DIY Subwoofer Risers

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by robinandtami

I started a riser this past weekend. I have some nice pine sheets that I want to put a light stain on and inset behind the legs, to hide the foam. If I had some type of router, I'd just cut a track inside each leg and slide the sheets in.... maybe I'll figure something out.

I'm thinking a rubber mat on top instead of carpet. Acoustically speaking...... is there any reason why rubber wouldn't work as well as carpet?

Looks real nice ! robin or tami The rubber will act the same as just the wood . the sound will just bounce off it . The carpet helps to absorb & will help the sub from not sounding boomy . The carpet will also help in seperating the sub from the floor !

[Uniquely]

Originally Posted by crazyBLUE

Looks real nice ! robin or tami The rubber will act the same as just the wood . the sound will just bounce off it . The carpet helps to absorb & will help the sub from not sounding boomy . The carpet will also help in seperating the sub from the floor !

Sean Farley was just telling me that he heard plexiglass can also work. How about that? Or how about a few layers of felt? I think carpet would spoil the look I was going for. Oh and it's always just Robin... the name is kind of like a Joanie Loves Chachi thing (aging myself!)

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by robinandtami

Sean Farley was just telling me that he heard plexiglass can also work. How about that? I think carpet would spoil the look I was going for. Oh and it's always just Robin... the name is kind of like a Joanie Loves Chachi thing (aging myself!)

I would think that plexiglass would act the same way that rubber or wood would , I may be wrong though . I do remember Big Daddy recommending it be carpet for the absorbing part of it !

PS ~ The felt would work some !

[Uniquely]

Originally Posted by crazyBLUE

I would think that plexiglass would act the same way that rubber or wood would , I may be wrong though . I do remember Big Daddy recommending it be carpet for the absorbing part of it !

PS ~ The felt would work some !

If I could find a carpet black enough.... it might not look too bad

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by robinandtami

If I could find a carpet black enough.... it might not look too bad

Just an idea for you to throw around & be creative with ! I built one with carpet & covered it with material , So get the creative ideas going & come up with something unique in its own way !

[Aerodude73]

Originally Posted by robinandtami

If I could find a carpet black enough.... it might not look too bad

Use any dark carpet & then look for a Fabric Store in your area. The one I used for my 24x24x1" Acoustic Foam panels had ALL kinds of options; various designs, styles, Solids of All colors, etc. You could hopefully find a Solid Black color & put that over the carpet piece. Just an idea.

[Fors*]

I used a rug with rubber underneath. I also added foam under my platform as well for further sound absorption. I say give it a try robinandtami and see what happens....

[jomari]

crazy,

what on earth happened to your home theater??? new components i see! congrats bud!

(sorry, i dont go into the gallery section too often)... will investigate once i get to work.

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by jomari

crazy,

what on earth happened to your home theater??? new components i see! congrats bud!

(sorry, i dont go into the gallery section too often)... will investigate once i get to work.

Thanks jomari !!

Yes I have taken A Big step up & forward For myself & my Home Entertainment . The big screen has the WOW affect that is for sure .

I think I have also found (in the new setup) Bass Happiness . I have the subs setup to where they have never sounded better . I think having the 10" behind & in A big open area has A Huge affect on how the sub interacts with the room itself . The 12" in front Has never had A problem holding its own !

[MADNOD]

hi, just for the sake of the look of the riser, for a 2 feet riser can i have the front end and sides covered with a thin wood sheet 2mm (0.08 inch), will this change the responce or effect of the riser? also does the top side have to be hollow in the middle for a down firing sub?

[Nielsb90]

Can't wait to experiment with this!
Just ordered my new sub - a Gale 3090 12" sub! I know its not Jamo, but its hard to find the right Jamo and this one will fit right in! I will be experimenting with a granite riser with some spikes and foam since I've read elsewhere it is quite effective!

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by MADNOD

hi, just for the sake of the look of the riser, for a 2 feet riser can i have the front end and sides covered with a thin wood sheet 2mm (0.08 inch), will this change the responce or effect of the riser? also does the top side have to be hollow in the middle for a down firing sub?

Go back to the beginning of this thread & go threw the first post by Big Daddy ! It will be helpful to you in making A riser !

Originally Posted by Nielsb90

Can't wait to experiment with this!
Just ordered my new sub - a Gale 3090 12" sub! I know its not Jamo, but its hard to find the right Jamo and this one will fit right in! I will be experimenting with a granite riser with some spikes and foam since I've read elsewhere it is quite effective!

congrats on the new sub Neilsb90 ! Good luck with the riser !

[Nielsb90]

Originally Posted by crazyBLUE

congrats on the new sub Neilsb90 ! Good luck with the riser !

Thank you can't wait Nothin' better than gettin some new HT equipment

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by Nielsb90

Thank you can't wait Nothin' better than gettin some new HT equipment

Yes, congrats on the new purchase. Have fun building the riser too, as they are very easy and fun to do!

[Big Daddy]

I built a dolly/riser for my 15" DIY Dayton Titanic driver and ED-built subwoofer enclosure. You can find detailed information about the sub in Post #614 of the DIY Subwoofer/Speakers Building thread. It has a sticky in Subwoofers section.

