Project Quick, Easy & Cheap – IXL18.4 LLT

[JonP]

Drawing looks good.. :T

You need more clearance between the ports and the sidewalls of the box. So move the ports closer together or consider going with a single larger diameter port. Using a single larger port would mean much less woodwork compared to that needed for the 3 small ones.

I know all HD stores aren't alike, (even the big box ones) but at one of our local ones, I have seen a 18" or 24" (?) pieces of 6" thin PVC drain pipe. Haven't done any simulating, but maybe it might be long enough to hit your tune in 1-2 pieces?

Also try plumbing supply, irrigation, etc, stores. Though they'll probably want to sell you a whole 20 footer... maybe they'll have scrap or broken pieces.

[myn]

I managed to cut out the interior braces this past weekend. I discovered that that my router jig isn't cabable of making small holes (4.5"). So I ended up making the cuts with the jig saw, making them a little larger than the diameter of the 4.5" ABS pipe. This way it will give me some room to move when I'm fitting them through the tight port ends. I'll end up securing them with some small pieces of stock wood and liquid nails.

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Also, I started thinking about the end result and figured I'd cover the 3 ports with some grills.

I was looking at these at Parts Express: 5 1/4" black snap on grills.

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I wish Parts Express was a little more explicit on their details, outlining the actual diameter (inside/outside)

[myn]

Also wanted to report that I ended up returning my Craftsman router to Sears opting to get a more powerful 2 1/4 Skil 1825 with the multiple base sets (fixed/plunge). I had a $10 off coupon and the router was only $89 which brought the price to $79. I figured for an extra $20 it was worth getting a more powerful router with variable speed and multiple bases.

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[myn]

What's everyone running internal to their subwoofer for speaker wire?

I've got about 15 feet of 12ga left over from a Parts Express SoundKing spool. I'm thinking this should be suffice? Or some folks running 10 ga?

[Hdale85]

12ga is fine I'm sure.

[kingpin]

Also wanted to report that I ended up returning my Craftsman router to Sears opting to get a more powerful 2 1/4 Skil 1825 with the multiple base sets (fixed/plunge). I had a $10 off coupon and the router was only $89 which brought the price to $79. I figured for an extra $20 it was worth getting a more powerful router with variable speed and multiple bases.

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Hey, I have the same router.
Never used the fixed base but it connects well to the jasper circle jig if you ever want to buy one.

Mike

[myn]

Another busy Sunday. Kinda pissed at some of the results though

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Yesterday I bound two 3/4"x24"x22.5" MDF pieces together to create the double baffle for the IXL18.4.

I crafted up a DIY circle jig using 1/4" MDF, drilling holes for the router base and measured out exactly 8 5.5/16ths which will create the hole for the subwoofer (16 11/16ths).

I used some scrap MDF and tested my circle jig and did a dry fit on my IXL. It Fit perfect.

So at this point I thought I was home free. Should be easy, right?

I then took my double ply 1.5" baffle and drilled a hole all the way through both pieces of bound MDF exactly in the center. I screwed in my DIY baffle using a 1" drywall screw just as I did previously in my first circle test. I proceeded to create a nice circle on on the first side going half way through the baffle using a 1/4" x 1" straight router bit. The circle looked perfect.


I then flipped over the double baffle and did the same thing, screwing into the existing pilot hole I created earlier and again went around creating a circle from the other side.

What I ended up with was 2 mis-aligned circles. The circles are Aligned perfectly on the north and south side but off about 1/4" west and east if that helps explain it better.


I can't for the life of me figure out why or how this happened. Am I missing something here? The only thing I can think of is perhaps the pilot hole I drilled was a little crooked? I remember when I was drilling it, ensuring it was as straight as my eyeball could see.

How is everyone creating thick baffles here?

Any help/insight would be greatly appreciated.

Here are some pics that help explain it better:


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My circle jig

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[BigJim_inFLA]

The trouble with routing from both sides is if the pilot hole is not exactly square to the top the baffle you will end up with just the problem you have. You need to use either a drill press or a drill guide to be sure the hole is 90 degrees to the surface, it may look good when you drill it freehand but your results show that it was not.

[Hdale85]

Could try and find a spiral upcut bit with more then 1.5" of cutting area. Might be more expensive though.

