DIY sub options

[powens]

Hi,

I am looking to build a ported sub for my home theater. I have a budget of $450-500 max to buy both the sub and amp. Originally I planned on using a rl-p12 that I have laying around from car audio use. However, it seems that most people feel it is not well suited for home use. So I am now looking at getting a tc-1000 and 500 watt amp instead. My main question is will the tc-1000 be much better, or should I just stick with the rl-p12 I currently own? I have plotted both in Unibox and the rl-p12 didn't look much worse, but I have no idea how they would compare sound quality wise. Also, are their any better options in my price range that I should consider? Thanks.

[ThomasW]

Trying to get a 'good' complete sub for a total of $450-$500 would be problematic.

Since you have the RL-p12. my suggestion is to use it, that leaves the money for a nice amp and EQ..

[powens]

Thanks for the quick reply. So do you think that the rl-p12 will perform as well as the tc-1000 for home theater use? Using the rl-p12 would definitely be the most cost effective option for me, if the performance is close to that of tc-1000.

[joecarrow]

The Behringer EP1500 is an excellent amp that many people use for subwoofers, and Parts Express has it for about $300. The Behringer Feedback Destroyer Pro is the most popular equalizer for getting flat in-room response. Unless you live in an acoustical paradise, you'll want one of these for $100.

As was mentioned before, TC Sounds seems to be having some kind of big sale. Their DB-500 is on sale for $75. A pair of these in a ported box could probably deliver a worthy quantity and quality of bass. A +9 cubic foot box might require $75-$100 worth of wood. If you can find cheap Sonotube, you could come in at just over $100 over your budget of $500 and have a pair of subs that will slick your hair back.

Disclaimer- I'm not an experienced subwoofer guy "yet", so I defer to the gurus if they care to correct me.

[powens]

Thanks for the help guys. Based on ThomasW's suggestions I have decided to go ahead and use the rl-p12 that I already have. I decided on an enclsoure ~150 l and tuned to 19 hz with two 4" ports. I'm actually already about half done with the enclosure.

However, I've run into a bit of a problem. I had planned to use PE's precision ports with elbows in order to fit the ports in the enclosure. I naively assumed that elbows didn't affect how the port works, but I just saw a post by ThomasW stating that elbows change a port's resistance and none of the design program can take this into account.

So, should I just drop down to one 4" port to get it to fit, or is there a way I can uses the port elbows?

Thanks for all the continued help.

[---k---]

How does a 6" port look in the models?

[ThomasW]

You can use elbows, just understand they will have some impact on the Fb.

[powens]

I may be doing something wrong in Unibox, but it looks like a 6" port would need to be longer than two 4" ports. So, I would still need to use an elbow.

Thomas how would the elbow affect fb? Would it increase or decrease it, and by how much? Unless it is only a small change, I don't think an increase in fb would be too good because it would make the sub even more vulnerable to low frequencies.

On a side note, when modeling two 4" ports in Unibox it says the port length should be around 81 cm(32"). Does this mean both ports should be 32" long or the combined length should be 32" long? I've been assuming both should be 32" long but I just want to make sure.

Thanks again.