Darrylmcl

iTrader: (2)

Hey guys,

Haven't posted anything in a while but I've lately started building a new subwoofer for my home theatre. I've been around the block and seen my share of subs.

Old sub = no name 100Watt max unknown RMS
New sub = Alpine MRP500 + Alpine SWS1233D + Computer Power Supply


Obviously went with MDF wood for the box, plan to dress it in a 1/4" oak

Here's how I started, took many drawing and calculations to get it just right, but I think it turned out well. Decided to go with an internal volume of 14.5 x 3 (length, height, width). BTW, when cutting MDF, be sure to where some type of mask, the cheap paper ones will do, I have a full filtered one so I used that, I say this because MDF is carcinogenic.

It was a bit too cold to go to my garage and cut the wood and I broke my saw horse a while back sooooooo.... the ironing board will do.

The plan is after dressing it in oak,I'll be trimming it to look as if it has a drawer on top and door at bottom. I'll stain, not sure what colour yet but Im leaning towards a darker stain, what kind of topper do you guys think I should get, i was thinking maybe a nice marble maybe.

Enjoy.




At this point, Ive dry fitted everything with 2 screws on each side to see how it all fits together, later on I took it all apart, used would glue and about 5 screws per panel per side.




To mount the sub I got myself some Tee Nuts (sturdy and reliable)








My Rabbit (Cookie) was curious so I through her in to take a look and inspect.




Sealed it properly


PC Power supply taken apart, rewired and mounted to the box










All my speakers are inwall (the wife said she didnt want to see them, thats the best I could do... this is what the ceiling ones look like.




Old vs New = 100watt max vs 1000 watt max


Anyways let me know what you think, more pics to come later, Ive dressed it in oak just haven't taken pictures yet.

MPR

Very cool, and props for building your own!

Have you tested it yet? How did it sound? I know most home theatre subs are ported for better "room filling", lower frequencies and what-not... How did it work as a sealed box?

Also, what wattage is that power supply and what wattage is the amp? Think there will be any issues with trying to draw to much current?

Very cool project! Let us know how it works.

I've got a mirrage 250watt home theatre subwoofer. It's a bit older and bigger, but works incredibly well. I've actually had pictures fall off the wall...(no joke). It's got two 8" cones, one on either side and each side is ported differently for a wider frequency range.

It's funny you mention your wife didn't want to "see" the speakers... I've got two GIANT tower speakers on either side up front, each rated for 240watts, 10 sub, mid and tweaters in each. 3 small Sharp 4" bookshelf speakers for the center speaker and two larger yamaha bookshelf speakers for the surrounds, each with 6" drivers and tweaters... all driven by a yamaha receiver. So yeah... speakers EVERYWHERE...lol. Kinda looks like stonehenge... My wife knows I won't compromise when it comes to home theatre sound so she uses the big speakers as shelves for flowers and crap. haha. Works for me. :P

Darrylmcl

iTrader: (2)

Thanks, I have tested it and it works quite well... I'm very pleased with the outcome. Your right, most home theatre subs are ported. I don't really care for them as they have a tendency to be very good at a specific frequency and lack in other frequencies. Whereas sealed boxes have a very even production of sound across all frequencies and seeing that I use my sub for 5.1 movies, radio, music (stretching from r&b, oldies - hip hop) I prefer the evenness throughout.

You had asked about the wattage.
Amplifier - 500 watt rms 1000 watt max
Subwoofer - 300 watt rms 900 watt max
Power source - 450 watt max

As of now, you can imagine I cannot get the full potential out of the woofer, anything above 40 (out of 75) volume and the sub will not response. When I had tested this set up last year, I did so with my Alpine MRP350 (700 watt max)
And I got almost max with that... Totally forgot how small the Power source was since it had been a year and now I'm left with having to purchase a 1000 watt source to match the pull of the amp.

