Designer:

Steve L

Project Category:
Subwoofer

Project Level:
Intermediate

Project Time:

20+ Hours

Project Cost:

$100-$500

Project Description:

Sealed powered sub for home use (mostly music)

Design Goals:
 
Sonically and visually complement my 1980s-vintage Boston Acoustics HD7 main speakers

Driver Selection:

Dayton Audio DCS255-4 10″ Classic Subwoofer 4 Ohm

Enclosure Design:

Simple 0.63 cu.ft. sealed speaker chamber partitioned off from the 100-watt class D panel amp. The basic box consists of 3/4″ MDF panels assembled with wood glue and simple butt joints. Exposed MDF edges were coated with spackle and sanded smooth, then the box was primed with oil-based primer and painted with black hammered-texture spray paint. I applied walnut veneer to the top and sides with 1/2″ walnut dowels as decorative accents. The mitered grille frame is also walnut. I finished the wood with sanded-in tung oil/varnish mixture. I used a minimal amount of Acousta-stuf polyfill fluffed out and attached to the inside back panel with spray adhesive. Three cheap but sturdy rubber feet from Amazon are bolted to the bottom. Finally, I used automotive RTV silicone where the speaker wire passes through the box, and around the speaker flange, to guarantee an air-tight space.

Crossover Design:

N/A

Tips & Tricks:

I replaced the spring-loaded speaker terminals on the DCS255-4 with M4 screws and nuts for a more reliable (I hope) long-term connection. And the black foam grille enhances the retro look.

Conclusion:

Never having built any kind of speaker before, I had no idea whether this would even work. To my surprise, the darn thing produces tight, natural-sounding bass. So far, everything I’ve thrown at it, from pop to rock to jazz, sounds excellent.

About the Designer:
Amateur woodworker and music lover with a shoestring budget

Project Parts List: