High end subwoofer

[PoorboyMike]

Is there actually a name for this type of subwoofer? It sounds pretty darn good for just being mounted to a 3/4 piece of plywood about 22"X36". It's louder and much deeper than my 10" Athena. I guess it just proves that I've never heard a good subwoofer before. Maybe I'll just keep it this way. lol

Just out of curiosity, what kind of improvement could I expect once it goes into a sealed box with a final Q of around .5?

[PoorboyMike]

Also, notice the perfectly sized plasitic bucket of drywall mud that is holding up the 1503. This is state of the art fellas. :B

[Dennis H]

Welcome to dipole bass.

[Aaron M.]

They call that a dipole.
Dipole bass would be the way to go if you had four of those 1503s mounted on an even bigger baffle.
As for the particulars on sealed box performance, I'd need to know the T/S params of the driver.
For shure, a sealed box would be much louder and lower than your current arrangment.

[PoorboyMike]

Yeah, dipole! I knew I'd seen set ups like that before. It's really nice with music; you can hardly even tell there is a sub running until you shut it off. My wife actually likes the sound. :T

I relocated it to make room for the Christmas tree and it sounds even better. I have a Rane eq, but it's just running straight off the amp right now.

BTW, I might have a Rane PE17 for sale if I can't get it set up properly. Or worse yet, once I do get it set up, my kids go crazy with the knobs. :M

[ThomasW]

BP 1503 T/S parameters

Fs=26.8Hz
Re = 3.90 Ohms
Qms = 7.90
Qes = 0.32
Qts = 0.30
Cms = 143.45 uM/N
Mms = 245.40 grams
Sd = 804.30 cmsq
Vas = 132.80 liters
SPLo = 91.00 dB
BL = 22.88 TM
X-max = 45mm p-p
Power = 1000+ watts

[PoorboyMike]

I was watching the Incredibles today and bottomed the 1503 out. It was the scene where the Mrs. and the kids are in the jet with the missles flying at them. I tell you, it scared the crap out of me. And I didn't have it up very loud either, probably about -18 on the dial with the amp gain up about half way. It didn't seem to hurt it at all; it still sounds fine. ops:

I'm really like the sound of it in this set up, even though it doesn't go quite as loud as I'd like. I hope it isn't a lot different sounding (other than louder) once it goes into a sealed box.

[Jack Gilvey]

I'm really like the sound of it in this set up, even though it doesn't go quite as loud as I'd like.

Yup, dipole bass.

I hope it isn't a lot different sounding (other than louder) once it goes into a sealed box.

It very likely will. What you're hearing has much more to do with the lack of a box than with the driver itself.

[rbuszka]

Dipole+Monopole

You will still want a monopole sealed sub (probably using the 1503) for the really low stuff. It's what Linkwitz does. Basically, using dipole bass modules and a monopole sealed subwoofer will make up for the dipole's inherently low efficiency at the lowest frequencies. I'd recommend using the 1503 in a nice big sealed monopole subbass unit (since its high-Mms design doesn't really make it a great midbass reproducer) and then some long-excursion woofers with a lower Mms (like the Lambda series drivers from AE Speakers) for the dipole bass section.

[PoorboyMike]

It's been a long time, been a long time baby...........

But I finally finished the box for the 1503. It's about 3 cubic ft sealed and down firing. I wanted it to look like an endtable and not a subwoofer. Anyway, here it is, minus the final finish.

[PoorboyMike]

Here it is in the house:

[PoorboyMike]

One more,,,a close up:

[kano32]

Wow, very nice!

[WillyD]

Mike, what a superb build! Fantastic work.

[---k---]

Very nice. It very convincingly passes as an end table. I'm going to have to make sure my wife doesn't see these, or else she'll expect my next sub to look as good.

[clearwaterms]

more importantly, how does it sound?

[PoorboyMike]

Very nice. It very convincingly passes as an end table. I'm going to have to make sure my wife doesn't see these, or else she'll expect my next sub to look as good.

LOL, your subs turned out just fine k. I do wish I had another 1503 so I could make a matching "end table".

[PoorboyMike]

more importantly, how does it sound?

I think it sounds great. It has a final Q of about .5 according to Unibox and has plenty of output for our small house (1000 sq.ft. total). I've got 12 db of boost dialed in at 20hz and I use that for movies only. For music, I shut off the eq and turn the sub output on my receiver down to -10. It will still rattle stuff off the walls when I turn it up and is way less "boomy" sounding than the old ported store bought junk I had before. :T

I'm still planning on doing an IB when we build our house but I will keep this one for the game/play room.

[jacket_fan]

Mike,

That is the best looking enclosure I have seen. You have some exceptional woodworking skills.

How did you make the legs? What is the radius on the corners?

Hope you don't mind if I steal some of your ideas for a sub I am working on.

[PoorboyMike]

Mike,

That is the best looking enclosure I have seen. You have some exceptional woodworking skills.

How did you make the legs? What is the radius on the corners?

Hope you don't mind if I steal some of your ideas for a sub I am working on.

Thanks! There are actually a few flaws on it but most people don't notice unless I point them out. I need to learn to keep my mouth shut. 8) When I glued on the top I made it slightly over sized so I could flush trim it. Well, I ended up making it a little too big and some of the oak ripped out on me. Filler hides it pretty good but it still bother me.

For the legs, I just glued on the 1X3's so they were flush with the corner of the box, then glued in some 3/4" oak quarter round. After a little of sanding a couple of the legs actually look like they are made from a single piece. If I would have known it could turn out like that I would have ripped the legs out of 1X6 and spent a little more time trying to match up the 1/4 round.

[dyazdani]

Awesome work!

[JonMarsh]

Looks great, Mike! :T Whats the finishing plan? I need to do something like that with a pair of BPD1203's I have...

[jacket_fan]

I was thinking that you had butt joined at the corners and then did a large roundover bit, which is what I am considering. It just looks bigger than a 3/4 in radius on the legs. I have a 1 1/4 inch roundover bit that I have yet to use. What are the approximate dimensions of the box?

[PoorboyMike]

Outside dimensions are aprox. 23d X 21w X 21h. The legs add another 4".

I wanted to glue the legs up solid but I didn't have a big enough round over bit and nobody carried them around here. I had a piece of 1/4 round laying around and just decided I would use that instead.

Jon, I'm not sure how I'm going to do the final finish. I want to spray it somehow but I don't have a sprayer yet and I'm not sure how it would turn out with the rattle cans. My garage isn't heated though and right now it's just too cold here to do anything. I don't think the wife would like it much if I sprayed it inside the house. 8O

[---k---]

Have you thought about just an oil finish? Real wood like that looks beautiful with a couple coats of Tung Oil.

I did two coats of stain, and then three coats of Tung Oil on my sub and entertainment center, and they look great. They have a very deep, velvety rich look, without that plastic look. I've been watching a lot of woodworking shows recently, and it seems like the high-end guys all just use oil finishes.

Very easy, difficult to screw up. The only down side is that you can't put cold drinks on the finish, keep them polished, and maybe reapply the tung oil every couple years.

[JonMarsh]

I'm kind of with K on this, though another similar possibliity that's easy to do is oil followed by wipe on poly. More durable, and renewable to a degree also.

[JonW]

Mike-

Your woodworking really looks super. :T

I'm with Ryan and Jon. An oil finish, maybe with a poly coat over that. But you're obviously good enough to know what you'll like most here. Again, it looks great.