How to DIY budget subwoofer

[mglushed]

Hello, I'm looking for building my first budget subwoofer, I have no experience nor knowledge on this field, any help to get me started will be much appreciated!

I plan to buy this driver: https/www.amazon.com/Kenwood-KFC-W3016PS-12-Inch-2000W-Subwoofer/dp/B00T87H860/

But I don't know if it's too much for my room (20m2), since it's 2000w, and my old Z906 500w speakers used to fill the room with quite punchy bass very well.

I also have no idea what kind of amplifier (do I even need one? since I plan to plug this subwoofer into my onboard 7.1 soundcard) do I need to buy.

I don't know what kind of wood planks should I use, and how exactly may I put it to the desired shape (probably I will have to hire someone to craft the wood).

And I have no idea what other components do I need.

My budget is $200, cheaper is better.

 

[13thmonkey]

so you know literally nothing about this, you don't know the electrical side, the audio side, or cabinet making/carpentry side?

So you need electrical tools and wood working tools.

It will be cheaper to just buy a sub.

 

[13thmonkey]

http/www.instructables.com/id/Building-A-Subwoofer/

 

[Samat]

If you have to hire someone to build the enclosure I doubt you can fit it in your budget, I'd look into used subs at your region. That 2000W is just the peak power it can take (400W RMS), you would need a amplifier for it. If you really want to build your own, avsforum.com might be a better place to look for help and you can also find projects of what other people have built.

Edit. Corrected link.

 

[Mr5oh]

Yes you need an amplifier. Without a solid enclosure of the right size it's not going to sound good either.

Why not just buy a powered sub, that has everything already. Here's a suggestion:

Polk Powered 10" Sub

Use this 3.5mm to RCA adapter to hook that sub to your PC.

Done deal, no building, no separate amplifiers, if you want stronger sub, just search for powered sub. Remember you don't care about peak or dynamic power, you need care about RMS power.

 

[mglushed]

Yes you need an amplifier. Without a solid enclosure of the right size it's not going to sound good either.

Why not just buy a powered sub, that has everything already. Here's a suggestion:

Polk Powered 10" Sub

Use this 3.5mm to RCA adapter to hook that sub to your PC.

Done deal, no building, no separate amplifiers, if you want stronger sub, just search for powered sub. Remember you don't care about peak or dynamic power, you need care about RMS power.

Thank you! But isn't 50w rms power a bit too light? I'm used to z906's 500w rms, is there any other option i can choose for $100-$200 that delivers 500w+ rms? I searched for powered subs but they seem way more than $200 for such rms.

Ahhh my bad, 500w rms is for the whole system, its subwoofer only 165w.

 

[mglushed]

http/www.instructables.com/id/Building-A-Subwoofer/

Thanks! That's a very nice one.

 

[mglushed]

If you have to hire someone to build the enclosure I doubt you can fit it in your budget, I'd look into used subs at your region. That 2000W is just the peak power it can take (400W RMS), you would need a amplifier for it. If you really want to build your own, avsforums.com might be a better place to look for help and you can also find projects of what other people have built.

Thank you, I will try to check there.

 

[Samat]

If you have to hire someone to build the enclosure I doubt you can fit it in your budget, I'd look into used subs at your region. That 2000W is just the peak power it can take (400W RMS), you would need a amplifier for it. If you really want to build your own, avsforum.com might be a better place to look for help and you can also find projects of what other people have built.

Thank you, I will try to check there.

Correction, it is avsforum.com not avsforums. Sorry for that.

 

[mglushed]

If you have to hire someone to build the enclosure I doubt you can fit it in your budget, I'd look into used subs at your region. That 2000W is just the peak power it can take (400W RMS), you would need a amplifier for it. If you really want to build your own, avsforum.com might be a better place to look for help and you can also find projects of what other people have built.

Thank you, I will try to check there.

Correction, it is avsforum.com not avsforums. Sorry for that.

Thanks!

 

[Mr5oh]

Ahhh my bad, 500w rms is for the whole system, its subwoofer only 165w.

You have more money in your budget, get a larger one? 100-200 watts RMS is quite a bit to a sub. You can find powered subs in this range. I just chose that as an example.

 

[jsmithepa]

Am not sure where u posting from, but here in the West, LABOR IS EXPENSIVE. I assume u want do DIY it to bring the cost down? Having somebody build you the cabinet screams CUSTOM and custom is expensive.

Parts-Express have pre-built cabinets I believe, all you have to do is finish it (paint?) I believe, don't know if it really saves u $, maybe just for people looking for a challenge. Recently bought an open box from them at 40% off if you are patience.

 

[13thmonkey]

Am not sure where u posting from, but here in the West, LABOR IS EXPENSIVE. I assume u want do DIY it to bring the cost down? Having somebody build you the cabinet screams CUSTOM and custom is expensive.

Parts-Express have pre-built cabinets I believe, all you have to do is finish it (paint?) I believe, don't know if it really saves u $, maybe just for people looking for a challenge. Recently bought an open box from them at 40% off if you are patience.

Good point, Maplin in the UK used to sell sub cabinets, they'll even have been designed in way. Or buy a broken sub, strip it and replace appropriate parts.

 

[mglushed]

Am not sure where u posting from, but here in the West, LABOR IS EXPENSIVE. I assume u want do DIY it to bring the cost down? Having somebody build you the cabinet screams CUSTOM and custom is expensive.

Parts-Express have pre-built cabinets I believe, all you have to do is finish it (paint?) I believe, don't know if it really saves u $, maybe just for people looking for a challenge. Recently bought an open box from them at 40% off if you are patience.

Thanks! Woodworking is quite cheap here in Vietnam, they'd do it for $20-$30, quality is not pretty but it works, most the time. My friend is going back from US soon so the electric parts I can buy from Amazon, but the wood seem quite heavy and bulky, I need to get them at my place.

 

[mglushed]

Ahhh my bad, 500w rms is for the whole system, its subwoofer only 165w.

You have more money in your budget, get a larger one? 100-200 watts RMS is quite a bit to a sub. You can find powered subs in this range. I just chose that as an example.

I found this subwoofer on Amazon, how would it compare to z906's 165w rms side firing 8 inch subwoofer? Stats seem better but I'm not sure how it actually performs, it's a 200w rms down firing 10 inch subwoofer.
https/www.amazon.com/Acoustic-Audio-PSW-6-Powered-Subwoofer/dp/B004SH4UZ2

I mainly want to use it for action movies and first person shooter games like Overwatch and Battlefield.