It’s done and, right away, I’ll say I’m very happy with it. This was my first DIY project. Before starting, I wasn’t even sure what a router is. I borrowed one for the project. But I had so much fun making the sub that I’ve since bought my own tools and will soon be trying to build some speakers.
Huge thanks go to Steve Callas. My sub is, basically, a copy of his. He did all the design work and I just made what he made. It’s over-engineered and I like that. Steve was incredibly helpful, beyond what anyone could hope for. He provided me with very detailed plans to build the sub and then was kind enough to answer pages and pages of my newbie questions. And he’s a really nice guy. Thanks, man.
Details on the sub: It’s built around an Ascendant Audio Avalanche 18” driver. I was fortunate enough to get one of the last ones. The sonotube is 28” diameter (not easy for me to find). The port is made from 8” sonotube. For the end caps, inside, they are made of MDF. The outside, visible parts are from pine, including the base plate. Tuned to 14.5 Hz. The base plate is 36” diameter. Overall, it’s about 7 feet tall.
For expense breakdown, it worked out to something along the lines of: $300 for the Avalanche 18, $175 for the sonotube delivered, $565 for a used Crown K1 amp, $140 for the pine, $40 for the MDF, $60 for the cloth and having it sewn into a tube covering, about $200 for things I screwed up or broke and had to repurchase, because I don’t know what I’m doing (d’oh), and about another $300 for miscellaneous things like cable, binding posts, T-nuts, glue, caulk, dowels, some wood, stain, urethane finish, screws, etc. For a total around $1650.
As you can see from the photo below, it’s a monster. Two friends, independently, had the same impression when they saw it: It looks like an ancient, Easter Island-esque homage to the gods of bass. No, I don’t keep it in the middle of the room like that. The photo is from when I put it all together, at last.
It sounds pretty good. Although I must admit that I’m not properly calibrated to what a good sub should sound like- this is my very first one. I figured I might as well do it right, once, and never want an upgrade (IB couldn’t work in my house). I’m much more of a music guy than movies. The sub adds that extra punch at the bottom end. As far as I can tell, it’s really clean, not boomy at all. It seems like maybe only a 5-10% addition to the spectrum of music put out by my main speakers (Totem Forests), but it makes music much, much nicer. However, I fully admit it’s overkill for music. The sub is hardly even working. I probably could get away with a significantly smaller sub. For movies, it’s quite impressive. My 100 year old house, with wood floors, really shakes a lot. To the point that I’m worried about the house. Steve listened to a movie clip and thought the floor might be flexing. I didn’t notice such a nuance, as I was just too concerned about house damage. I guess that mean’s I’ve got enough output. Some explosions, cannon shots, etc. really sound like cannon shots, near as I can tell. Really clear and not boomy at all.
That’s the story. I’m happy to answer any questions if there are any. Thanks to all for the tips, ideas, and inspiration I picked up along the way. It’s been very fun. Now on to making speakers.
-Jon
Image not available
Huge thanks go to Steve Callas. My sub is, basically, a copy of his. He did all the design work and I just made what he made. It’s over-engineered and I like that. Steve was incredibly helpful, beyond what anyone could hope for. He provided me with very detailed plans to build the sub and then was kind enough to answer pages and pages of my newbie questions. And he’s a really nice guy. Thanks, man.
Details on the sub: It’s built around an Ascendant Audio Avalanche 18” driver. I was fortunate enough to get one of the last ones. The sonotube is 28” diameter (not easy for me to find). The port is made from 8” sonotube. For the end caps, inside, they are made of MDF. The outside, visible parts are from pine, including the base plate. Tuned to 14.5 Hz. The base plate is 36” diameter. Overall, it’s about 7 feet tall.
For expense breakdown, it worked out to something along the lines of: $300 for the Avalanche 18, $175 for the sonotube delivered, $565 for a used Crown K1 amp, $140 for the pine, $40 for the MDF, $60 for the cloth and having it sewn into a tube covering, about $200 for things I screwed up or broke and had to repurchase, because I don’t know what I’m doing (d’oh), and about another $300 for miscellaneous things like cable, binding posts, T-nuts, glue, caulk, dowels, some wood, stain, urethane finish, screws, etc. For a total around $1650.
As you can see from the photo below, it’s a monster. Two friends, independently, had the same impression when they saw it: It looks like an ancient, Easter Island-esque homage to the gods of bass. No, I don’t keep it in the middle of the room like that. The photo is from when I put it all together, at last.
It sounds pretty good. Although I must admit that I’m not properly calibrated to what a good sub should sound like- this is my very first one. I figured I might as well do it right, once, and never want an upgrade (IB couldn’t work in my house). I’m much more of a music guy than movies. The sub adds that extra punch at the bottom end. As far as I can tell, it’s really clean, not boomy at all. It seems like maybe only a 5-10% addition to the spectrum of music put out by my main speakers (Totem Forests), but it makes music much, much nicer. However, I fully admit it’s overkill for music. The sub is hardly even working. I probably could get away with a significantly smaller sub. For movies, it’s quite impressive. My 100 year old house, with wood floors, really shakes a lot. To the point that I’m worried about the house. Steve listened to a movie clip and thought the floor might be flexing. I didn’t notice such a nuance, as I was just too concerned about house damage. I guess that mean’s I’ve got enough output. Some explosions, cannon shots, etc. really sound like cannon shots, near as I can tell. Really clear and not boomy at all.
That’s the story. I’m happy to answer any questions if there are any. Thanks to all for the tips, ideas, and inspiration I picked up along the way. It’s been very fun. Now on to making speakers.
-Jon
Image not available
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