Rick Posted January 25, 2012 Report Posted January 25, 2012 I wouldn't use 8 gauge on the sub. That's a bit large and will be annoying to solder onto the terminal cup. I'd use 12 gauge if you can find it. 16 or 18 is too small. I think lowes/homedepot should have it. Otherwise ill check around the house...there's no difference between a power wire and speaker wire is there? As long as you keep positive positive and negative negative? Quote
xtremerevolution Posted January 25, 2012 Author Report Posted January 25, 2012 I think lowes/homedepot should have it. Otherwise ill check around the house...there's no difference between a power wire and speaker wire is there? As long as you keep positive positive and negative negative? Yeah, there really isn't any difference. Its all copper wiring. Sent from my HTC Awesome using Tapatalk Quote
xtremerevolution Posted January 25, 2012 Author Report Posted January 25, 2012 Have 11 clamps, legooo. What are you doing posting here then? Get to work! Quote
Rick Posted January 25, 2012 Report Posted January 25, 2012 What are you doing posting here then? Get to work! Well having a friend who took wood shop for a few years proved to be great help. Dumbass me ended up gluing the wrong edge to edge after we first test-clamped without glue. How I made such a mistake phases me, apparently I was trying to clean the glue not the best of ways and he showed me a easier way by using a damp/wet cloth instead of a dry one. Second issue, I am not sure if it was due to being clamped too tightly, but the board ended up angling inwards! We recognized this when fitting the 14.5x14.5 to make sure it fit snugly, when it wouldnt fit we knew we had an issue. Had to clear of glue and re-do. This time it went as a success. One issue however was that im not positive if the MDF splintered a little on the bottom from being tightened too hard. I didnt think this could happen, but thats what im guessing the reason was. Thankfully it wasn't terrible. I will post a few pictures below, im sure you can quickly pick out which photo is of the splintering. Planning on letting it sit overnight and finish it tomorrow after school, this definitely proved to be a 2 man project, maybe 3 especially when using 4ft bar clamps. Photos: Quote
xtremerevolution Posted January 25, 2012 Author Report Posted January 25, 2012 Looks good. 4 foot clamps? Wow, those are long, lol. I don't own clamps longer than 18", lol. They certainly do the trick though. I see what you mean about the MDF splitting where it did. I had that happen to me a few times. Its usually a result of an uneven cut when the MDF is clamped, or if you try to move the MDF after its lightly clamped and it catches on the surface and splits it. It won't be a problem. One issue I see that might be a problem is the place where you cut the opening for the port. Have you tried to test fit the sub itself and the port at the same time to see if you have enough clearance? That looks like it might be a bit close. With regard to the angled panel, I've had that happen too. As you clamp down, you'll see that the panels move. I usually loosen up the clamps a bit and use a rubber mallet to tap the panel back into place. It takes a bit of practice to get it right, and it certainly doesn't help that you're using such large clamps. That said, it looks like you've got the general idea on how it all needs to be done. Quote
Rick Posted January 25, 2012 Report Posted January 25, 2012 Looks good. 4 foot clamps? Wow, those are long, lol. I don't own clamps longer than 18", lol. They certainly do the trick though. I see what you mean about the MDF splitting where it did. I had that happen to me a few times. Its usually a result of an uneven cut when the MDF is clamped, or if you try to move the MDF after its lightly clamped and it catches on the surface and splits it. It won't be a problem. One issue I see that might be a problem is the place where you cut the opening for the port. Have you tried to test fit the sub itself and the port at the same time to see if you have enough clearance? That looks like it might be a bit close. With regard to the angled panel, I've had that happen too. As you clamp down, you'll see that the panels move. I usually loosen up the clamps a bit and use a rubber mallet to tap the panel back into place. It takes a bit of practice to get it right, and it certainly doesn't help that you're using such large clamps. That said, it looks like you've got the general idea on how it all needs to be done. Yeah the four foot clamps were used for my neighbor to straighten very long boards for his deck, so a little bit excessive but they get the job done. And yup the port clears a good 1-2", thats why I clamped it together without glue first to make sure it all fitted. Off to school, should see some more progress when I get home! For the next panels is it okay to remove the other clamps and use them to clamp the next pieces? Quote
xtremerevolution Posted January 25, 2012 Author Report Posted January 25, 2012 Yeah, you'll be fine removing the other clamps once the wood glue dries. With titebond, I only wait about 20 minutes before removing the clamps, and by that point, there's no getting the panels apart. Sent from my HTC Awesome using Tapatalk Quote
Rick Posted January 26, 2012 Report Posted January 26, 2012 Just finished. Wood is 100% glued together. With the issue of splitting, and the fact a clamp got accidentally bumped (4ft clamp=MAJOR P.I.T.A) and took a half inch out of a corner. Thinking quickly we let the wood still clamp, soaked the piece in glue and held in place a few minutes then smearing caulk over it (left over silicon caulk from dining room being re-done) and it held up, even clamped well and is very unnoticeable. Since I had the silicon caulk I figured it wouldn't hurt to line the inside corners with it and did so, you'll see the white on the inside on some pictures. I remembered I had the 12 Gauge line from the Bazooka sub, cut that up and used it to run from the terminal to the woofer. Then from the terminal to the amp using banana connectors. Me and my Dad also then soldered the wires to the terminal cup so they are very solid. The port is screwed in along with the terminal cup, the last thing is the sub woofer which I haven't installed yet because i heard the fumes can be damaging to the woofer. After it cures for 24 hours, which would be roughly around 6pm I will be dropping it in for a test run in the trunk! Quote
xtremerevolution Posted January 26, 2012 Author Report Posted January 26, 2012 (edited) Looks good! Good work. You didn't need the caulk, but it didn't hurt anything either. I'll bet that thing is rock solid now, lol. MDF boxes are nearly bulletproof. So long as you keep it away from moisture, it will pretty much last forever. I'll bet you can't wait to hook it up. The fumes don't do anything to the sub by the way. People sometimes cover the inside with fiberglass resin and are fine installing the subs. Talk about some serious fumes there. Sent from my HTC Awesome using Tapatalk Edited January 26, 2012 by xtremerevolution Quote
Rick Posted January 26, 2012 Report Posted January 26, 2012 Looks good! Good work. You didn't need the caulk, but it didn't hurt anything either. I'll bet that thing is rock solid now, lol. MDF boxes are nearly bulletproof. So long as you keep it away from moisture, it will pretty much last forever. I'll bet you can't wait to hook it up. Sent from my HTC Awesome using Tapatalk Trust me, the temptation to go and screw the woofer in and just plug it into the amplifier is very tough to overcome lol. I suppose I have something to look forward to when I get out of school tomorrow, assuming this storm here doesn't turn into a nasty ice storm..33F and its a heavy rain. Just waiting for the mix to start, but we'll see. Is it worth creating some sort of barrier between the sub and the wood, to create a perfect seal something like a rubber ring, or would a direct screw in work just fine? Oh I wouldnt doubt if this thing could stop a bullet, it surely could knock someone out though the damn thing weighs a good 20-30lbs, without the woofer! Quote
xtremerevolution Posted January 26, 2012 Author Report Posted January 26, 2012 It actually looks like the sub has a rubber gasket around the basket diameter exactly for that purpose, so the seal should be just fine. Something to look forward to is good. Sent from my HTC Awesome using Tapatalk Quote
Rick Posted January 26, 2012 Report Posted January 26, 2012 Oh and ill be sure to let everyone know this build compares to the Bazooka sub woofer, which I must add costs VERY close to the cost of this build. I have a very good feeling this will out compare he bazooka immensely. Build costs.. Wood+Glue $40 Sub $50 Amp $35 (5500T 15% off refurbished-excellent condition-eBay 30day guaranteed DOA) 4 & 8 Gauge Wires $30 Distribution Box-$8 Grand total somewhere around $160 New Bazooka 8" Sub..around $160. Quote
xtremerevolution Posted January 26, 2012 Author Report Posted January 26, 2012 I guarantee that if you're used to the bass of the bazooka sub, this will blow you away. Can't wait to read your post with your impressions when you fire it up. Quote
Rick Posted January 27, 2012 Report Posted January 27, 2012 I guarantee that if you're used to the bass of the bazooka sub, this will blow you away. Can't wait to read your post with your impressions when you fire it up. Yeah, it is DAMN loud. Easily way louder and more accurate than the bazooka. I must say..I should of been smarter before the build and measured my trunk. My trunk height is a 16", thank god my wheel well area is slightly recessed lmao. I found the carpet that used to be in the car, or was from the old one and put it in. Looks nice and clean! At 30 volume its perfect, no distortion or anything and is loud as hell. At 36 there isn't really any distortion..but it is loud as f---! My parents said they heard me about 30 seconds before pulling into the driveway, lol. One question though, i know it would be hard for me to over power it, i think, but could i damage it by playing it too loud? Quote
