what do you do with your black subs?

I think if you veneer the sub as you were thinking, it would blend in with your mains. If the veneer is done and finished nicely, I see no reason why it's value would decrease, it could actually become a selling feature for others. I for one enjoy real wood color as opposed to the bpc look of black veneer...
Looks like an upgrade !!
 
woodj said:
You could build a "veneered cover box";Just the sides and top and allow for some quilted damping between the outer and inner boxes.
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That's actually a quite brilliant, simple solution.

Is the R-12SW a painted wood veneer or a vinyl veneer or another type of finish? I said I have no problem with my subwoofers, Martin Logan Abyss, but they have a pretty nice smooth finish but I realize I wouldn't want my Reel RSW-1215 out in the open because it has a cheap textured paint finish.
 
audiodogster said:
That's actually a quite brilliant, simple solution.

Is the R-12SW a painted wood veneer or a vinyl veneer or another type of finish? I said I have no problem with my subwoofers, Martin Logan Abyss, but they have a pretty nice smooth finish but I realize I wouldn't want my Reel RSW-1215 out in the open because it has a cheap textured paint finish.
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It's a cheap vinyl veneer (not a faux wood either). I may look into doing something like woodj suggested. My coworkers father made our coffee table/end tables and the shelves for my flexi rack (all solid walnut). Maybe he could make a thin tighter fitting box out of walnut.

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moewillis said:
It's a cheap vinyl veneer (not a faux wood either). I may look into doing something like woodj suggested. My coworkers father made our coffee table/end tables and the shelves for my flexi rack (all solid walnut). Maybe he could make a thin tighter fitting box out of walnut.

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Yea I really prefer wood or a nice painted surface for speakers. Price isn't always a factor for finishes, I have a pair of Genelec 8050As, probably the ugliest speakers I own, and I have quite a few ugly speakers. They are the most valuable ones I have by far, and to be fair, they are commercial grade monitors. Paint is certainly good quality, just ugly. Same for my La Scalas. My Bose 10.2 have a nice teak veneer and my Monitor Audio Studio 6 had a nice piano lacquered veneer, unfortunately badly damaged in shipping (can't complain, they sound brilliant and I got a full refund through FedEx).

I'm thinking of attempting a veneer box for the Reel sub I have, only issue is it is ported.
 
you could also find an old wood crate at a flea market, flip it upside down and put it on top. then some green plant and a pic of you and the wife (this always works)... i guess it all depends on the style of your home too...
 
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Black minimizes apparent size. Here's my latest build- it replaced a small end table I built years ago. WAF seems adequate, only one comment and it was on the neutral end of the positive spectrum.IMG_20170117_085448_hdr.jpg
This is also a picture of a cat NEAR audio gear.
 
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i took the "suck it up buttercup" approach and left it alone. after time has passed it doesnt quite bother me like it used to. the woofer color still doesnt do it for me though. i recently put the grilles back on my mains also
 
moewillis said:
i took the "suck it up buttercup" approach and left it alone. after time has passed it doesnt quite bother me like it used to. the woofer color still doesnt do it for me though. i recently put the grilles back on my mains also
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I'll add my encouragement with the few who were down with the veneer plan. Do a nice job, post pics and read the oohs and aahs and "well dones" when done!
 
stereofanboy said:
Surely it would increase the value if you do a good job. I know I'd pay more for it than a black one.
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^^EXACTLY. I have never heard it said: "BOY I sure would have liked to buy that used subwoofer but unfortunately it wasn't black..."^^
 
moewillis said:
i recently purchased a new subwoofer (klipsch r-12sw) to plug into my system. i love the thing! sounds great! but there is one problem... it doesnt match anything in my room. it has a copper woofer (sorta remedied by using the grill) and is black in color. my kg5.5's are a medium oak finish and i have various darker wood grains on everything in my living room. everything is close enough but that sub drives me crazy.

so this boils down to my question. what do you guys do with a new sub? should i re-veneer it? leave it black and quit worrying about it? would a veneer job kill the value of my brand new sub? any advice appreciated...
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I turned mine into a coffee table and painted it magenta. Satin finish.
 
I've been a huge fan of subwoofers ever since I heard Frankenstein through a Cerwin Vega satellite system powered by Phase Linear amps back in 1975. I've put my sub behind our main listening two person recliner. But it's close to the wall so it's completely hidden. It also sounds incredible that way, especially with movie sound effects, but is just as impressive, though more subtlely so, with music.

If you can't hide it, it might be practical to build something interesting as a "shell" around it. Anything from a coffee table to an enclosed cabinet.
 
We had a similar problem when we went flat screen for the TV in the bedroom and mounted it on the wall. I didn't have anywhere for a receiver and dvd player. I ended up using a surprisingly decent pioneer home theater in a box that had the guts integrated into the subwoofer and then hid it along with the DVD player in one of those decorative cloth storage boxes kinda like this:

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gladiator335 said:
No disrespect....but buy better speakers.
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You do realize saying "no disrespect" doesn't actually remove the inherent disrespect contained in the statement right?
 
Mitkraft said:
You do realize saying "no disrespect" doesn't actually remove the inherent disrespect contained in the statement right?
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I thought the same thing. When I asked for clarification and got no response I looked at it as a jab at my gear. Luckily I don't worry about that kinda stuff too much.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! I had cut some veneer to do it but never went through with it. I'm waist deep in projects right now so this took a backseat. I may revisit once I get caught up a little bit. I still have the cut pieces of veneer on hand...
 
I'm visiting my 109 year old grandmother at the rest home, and showed her this thread. She said to put a doily on it, and then a geranium.
Myself, I think you should have it chromed, with big orange Harley logos.
 
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