Newbie needs some help please....

[mikieson]

One RLP-15, 24inch diameter sonotube 6 feet long, 6inch dia. 27.5 inch long PVC for port, 1000 watt Buttkicker amp or an EP 2500 amp for a little more money = Big booom for not too much cash.

YES....This is what dis ol boy is talking about!!...Some good samples. Thanks for everyones help and I cant wait to get started on something..Even if it takes a year to save up and get it all done...

I will check it all out.. :T

[WillyD]

Here is the Behringer EP1500 (b-stock) for $200 before shipping.

http://www.audiolines.com/product.php?productid=9288&cat=0&page=1

Don't bother with the Buttkicker....

[mikieson]

Thanks im bookmarking all of this for the "soon" future...lol...Just have to save up a little more and I can buy the amp. The first of many things to come!!...Thanks all ;x(

[mikieson]

OH yeah!!!!!!....I think I just sold my camera gear I have been trying to sell for a while now. THIS MEENS I can buy some of my goodies very very soon!!!! OMG im happy.....

So if anyone has anymore ideas for a sonotube, amp, speaker...Bring it on!!! :T

[WillyD]

Another driver option is the Creative Sound's SDX-15.

Available here: http://www.rawacoustics.com/item__SDX15,856.html

As well as http://www.acoustic-visions.com/ and www.creativesound.ca.

[mikieson]

Here is a good question I better ask before I do anything.....Is a sonotube as good for music as it is movies or vise versa?? With a 15" sub...

[WillyD]

Is a sonotube as good for music as it is movies or vise versa?? With a 15" sub...

I think you'd find most sonosub owners would say yes. I use mine for 80-90% music, and I think it does a great job.

[mikieson]

I think you'd find most sonosub owners would say yes. I use mine for 80-90% music, and I think it does a great job.

Sounds good then...One more thing...Will this one 15" sub do well enough that its gonna outdo my current DCM subs?...If you look at the beginning of this post you will see what my subs are and how old they are and such....

This is important, as I will be able to sell my old subs for some extra $$$ for other things.

[WillyD]

Will this one 15" sub do well enough that its gonna outdo my current DCM subs?

Without a doubt.

[mikieson]

YYYeeeeEEEssssssssssssssssss!!!!...Now someone here buy my DCM subs!!75$ each!! :B

[mikieson]

buggers]One RLP-15, 24inch diameter sonotube 6 feet long, 6inch dia. 27.5 inch long PVC for port, [/SIZE].

So is everyone good with this measurement of the sonotube and port? If so, im gonna go and at least get this and some foam or insulation for the inside....Please chime in soon as im gonna grab it today....Thanks much!

[---k---]

depending on where you live, craigslist is a good way to get rid of subs like that. You'll be suprised by the responses you get.

[mikieson]

Well my boss is gonna buy one of them as soon as we get done building his house...So there is one gone "hopefully"

I may can get another friend to grab the other soon...So I just sold all my camera gear....That will help.

I still have a Sigma 500DGflash, an extra Nikon battery to sell....Might try craigslist for that if its easy to do..

[mikieson]

OK....so just in case ....Will I like a diy sonotube better than say a widely loved SVS box sub? Im really wanting to make sure with this as its a LOT of money to me.

The SVS is already made, in a box, with an amp.....So what is the final thought here????

[Dennis H]

OK....so just in case ....Will I like a diy sonotube better than say a widely loved SVS box sub? Im really wanting to make sure with this as its a LOT of money to me.

The SVS is already made, in a box, with an amp.....So what is the final thought here????

Short answer, yes.

Longer answer, in their top-line models, which cost (much?) more than you're planning on spending, they use a 12" TCSounds driver. If you go with the suggested SoundSplinter 15" in a very large enclosure, that's an OEM TCSounds 15" with nearly twice the output of the 12" in the smaller enclosure. The owners of SVS started out as DIY guys and turned it into a business. Good products but no magic knowledge that doesn't exist right here. Bigger is better when it comes to subs. SVS could build huge subs but the market (SAF) wants them small so they just don't have the output of the big boys.

Build it and be happy.

[mikieson]

okokooooooK.....IM trying to use my head and really really think all this through.
Im excited about building a sonotube...BUT....

Should I keep my DCM's and upgrade my front L&R Bose 301's to " i know none of you here like them"...But....Some Cerwin Vega 15" loud speakers?

I bought a pair of AT-12's back in like 1991 and LOVED them. I have missed them since I decided to go with bookshelf speakers.

I know none of you here like Cerwin Vegas but if you ever heard them PUP out some sweet base mixed with their ear spliting highs...Its really awesome.

I dont know how the new ones compare with the old school ones, but if they are good....Its very tempting to go this route.

