The Official Acoustic Audio Subwoofer Owners Thread

[Kryptron]

I received my HD-SUb12 today, looks a lot better then i expected. Haven't had a chance to really test it but so far it's blending very well with my speakers. Sounds very clean and smooth without overpowering the other speakers.

So far, I LIKE.

[mj79]

Originally Posted by duneaholic

Dam MJ that was a hell of a score..figures huh..you go from getting out bid to getting two subs! You'll be in bass heaven fo sho!

Yea thanks man. I dunno what m gonna do yet tho I think it mght sound or look a lil weird with one black 12 and a cherry 15. Hmmm but I will be able to do some testing if I keep the 15. I think I jinxed myself when I ordered 2 rca's from monoprice earlier just in case sometime "down the road" I wanted to add another sub.

So I must say, that was the shortest damn road ever created

[duneaholic]

You might be able to trade for something else with it....you never know. Shipping kills though. I think for what we pay for these subs and how they perform it is a downright steal.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by mj79

Yea thanks man. I dunno what m gonna do yet tho I think it mght sound or look a lil weird with one black 12 and a cherry 15. Hmmm but I will be able to do some testing if I keep the 15. I think I jinxed myself when I ordered 2 rca's from monoprice earlier just in case sometime "down the road" I wanted to add another sub.

So I must say, that was the shortest damn road ever created

As far as colors are concerned, it is not a major problem. All my speakers are black. My two Hsu cylindrical subs are walnut with honey/maple top. My 15" DIY sub is black and the Acoustic Audio sub is cherry. I intentionally orderd cherry because it martches my wood floor. Audiphiles do not care about color and cable organization. That is for amateurs. Real pros only pay attention to sound quality.

Remember that you wanted to spend $400. Now you have two subwoofers for less than that. If you are concerned about the size difference, it is not a major issue. Three of my subs are 12" and one is 15". With patience and experimentation, you can make them work together. Once everything is set up and calibrated correctly, you will have an awesome system. You probably will never want to go to the movies anymore.

[duneaholic]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

Audiphiles do not care about color and cable organization.

How many of them are happily married??

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

You probably will never want to go to the movies anymore.

Heck I don't want to go to the movies now...and I'm not even completely "subwooferized".

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by duneaholic

How many of them are happily married??

Happily married and home theater do not mix.

Heck I don't want to go to the movies now...and I'm not even completely "subwooferized".

You won't be fully subwooferized until you buy 4 subwoofers.

[duneaholic]

Complete subwooferization=unhappily married. I dropped the bomb on my better half today and she wasn't the least bit upset about the money...it was "another subwoofer...where do you think you're gonna put it?". I thought of something smart to say but held back...anal subwooferization would hurt I think..

[mike171979]

When my HD sub arrives, I'm going to poly fill it, and I've read alot about the subject here, and heres what I found:

Use up 1.5 lb. per cubic foot.

So since the enclosure is 13.2" X 13.8" X 15.6", that would be roughly 1.1' X 1.15' X 1.3' For a total of 1.64 Cubic Feet.

So I should use 2.46 pounds of poly fill in my sub.

And heres the question, when I reattach the woofer, should I use a little loctite on the screws, just to make sure they won't shake loose?

[duneaholic]

When I took my driver off to polyfill the screws were into the the MDF so they were tough getting out and were still hard going in so I think you'd be good. If you wanted to be safe I guess you could put some wood glue on the screw threads(mine were wood screws).

That seems like a lot of polyfill. I bought enough for a queen sized blanket...stuffed two subs and still had some left over. They bag weighed less then two pounds I think.

[mike171979]

I thought it sounded like a lot too.

But according to a formula I found, for maximum effectiveness in small enclosures 1.5 pounds per cubic foot is the needed amount.

[duneaholic]

I bought way too much for what I needed at the time. I'm going to use the rest in my new AA sub that should be here wednesday. You could buy the size for a ''full" sized blanket with plenty to spare I would think. Also make sure the package says "flame retardant".

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by mike171979

When my HD sub arrives, I'm going to poly fill it, and I've read alot about the subject here, and heres what I found:

Use up 1.5 lb. per cubic foot.

So since the enclosure is 13.2" X 13.8" X 15.6", that would be roughly 1.1' X 1.15' X 1.3' For a total of 1.64 Cubic Feet.

So I should use 2.46 pounds of poly fill in my sub.

