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Subwoofer Build
After living with an overperforming W5-1138SMF for far too long, I decided to build a real subwoofer.
After modeling just about every configuration and driver 8" and larger, stressing over sealed or vented, actively or passivly boosted, small and large, I finally settled on the RSS390HO-4 paired with the SPA500DSP.
In just over 1 cu.ft. sealed I can get a near flat response down to 20Hz with the DSP functionality of the amp. 500W puts max playback around 102-103 dB anechoic, which I deemed plenty loud enough for my purposes, and I will never run out of xmax, even with DSP room correction/boost. This is a significant upgrade over the W5-1138SMF powered with that old 25W plate amp.
Comments
The form factor I went for was slim, with a protective grille. JF Components has nice, laser-cut 16 ga. panels that I will cut, fit, and frame into the front. I also decided to box-in a dedicated amp cabinet to eliminate chasing leaks later.
Looks to be an awesome build.
Workship pics:
Test fitting the woofer:
And then glueing the baffle:
Next up is cutting and fitting the damping pads to the panels. This is probably overkill, but why skimp? With the driver, amp, and plywood I'm probably close to $750 in cost, so this would be a real-deal commercial sub. Might as well go all out.
That’s quite the workshop !
The breathing room between the magnet vent and rear wall is tight, by design. But I decided to affix some damping here since I won't be able to stuff it later. This is left-over carpet padding from somewhere. I have no idea where it came from, but looks like it will accomplish what I want out of it:
Thanks! I finally have the space to do some real work, so I'm putting it to good use. We'll see if I can get anything more accomplished before this holiday weekend ends.
Some more construction pics:
And then dry fitting the driver and amp before applying the roudnovers to all the edges.
Looks really sturdy - what is the blue stuff? Haven't seen it before.
Cheers / Robert
It looks like it's this stuff.
https://reddit.com/r/CarAV/comments/100xqso/has_anyone_used_amazon_basic_sound_deadening_good/
Outstanding design and build, but I would save the blue sticky stuff for midrange enclosures. The Sub will not be producing sound in the frequency where those small panels might be resonating.
Butyl is good for both vibration dampening and adding mass. Its not too expensive so I use it on almost all my builds. I often put a few peices on the frames of my drivers as well.
Agreed on all points! Including that it does appear to be the same blue stuff. I bought it from Amazon and it was cheap. It works well. Cuts with scissors and sticks well when rolled.
Cheers,
Rounded over and with JF grilles yet to be cut and fit:
Too much filler. I’m an amateur. But there was significant tearout in places:
Cutting and fitting the grilles:
