My simple 10" subwoofers built around old Vifa M26WR09-08 drivers

[contoursvt]

Its nothing fancy and definitely nothing pretty.

I had picked up a pair of drivers a decade ago and didnt do much with them until about a year ago. They sat around collecting dust. I figured maybe I can make some subwoofers for my stereo.

Drivers are not really 'subwoofers' as they dont have a lot of excursion or handle a lot of power and probably dont have the extension better drivers have but its what I had on hand Anyway cabinets are 3.1CF of internal volume and tuned to approx 22Hz. The response on paper was sagging and looked more like a sealed response curve but I figured I'd do this because in a small room, I might get some room gain and bump up the bottom and thats exactly what did happen. I seem to have fairly level bass between 50Hz and 22Hz which is the range they work well. I can get some usable bass down to 18Hz but then it starts to drop off quick.

Cabinets are 3/4" MDF with a brace in the center which is nothign more than a 3/4" divider with a 10" circle cut through it. I used some rockwool about 1" thick sound insulation.





I am running the subwoofers off a cheap radioshack amp but for the low amount of power I need, its working quite well. I'm using an old Audiocontrol Phase coupled activator as the crossover (set to 54Hz). The unit is sitting right on top of the amp and is barely seen in the photo. Subs are operating in stereo.

I'm not running the bookshelfs through the crossover so they are running full range. In the room, the bookshelfs are fairly flat to 50Hz before they start to drop off. Reason the mains are running full range is because when I was running them through the crossover, I thought I felt the sound stage shrink a bit and I got a bit more hiss through the tweeter when there was no music. I mean it might be my imagination but I left it like that. I rarely go over 80db and most times I listen in the 70's at least according to my old Audiocontrol RTA.

Anyway so thats what I did and its keeping me very happy. Now all I need to do is more room treatments to fix some 60Hz bump and midbass dips. Joys have a room thats close to square I guess.

[emilime75]

Looks great to me. The whole setup does.

What type of finish is that on the sub cabinets? It looks like some sort of speckeled paint like the stuff for car trunks. I like it.

Are the bookshelves a DIY design/build?

[contoursvt]

Thanks emilime, the paint is this rough textured speckled paint. Very durable and hides flaws well so I went with it to keep the project easy

The speakers are Usher S520. Budget bookshelf speakers but I really like them. I picked them up used a while back without a scratch on them. I would have preferred black but I've grown attached to the red now.

Looks great to me. The whole setup does.

What type of finish is that on the sub cabinets? It looks like some sort of speckeled paint like the stuff for car trunks. I like it.

Are the bookshelves a DIY design/build?

[johnnyrichards]

Thanks emilime, the paint is this rough textured speckled paint. Very durable and hides flaws well so I went with it to keep the project easy

The speakers are Usher S520. Budget bookshelf speakers but I really like them. I picked them up used a while back without a scratch on them. I would have preferred black but I've grown attached to the red now.

I read a review on those Ushers a few years back, I think the reviewers had some issues with excursion on the woofers and Usher revised the system slightly with a woofer with more Xmax or something.

Anyways, looks nice and I bet the bass is stellar.

[contoursvt]

Thanks The bass is IMO quite articulate with a lot of extension and no hint of drone or overhang. I cant tell you how strong it is because I've got the subwoofer to match the level of the small speakers so its really blending in to add some extension without making itself too noticable.

I did hear about the old ushers bottoming out but I've had these ones run pretty hard and they didnt seem to have any issues. Maybe mine is after the date where they fixed them...or my definition or running them hard is pretty tame

I read a review on those Ushers a few years back, I think the reviewers had some issues with excursion on the woofers and Usher revised the system slightly with a woofer with more Xmax or something.

Anyways, looks nice and I bet the bass is stellar.

[tomzarbo]

I think that's a very cool use for some older drivers. Looks good. I like anything Vifa.

About that amp... What is it? Is it as powerful as it looks? Holy Cow!

TomZ

[contoursvt]

The appearance is a bit misleading. Its a Threshold SA3 which is only 50wpc amplifier but its a class A amp so it does run quite warm. I really like the amp a lot. I picked it up used from Ebay about 8 years ago. One of Nelson Pass's earlier works from what I know.

I think that's a very cool use for some older drivers. Looks good. I like anything Vifa.

About that amp... What is it? Is it as powerful as it looks? Holy Cow!

TomZ

[mgrabow]

Sweet amp. I have the same one... Nice listening area too...

[contoursvt]

Sweet amp. I have the same one... Nice listening area too...

Thanks man. Love the amp too. I wont ever EVER get rid of it

[zlaja]

cool subs man! what is that finish?

[emilime75]

cool subs man! what is that finish?

That's been answered in post #3.

[zlaja]

That's been answered in post #3.

oopsie daisy.....

[contoursvt]

cool subs man! what is that finish?

I think one day I'd like to try building some speakers that have the smooth black finish like a piano but I think thats going to be some serious work...or at least it would seem that way.

[Taterworks]

Contoursvt, if you don't mind my saying so, "nice rack". What is the rack that's supporting all your gear? I need to find something for my new (used) high-end front-end components, and I like the look of yours.

[Jmillerdoc]

Nice! I happen to have a pair of these subs sitting on a shelf. You have inspired me to put them to use. I was thinking of trying to use them in a Wicked One type of enclosure but I doubt they would work well there.
Good work!
Jeff

[contoursvt]

You wont believe it but it was a walmart rack! I picked it up on sale for like $60 a while back. It had one more level I could have stacked but i decided not to use it because it was too tall then. For the price, its great!

Contoursvt, if you don't mind my saying so, "nice rack". What is the rack that's supporting all your gear? I need to find something for my new (used) high-end front-end components, and I like the look of yours.

[contoursvt]

Glad I could have inspired Let me know what project you decide on and how it turns out!

Nice! I happen to have a pair of these subs sitting on a shelf. You have inspired me to put them to use. I was thinking of trying to use them in a Wicked One type of enclosure but I doubt they would work well there.
Good work!
Jeff