Surrealistix
Active Member
I got the idea of building a Subwoofer when I realised that the shipping cost for a HSU VTF MK3 subwoofer from the US would be as much as the cost of the subwoofer itself.
I started doing some research a couple of months ago, and finished my first DIY Subwoofer build a couple of weeks ago.
I didnt know a thing about building a subwoofer two months ago, with a lot of reading and some help on forums, I am pretty happy with the outcome of my first DIY endeavour.
Functional Goals:
The Eminence Lab 12 looked like a really good driver and was available at a reasonable price in India. Other than importing a driver, I didnt find any other 12 inch driver that would be suitable for a subwoofer in India.
I was very keen on building a sealed sub, but the Lab 12 didnt seem to lend itself to a sealed design. I spent a lot of time with WinISD and Bassbox pro and read up extensively on forums to finalise on enclosure design which comes close to my design goals.
I finalised on a 163 litre box with two front ports tuned at 17 Hz. The effects of the port seems to kick in below 30 Hz and it didnt require any boost using parametric eq or Linkwitz Transform.
Given that I didnt need any active eq with this design really helped, as this is my first project and it certainly helps to keep things simple.
Amplification: I was contemplating getting an O Audio plate amplifier based on recommendations from Ashok on the forum, but finally went with a pro-amp as I didnt seem to need a cross-over or eq. The Tapco juice 2500 was available for the same price as the O Audio plate amp with 4 times as much power (2500 watts at 4 ohms). I didnt need any of that power for my current project, but I figured that I may want to run two subwoofers so the pro-amp seemed to be a more future proof choice.
Here are some pics of my Subwoofer (I havent worked on the Veneer as yet).
The Amp on the bottom left on the rack is the Tapco Juice 2500 Pro amp
Here are the graphs from WinISD for my Subwoofer:
SPL
Cone Excursion
Group Delay
Port Air Velocity
Amplifier Apparent Load power(VA)
Setup:
HT: I am simply using the LFE from my Denon 3808 receiver going into the Tapco amp (Bridged Mono). I used the Audyssey EQ on the receiver to setup the crossover and levels. The setup was simple and sounds really good.
Stereo: I dont use the Subwoofer in my Stereo setup as it feels unnecessary. The Usher BE-718 speakers go really deep down in my current setup. Since I made this baby with my very own hands, I have to use it in my Stereo setup anyway (welloccasionally). :angel
Since I use my PC as the front end, I decided to use a software cross-over plug-in on Foobar. My M-Audio sound card can do SPDIF out (bit matched) and LR (Balanced analogue) simultaneously.
So I have the SPDIF out connected to my external DAC for the front speakers. This ensures that I dont touch the Stereo signal path in anyway by adding the sub. I can switch on the Sub by enabling the crossover plug-in and using LR analog output summed mono feeding into the pro amp. The Foobar crossover plug-in allows all kinds of cross-over tweaking and I have been playing around with these settings.
foo_dsp_xover
I am reasonably convinced that my Usher BE 718 speakers dont really need any assistance from the Subwoofer except for may be when I have a party in my house listening to music that needs to shake the floor. I tried the sub with my smaller Usher S 520 speakers and found the two integrated really well.
Overall, I am super happy with my first DIY Sub. It sounds tight, goes deep and can play really loud without breaking a sweat.
Parts and Cost:
I still need to veneer the box, but the cost so far:
I started doing some research a couple of months ago, and finished my first DIY Subwoofer build a couple of weeks ago.
I didnt know a thing about building a subwoofer two months ago, with a lot of reading and some help on forums, I am pretty happy with the outcome of my first DIY endeavour.
Functional Goals:
- At the minimum, sound significantly better than my Polk Audio PSW 500 subwoofer in my HT setup
- Should sound as good if not better than subwoofers available in 50K to 80K for HT use
- Total costs should be under 30K its too risky to spend more on my first DIY project
- A big bonus if the sub integrates well in my stereo setup
- Should sound reasonably flat down to 25 hz (in room)
- Group Delay should be kept below 6 to 8 ms above 30 Hz
- Port air velocity should be under 17 m/s
- It should be able to reach 105 db SPL without exceeding cone excursion limit of the driver
The Eminence Lab 12 looked like a really good driver and was available at a reasonable price in India. Other than importing a driver, I didnt find any other 12 inch driver that would be suitable for a subwoofer in India.
I was very keen on building a sealed sub, but the Lab 12 didnt seem to lend itself to a sealed design. I spent a lot of time with WinISD and Bassbox pro and read up extensively on forums to finalise on enclosure design which comes close to my design goals.
I finalised on a 163 litre box with two front ports tuned at 17 Hz. The effects of the port seems to kick in below 30 Hz and it didnt require any boost using parametric eq or Linkwitz Transform.
Given that I didnt need any active eq with this design really helped, as this is my first project and it certainly helps to keep things simple.
Amplification: I was contemplating getting an O Audio plate amplifier based on recommendations from Ashok on the forum, but finally went with a pro-amp as I didnt seem to need a cross-over or eq. The Tapco juice 2500 was available for the same price as the O Audio plate amp with 4 times as much power (2500 watts at 4 ohms). I didnt need any of that power for my current project, but I figured that I may want to run two subwoofers so the pro-amp seemed to be a more future proof choice.
Here are some pics of my Subwoofer (I havent worked on the Veneer as yet).
The Amp on the bottom left on the rack is the Tapco Juice 2500 Pro amp
Here are the graphs from WinISD for my Subwoofer:
SPL
Cone Excursion
Group Delay
Port Air Velocity
Amplifier Apparent Load power(VA)
Setup:
HT: I am simply using the LFE from my Denon 3808 receiver going into the Tapco amp (Bridged Mono). I used the Audyssey EQ on the receiver to setup the crossover and levels. The setup was simple and sounds really good.
Stereo: I dont use the Subwoofer in my Stereo setup as it feels unnecessary. The Usher BE-718 speakers go really deep down in my current setup. Since I made this baby with my very own hands, I have to use it in my Stereo setup anyway (welloccasionally). :angel
Since I use my PC as the front end, I decided to use a software cross-over plug-in on Foobar. My M-Audio sound card can do SPDIF out (bit matched) and LR (Balanced analogue) simultaneously.
So I have the SPDIF out connected to my external DAC for the front speakers. This ensures that I dont touch the Stereo signal path in anyway by adding the sub. I can switch on the Sub by enabling the crossover plug-in and using LR analog output summed mono feeding into the pro amp. The Foobar crossover plug-in allows all kinds of cross-over tweaking and I have been playing around with these settings.
foo_dsp_xover
I am reasonably convinced that my Usher BE 718 speakers dont really need any assistance from the Subwoofer except for may be when I have a party in my house listening to music that needs to shake the floor. I tried the sub with my smaller Usher S 520 speakers and found the two integrated really well.
Overall, I am super happy with my first DIY Sub. It sounds tight, goes deep and can play really loud without breaking a sweat.
Parts and Cost:
I still need to veneer the box, but the cost so far:
- Eminence Lab 12 driver: Rs. 8,500 shipped to Mumbai from Cinetekk Chennai
- *Tapco Juice 2500 Pro Amp: Rs. 19,500 from Narain Pro Audio, Lamington Road, Mumbai
- 8X4 MDF sheet Rs. 1400
- Carpenter, glue and other misc cost: 1200
- Total: Rs. 30,600
