Shawndoggy '14 LSV Stereo Build

[shawndoggy]

wait... I guess my joints are actually dados not rabbets? They are this, basically:

[shawndoggy]

And then the front and back pieces are dado'd out around the edge all the way around so they slip in on all of the edges.

[shawndoggy]

I'm not a very good woodworker and my tools aren't that great. The thing I like about using those joints is that you can go intentionally "too deep" (sideways) and have some material overhang when you put the other side piece in and then clean it up with the router trim bit so it looks like you totally got it perfect.

[IXFE]

Thank you, Shawn. That is awesome info. I'm right behind you. If mine ends up 1/2 as good as yours I'll be thrilled.

[shawndoggy]

crimps. that's basically all I got done today. Lots and lots of crimps.

yes, of course they got heat shrunk too.

Oh and I got my sub box painted. One coat of flat black krylon, and one coat of rustoleum spray on bedliner.

[Cory]

Do you have a crimper large enough to do those cables, or did you take the wires to a local hardware store?

[shawndoggy]

Do you have a crimper large enough to do those cables, or did you take the wires to a local hardware store?

yeah I bought one of those ebay $30 chinese "10 ton" crimpers. Works pretty good, though it's already leaking a little oil. Just need it to get me through about eight more crimps and then I'm good.

[Bawshogg]

I don't own a crimper for large gauge cable. I have a torch and a roll of solder.

Edited March 9, 2015 by Bawshogg

[Levi900RR]

Looking good Shawn. I can't wait to start my build. I'm thinking I'll be able to get at the boat in about 6 weeks.

[Brian Young]

Is there anything wrong with using these, in place of crimped on? http://www.darvex.com/store/pc/XScorpion-PRO-0-4-Gauge-Ring-Terminal-18p293.htm

[MLA]

Is there anything wrong with using these, in place of crimped on? http://www.darvex.com/store/pc/XScorpion-PRO-0-4-Gauge-Ring-Terminal-18p293.htm

If you've only one cable on the battery stud. Otherwise, those can get bulky.

[shawndoggy]

box substantially complete. I just need to add the stand off blocks now.

[David]

That would be a nice box for a pro with the very best in tools. I'm impressed.

[shawndoggy]

That would be a nice box for a pro with the very best in tools. I'm impressed.

Thanks David -- that means a lot coming from you!

If I charged by the hour the box would be worth about $6,000. Or I'd have to be paid $0.50 per hour to make it reasonably priced. Between the cardboard mockup, drawing, messed up cuts, etc., it took forever.

So one "trick" I learned on this one: I built the sides and top of the box first. The part that looks like this:

____

_| |

|____|

Now of course because I'm a sucky woodworker and not the best direction follower, it's not quite square. The shelf side (side closest to walkthrough wall) is about 3/16" shorter than the hull side. That bothered me a little bit. But I certainly wasn't going to start over (I didn't figured this out till the glue was drying).

I knew I'd never get the front and back exactly right on the first cuts. So i didn't even try. Instead, I rough cut the front and back about 1/2" over in all dimensions, then stuck it to the box with a couple of brads. Then I flipped it over and traced the inside in pencil. That was the inside edge of my dado (rabbet?) joint. Then I pulled the piece off of the perimeter and cut the dados to the pencil lines with a straight edge and a router bit on a bushing. Once the dados were all cut, the front (and back) slipped into the perimeter of the box perfectly. After that, it was easy enough to just trim off the overhanging material with the flush trim router bit.

Of course the downside of this method (in addition to the fact that it's time consuming) is that it just turns mdf into DUST. I did it all on my driveway, but there's still a layer of dust all over my garage. Again, not very fancy tools, so I don't have a fancy dust collection system.

Edited March 9, 2015 by shawndoggy

[Earmark Marine]

7) When looking at box requirements for a given driver, what the difference between "normal" and "spl?"

Any thing else that comes to mind...

Thanks!

Definitions….

