CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[Zebu Fellenz]

Hi,

My home theater room is lacking a subwoofer of any kind, and yes it sucks.

Anyway I've been looking to do a DIY build but have no experience whatsoever with building my own speakers and subs. I'm mentioning the sonotube sub only because I like the ease of construction and the way it looks. Has anyone here built one that would be willing to share their views on it.

I am looking to do this on a small budget but would like to get it right the first time. My room is pretty small, only about 15 by 20 feet with a sloped ceiling (think attic)

Any advice.

Thanks,

Erik

[JustGreg]

Here's one option. Looks easy and inexpensive enough.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_6_3/diy-11-sonotube-subwoofer-september-99.html

As for a subwoofer amp, Parts-Express.com has a 300w reasonably priced. I've seen them on ebay for less...but not by much. You can also get your woofer from Parts Express too.

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=300-750

Greg

[CRT_Ben]

I do love Parts Express to death, but I don't think that their amps are a great value...I recently picked up a trio of Adcom amps from ebay, 2x GFA-535 (100w*2/4ohms) and 1x GFA-545 (150w*2/4ohms) for $450 delivered, and I've been very satisfied with the performance. Here's a few GFA-545's going right now:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Adcom-GFA-545-PowerAmp_W0QQitemZ140196030989QQihZ004QQcategoryZ39783QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/ADCOM-POWER-AMP-GFA-545-HIGH-CURRENT-STEREO-AMP_W0QQitemZ290196882237QQihZ019QQcategoryZ39783QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/ADCOM-GFA-545-II-POWER-AMPLIFIER-NO-RES_W0QQitemZ110213525534QQihZ001QQcategoryZ14978QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Zebu Fellenz]

Thanks Guys,

It looks like I have a little reading to do. Can anyone comment on the height of the sono-sub, I was reading on AVS and I saw a few that were over 6' tall. Is there a reason for the height or an easy way to calculate what I will need given the size of my room.

Thanks Again,

Erik

[JustGreg]

[CRT_Ben]

[ecrabb]

I'm a thrifty shopper, too and there are deals to be had for sure, but sometimes the value isn't what it seems.

I bought an Adcom GFA-545 of fleabay and the left channel turned out to be fried. I didn't check it out before I plugged it and damn near friend my nice new Marantz receiver. It freaked out, went into protect mode, and shut down. Turns out there was 40 or 50 volts DC on one of the preamp-ins. There's a thread somewhere here about it. Thank GOD it didn't fry my receiver's pre-out stage (or worse). Of course, I bought it as-is, so I couldn't really legitimately go back on the seller.

So, you can spend $50-100 on something in rough or unknown condition with possible issues, you can spend $200 for something used like a GFA-545 in good working condition, or there's another option. You can get a pro amp - say something like the Crown XLS-202D - for $300. I bought two 202's for well under $600 with rebate, including shipping. They're 300+ wpc into my 4-ohm M&K's and they friggin' ROCK. 3-year limited warranty and good manufacturer support. Good resale, too.

SC

[CRT_Ben]

[papalek]

Executioner X21 pounds.

[NateTTU]

Hi there Erik,

I'm in a similair boat as you with trying to build a sonosub. However, here are some tips/suggestions that may help you decide. First you need to decide if this sub is for mostly music or ht. Second, how low do you need/want your sub to produce frequencies? The reason some peoples sonosubs are so large is to tune low. I'm still acquiring all the pieces but I have decided to build a sonosub with the following attribues as it will be used for ht:
15'' TC 2000 driver
24'' dia sonotube cut to a height of 4' 3/4''
6'' port cut to 27.5''
EP2500
This sonosub is tuned to 14.5 hz and will cost me a total of around $700 to complete.
Here are some helpful links:

Here is a nice little program you can use to create your own sonosub. http://www.subwoofer-builder.com/sonosub.htm
Here is an explaination on LLT and its benefits, the traditional name for large sonosubs. http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/diy-subwoofers-sealed-ported/1820-llt-explained.html
Here is a sub shootout of various diy and commercial designs. The DIY TC-2000 15'' 270 L should give you an idea of the performance the typical sonosub will yield, including my build. http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/home-audio-subwoofers/6656-subwoofer-tests-fall-2007-a.html In short this sonosub does extremely well compared to comercial designs and is a lot like the new SVS PB-13Ultra ($1500) in most frequenceis and it greatly exceeds this design in the ultra subsonic regions. It also beats out the JL Audio Fathom f113 sub which is a great piece but costs a whopping $3200.

You will have to decide what is most important to you, how much you can afford, and if you can live with a large design. Here is the build that my design will be following very closely. http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=22491

Just be prepared to put in a lot of time into building a sonosub. Compared to higher end subs the diy verions are better values but not so when you start looking at sub $500 subs. DIY offers a typically higher value on speakers instead of subs. I'm currently in the process of building my full ht speaker setup with diy designs that in the commercial world would have cost me more than $12k+ for the setup and only cost me $2k to build myself.

Nate

[Curt Palme]

If anyone is interested, a bunch of the Virgin record stores used Sonotube subs when they were doing installs back about 10 years ago. WE did the one in Vancouver here (now called the HMV store as Virgin couldn't make this store profitable. Look up, way up on the main sales floor area and you'll see the subs. THey worked, but looked pretty hokey when we put them in.

[Curt Palme]

If anyone is interested, a bunch of the Virgin record stores used Sonotube subs when they were doing installs back about 10 years ago. WE did the one in Vancouver here (now called the HMV store as Virgin couldn't make this store profitable. Look up, way up on the main sales floor area and you'll see the subs. THey worked, but looked pretty hokey when we put them in.

[Zebu Fellenz]

Nate,

Thanks for all the links. I'll be spending the next few weeks reading up and trying to decide what will work best in my room.

[AnalogRocks]

[AnalogRocks]

[warrick]

Here's one I prepared earlier

Sonosub Downunder

Warrick

[jask]

[avwerks]

Sonotubes are excellent enclosures that don't flex under pressure. Trying to accomplish the same deadness in MDF will take quite a bit more time and money. Sonotube makes it easy if you can stand the look.

Try Rthymik subwoofers for DIYers

370 watt plate amp with either 12 or 15" very nicely made woofers.

They have their own direct servo combo that makes more sense than how the Velodyne works. This is a possible new project I might consider.

Regards
David

[greg_mitch]

For $700 I would rather have this...



http://av123.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=265&category_id=9&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=37

Or



http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_info.php?cPath=2_41&products_id=618

You could probably match the finish of the eD a5-350 with some spray on bedliner but the time spent building it would add up fast. The performance is supposed to be pretty oustanding.

The av123 MFW-15 finish will rival any speaker you can buy with real wood veneers under $2000. It is supposed to perform better than the a5-350.

I was very close to attempting a sonotube build, even had the TC1500 speaker, but for the time, finish, and size, I couldn't justify it.

Now saving up for either of these bad boys....maybe two!

[greg_mitch]

I just picked up an MFW-15 for $450. It is B-stock but should rock the house compared to my dayton sub100 or whatever the cheap ass sub over at avs sub was 5 years ago that people were "raving" about.

I will have to be patient as it takes forever for them to ship, but I can't wait!