Subwoofer Enclosure for 23 LSV

[wakesetter8796]

That's a big boy setup... Nice HU, is it a navigation one lol.

What's the thing in the back of the compartment?

[wakedaddy17]

Ya it's got nav in the back are 3 100 amp fuses

[wakesetter8796]

That's awesome. Does it work on the lake like a GPS?

[wakedaddy17]

Tell you the truth I haven't even tried to use it when I go out on the 4th ill give it a try and let you know if it works it better for te amount of $$$$ I spent

[noquams]

Brent,

I am finally getting around to building a replica of the box you made. I recall seeing in another post that you regret using birch. I was going to use MDF and seal it. Any other modifications suggested?

Thanks,
Chris

[MLA]

Even high quality birch needs to be sealed inside and out.

[tn_rider]

Here is a pic of my sub setup. 07 23 LSV. It's a tight fit but it pounds!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tn_rider]

Evidently admin turned off photo sharing on tapatalk. I tried.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Brodie]

You have to change it in your privacy settings on your iPhone.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Brent Wall]

Brent,

I am finally getting around to building a replica of the box you made. I recall seeing in another post that you regret using birch. I was going to use MDF and seal it. Any other modifications suggested?

Thanks,

Chris

Chris,

There have been many debates about subwoofer enclosure construction material on this and other forums. I'm not going to open that can of worms again here but, for a variety of reasons, I still much prefer Baltic Birch over MDF and have no regrets about using it (and therefore don't recall posting any regrets). Keep in mind, Baltic Birch is a much better grade of birch plywood than the variety you will find at Lowe's or Home Depot. (more plys, fewer voids, etc). You can usually find it at a wood workers or cabinet builders supply house. It normally comes in 5'x5' sheets and you only need one sheet. I posted a material cut sheet below.

I verified that the drawing posted is the latest, as built, version. It fits very nicely in my 23 LSV but is about as large as will fit without moving the kick panel from the factory position.

Here are a couple of clarifications and tips:

• All joints are glued and screwed together from the inside with 3/4" square hardwood blocks EXCEPT the two vertical side panels that form the upper and lower inside corners. Since internal bracing would not work here I glued and screwed the horizontal panels into the edge of the vertical panels. As it is never a good practice to screw into the edge of plywood, I drilled and glued three 3/8" hardwood dowels into the edge of these pieces to accept the screws.

• All edges of the box were routed with a 1/4" radius. This allows the bed liner coating to flow evenly around the edges.​ Route all of the outside edges of the side panels before attaching the front or back.

• Make a cardboard template for the front panel. Cut the actual material from this template but leave it a little wide and tall. Trim the left side as needed for a close fit and trim the top to be even with the top of the box. Make sure you allow for the thickness of the carpet on the left, right and bottom if you are going to wrap the kick panel in carpet.

• When assembling the front kick panel and back panel of the box, attach the front panel first. It's much easier to attach the back through the speaker hole than the front because you are screwing down into the back panel rather than up into the front one.

I posted a couple of pictures below that show the construction of the enclosure.

Let me know if you have questions are you proceed.

--- Brent

Edited March 7, 2014 by Brent Wall

[tn_rider]

You have to change it in your privacy settings on your iPhone.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My photo sharing on tapatalk is set to where it should let me. It's like admin blocked me from photo sharing. I can upload on any other forum through tapatalk but this one.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cowwboy]

How has the double din done with the direct sunlight?

I have contemplated putting one in my dash and mirroring my phone so I can use navionics chart plotter for much less then a conventional chart potter.

[noquams]

Brent,

Thank you for the tips. I will follow them and the added cut sheet helps as well.

I am really curious how the finish product sounds. I will not be using a JL sub rather than a Wetsounds like you but curious if the difference was amazing or just better. The main issue with the factory sub is that because its so poorly build it just rattles too much. I hope with a nice solid box it will hit and not sound like a tin can with rocks in it.

Cheers,
Chris

[Brent Wall]

Brent,

Thank you for the tips. I will follow them and the added cut sheet helps as well.

I am really curious how the finish product sounds. I will not be using a JL sub rather than a Wetsounds like you but curious if the difference was amazing or just better. The main issue with the factory sub is that because its so poorly build it just rattles too much. I hope with a nice solid box it will hit and not sound like a tin can with rocks in it.

Cheers,

Chris

Chris,

I would characterize the improvement as going from poor to great. (I'm not sure I would go as far as amazing but it is a huge improvement.) As noted previously, after listening to the WetSounds system that I installed in my 2008 VLX, I was pretty disappointed with the factory audio in my 2012 23 LSV; particularly the tower speakers and sub. I realize the factory sub may sound a lot better in a quality, sealed enclosure but if you're starting from scratch the RF sub would not be my pick.

I think you will be very pleased with a JL or WetSounds sub in this enclosure. You may get more output from a ported box but I prefer the more controlled, tighter bass response of a sealed box. I'm powering my XS-12 from the bridged output of an SD6 (585W RMS @ 4ohms). It hits hard!

Also, I updated my previous response with a couple of pictures that show how the enclosure is constructed and I have added a couple more below that show a little more detail.

Rock on!

--- Brent

This picture shows the construction detail on the blocking.

This pictures shows how the two inside corners are joined. The three screws shown go through the face of the plywood into hardwood dowels in the edge of the perpendicular piece.

Edited March 7, 2014 by Brent Wall

[tjklein]

Wow Chris. I am seriously impressed.

I am super picky about my woodwork on project like this and this is impressive. I think I know what I'm going to do with my 12" sub that's waiting to be installed...

Thanks for sharing!

Trevor

[noquams]

Brent,

Thank you for the update and the photos. I am looking forward to the much needed improvement!

Chris

[noquams]

I finally got the box built and installed this weekend. Big Thanks to Brent for the drawings and help. The sound difference is night and day. Before I had to increase the bass and when I did all it did was rattle and sound horrible. Now I have the bass at zero and there is tight crisp bass. I am using a 12w3 sub now so that it probably a good chunk of the help but the box Malibu builds is a joke. I'm tempted to hook of the Rockford sub to see how much the actual box helped.

Thanks again Brent and for anyone considering building one I highly recommend doing so.

[bunji169]

Brent: Install pics?? Great Post!!

noquams: Build/Install pics??

[dalt1]

Good info. I will be building a new box soon.

[nemalibu]

I am in the midst of a similar project to what started this thread for my VTX. I will post progress as I go. I also want to fit it in without moving the kick panel back. Looks like I can fit it.

I started by making cardboard templates and now am getting everything drawn in SolidWorks. Next step will be panel drawings and then a cardboard mock up. I am planning to join edges using finger joints.

[jwl019]

Nice build! Any chance that it would be the same dimensions for a 2010 VLX?