Looking for help with DIY Sub

[waggs098]

I have an EV pro audio sub (SBA760) that was given to me because the driver is blown. Im thinking about using the box and making a home audio sub since it is a very solid box and that is the most difficult part o a DIY speaker.

I've done some calculations and the box volume is very close to 2.97 cubic feet. I can easily modify it to make it slightly larger or smaller.

I would like to make it a sealed sub but vented isn't entirely out of the question. I know vented can go lower but it seems I like the sound of sealed speakers better.

Looking at parts express and I found 2 drivers that could work. They are both Daytons and 15" drivers which fits the cabinet.
First- Dayton RSS390HF-4. Requires a slightly smaller cabinet of 2.8 CF for a sealed woofer, easy to do.
Second- Dayton RSS390HO-4. with this one sealed is to small but vented requires 2.72 CF, more difficult and vented.

I know Dayton audio gets good to great reviews on this site.

So the first few questions are,

Are these good options?

What are some other sites besides parts express I can look at?

Should I just buy a recone kit or replacement woofer then install a proper home audio plate amp so I can control phase and crossover? I feel I could get better clarity if I ditch the EV components.

Any other suggestions? Im open to any and all advice.

Thanks
Justin.

 

[WaynerN]

Being off only a couple of points on the cubic volume isn't a deal killer. Your first Dayton woofer seems to fit the bill. When you seal a speaker cabinet, weird things happen with the batting material. It becomes a heat retainer and changes the perceived volume of the cabinet. That makes it a trial and error project. Sealed cabinets can be very smooth in its frequency response and can go really low if executed properly.

If your project was mine, I'd go vented with the first Dayton and see how it sounds. PE certainly will accept returns if it is not to your liking.

 

[donprice]

The specs on the SBA760 say it is -10dB at 40 Hz which is pretty typical for a pro audio sub. In other words, it is extremely efficient (100 dB @ 1W @ 1m) but doesn't dig as deep as you probably want for home use...so I would skip the recone or replacement woofer (though it might be the cheapest option).

Check the port diameter (3"? 4"?) - you may find pipe plugs at the big box store that allow you to easily seal the ports...and be reversible.

Going with a sealed design is easy - plug the ports and drop in a new woofer. Ported is more complicated. The existing ports are probably tuned for ~45 Hz or so....and would need to be extended to drop the tuning frequency lower to take advantage of the lower resonant frequency of a "home theater" subwoofer driver like the HO or HF. You will need to do some modelling (WinISD? BassBox6?) to size the ports to the box/woofer.

I would install the plate amp in a seperate box. Why the let the subwoofer try to beat it to an early death? I suggest getting one with parametric EQ to help tune the subwoofer response. MiniDSP 2x4 or similar is another option particularly if you have a spare amp to drive it with. Ask your buddy that gave you the sub if he has an old heavy PA amp that is no longer used since weight means little for home use and is perfect if you add MiniDSP.

Good luck!

 

[waggs098]

Being off only a couple of points on the cubic volume isn't a deal killer. Your first Dayton woofer seems to fit the bill. When you seal a speaker cabinet, weird things happen with the batting material. It becomes a heat retainer and changes the perceived volume of the cabinet. That makes it a trial and error project. Sealed cabinets can be very smooth in its frequency response and can go really low if executed properly.

If your project was mine, I'd go vented with the first Dayton and see how it sounds. PE certainly will accept returns if it is not to your liking.

The specs on the SBA760 say it is -10dB at 40 Hz which is pretty typical for a pro audio sub. In other words, it is extremely efficient (100 dB @ 1W @ 1m) but doesn't dig as deep as you probably want for home use...so I would skip the recone or replacement woofer (though it might be the cheapest option).

Check the port diameter (3"? 4"?) - you may find pipe plugs at the big box store that allow you to easily seal the ports...and be reversible.

Going with a sealed design is easy - plug the ports and drop in a new woofer. Ported is more complicated. The existing ports are probably tuned for ~45 Hz or so....and would need to be extended to drop the tuning frequency lower to take advantage of the lower resonant frequency of a "home theater" subwoofer driver like the HO or HF. You will need to do some modelling (WinISD? BassBox6?) to size the ports to the box/woofer.

I would install the plate amp in a seperate box. Why the let the subwoofer try to beat it to an early death? I suggest getting one with parametric EQ to help tune the subwoofer response. MiniDSP 2x4 or similar is another option particularly if you have a spare amp to drive it with. Ask your buddy that gave you the sub if he has an old heavy PA amp that is no longer used since weight means little for home use and is perfect if you add MiniDSP.

Good luck!

Thanks for the replies and suggestions.

The box currently has 2 front facing ports that measure 4.25" diameter and 6.5" length. I would guess also it is tuned close to 45hz.

Wayne, are you saying to use the first driver I listed and put it in a vented box? According to parts express they suggest a 8.9 cubic foot box for vented. I don't know what would happen if it were put in this small of box and have it ported.

Donprice, I have a few amps that are capable of driving the sub and I was also thinking of a parametric eq to tune it to my liking. I was also thinking about making it so I could plug and open the ports so I could test with the current configuration also. I have just downloaded WinISD and started messing with it a little bit but need to do some learning about the program. How can I just enter the dimensions of the box I have and have it calculate the port size I would like, if its possible?

 

[WaynerN]

I thought you wrote that the first driver only needed 2.8 cu. ft.?

 

[waggs098]

I thought you wrote that the first driver only needed 2.8 cu. ft.?

Yes for the first one I said 2.8 cu. ft. for a SEALED woofer. The second needs 2.7 cu. ft. for a PORTED woofer. I only mentioned the box style that was close to the cubic feet for both woofers.

To clarify here are the other specs. For the first it needs 8.9 cu. ft. for a PORTED and the second needs 1.5 cu. ft. for a SEALED woofer, neither of those would work for my box size.

Sorry if it was a little confusing in my original post.

 

[donprice]

Keep in mind the "recommended" box sizes given on the Parts Express site are whatever the modelling program (BassBox6) spits out (flatest response curve?) and not absolute requirements. Some (most?) spec sheets will give a range of accepetable sizes and may even include some example configurations. Eminence 4015ULF for example...

https://www.parts-express.com/pedocs/specs/290-4512--eminence-definimax4015ulf-8-spec-sheet.pdf

https://www.parts-express.com/pedoc...minence-definimax4015ulf-8-cabinet-design.pdf