[borism]

Last Winter my son and I built a pair of Fusion 8 Alchemy speakers for him and I posted it in this AC thread:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=139584.0
The speakers came out great and best of all they survived his first year in college.

When my son came home for the Summer he asked if we could add a subwoofer.  This seemed a reasonable request given that the Fusion 8 speakers were designed to be paired with a subwoofer. They have a 55-60 Hz low end extension.

Originally, I was very impressed with the DIY Sound Group's flat pack for the speaker cabinets, so I decided to go with the Parts Express 1 cu ft flat pack (supplied by DIY Sound Group) combined with the Dayton 10" Reference HO driver.  The 3/4 inch MDF panels were even easier to assemble and more precisely cut than the BB plywood panels of the Fusion 8.

Here are some images:







After sanding the cabinets we decided for consistency to use Duratex paint. I have to say the second time is a lot easier.



The cut out on the back is for the Yung SD300 class D plate amplifier. The back panel came already precisely marked but we had to cut it ourselves.



Remembering that Duratex needs time to cure we waited 4 days before the final assembly. Again, it was very easy.







The final touch was a metal bar grille that my son decided to attach diagonally. It does look very interesting this way.

So, how does it sound. With no break-in and no care about placement, I have to say that music is rounder, fuller, more life like and has that great, visceral component.

If you care about DIY - highly recommended!



 

[richidoo]

Great job! Looks like a high quality sub for a pretty small investment.

Thanks for sharing your fun build!

[borism]

Thanks!

Forgot to mention that the cabinet is stuffed with ~ 1/2 lbs of polyfill as recommended.

[yeldarb]

Their Titanic 10" kit is good, too. 

[Guy 13]

Hi Borism,
thanks for your step by step with plenty of pictures built.
I like the black textured finish and also the grill - bars.
Did you built only one ?
About a second one, one for each channel ! 

Guy 13
on planet Vietnam.

[Phil A]

Great job and step by step details!

[Johnny2Bad]

Can't say I'm crazy about the driver bars, but as long as the boy is happy, they do the job intended. I don't know where he's living while at college, but if it's in a dorm or an apartment, the sub is probably not a great idea. He will get complaints galore, day or night.

Can you give us the exact model # of the 10" PE driver you used?

[JLM]

How'd you decide which combination of driver, amp, and cabinet to pick?   

BTW I love the protective bars, great for a college kid, and so reminiscent of guitar strings.   

[borism]

Hi All,

I was surprised to see sudden interest in the build after posting it almost a month ago. To answer a few questions, I only built one sub. That's probably, as one comment mentioned, already to much for a college housing arrangement. The driver/cabinet combo is from PE (the link has all the parts numbers):
 
http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-10-reference-series-ho-subwoofer-and-cabinet-bundle--300-7091

The primary reasons I chose this particular combination were positive prior experience with a DIY Sound Group kit, positive feedback from other builders and cost. There was no profound thought about the decision.

I personally like the Duratex paint and bar grille but know that's a matter of taste.

Finally, my son seems very happy at college and so far I haven't heard any complaints.

[Mark Korda]

Hi Borism,
    Fantastic job! I hate to burst your bubble but I bought my Parts Express sub woofer cabinet premade, the 12 inch Titantic version. It looks just like yours and I hope whoever built it did as good job as you. I use the BASH 300 watt amp they sell. My sister came over yesterday with a E. Power Biggs organ cd. I was using a Telarc organ cd before she brought that over to tune the sub with my regular speakers. Thats the easiest way I found to tune it with your volume and frequency sub amp controls.
   Because of adopting a new cat my regular speakers became Realistic Minimus 7's. Those little cobble stone sized metal speakers with metal cat-proof grills. In my small to medium sized room with the addition of the Parts Express sub I'm getting megabuck sound even using my little 8 watt per side Heathkit tube amp. My classical eared sister was floored!
   The grill that came with mine was well made but in the shape of a waning moon. There was one corner rounded? Your grill looks great and could survive a WWE frat wrestling outbreak but my cat would swipe at that pistoning woofer. I'm a painter by trade and your finish was perfect.........take care Mark Korda     

[Johnny2Bad]

Mark, it's easy to source perforated metal Grill Material, seek out Sound Reinforcement ("PA") vendors. Epoxy some magnets to hold them on.

[borism]

Thanks Mark!

I forgot to mention that the reason I picked the Yung SD300 plate amplifier was due to it's class D operation and it running cool. There were some complaints about the Dayton amplifier running hot and some people being concerned this would lead to failure over time due to components of the amplifier overheating.

I am not familiar with the Bash 300.

[twitch54]

father / son projects are the best !! job well done !! ......