# My DIY home sub project



## adamand (Apr 19, 2009)

Hey everyone, I decided to build a home sub after going awhile without one. It started when a friend of mine gave me one of his REL Stadium III amps to work with... so I had to use it. Right?! :laugh:

Instead of building a new enclosure, I dedcided to keep an eye out on CL for a passive sub someone was selling for cheap. It took few weeks, but I finally found a Speakerlab passive sub for sale, $50. The outside veneer wasn't in super great shape, but it wasn't bad either.

I figured the internal space was just about what I needed (about 2 cf), so I opened it up to see what I had:a a pair of 8" JBL dvc subs. Not a bad find.



















Here's the side with the worst of the sctatches:










So I cut into the baffle, with the idea that I could use it as a brace:


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## adamand (Apr 19, 2009)

Then I got down to sanding. The veneer was thick enough that I could get a nice flat, smooth surface out of it. From there, I cut into the side for the amp:

























The amp can be seen poking into the last pic... but I needed to separate the amp from the sub enclosure. So I built a dividing "wall" out of 3/4" mdf and glued it in place.


























I then cut the bottom baffle (down firing design), rounded the edges and busted out the jigsaw for the woofer and port openings (not perfect, but it worked)


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## adamand (Apr 19, 2009)

The bottom of the sub was painted rattle can back. The feet were pieces I found at Home Depot in the millworks department. They were sitting with the pre-made table legs and assorted decorative trim. They were pine-ish in color, so a little primer and black paint and they matched just fine.

















































The sub (a Dayton HF 10" 4 ohm) was installed with machine screws


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## adamand (Apr 19, 2009)

Finally, as an ode to the REL that gave its life for this build ... I added a sheet (hunk? slab?) of black/black granite to the top. I glued it on using some adhesive specifically made for stone (I guess simple liquid nails can bleed through) and trimmed it up with some 1/4 round.










And how it sits today in the corner of the livingroom:











Overall, the Dayton is a phenominal sub for the money. VERY quiet mechanically and plays low (the box is tuned to 22 hz if I remember right). Tons of control too, but that's got a lot to do with the REL amp. 

I'm in the process of building a second (staining it the same cherry color, hoping the two will match) for my next home system.


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## PsyCLown (May 17, 2013)

Very nice! I guess using an already made enclosure speeds things up a lot and makes it much easier.

The weight of the marble probably helps with the bracing a bit too  hehe


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## knever3 (Mar 9, 2009)

Very cool build, took something and made it very different with great results!


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## adamand (Apr 19, 2009)

PsyCLown said:


> Very nice! I guess using an already made enclosure speeds things up a lot and makes it much easier.
> 
> The weight of the marble probably helps with the bracing a bit too  hehe


The whole sub weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 lbs. Ya, its damped :laugh:


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## MUGWUMP (Jan 29, 2012)

At least you know it wont walk across the room


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## luisc202 (Oct 29, 2013)

Pretty nice work.


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