And heres the question, when I reattach the woofer, should I use a little loctite on the screws, just to make sure they won't shake loose?

The AA subwoofer already has a layer of polyfill on its interior surface. Add some, but do not overfill the enclosure with polyfill. Make sure it is loose. The wires from the amplifier are soldered to the driver. Remove the driver carefully. Be careful not to disconnect it. You need both hands to add polyfill or ask a friend to help you for a few minutes.

The formula is 1/2 lb-1 lb of polyfill per cubic foot.

The benefits of polyfill are explaind in the middle of Post #2 in the DIY Subwoofer/Speaker Building, Repairing, and Upgrading.

Do not use Loctite. Subwoofer drivers can go bad. I have blown drivers before. You want to be able to replace the driver in case that happens. If you want extra reinforcement, you can use Wood Insert Nuts from Professional Hardware & Supply Co. to attach the driver to the cabinet. Wood inserts work better than regular screws for large and heavy drivers. Home Depot has the big 1/4" wood inserts. They may be a bit large. The Professional Hardware is for the pros and requires a minimum of $15 purchase, but their inserts are the best.

[jruc03]

Originally Posted by mj79

Yea thanks man. I dunno what m gonna do yet tho I think it mght sound or look a lil weird with one black 12 and a cherry 15. Hmmm but I will be able to do some testing if I keep the 15. I think I jinxed myself when I ordered 2 rca's from monoprice earlier just in case sometime "down the road" I wanted to add another sub.

So I must say, that was the shortest damn road ever created

Well you could sell the black one to me and keep the 15"

[noog99]

you can add me to the list. my psw-12 should be coming today. won an auction on ebay after reading this thread

[jomari]

ive also posted a little detail in regards to disassembling and instructions towards my polyfill experience. its in my gallery if you'd like to check.

[mike171979]

guide to poly filling:

http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/134...osure-resource

According to his measuring, a 1/2 pound per cubic foot is ineffective.

For maximum effect on a ported closure, he suggest 1.4 pounds per cubic foot.

That is a HUGE difference in terms of amount of poly fill.

One of you has to be right, and one of you has to be wrong.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by mike171979

guide to poly filling:

http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/134...osure-resource

According to his measuring, a 1/2 pound per cubic foot is ineffective.

For maximum effect on a ported closure, he suggest 1.4 pounds per cubic foot.

That is a HUGE difference in terms of amount of poly fill.

One of you has to be right, and one of you has to be wrong.

I am familiar with that article and refer to it in my DIY Subwoofer Building thread. I don't disagree with him. The problem is that almost all subwoofers have some polyfill in them, particularly around the inner surface of the enclosure. Too many people take the 1.5 lbs literally and stuff their subwoofers too tightly and as a result, the performance of their subwoofers drop. Furthermore, the polyfill pops out of the port and in some cases, gets inside the driver and interferes with it.

The important thing is to make sure that the polyfill is loose and is not too tight. I did this experiment with a 15" sealed subwoofer and a 15" ported subwoofer. I stuffed them too tightly intentionally and played test tones and music through them. The results were not too good. When I removed some of the polyfill from their boxes, the performance improved.

In that article, the author uses the picture from Parts Express. Check the following link and you will see that Parts Express recommends around 1/2 lb per cubic ft. This is not exact science. In my experience, 1/2 lb to 1 lb of polyfill per cubic ft should be sufficient in most cases.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=260-317


The author of that article also warns against adding too much:

System resonance (Fsb) rises again, beginning with densities of around 1.5 pounds of stuffing per cubic foot of box volume; this happens because the fibers are jammed so tightly together that they stop wiggling and, consequently, stop dissipating heat.

I also found that stuffing gets less effective as box size increases. The morale: The bigger your box is, the harder it is to fool your woofer.

[mike171979]

Thanks for the response BD.

I think I'll just split the difference between .5 and 1.5, and just go with 1 pound/cubic foot. That is as long as its not too packed in there, if it is, I'll go a little less.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by noog99

you can add me to the list. my psw-12 should be coming today. won an auction on ebay after reading this thread

Congratulations on your new sub. I added your name to the list. Did you buy it from Ebay? If you don't mind, how much did you end up paying for the sub?

[Kryptron]

And here's a pic of my new HD-SUB12 with my improvised mini sub riser.

Many thanks to Big Daddy, this purchase wouldn't of happen if it weren't for this thread.