you about 40K delivered (check with 20North, KMD or others) after shipping and customs (heavy stuff).

The Keiga and Peerless/Eminence are decent combinations too, but the Dayton Reference are in another league altogether. From reports, they outperform most any commercial sub available.

A 15" driver with a 500-600w amp can go down to only 28-30 hz. that does not sound like a good product, but the reviews are good. What am I missing here. I want the sub to go down to 20 hz. If not, why go the diy way when the commercial products can do it. A 500$ svs or hsu can manage that with just a 10" driver.
 
Hi all, Thanks for the help.

Ordered Dayton 15" HiFi Subwoofer (Reference Series) + Dayton 240w plate amp through 20North for a combined price of 21800/-. I believe another 3-4K will be required for the build. So all together i am hoping to come around 25K.

Planning to make the sub with a single port tuned to 18Hz / 20Hz with a provision to close the port to get a sealed box that will be tuned near to 30Hz with Qtc around .607 (plotted using WinISD), Box size : 7cuft
 
For excellent sound that won't break the bank, the 5 Star Award Winning Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 Bookshelf Speakers is the one to consider!
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