The good would be....I would still have my "pretty good" DCM's...I could use all 4 of my 301's for my 4 surrounds and have the VEGAS pumping out the louds in the front....

Please be patient with me, as this is a once in a 10 - 15 year thing for me...Thanks guys.

[Dennis H]

Build the sonosub and you'll become a believer. I realize it's a leap of faith so begin small (well subs aren't exactly small. ) Then, when it becomes obvious your main speakers can't begin to keep up with your new sub, upgrade the mains with one of the DIY projects here. Do the fronts first and the rears later. Run the mains as "small" and let the sub handle the bass. Understand that some of the main speakers here are competing well with commercial speakers costing multi-K$. Some of us have been around a while and have been there done that with Bose, Cerwin Vega, etc. and we know how they sound.

[mikieson]

Ok then....Another question.."sorry"...Does everyones sonotube pretty much sound the same? If say you compare 15" drivers?....How would you people rate your sound?....Are you happy you built, or wish you would have bought?

Am I gonna be blown away with the sound, or say..." man I wish I would have bought already made?"

IM gonna get an amp that was reccomended to me by someone on here in my post.....

I also have another question...It looks like some people ran rods up the tube? Maybe to hold top and bottom together? But looks like some didnt?

I have looked at many pics and see some subtle differences.

[ThomasW]

Fire off an email to DCM ask them the Xmax of your 12" (they say "high excursion") find out what it is. That way we have some basis of comparison between them and what's currently available.

[mikieson]

Fire off an email to DCM ask them the Xmax of your 12" (they say "high excursion") find out what it is. That way we have some basis of comparison between them and what's currently available.

Im sorry...Im not good with some of these words...lol...What is Xmax? and will DCM know what it is?..Again, sorry for not knowing??....Also what are you trying to figure out? If I should build a sub or buy some new front speakers?

[ahaik]

Am I gonna be blown away with the sound,

Without a doubt.

Im sorry...Im not good with some of these words...lol...What is Xmax? and will DCM know what it is?..Again, sorry for not knowing??....Also what are you trying to figure out? If I should build a sub or buy some new front speakers?

Quote from "Speaker Building 201" book:
Xmax - The distance the voice coil can safely move in and out of the gap.

I'm no expert but in more simple words its the distance the cone can safely move from its rest position to the maximum position (or the minimum position), the higher this number is the more air the driver can move, measured in mm.

Many of us here had doubts, for me they disappeared after my first build (Modula MT).

Asi

[ThomasW]

Im sorry...Im not good with some of these words...lol...What is Xmax? and will DCM know what it is?..Again, sorry for not knowing??....Also what are you trying to figure out? If I should build a sub or buy some new front speakers?

Just ask them the Xmax of the drivers used in your subs.

What we want to calculate is much air is displaced during a single in/out motion of the cone. Having that information will tell us if a single 15" will play louder than your existing subs.

[mikieson]

OK...I just called our concrete dealer here in town and they only sell 12' sonotubes....and it is like 150$ !!!
I have searched Google and cant really find much. Do any of you have a clue where I might could order one or someplace nearby Henry County Tennessee address 38242.....I cant seem to find anything.

[ThomasW]

Selling only 12' sections is not unusual, after all these tubes are intended for the construction trade. The only places that sell them by the foot are suppliers in very large metropolitan areas, and then it's the exception not the rule.

In the end you may be better off building a box sub or replacing the 12"s in your DCM subs

[BobEllis]

Buy 12' and make 2 subs.

Sometimes the orange or blue hardware stores will cut MDF to size fairly accurately. I've laid out boxes to allow cutting strips and just crosscut at home. They also frequently have 2 x 4' panels if transporting an 8 foot panel is difficult. Box building is rather easy and should be less expensive than Sonotube (R). I prefer a box of some sort to the cloth covered water heater look of a tube sub, YMMV.

[mikieson]

Yea, the high price on the sonotube really knocked me down a bit. I just dont know about building a box as I know I can build it...but putting a finish on it worth looking at?....I normally suck at that.

I dont know what im gonna do? But in the meantime im still enjoying what I have for now. Still sounds pretty good......

Anyways, thanks for all the help, info and patience you all have shown....PeaceOUT!!

[CraigJ]

Yea, the high price on the sonotube really knocked me down a bit.

Call around, I just paid $55 for a 20" diameter, 12 footer cut in half. Going to make a pair with 15" drivers. I live in a "small" city, so I called the concrete company for Sonotube suppliers. Good luck.

[---k---]

If you could live with a tube and carpet on it, what is the big deal with a box with carpet on it?

[mikieson]

If you could live with a tube and carpet on it, what is the big deal with a box with carpet on it?

