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Subwoofer Construction
 

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The subwoofer consists of a single Peerless CSC-X 850146 10" driver ($82.20 from Madisound). This is the largest of their composite cone woofers, and includes a short circuiting ring for better linearity. This driver has the following published parameters:

Fs 22.6 Hz
Qt .35
Vas 144.4 litres
Sensitivity 88.2 dB/W/m
Xmax +/- 9 mm
Power 200 watts

Note the exceptional 9 mm Xmax of this driver. It is capable of very high volume levels in a vented box, right down to the corner frequency.

The enclosure is part of an existing window seat. The height of the front of the seat limited the driver diameter to 10", and this was by far the best driver for the application. A divider was added inside the seat itself, forming a triangular 3 cu ft enclosure. The space was sealed up with silicone seal, and the divider was sealed with closed-cell weatherstrip and attached with drywall screws for maintenance access. Electrical outlets and line level cables were added to the interior of the box. The amplifier actually resides inside the enclosure.

The alignment is a 6th order Class I, with configuration parameters taken from Robert Bullock's 1981 paper in Speaker Builder. The relevant information follows:

Fs

22.6

h

0.9496

Alpha

1.635

F3/Fs

0.7581

Fa/Fs

0.772

A

0.3592

Which translates to the following actual parameters for this sub:

Fb 21.47 Hz
Vb 83.44 l (2.96 cu ft)
F3 17 Hz
Peak lift frequency 17.44 Hz
Peak lift amplitude 9 dB

The port is a flared 4" PVC pipe, also purchased through Madisound ($10). The large-radius flares on this port provide much reduced port noise.

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Hey! Front of subwoofer
A view of the subwoofer and vent from the front, before replacing the trim.

From above, showing clearly the positioning of the subwoofer enclosure in the existing window seat. Note the tall speaker at the right edge of the photo.
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Hey! View from the inside
Inside the subwoofer cabinet. The driver is at top right, the vent (looking rather like a black trumpet) at the left.

The Completed Sub
The proud owner, sitting next to the completed sub, with my son Nicholas on his lap. The driver has been covered with a RS metal grille for protection from errant feet.

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© 1999 Paul Horn

09/16/1999