Let's take ported for example. You can use a bass-reflex/ported enclosure to either extent the low bass or create the most peak bass output or a little of both.

So in general….

SPL = Maximum peak bass but over a narrower bandwidth. More of a one note resonator. Without question more peak output, even over a narrower bandwidth, is perceived as louder. This type of enclosure is where ‘ported’ gets a reputation for poor sound quality, which really isn’t accurate. Most of this is in the execution and not as an automatic behavior of ported.

SQ = Maximum bass extension with the least amount of response ripple or peaks. Smooth with little evidence of a ported box sound. Better tonal construction. Moves up and down the scale with more linearity.

Normal = Leaning more to the SQ side as opposed to SPL. Without a few qualifications it can be hard to tell exactly what the woofer manufacturer means by “normal”. And that can also apply to the other terms.

In the case of a sealed enclosure...

SPL = A smaller enclosure that has a narrower bandwidth but a stronger or crowned output within that narrower bandwidth. It is perceived as louder based on the peak output. Rather singular in tone, and this aspect gets more pronounced as you decrease the enclosure size. An earlier or higher low bass roll-off. Sounds a little more “live” if done within reason.

SQ = A larger enclosure that extends the low bass response and without a crown in the response. If too large the woofer power handling can be reduced. However, the same can be said about reduced power handling if an enclosure becomes too small. If too large the woofer can sound too “flat” or too “dead”. If too large you can create a null in the upper bass response, something that may not show up in a bass box program, which then tends to lack transients and attack.

A woofer in combination with a sealed enclosure has a final ‘Qtc’, or system ‘Q’. This number is a representation of how the enclosure acts as a spring and damps the woofer. Too much or too little damping begins to create sonic behaviors that depart from a neutral and musical sounding subwoofer. Generally the target ‘Qtc’ would be around 0.85. So a sealed design with a target ‘Q’ is a little easier to design and define, and is less prone to error.

Odin

Earmark

[Cory]

Shawn,

Since you have a ported enclosure, then moisture or even moist air can get into the sub. Does it not stand to reason that perhaps there is benefit in painting the interior, particularly since you used MDF?

I know you live in the high desert, so not a huge concern, but you could take a vaca somewhere, get rained on, need to put the cover on the boat, the next morning the sun comes up and you have a hot, humid interior for a short period of time and before you know it your enclosure has swelled in volume...

Just thoughts. It's easy enough to paint before the speaker goes in.

Or, did you resin the interior...

Edited March 9, 2015 by Cory

[shawndoggy]

yeah, just resin in the inside.

[shawndoggy]

slow slow slow!

finally a test fit of the sub box:

As you can see the box sticks out a bit at the top of the walkway wall. Ugh. Turns out that wall tapers backwards towards the top. Oh well. Wouldn't be made by me if there weren't something I could do better next time.

I covered the port with speaker grille cloth because it looked so bit I was sure someone was going to stick some garbage down there.

With the seat all the way back there's still more than enough footroom for me (I am 5'10" for reference):

[shawndoggy]

Power distribution and blue sea add a battery are finally done.

[shawndoggy]

This one is for bawshawg... my attempt at the tongue and groove mounting system (works like a champ!).

A tongue sticks out from the standoff spacer at the back of the box:

And under the helm there's a corresponding groove that the tongue slips into:

[shawndoggy]

another boring pic of a blue sea 5025:

[shawndoggy]

waiting for when I get around to mounting up the EQ, ALD and HSE:

[shawndoggy]

Repinning the factory harness for the black box to get power, ground and switched power in common with the other stereo components.

[teamerickson]

Really nice. Especially coming from Nevada.

[Bawshogg]

This one is for bawshawg... my attempt at the tongue and groove mounting system (works like a champ!).

A tongue sticks out from the standoff spacer at the back of the box:

And under the helm there's a corresponding groove that the tongue slips into:

It's decent. A little taper adds a more secure lockdown to the floor. I also prefer metal....aluminum to be exact.

You did good for your first attempt.