[Ray Collins]

1. A drill guide from Harbor Freight for about $20 will do the job.

2. A straight 2" cutting length, 3 flute bit will work...use a 1/2" shank ONLY!

3. Finish the hole from the top with a jig saw or a dry wall saw

Ray

[yousuredo2]

can't you laminate both boards together and cut through all of it with several passes...?

or do the inner baffle, the laminate it to the outer, and use a bit with a bearing guide, to do outer baffle cut-out...

[Brian Bunge]

You could cut one hole, cut the second one slightly smaller (say 1/2" smaller diameter), then laminate them together, get a flush trim bit and trim out the smaller one to match the larger one. I recently did this for an amp cutout because my 1/4" spiral up cut bit would only had a 1" cut length. It worked great!

[Forte_II]

You just do it in two passes. First time set the depth to 3/4" and then on the second pass set the depth to 1-1/2". Works just fine.

[myn]

You just do it in two passes. First time set the depth to 3/4" and then on the second pass set the depth to 1-1/2". Works just fine.

Unfortunately I only currently have a standard 1/2 inch 1/4" straight bit that is 3/4" long/deep

[Forte_II]

I "see" says the blind man.

[myn]

So I am going to mount the driver on a double thick 3/4" baffle.

I see many folks are using these:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=260-776

along with the hurricain nuts to secure the driver to the baffle.

My only concern with these bolts is will they be long enough?

The description states:

Kit includes eight 1-1/2" thread length cap screws with 10-32 threads and eight self piercing spiked "T" nuts. Works well with up to 1" cabinet thickness.



From the picture the thread length appears to be 80% of the length of the bolt + an additional non-threaded part. I am wondering if these will work with a double 3/4" thickness baffle?

Does anyone have these and can confirm ?

I also ended up buying a 1.5" cutting surface x 1/2" straight router bit from MLS Woodworking on sale for $8.95 including shipping. It bought it Tuesday and arrived Friday. Pretty fast shipping.

[ThomasW]

Unless the driver was recessed into the baffle, I wouldn't use 1.5" screws with a 1.5" baffle,

[myn]

Done but the IXL18.4 is defective

So I am finally finished what I started designing back in October. Well, almost (keep reading about defective driver). In all fairness when the winter came around November I put the project on hold and didn't get back started again until Late May.

To give a quick update on equipment purchases. I went with the Behringer EP2500 amplifier running it bridged mono. I picked up an ART CleanBox as as the preout on my Panasonic XR-55 was really lacking. I also went ahead and bought a BFD thinking I can always use some EQ if need be.

I did go through with finishing the MDF edges rounding them off with a quarter round router bit. I used 8 cans of flat dark grey primer then sanded with 220 and applied 15 cans of Duplicolor Truck Bedliner. Just a quick note on this product. It is very temperamental. It really sets/dries differently depending on the temperature and humidity level. I actually had to go back and redo the top of the enclosure because I sprayed it on a different day with a different climate temp/humidity level then rest with of the enclosure giving it a completely different very harsh sandpaper finish. To make a long story short, I did a lot of sanding and bondo resurfacing the top to make it nice and flat so I could try again. A lot of extra time however it was definitely worth it as the finish looks consistent now having to monitor wunderground weather daily for ideal spraying conditions..

To confirm for documentation purposes for future builders here are some design details that I haven't previously mentioned in this thread:

• I settled with 4.5" x 2" Poplar dowels. Lowes sells these larger diameter dowels unlike HD at least where I live. The larger diameter gives it a more husky feel.

• The IXL required 1/4-20 mounting screws. I ended up buying the 2" socket cap screws from Microfasteners.com which sells them for a very reasonable price with cheap shipping costs. Home Depot and Lowes both failed me in this arena.

• Hurricane nuts were attached to the back and reinforced with gorilla glue.

• All joints were glued together using TiteBond II with clamps (no screws)

• Flush trim router bits are your friends if you are "off" a slight margin in your cuts as they eliminate hours of sanding

• You never can have enough liquid nails

• Speaker grills were used to cover the 3 4" ports"

So with this all said and done. How does it sound?