Wish my wife would have allowed me to get the big speakers but for what these one are, I'm pleased. All in walls/ceiling are yamaha at approx 125 watt maxes.
Power by a 600 watt Sony receiver to be upgraded in the future. Hoping to get harmon kardan or Nakamichi (they've just unveiled a receiver).

Anyways... New pics to come, any suggestions on what kind of roof I can give this thing, the back will remain open for air flow/ cooling... May have to reinforce the Mdf to place a top on.

MPR

^I agree ported subs are mostly very good within a certain frequecy range. That's what surpised me about the mirage sub I have. It has two 8" subs, one on either side with differently tuned ports for a wider frequency range.

Also the 10" subs in the two towers take care of the slightly higher bass frequency sounds and really give that "impact" feel during explosions in movies (can see the fabric covers vibrate), and the sub gives you the accompanying thunderous rumble that shakes the whole house...

I don't understand how some people can be content to watch movies with the crap little speakers built into tv sets... To me, half the experience in watching a movie is in the sound alone. Especially gaming...

Darrylmcl, let us know how it works with the bigger power supply. Just curious, where did you get the power supply from? It looks like a typical desktop PC supply...

Also, I like your 'stealth' surround setup. Very cool. At times I've thought about getting different, smaller speakers (high quality) to mount on the walls because the towers take up SOOO much space in the room... haha.

Darrylmcl

iTrader: (2)

Sounds like you've got a great set up, wish I had some tower speakers.

Lol watching movies via the TV speakers was not, is not, and will never be an option in my house. I completely agree with you, half of the experience is sound. So much in fact, that prior to building my subwoofer I purchased a new sound card for my computer in order to achieve the best possible sound. All my movies are stored on an external HDD and so my computer is the essential movie player. At times I'll throw a USB into the PS3 and end up being unsatisfied with the sound quality knowing that had I put it in my comp, I would have had better sound.

Gaming is another great point, lately Ive been on the COD band wagon and without 5.1, it'd be pretty difficult to know where the action is (enemies firing, approaching). And the explosions would be nothing without a proper sub.

Yeah, great assumption the power supply is straight out of an old PC I had lying around, will have to buy a bigger one like I said, one that is generally used for gaming PCs. The tricky part is cutting all the wires and soldering them up to your typical car amplifier wires, but once that is achieved... your golden.

Ya the stealth like speakers were mainly due to the fact that we dont have much space to begin with, having large speakers would eat up way too much space and like I said, the wife wasnt having that. So I compromised on the size but Yamaha was as cheap as I was going for certain.

MPR

Yeah, Yamaha is not bad. They make some decent sound equipment. My 5.1 receiver is a yamaha I picked up about 5-6 years ago. Best $400 I ever spent on this kind of thing. I still haven't actually had the volume all the way up, haven't even come close yet. Just gets rediculously loud...lol. Excellent quality sound too, even when I had crap speakers hooked up.

It's funny the things we do for proper sound... I pulled off the casing around the end of the A/V cable that plugs into the back of the xbox360 so I could connect the HDMI cable for the TV and still have the optical cable connected for 5.1 surround...lol.

I know there are some companies that make these small cube speakers that produce incredible sound. Been thinking about trying a set of those just to see. Always an option if space is an issue.

When your sitting in the "sweet spot" area, towers are geat and produce awesome sound. But they tend to be more directional, where if you are sitting more off to the side, you lose a bit of the impact and projection. So they have their good and bad points.

How do those ceiling mounted speakers sound? They must project over a wider area than regular bookshelf speakers, which is nice.

Darrylmcl

iTrader: (2)

The ceiling speakers are surprisingly good performers, the sound is projected very well... Ive turned the tweeters within to face where I'm sitting and I can here em clear as day. Above them Ive got the attack, so I took a slab of 1" thick hard board insulation and created a box to enclose the speakers from the cold/heat of the attack during the seasons. Installation of the wires and what not was very easy as well due to the attack space up there.