The good bass, little space project

[MOSSGREENMACHINE]

So I have grown out of the "piss your neighbors off" car stereo age and got rid of my subs, amps, and everything related to that when I bought my XJ about a month ago. After driving around for a month with just the Craptory radio and speakers, I decided that I still really enjoy sound quality and missed my last setup. So all the Craptory stuff went to the trash and new goodies went in, door speakers, head unit etc. I didn't want to sacrafice the whole hatch area for a sub enclosure and knowing that some of those pre-made "pods" sound like garbage I devised my own plan. Here are some pics of the enclosure in stages from start to finish, I hope this will encourage others to "think outside the pod"

The challenge:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/jeffseim/100_0679.jpg

The template I made from cardboard to get the shape I wanted:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/jeffseim/100_0680.jpg

The backboard of the enclosure 3/4" MDF cut like template
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/jeffseim/100_0681.jpg

Now here is where it gets fun, I lined the pocket with aluminum foil and held it together with blue painters tape so the fiberglass wouldn't stick to the pocket:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/jeffseim/100_0682.jpg

Next I put the backboard back into place:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/jeffseim/100_0683.jpg

Next I layed the fiberglass into the pocket, overlaping the backboard as I went around the pocket. I left the top of the pocket open because it kept falling down, so I let the glass set up a little removed the enclosure from the XJ and finished laying the glass for the top on the bench:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/jeffseim/100_0684.jpg

Then I attached the front panel to the back panel. I came up with an external width of 5 1/2" which means 4" internal width:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/jeffseim/100_0685.jpg

After that I needed to match the contour of the wheel well from the back board to the front panel, so I came up with the idea of using 1/8" X 1/2" aluminum bar stock for the bracing of the contour:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/jeffseim/100_0696.jpg

Pic of the contour glassed:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/jeffseim/100_0697.jpg

The finished product:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/jeffseim/100_0698.jpg


The internal volume ended up being .88 and that was perfect for a 10" Kicker CompVR sub, the external dimensions are 25" X 16" an total cost of materials was around $40, cost of sub was around $60. the sealed enclosure sounds great with no rattles and hardly takes any space in my hatch.

 

[Slo-Sho]

Nice job. What kind of music do you listen to? Personally I love anything between 15-40Hz, the kinda bass that makes your nose and hair vibrate.:helpme:

 

[XJ Eric]

wow, nice.
I've always wanted to learn how to do that stuff. I think I'll finally break down and try that stuff out when I get home.

 

[SKIM]

why not do some thing like this It look almost stock,http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=97186
I did it sound great not to hard either.(if you want pics I can post mine.)

 

[MOSSGREENMACHINE]

why not do some thing like this It look almost stock,http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=97186
I did it sound great not to hard either.(if you want pics I can post mine.)

not a bad idea either but, I didn't want to modify the interior at all, my enclosure is easily removed if I need to and retains the stock appearence.

 

[MOSSGREENMACHINE]

Nice job. What kind of music do you listen to? Personally I love anything between 15-40Hz, the kinda bass that makes your nose and hair vibrate.:helpme:

I like all music, and believe me I'm no stranger to 140db+ systems. this system is a much more refined listening experience, it's the kind that gives you goosebumps when you hear your favorite tracks.

 

[SKIM]

I understand, I didn't post that to be mean just posted it for others if they were looking for more ideas.

 

[MOSSGREENMACHINE]

I understand, I didn't post that to be mean just posted it for others if they were looking for more ideas.

No prob, more ideas are better, thats what forums are for.

 

[northernxj]

I did the same as you in my xj. The problem with the other design posted looks as if it is not a sealed enclosure, and most subs will sound like garbage in a free air setup. Even if it is an attempt to be sealed you sacrafice SQ. You can get small opening in the enclosure where it is not air tight and get a buzzing sound for where the air is being forced out of a small opening, I had to deal with this on my enclosure before I got it dialed. I had to fill is some small screw holes from an amp...
Nice work, it turned out well. I am sure it is a world of difference over the door speakers, I know I appreciated the addition especially for how small the enclosure is.

 

[rredalty]

I did the same as you in my xj. The problem with the other design posted looks as if it is not a sealed enclosure, and most subs will sound like garbage in a free air setup. Even if it is an attempt to be sealed you sacrafice SQ. You can get small opening in the enclosure where it is not air tight and get a buzzing sound for where the air is being forced out of a small opening, I had to deal with this on my enclosure before I got it dialed. I had to fill is some small screw holes from an amp...
Nice work, it turned out well. I am sure it is a world of difference over the door speakers, I know I appreciated the addition especially for how small the enclosure is.