xtremerevolution Posted January 27, 2012 Author Report Posted January 27, 2012 (edited) You could damage it from playing too loud with a really crappy amp, but that looks like a pretty beefy sub so I doubt you'll be able to. The only thing that you can do to kill it is to clip the amp. You'll be able to hear when the amp starts clipping because it will sound distorted. Try playing around with the volume settings while listening to it with the trunk open (as in, stand at the back of the car), and adjust your gains till you hear it start distorting. It should be noticeable. I doubt you'll be able to damage it though unless you really crank it hard and clip it for a long period of time. As with any car audio product, don't abuse it and it will last you a very long time. You'll probably reach a point at which you can crank the volume more and it won't get any louder and you'll hear some distortion. That's when you should stop increasing the volume. I designed this to be an "SQL" box, to have a blend of sound quality, but also the ability to dig deep and pound hard, so keep that in mind. You can definitely push it hard, but don't abuse it. Get some pictures when you're done rattling your brains. Edited January 27, 2012 by xtremerevolution Quote
Rick Posted January 27, 2012 Report Posted January 27, 2012 You could damage it from playing too loud with a really crappy amp, but that looks like a pretty beefy sub so I doubt you'll be able to. The only thing that you can do to kill it is to clip the amp. You'll be able to hear when the amp starts clipping because it will sound distorted. Try playing around with the volume settings while listening to it with the trunk open (as in, stand at the back of the car), and adjust your gains till you hear it start distorting. It should be noticeable. I doubt you'll be able to damage it though unless you really crank it hard and clip it for a long period of time. As with any car audio product, don't abuse it and it will last you a very long time. You'll probably reach a point at which you can crank the volume more and it won't get any louder and you'll hear some distortion. That's when you should stop increasing the volume. I designed this to be an "SQL" box, to have a blend of sound quality, but also the ability to dig deep and pound hard, so keep that in mind. You can definitely push it hard, but don't abuse it. Get some pictures when you're done rattling your brains. Will do! I am most certainly done working on my car at night though. I had the ground wire to be the last thing to install on the amp and i turned in on its side to screw in and the damned rca connections BROKE inside of the amp. I was thankfully able to needle nose grab one, the other was deep. I ended up spending then 3 hours in the dark, which again wasnt a smart idea, using a very small drill bit drilling the piece out. Amp still works great, but ill be running to radio shack to get another rca splitter cable...thats what I get for trying to work in the dark. The subwoofer sounds great when the receiver says the preamp outputs are to a subwoofer, will see tomorrow how the sub sounds when limited to 40hz and having the lpf activated with bass boost but having the receiver set to rear speakers as the preamp outputs. Otherwise will just go the basic way and return the splitter to radio shack and run speaker wire to the amp and speaker wire back to the receiver so I have subwoofer controls on the receiver then. Going to look on ebay tomorrow for the speaker connector to the 5400t amp when not using rca outputs. Quote
xtremerevolution Posted January 27, 2012 Author Report Posted January 27, 2012 You could take the amp apart and solder the connections for the rca back. That does sound like a shitty way to hook up RCAs though. All of my amps have the rca block screwed to the side panel so they don't budge when you're hooking up wiring. Using the harness for line input is the best way to go to free up an RCA. Don't forget to set your low pass filter (if there is one). I'd go to 100hz. Sent from my HTC Awesome using Tapatalk Quote
Rick Posted January 27, 2012 Report Posted January 27, 2012 (edited) You could take the amp apart and solder the connections for the rca back. That does sound like a shitty way to hook up RCAs though. All of my amps have the rca block screwed to the side panel so they don't budge when you're hooking up wiring. Using the harness for line input is the best way to go to free up an RCA. Don't forget to set your low pass filter (if there is one). I'd go to 100hz. Sent from my HTC Awesome using Tapatalk The other amp still works, however im not sure how much a line input would cost, I imagine pioneer may charge around 10 to ship and everything total. I think I will have to do that, cant have the sub pass through the "rear speaker-preout" setting because then its bass is controlled by tone bass, which also controls the speakers bass. and those willl blow at a high bass setting at high volumes. this is all for a reply i can do atm, getting ready for a interview for a hotel, in a few hours. quick question also, i have the gain a bit past normal..is there any issue with that? Edited January 27, 2012 by Rick Quote
