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Ok guys, need recommendations on DIY 15" sub components....


blake_mooney

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I'm gonna be building my own 15" HT sub and wanted some recommendations on how to beat the RSW-15 in performance. So feel free to recommend some 15" drivers, amps, and sub box design types that would beat the RSW-15. I am looking to build a sub for home theater use that has really low frequency response and high output.

Thanks in advance. :)

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If you have that kind of cash for a rsw15,You might as well just buy a sub from a manufacture.Some of the slap on plate amps sold will not compete in quality to amps made for manufactures like klipsch and others.Good plate amps can be found on line but they are big$,You are better off running a separate amp to drive them,As for drivers you can use some of Adires or some of jbl high end drivers,If you really want some thing to kick butt get some TAD drivers,But they are expensive,I am not handy my self with wood ,thats why I perfer to buy a sub already completed ,And for the box try to find a good carpenter to whip up a 1" mdf box with a 2" front plate where the 15" driver will sit.

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why does it need to be 15inches?

I know some 12 inch woofers that will spank 15 inch woofers

Very high performance 12" woofers sure beat most 15" woofers,but take a 15" Tumult and the like and no 12" woofer stands in its way.Linear and Xmax being equal the 15" woofer has a larger piston and will more more air.

For plate amps you can buy very high quality plate amps from Hypex(I know sounds like hype but its not),they make some great plate amps with plenty of juice to drive the power hungry woofers.

Why nut buy a duo of Klipsch THX subs with the amp,speakeing of 12" woofers these are some of the most potent subs using 12" drivers. Or dual TV12 SVS Ultra ? Another massive output and high quality sub.

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Well Colter I have even more subwoofage,way more...BWAHHHHHA HA HA

So much in fact,my ears can hurt when blasting the deep pipe organs,sheer SPL is nauseating. [+o(]

Great to have massive SPL at your fingertips,but do we need all this? You betcha

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You're kidding, right?

Why exactly would I be kidding? If you don't realize the RSW-15 can be beat by a DIY sub with the right components you clearly know very little about DIY speakers.

Why the hell do people keep recommending I buy a pre-built sub? That is NOT the point of this tread, the point of this thread is to find DIY, that's DIY components that will be able to compete with the RSW-15. No offense, but coming in here and recommending commercial stuff is really not helpful, at all.

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We're pretty loose with advice but this IS the Klipsch Forum. I think we encourage a healthy bit of experimentation, but you are clearly anti-major-manufacturer and completely set on this do-it-yourself venture.

I seriously doubt that the average hi-fi entheusiast can beat a major manufacturer in terms of sonic clarity, efficiency, and overall value. While many of us could cobble together a usable sub or entire Home Theatre system in our part time, we do realize the important strides being taken by teams of very well trained engineers, the complexities of modern cabinet building, efficiencies of scale, and so on. Most of the Forum members utilize Klispch speakers or those made by other major manufacturers.

My take on it is that while it's fun to experiment with speaker designs, for most of us it is simply not economical if you include the value of your time. Additionally, as some design is trial and error, the DIY'er stands to risk a considerable amount of time and dollars if any mistake is made along the way.

I'll trust the pros thanks. YMMV. I'll sign off on these threads now. Good luck.

Michael

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Amen to that Colter,

I value my time too much to spend time cutting,gluing and inhaling varnishes and clear coats.

I prefer to buy from a reputable maker and the job is done for me,DIY is fun but I have better ideas of fun and better ways to spend my free time.

Oh and yes this is a Klipsch forum [:D]

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What is the budget and space constraints (how big can the box be?)

DIY subwoofers CAN beat the manufactured systems, but it is not going to be cheaper

and it is going to be much much bigger. Most of the engineering going

into subwoofers is working to make the cabinets smaller without

sacrificing much output and extension. So if you can go with a fridge

sized cabinet, then you can do much better. And the more you're willing

to spend, the smaller you can make the cabinet. (Hoffman's Iron Law)

But ya...determine your budget and maximum cabinet size and you will

find that it is but a matter of finding the best driver for the

application. There are thousands of drivers available on the market so

the skill in DIY really becomes more akin to market knowledge and being

able to weed through the numbers.

As far as besting the RSW-15, you will never be able to do it with the

same size cabinet (even if you threw a ton of money into the design).

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Sound Splinter makes a nice 15", the RLP series, Ive heard a lot of ppl doin sonotubes with them and getting great response. I think Ascendent Audio and Adire Audio both have em. Try like some said Partsexpress.com or any driver website like madisound.com....model em in WinISD and see what happens.

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If you take a close look, people who buy brand name stuff will recommend that system, people who build their own will recommend to build your own. Its really arbitrary and it all comes down to you what you enjoy. If you like taking home a brand new sexy speaker system, by all means, don't hold back. If you like to design and build things and appreciate the hard work that went into something, then building speakers if you for you. The betterness of either method is beside the point. Of course you can always build a better speaker system then something you can find in a particular store, and of course you can always buy a better speaker system than someones home made speakers. Who cares!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

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If you take a close look, people who buy brand name stuff will recommend that system, people who build their own will recommend to build your own. Its really arbitrary and it all comes down to you what you enjoy. If you like taking home a brand new sexy speaker system, by all means, don't hold back. If you like to design and build things and appreciate the hard work that went into something, then building speakers if you for you. The betterness of either method is beside the point. Of course you can always build a better speaker system then something you can find in a particular store, and of course you can always buy a better speaker system than someones home made speakers. Who cares!

I disagree completely. I think our readers point is to attempt to build said system because of budget constraints. Therefore it is not 'arbitrary' which is better. And the 'betterness' of the system for the dollar is precisely the point we are trying to make.

Michael

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