I wasnt gonna put carpet on the sonotube. I was gonna laminate it. But yea..I could live with carpet, its no big deal.
So...anyone have ideas for a sub box in my limit? I still want a 15" sub and I can get a plate amp or a rack amp...dont matter to me.
I see lots of designs but there are so many that I just get overwhelmed...

[mazurek]

Mods please remove this recommendation if its not advertising kosher.

Mikieson, just talk to Kyle at acoustic-visions. He sells a lot of things you can get elsewhere, but at least in my past experience, he makes good honest recommendations for subwoofer systems. I think he also sells subwoofer boxes, you could cut the baffle hole with a cheap jigsaw if you are careful.

[ThomasW]

I wasnt gonna put carpet on the sonotube. I was gonna laminate it. ...

Laminating tube is VERY difficult since it doesn't have a flat surface

I see lots of designs but there are so many that I just get overwhelmed...

Might kick back until you get a rely to your email question to DCM.

We've designed more subs than you can imagine on this forum. I'm sure we can create something for your needs.

[mikieson]

Laminating tube is VERY difficult since it doesn't have a flat surface
Might kick back until you get a rely to your email question to DCM.

We've designed more subs than you can imagine on this forum. I'm sure we can create something for your needs.

Yea...It seems Im not really getting anywhere..lol...Im almost ready to just keep what I have and be done. I search all over and really nothing...I click on links that say..." complete project list or something to that affect" and all it does is take me to more forums.....Im looking for accual plans. Accual blueprints. Something other than "words" or more and more forums to read.

Honestly I dont think DCM will care to help me with this small of a question. Heck I really dont think they would know...LOL...Its been several years now..

That was, and still is my favorite plan I have had...Using my old sub boxes. It would save a TON of money and time. I would just really have to buy a sub, sepparate amp and thats it....

Oh well....I guess if I run up on a sonotube somewhere, I might buy it. Or if I get accual plans for a box..I might build that...Or if I just use my old sub boxes...good...Im easy to please in the long run as long as what I do is worth the time and money...

[mikieson]

OK..I just emailed DCM about the XMAX of the speakers....Guess im waiting on them now

[mikieson]

OK..I just emailed DCM about the XMAX of the speakers....Guess im waiting on them now

Well no email sent to me yet. So I dont know what Im gonna do?

[ThomasW]

Patience.....?

[mikieson]

Patience.....?

LOL....Oh you Thomas dont know me...Mikieson have very little patience. :banghead:

[---k---]

I'm sure we can create something for your needs.

Though figuring out one's needs are is often the most difficult task.

[mikieson]

Though figuring out one's needs are is often the most difficult task.

I think "and this is just a guess" that most everyone has the same "needs" if they are looking for a sub. BASS IN YO FACE!!!! :T
And I would bet 98% of the people want a sub for music and movies. So really, most everyones needs are the same if they want subs....

The louder and more deadly the better to me......You know when you ride around in your vehicle and you have like 6 15" subs knocking out your breath, your windows are bowing if not breaking and everyone is like WHOA!!!....That is what I want.

Size is no issue as I have plenty of room. Loud is no issue as I can KRANK it all the way up if I choose...Im just wanting something within reason for my old boxes or a sonotube, or whatever...I dont care as long as its no more than 600-700$...

[Dennis H]

I want a Ferrari..... as long as it doesn't cost more than $600.

[mikieson]

I want a Ferrari..... as long as it doesn't cost more than $600.

You can get a 600$ Ferrari....In the junk yard maybe.. :rofl:

[Dennis H]

The point is having realistic goals and defining them clearly for yourself.

The louder and more deadly the better to me......You know when you ride around in your vehicle and you have like 6 15" subs knocking out your breath, your windows are bowing if not breaking and everyone is like WHOA!!!....That is what I want.

No problem, you can have that. That kind of slam is related to the ratio of Vd (driver displacement) to room (car) volume. If 6 drivers give you the slam you want in a 100 cu.ft. car, you only need 120 drivers to get the same thing in a 2000 cu.ft. room. Of course it may be a bit hard to get someone to sell you 120 sub drivers and the amps to power them for $600.

[mikieson]

The point is having realistic goals and defining them clearly for yourself. No problem, you can have that. That kind of slam is related to the ratio of Vd (driver displacement) to room (car) volume. If 6 drivers give you the slam you want in a 100 cu.ft. car, you only need 120 drivers to get the same thing in a 2000 cu.ft. room. Of course it may be a bit hard to get someone to sell you 120 sub drivers and the amps to power them for $600.

OH man.....That would be Swweeeeeeett!!!!....I can feel my lungs closing in now from no air...I would just lay on the subs and vibrate all day and night
hehehehe....