xtremerevolution Posted January 27, 2012 Author Report Posted January 27, 2012 The other amp still works, however im not sure how much a line input would cost, I imagine pioneer may charge around 10 to ship and everything total. I think I will have to do that, cant have the sub pass through the "rear speaker-preout" setting because then its bass is controlled by tone bass, which also controls the speakers bass. and those willl blow at a high bass setting at high volumes. this is all for a reply i can do atm, getting ready for a interview for a hotel, in a few hours. quick question also, i have the gain a bit past normal..is there any issue with that? Having gains a bit past normal isn't bad. You adjust those based on the sub's output. Obviously, cranking your gains to the max isn't the way to go and will surely lead to subwoofer death. Quote
Rick Posted February 1, 2012 Report Posted February 1, 2012 Having gains a bit past normal isn't bad. You adjust those based on the sub's output. Obviously, cranking your gains to the max isn't the way to go and will surely lead to subwoofer death. Surely, it sounds great. Everything is nearly fully hooked up and im still fabricating a amp panel for them to sit on and be drilled into. Im trying to figure out how to remove my rear seat and then would make drilling in the trunk far easier and I could use a piece of plywood for them to be drilled into. I must say Kyoto by Skrillex, although I am not a huge fan of skrillex, it sounds great on it. The alpines play the highs amazingly and the sub hits the low notes. For spending around $260 for a whole sound upgrade I am surely happy, almost feels like I am stealing haha. Sail by AWOLNATION also sounds great for being a rock song, I havent got around to playing too many genres but ill try getting some more update pictures surely when I start creating a quick swap ledge in the back for the amps Quote
xtremerevolution Posted February 1, 2012 Author Report Posted February 1, 2012 Surely, it sounds great. Everything is nearly fully hooked up and im still fabricating a amp panel for them to sit on and be drilled into. Im trying to figure out how to remove my rear seat and then would make drilling in the trunk far easier and I could use a piece of plywood for them to be drilled into. I must say Kyoto by Skrillex, although I am not a huge fan of skrillex, it sounds great on it. The alpines play the highs amazingly and the sub hits the low notes. For spending around $260 for a whole sound upgrade I am surely happy, almost feels like I am stealing haha. Sail by AWOLNATION also sounds great for being a rock song, I havent got around to playing too many genres but ill try getting some more update pictures surely when I start creating a quick swap ledge in the back for the amps Awesome. Glad you're happy with it. You definitely got a steal for the kind of performance and sound quality you're getting. You got a great sub on a closeout deal, built a proper box that's tuned low and designed to sound good, unlike a boomy and uncontrolled prefab box, and you're doing the installation yourself with some good used Pioneer amps. Even if you do find a few kids in your area that have a louder system, they sure didn't do it for as cheap as you did, and I guarantee that your sub will sound more accurate, full, and more musical than any prefab box anyone tries to show off. Quote
white4d96 Posted February 1, 2012 Report Posted February 1, 2012 I'm glad those T3 subs are good, because I am totally underwhelmed by the speakers I picked up from them. Tweeters are garbage and the woofer on my component set is crossed way too low. Quote
xtremerevolution Posted February 1, 2012 Author Report Posted February 1, 2012 I'm glad those T3 subs are good, because I am totally underwhelmed by the speakers I picked up from them. Tweeters are garbage and the woofer on my component set is crossed way too low. Sounds more like a shitty crossover. I wonder what they'd sound like on an active setup, although I'd be a bit hesitant to try a $40 component set on a $115 active crossover. Quote
Rick Posted February 2, 2012 Report Posted February 2, 2012 Got through the rear seat and removed the insulation layer.. should make the wiring MUCH easier and allow me to install the amps on a board very easily. Again..working at night, but how could you pass it up when its 46degrees out at 11pm on a winter night? Ill do all the hard work tomorrow when its nice and bright out Quote
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