Cerwin-Vega Subwoofer--NJ CL--Worth It?

[SubLover]

No affiliation, etc....

Cerwin Vega Subwoofer - $80 (Bergen County)
http://newjersey.craigslist.org/ele/1383283304.html

Opinions on performance and value much appreciated.

 

[automojo]

I bought one of those from DAK in the mid 80's. Crosses over @125hz if I recall. DAK's price was $150 I think plus shipping, It worked ok with a pair of Minimus 7's, but I didn't like being able to 'locate' the sub. The bass is a bit flabby, and booming as my experience with othe CV speakers.
I'd say it's worth $200 maximum-spend you money on a good pair of speakers that don't require a sub-as a sub is more of a "patch" IMHO for stereo listening.

 

[intotubes]

Maybe worth $80. I sold one recently for $75. Boomy bass, not much below 40hz to my ears. I'd pass.

 

[SubLover]

Thank you!

Beemer, autmojo and intotubes,

Thank you for your prompt, informative responses.

I'm going to pass, but if anyone can recall any good threads on subs, generally, I'd love to read them. Despite my handle, my love of subwoofers greatly exceeds my knowledge of them.

I would like two of them, eventually, since there are two stereo channels. :scratch2: I know that is not the norm, but it seems to make sense to me, despite the received wisdom that low frequencies are "omnidirectional," or however it goes. Plus I'm rarely accused of "normalcy."

Thanks again!

SubLover

 

[intotubes]

I built my sub out of 24" sonotube and a Madisound 12" driver. The driver came with TS parameters and the suggested box volume with and w/o a port. I put a port in mine and it even gave me the volume of the port. The speaker I used is discontinued however. It is a 12" dual voice coil driver. I think it was called a Sledgehammer or something. This thing rocks the house and is GREAT for movies. Maybe check their website to see if they still have subwoofer drivers for DIYers.

 

[automojo]

Parts Express has them as well, not sure how good they are. I agree about having 2, as it has a chance of sounding better and hopefully not being able to locate it.

 

[SubLover]

intotubes,

I've been very curious about those sonotube designs. I even read a thread somewhere (here?) about someone building giant sonotube subs under (and into?) his basement stairs or something like that.

Do you think the giant subs (like 6' long or whatever) actually sound good? I'd love to hear them!

Did you ever publish any pics of your build?

How does your sonotube build compare, performance-wise, with something you could buy commercially?

automojo,

Thanks for the recommendation, and your feedback on the two-sub systems.

Much appreciated, guys.

SubLover

 

[intotubes]

I don't think I ever took pics of the build. The enclosure size is strictly based on the driver's TS parameters. As I said, Madisound supplied the specs on enclosure size, resonant freq, port size, etc. I just had to decide how I wanted to construct it and I chose a sonotube. You cannot feel ANY vibration when you place your hand on the side. A cylinder is the strongest structure there is. If I could I would have put domed ends on it. I used 2 pieces of 3/4" plywood glued and screwed together for the top and bottom. You can feel some vibration on the top but not much. This sub sounds much better than most commercially available subs. It is very difficult to get low freqs out of a "small" enclosure. This sub is not boomy, just low. It's not unsightly, decent WAF. She lets me keep it in the family room with the TV. She sewed up a tube of material that looks like speaker grill cloth and I put that over it. Looks pretty good to my eyes.
Here's a bad pic of it. It has a small "sub" box on top of it. My DIY sub is the gray tube below.

 

[SubLover]

I don't think I ever took pics of the build. The enclosure size is strictly based on the driver's TS parameters. As I said, Madisound supplied the specs on enclosure size, resonant freq, port size, etc. I just had to decide how I wanted to construct it and I chose a sonotube. You cannot feel ANY vibration when you place your hand on the side. A cylinder is the strongest structure there is. If I could I would have put domed ends on it. I used 2 pieces of 3/4" plywood glued and screwed together for the top and bottom. You can feel some vibration on the top but not much. This sub sounds much better than most commercially available subs. It is very difficult to get low freqs out of a "small" enclosure. This sub is not boomy, just low. It's not unsightly, decent WAF. She lets me keep it in the family room with the TV. She sewed up a tube of material that looks like speaker grill cloth and I put that over it. Looks pretty good to my eyes.
Here's a bad pic of it. It has a small "sub" box on top of it. My DIY sub is the gray tube below.

intotubes,

VERY nice! The "sock" your wife made looks great--and the fact that she made that indicates better-than-"decent" WAF, IMO! LOL

I like how you oriented it, too--it could be a "modern" end table. Anyway, I think it looks great! The 3/4" plywood worked well, there, IMO. (Looks like you polyurethaned it, as well.) Did you just screw the screws into the edges of the sonotube? I'm imagining you used like deck screws or something similar?

That's amazing that there's no vibration on the sides.

First, a dumb question: what are "TS parameters"?

And may I ask what your approx. build cost was?

What is the frequency range and how did you cross it over?

Is it powered, or driven by a remote amp?

Again, that's real nice looking--thanks!

SubLover

 

[intotubes]

From wikipedia: ""Thiele/Small" commonly refers to a set of electromechanical parameters that define the specified low frequency performance of a loudspeaker driver. These parameters are published in specification sheets by driver manufacturers so that designers have a guide in selecting off-the-shelf drivers for loudspeaker designs. Many of the parameters are strictly defined only at the resonant frequency, but they are generally applicable in the frequency range where the diaphragm motion is intended to be purely pistonic, ie, without cone breakup."

I think the whole thing was around $100 - $150. Can't remember exactly.

The resonant frequency is in the low 20's. Crossed over at 80 Hz. It thunders.

It's passive, driven by a 65WPC amp. That's 65W into each voice coil. It's a stereo amp. Input is from the home theater receiver's subwoofer output, split into two channels with a simple RCA splitter.

Thanks. I like it too.