The size of the subwoofer is 24"H x 20"W x 28"D. I decided to make the riser around 30" x 22". I purchased high quality 3/4" plywood from Home Depot and had them cut it to size. I attached the leftover wood to the bottom of the riser with wood glue and screws for additional stability. Also, It allowed me to use longer screws to attach the casters.

I attached 5" casters to the bottom of the dolly. The casters were purchased at an exceptional price of $5 each from Stanley E. Smith Company. They are the Light Medium Duty Caster Plates and have a capacity of 150 pounds each. Normally, they are over $20 each.

I covered the top with carpet. They are actually door mats with a very thin layer of rubber. I bought them for $3.50 each from Home Depot.

I also bought 1" thick foam from Wal-Mart and attach them to under the dolly/riser with 3M spray glue. I plan to cover the foam with carpet later. It is mainly for appearance.

[Nielsb90]

I think I will make a riser for my sub! I looks fun/easy/cheap and I would love to test it! I just don't have a walmart where I can pick all that stuff up lol

I received my new sub today and its a beast! Absolutely enormous and a HUGE improvenent over my old 8" sub! I will post pics when I have completed the riser and hidden all the cables! Big Daddy you have been a big help, thanks!

[killat0n]

The risers have had by far the biggest impact to cost ratio of anything in my HT. I actually made my first riser back in late January and from that point on I wouldn't have it any other way. I didn't even unbox my 2 new subs until I had the risers for them finished.

My first riser was pretty low to the ground. It had 3" legs and I was using some of that foam from Walmart, and right away I noticed a huge difference. So much more detail and punch, it was really like I bought a new sub. After a few months I wanted to try increasing the height and adding more/better foam. So I made new 5" legs and got a much denser foam. The effect from the riser was even more apparent now. Even more detail and punch than before and at this point there is no boomy bass what so ever. So in August I picked up another sub and decided to take it one step further by making 7 inch legs and having 6 inches of high density foam on the bottom. Once again the effect improved even more. So with all the experimenting I did I feel that the amount and the type of foam makes a huge difference along with the height of the riser. So just confirming what Big Daddy and CrazyBLUE have already stated, the higher the better and the more foam the better

I took some pics while I was making 2 more risers for my new subs.


I got everything except the foam from Home Depot.

I used a 15" x 15" x 3/4" piece of laminated counter top
7" long 2" x 2" for the legs
4 pack of rubber feet(only $1.98 for one pack of 4!)
3' x 4' Roll of carpet with rubberized bottom(this was enough for the 2 risers I made)
22" x 22" x 2" High Density Foam from Joann Fabrics(a bit pricey but it's so dense I felt it was worth the money)



I like to lay 2 extra strips down where the spikes from the subs will sit just to be 100% sure that the spikes won't eventually work their way through the carpet and touch the surface.



Legs and rubber feet attached



I used 11" x 11" x 2" pieces of foam stacked 3 high, using your basic super glue to attach them to the riser and to each other.




This is just to give you an idea of how dense this foam is. I'd almost say it's as dense as the memory foam they use in those pillows and mattresses.



All 4 identical risers in place. To finish it off, I used a long strip of the carpet to wrap all the way around the legs to hide the foam and make it look uniform.

[Fors*]

Nice job killatOn! I like the time to took to make sure it was aesthetically up to par with the room. That looks very well made!

[progers13]

Big Daddy, thanks for the awesome reference guide. I used the info I got from this thread to build a riser this week. Took me about 4 hours over the span of 3 nights, and cost roughly $35. The biggest expense was the carpet covering, which I actually bought at Wal-Mart (they were like rugs you would put on the floor in the bathroom with rubber bottom, cost $8 each - I used 2). The wood pieces I bought at Home Depot and had them cut to size. I drilled the holes, used liquid nails and screws to assemble. Polyfill from Wal-Mart (which I also cut to size and glued into place). Cut the rugs to size and used the liquid nails and a few staples - I highly recommend liquid nails as opposed to regular glue in this step as it created a stronger bond IMHO. Last step, I bought leveling feet from Home Depot, drilled the holes, dropped in more liquid nails, and slid the posts for the feet into the holes. Viola! Let it dry overnight...the thing is solid as a rock. I finally put my eD A2-300 on it last night and gave it a test run with Underworld: Evolution. I do not have an SPL meter, but I definitely noticed an improvement. The last 20 minutes in the cave...WOW...the explosions...I thought the cave was falling down around me.

Overall it was a fun endeavor. I'm pleased with how the riser turned out as well as the better performance I'm getting out of the sub. I'm planning on purchasing a 2nd A2-300 later this year, and will enjoy building a clone of this riser to match. Thanks Big Daddy!

Note: Haven't had a chance to take pics yet and post them, but maybe tonight! This thing really fits in well with the look of the room and the equipment.

[Fors*]

Congrats progers! Sounds like you built a nice looking,solid riser. I'm happy to see you get the results you wanted as well, especially after putting 4 hrs into this thing!