I have done this enclosure system on a couple XJs and if you take your time to seal everything it is a perfectly sealed enclosure and sounds amazing. You can't throw it together though, or you will get buzzing sounds.

 

[SKIM]

Yep if you take your time and seal all the cracks and holes between the panels it will be just like a box. mine doesn't make any noises.

 

[Bryan C.]

why not do some thing like this It look almost stock,http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=97186
I did it sound great not to hard either.(if you want pics I can post mine.)

Finally somehting not totally gay on the Jeepforum. Thanks for posting that up. I know crutchfield and quadratec sell sub boxes for that same spot. I bet the homemade hidden box looks and sounds better, and is a lot cheaper too.

 

[OUG]

I made a similar box only I tapered the top to match the window sill. For the sub I actually went with an 8" and instead of tucking the box into the cubbie I used that space to set the basket of a second 8". So basically I'm firing one into the back of the other. Run them out of phase and all is good.

 

[CodyB]

I made a similar box only I tapered the top to match the window sill. For the sub I actually went with an 8" and instead of tucking the box into the cubbie I used that space to set the basket of a second 8". So basically I'm firing one into the back of the other. Run them out of phase and all is good.

Would you mind posting a few pics, It sounds really interesting, and since I have a mild 500w amp pushing more than it can, Im ready to downgrade to some 8's or 10's. I wonder if anyone has used the square solo barac subs in there or not...

 

[camarors8992]

Would you mind posting a few pics, It sounds really interesting, and since I have a mild 500w amp pushing more than it can, Im ready to downgrade to some 8's or 10's. I wonder if anyone has used the square solo barac subs in there or not...

Kicker has a new shallow mount sub out. I was thinking of using that sub for sometihng similar.

 

[CodyB]

Kicker has a new shallow mount sub out. I was thinking of using that sub for sometihng similar.

Well I measured the pocket where the plastic is and it is just about an inch away from being deep enough for a Kicker Solo Baric S8L5 8" square woofer, but i dont know about the cubic inches, the site from what I can determine says 800 cubic inches but Im not shure on the plastic, The hidden woofer would be nice if I could fit a box big enough back there but I doubt I could, if I didnt want to get toooooooooo complicated.

 

[Beej]

Very nice project, I'm wondering about the benefit of a sealed enclosure that small with that sub.

From Kicker's TS parameters for that speaker in a box of 0.88ft^3, you get a slight boost at 70Hz and then a really steep rolloff at around 55Hz dropping to -5dB at 40Hz; right in the range of the really good bass.

Although that speaker is well-suited to sealed or vented boxes, with the volume you have, adding three 1.5" diameter vent tubes 12.88" in length will double your speaker volume between 44 and 60Hz and extend your rolloff to around 30Hz.

If you were to undertake adding the vents, they would probably have to have a bend in the tubing to get the right length. Three are necessary to reduce the mach to less than .10, anything above will whistle under heavy load. Some acoustical padding in the enclosure will help too.

 

[Beej]

Well I measured the pocket where the plastic is and it is just about an inch away from being deep enough for a Kicker Solo Baric S8L5 8" square woofer, but i dont know about the cubic inches, the site from what I can determine says 800 cubic inches but Im not shure on the plastic, The hidden woofer would be nice if I could fit a box big enough back there but I doubt I could, if I didnt want to get toooooooooo complicated.

800 cubic inches is way small for an 8". According to Kicker's own data, the optimum is 1457 cubic inches. Plus, with an EBP of 96.4 (!) they are pretty much limited to vented enclosures...

 

[camarors8992]

I'm talking about the kicker compVT. The 12" has a mounting depth of 4-5/16". It says the maximum sealed box volume is 4.6cu.ft. and a minumum of 1.0cu.ft. Is this obtainable in the area available ?

 

[CodyB]

800 cubic inches is way small for an 8". According to Kicker's own data, the optimum is 1457 cubic inches. Plus, with an EBP of 96.4 (!) they are pretty much limited to vented enclosures...

Well I was going from the limited knowledge I had and I didnt do the math right, they gave an example of a box 10x10x8 and i just did LxWxH, I'm really new to making my own boxes, I have in the past just gotten boxes second hand...