ultra cheap subwoofer for someone...

[contoursvt]

Hi guys, I want to build a subwoofer for ultra cheap and have it sort of end up being "OK". Basically it needs to thump for someone who has no money and isnt really concerned about good or accurate sound anyway. Just something to add a bit of crash-bang to movies.

I'm thinking of two sealed 10" or a single sealed 12" (No specs on the driver) from this page. The item is A1010 or 1210. Small magnet and a poly cone so I'm thinking it might have a high Q so might do well sealed. Store is local to me so no shipping or anything.

http://www.a1parts.com/speakers/woofers.html

For the amp I'm thinking of the Dayton SA240. That of course I"ll have to pay shipping on.

Does anyone have any other opinions on how to get some bass on the super cheap?

[arlis_1957@yahoo.com]

http://techtalk.parts-express.com/showthread.php?t=228839

[generic]

If I was looking at the right part, it looked like a 8ohm woofer.

How about this guy? Can be wired for 4ohm and it's cheap. http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=290-367

I'd personally want to get this. I've used the 10" version twice and they are nice budget drivers. http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=295-488

I've never played with Goldwood. I have no ideal how good, decent, or bad they are.

[DanP]

If you're going to buy the SA240 for $100 and go to all the trouble of building a cabinet, which is going to cost $50 if it's spray painted MDF and $150 if it is finished nicely, do you really want to save $50 on the most important part - the driver. Get a nice Dayton RS sub on sale right now to go with the nice amp and cabinet. Otherwise, if cost is the issue, hook your friend up with this (http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-635) for $140 with free shipping.

Dan

[Chris Roemer]

Hi guys, I want to build a subwoofer for ultra cheap and have it sort of end up being "OK". Basically it needs to thump for someone who has no money and isnt really concerned about good or accurate sound anyway. Just something to add a bit of crash-bang to movies.

I'm thinking of two sealed 10" or a single sealed 12" (No specs on the driver) from this page. The item is A1010 or 1210. Small magnet and a poly cone so I'm thinking it might have a high Q so might do well sealed. Store is local to me so no shipping or anything.

http://www.a1parts.com/speakers/woofers.html

For the amp I'm thinking of the Dayton SA240. That of course I"ll have to pay shipping on.

Does anyone have any other opinions on how to get some bass on the super cheap?


You jst CAN'T buy a woofer w/out any specs. You just CAN'T.

Dayotn's 12" DVC (linked to in another thread) and the SA100 amp in 3 cf with a 4"id PVC vent (maybe 12" long?) will really be quite good, and will cost less than what you're proposing. AND you get FREE Shipping.

[contoursvt]

Thanks everyone for the input on this. It was mostly a budget thing and I think I will go with Danp's suggestion about getting a cheap pre-built unit. I guess you guys are right, going through the effort of building something and using a mystery or crappy sub doesnt make so much sense.

[rudyjakubin]

If you're going to buy the SA240 for $100 and go to all the trouble of building a cabinet, which is going to cost $50 if it's spray painted MDF and $150 if it is finished nicely, do you really want to save $50 on the most important part - the driver. Get a nice Dayton RS sub on sale right now to go with the nice amp and cabinet. Otherwise, if cost is the issue, hook your friend up with this (http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-635) for $140 with free shipping.

Dan

My sentiments also. They're not that bad. I've bought 4 8's - 2 10's and a 12...
I've replaced some of the 8 inch drivers with a Quattro, Tang Band and an RS HO. With the Tang Band and RS sounding the best..

[generic]

If you're just going to buy right out, I'd get this. http://www.amazon.com/BIC-America-F12-475-Watt-Subwoofer/dp/B0015A8Y5M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324929882&sr=8-1

I can't do a direct comparison with the DA, but I've installed the BIC and for under $200, it is very impressive. It also has less distortion then I expected. Not boomy sounding at all.

[tshifrin]

For cheap, there's this: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=109&cp_id=10906&cs_id=1090602&p_id=8249&seq=1&format=2 and the cabinet is even curved!

[DanP]

For cheap, there's this: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=109&cp_id=10906&cs_id=1090602&p_id=8249&seq=1&format=2 and the cabinet is even curved!

That actually looks like a pretty good deal for the price, but it says the amp puts out 150WRMS and the picture of the amp has a 150W input rating. So unless this is one of those new 100% efficient amps, it's probably closer to a 75WRMS output. Still, the whole thing looks pretty good for $85. If anyone has any experience with these, I'd like to hear it.

Dan

[djkest]

Instead of doing that, just buy this, get free shipping, and be done with it. Much cheaper, should be fairly effective, and good looks!
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-628

[generic]

For cheap, there's this: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=109&cp_id=10906&cs_id=1090602&p_id=8249&seq=1&format=2 and the cabinet is even curved!

A few of the reviews on the home theater shack suggested that these subs are not the fantastic value of their in-wall speakers. They didn't seem to be all impressed at all.

It sure looks the part, and for $85, I'm sure it is okay and better then nothing at all.

[johnastockman]

Thanks everyone for the input on this. It was mostly a budget thing and I think I will go with Danp's suggestion about getting a cheap pre-built unit. I guess you guys are right, going through the effort of building something and using a mystery or crappy sub doesnt make so much sense.


Both those PE pre-built subs that were linked are a step above the mass-market offerings from the popular name brands. For the same or less $$. You might be tempted by the BIC, but I've seen a few of these and the enclosure build quality is not as good as the PE units. A few friends have gotten the PE SUB-***'s in their various sizes, at my suggestion. A nice upgrade from their big-box-store units. I think the value leader, if you want to build your own enclosure, is the 12" SD315A-88 dual voice-coil driver in 3 ft3, or the 10"/8" in the appropriate-size cabinet. Previously known as the SDVC series, I've used the 8, 10, and 12" SD versions for many subs. Both as replacing lousy OEM drivers in stock subwoofers and as from-scratch subs. My own sub uses the 10" SD270A-88 in 2.3 ft3, with a 3"D x 9 3/8"L port and the 70 watt plate amp. It's just for 2-channel music, but I've had other more expensive sub brands here that don't come close to the overall performance and SQ of this budget unit. That's how it starts, and I end up making a sub for the ones that wanted to compare. If you get one of the PE pre-built ones, let us know what you think. It's been a few years since the last person I know purchased one, so I'd be interested in your impressions, mostly to see if they're the same or close to the earlier versions I have experience with.


John A.

[contoursvt]

Man all those subwoofers look great for the price! For me whatever I'd get, i'd have to pay shipping because I'm in Canada, but its still very cheap.

[johnnyrichards]

I remember a forum member actually testing the 12" Dayton subwoofer with pretty typical mass-market results. Peaky at ~45 Hz.

If you want a cheap sub, don't build one - we get hosed on the amplifier side of things.

[johnnyrichards]

...and yes, we CAN buy drivers without specs. We do it all the time - last I checked, most drivers don't really measure up to advertised specs anywhoo ;)