Well there is bad news . I believe the subwoofer I purchased back in November from Mach5Audio is defective. From the second I started testing the subwoofer out I knew something was wrong. My IXL18.4 makes a very loud audible mechanical clacking noise anytime there is any level of substantial bass at moderate levels. This sound is audible even with extremely low conservative power being fed to it (EP2500 at 3 oclock (16), CleanBox at 12 oclock and , Panasonic XR55 Receiver volume -32 with level 10 (middle setting for subwoofer level).

The sound out of the driver also seems very thin, The mid-low 45-80hz is almost non existent. Only the lower 45hz and below are really heard however the clacking noise overwhelms the sound of the bass. For sake of debugging I removed the CleanBox from the mix and I experienced similar unsatisfactory results. Is this lack of mid-low bass an inherent function of LLT designs or perhaps specific to the IXL driver or perhaps my defective driver?

After hearing the clacking noise I did a little debugging. I NEVER dare touch the cone of any of my speakers but for sake of determining driver defect I turned the entire system off and very gently pushed the cone in from the middle of the driver. Upon pushing inward slightly there was very audible friction noise with some level of resistance felt along the way. I assume this is a bad sign

Just to confirm from the other IXL owners out there, when you put pressure on the cone was their audible noise or any friction? Does it move freely without any noise? Does your IXL make a lot of mechanical noise?

With the driver being defective I can't really compare the SQ as something is certainly wrong. My previous 100 watt Jamo 10" sub definitely has alot more solid bass in the low-mid bass 40-50hz range and actually sounds louder than this 14 cu foot enclosure with the IXL18.4.

I'm rather bummed to say the least about my IXL18.4 having to potentially spend more money to ship it back to Mach5Audio

Below are some pics filling in some gaps of the build process.








Having to redo the top after having sprayed the bedliner on the rest of the enclosure Lotsa Bondo and sanding!






My Dip switch settings



The center tabs on the Behringer EP2500's speaker terminal plugs are removable allowing banana plugs. I am running mine in bridged mono.

[myn]

I took a video this morning that illustrates this mechanical noise I am hearing with any moderate bass.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=283422981607670040&hl=en

Note that there is really little excursion when the noise is present.

[Hdale85]

Wow....I think you need to get that driver replaced. Sounds like the VC is rubbing or something. That sounds horrible!

[myn]

I talked to Mark over at Mach5Audio. His service is second to none. He is taking care of this, sending me a new driver.

[myn]

So Mark, my new best friend over at Mach5Audio hooked me up with a new IXL18.4 replacing the driver that was ruined by the shippers :/. As stated in an earlier post, Mark's customer service is second to none. He really took excellent care of me.

With the new IXL18.4 now installed, all I have to say is WOW. 8O

The tactile pressure felt deep down into the teens is sensational to say the least. 15 - 45hz sign sweeps deliver the same oscillation feeling that I have grown for in the car audio days providing ample "cloth shaking" sensations throughout your body. I was blown away while watching the the opening scene in Transformers when the helicopter flies by. My pant legs on my Dockers were fluttering.

I threw on a 20hz tone to break in the driver playing it conservatively low. Heading up stairs to grab a drink I realized I had a new problem on my hands. All 3300 sq feet of my 5 level split home was shaking. From windows to door frames to dishes and even the garage door. Laughing, my first thought was "I'm going to need a ton of Dynamat!". My wife now home from work grinned and commented on how it felt like an earthquake.

As they say, there is no replacement for displacement, This thing really moves some serious air. I am so extreamly impressed at how effortlessly this IXL18.4 can drop bottom at high SPL levels without a single sign of stress.

My next steps in the project are to connect my new BFD to it, eqing it with the rest of my system.

I leave you with a few videos I took to augment my feelings about this now finished subwoofer.

I'd like to thank Mark @ Mach5Audio again for your incredibly superb service. If anyone is thinking about building a sub, give Mark a ring. He'll take care of you like nobody else. Thanks again Mark.


Video 1: Excessive rattling all over house caused by Mach5Audio IXL 18.4 LLT. Playing 20hz sinewave. The sound that is heard is not the subwoofer but the rattling throughout the house. The poor quality of this google video doesn't show the mirror vibrating unfortunately. The floor actually flexes.

Video 2: Up close look at driver playing 20hz tone. Again, the Canon camera doesn't pick the low frequency that well, but you can obviously see the nice clean extension this driver has.

Video 3: Rattling door in the same room as LLT, again 20hz tone.


Video 4: More rattling door