not sure about increasing the sealed chamber. but you can try plyfill to make it appear larger

Basically, if you think it will help, go for it.  Testing is what makes these things happen in the first place.

Well,

I've got one built. Lengthy process the first time, figuring out the assembly and making sure the wood cuts are precise!  Now I just need the other one built.  

I did make the sealed chamber larger, but only by one inch.  Not that big of a deal I suppose.  We'll see how it sounds (haven't hooked it up yet, as I'm building the amprack, etc., at the same time...)

I was always baffled by a sentence in the box instructions regarding the half moon:

"(Don't forget to add 3/4" when finding the center)"

LOL - I had to learn the hard way what that meant!!!  ::)

I'll post more when finished.

-biju.

it looks like a great build...
don't forget to round the edges on the half-moon...3/8" radius

I sprayed mine with the dark grey/black flexstone paint, makes it look like dark granite... I'll see if I can find pics.

You could also try mounting the sub reversed with the magnet in the ported chamber so see if it helps with the lows.

J_ROCK,

That's really cool. Somehow I missed it, before. Nice work!
You should take a pic of the S&M/Goth box and drop it in the same thread.

H O L Y  S H * T ! ! !

THESE BOXES ARE INSANE.

The amp rack I'm building will incorporate the DB's and the PPI's all in one continuous unit. As a result I reached the point where I had to 'tune' the DB's before placement and finishing. Again, read my intro sentence to sum up my findings.  And that was just 'testing', not even remotely turned up... Then again, I suppose I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.

These things are superb. Deep, tight, clean, rich and accurate low end all at the same time!!!  So far, I'm one extremely happy DB owner.

Pics and more to follow soon - - - - >

-biju.

Hey John...  

Yeah, two might be a tad much in retrospect - but thankfully I have the ability with my Alpine headunit to control the sub level.  So I'll be able to listen to the setup with low end that compliments the front stage, as well as crankin' the subs when I feel the urge to beat up the VehiCROSS!  ;D

This post of mine has sort of evolved.  It's turned from a question of making the DB sealed chamber slightly larger, into a repository for documenting my build.  Hope nobody minds...

Here's my personal 'ground zero'.  It extends from the backyard, all the way into the garage, and eventually into the house:

 

Things at the moment are quite messy.  Although, I've got the basic components of the amp rack/sub foundation completed.  Now I just need to work on the details (finishing):



Nothing in the picture above is mounted or in final layout. There will be a 'cover' that will go over everything, giving the rack some depth. Also, I did some more research on finishes for the DB's.  I think I might try Rhino lining in lieu of paint/carpet/vinyl???  I dunno yet...  I'm going to call tomorrow and get a few quotes, etc.

-biju.

You have room there to do a WO instead of 2 DB's.  

If everyone hasn't noticed, biju and I have the same truck, so I have a keen interest in his project.

Are you going to fiberglass that whole sled?

John C.

you could save money by not covering the bottom, seeing as how it sits on something anyways, right?

Got the boxes back from being rhino'd.  Here's a pic:



I really am impressed with how they turned out.  I like the fact that the finish will be a tad more durable than paint or vinyl.

More to come soon...

-biju.

That does look great! and it looks like where ever you took it did a good job.

most of those guys ( especially rhino it seems) are only used to doing truck beds and simple big things. My father sent some machinery to them for coating and they totally ruined it. he had to burn it off with a torch and it was a huge mess. in the end he went to another place that did a much better job.
but im sure that varies alot by who does it and all.

It does look good though. and alot easier than doing the carpet thing. thats always my least favorite part!  :'(

Very impressive, biju. I really like the look.

....biju here.

I haven't forgotten to update my build, I've just run into several setbacks.  Surgery, ER room visits, etc...  It's been insane.

Here's the minimal progress I've made since last posting:







Note: still a lot of bracing to be finished, as well as more 'finishing touches'.

Oh, and did I mention that I'm a complete novice at this stuff?  I mean, I know a tad about car audio, but actually playing 'installer'?  Yikes. Well, that's where the ER visit comes into play...



LOL.  Just about took my finger off building this damn thing.  Gives new meaning to 'blood, sweat, tears..."  I'm literally 'bleeding' for that which I'm passionate about!  

I'm out for more surgery tomorrow (non-finger related) which will put me out for the rest of the week.  I should be able to pick up on the project shortly there after.

Until then!!!

-biju.

Hello, Adrian.

I'm a little groggy from this a.m.'s surgery (septorhinoplasty), but had to respond with the grizzly details of Mondays finger-hack-job.

I was carpeting and cutting the excess with a brand new blade.  Got overly confident (not paying attention).  The piece I was cutting wasn't cooperating, so I put my body weight into it not noticing that my left-hand was supporting the amp-sled - and was directly in the path of the cut.  Well, my body wieght proved to do the trick as it (the utility knife) came free in the blink of an eye, cut the carpet and my finger like butter.  

After xrays the doc said the blade lodged into the top-most part of the finger bone, which is what kept 1/2 of the tip from being lopped right off.

Ever see kill bill one?  LOL, my finger was like an instant squirt-gun.  nasty stuff.

take care.

-biju.

Wow man, i am so emotional right now.  

I got a rush seeing your awesome work so far.

Then I got all worried for you for your finger cut.

Then I laughed when you mentioned Kill bill and the squirting blood effects.

LOL.  Get well, nice work, talk to you again soon!

*sigh*

That sigh?  A sigh of relief - relieved to have this project done, and the satisfaction of knowing all turned out better than I could ever have thought (especially as I consider myself a car audio novice).  I'd never make it as a car audio professional, as I'm way too slow & clumsy (see finger hack job in previous post). LOL...

The original question was what would happen if the sealed chamber of the DB was increased?  In short, I won't know that answer until I build another DB to spec. and compare.  I plan on doing this eventually (for the home), but it will be a while.  The question was asked originally because I knew I wanted to use the MTX 8410-44’s, and was concerned about the sub’s displacement, and I wanted to make sure that I could get them to hit as low as I possibly could without changing the plans too much. Other considerations were making sure they’d still fit into my design, etc.  In the end, as mentioned previously, the sealed chamber was lengthened by one inch.

The boxes weren’t too hard to build, but I did take my sweet time with them. Lots of sanding, and making sure everything was accurate. The amprack on the other hand did prove to be a bit of a challenge.  Making everything clean with hidden inputs, holes, assembly, etc., was a pain in the arse.  It was also tricky to make sure that the amprack was securely mounted to the vehicle – however I was able to resolve that issue with some ingenuity and a few special order bolts…  If you read my previous posts I wanted to finish the rack in vinyl, however, after a few test runs I quickly discovered that the vinyl wasn’t as forgiving when it came to blemishes in the wood, etc.  Padding helped that issue, but ended up looking too bulky for me.  In the end, I went with good ol’ old-skool sub box carpet for the finish. I dunno, it looks good enough I suppose.

Power is provided by Stinger all the way around. 0/1 gauge supply to a distributor that splits into 4 – 4 gauge power wires (between the DB’s). The old-skool PPI’s have standard 8 gauge inputs, so to accommodate this I bought eight 4 gauge to 8 gauge reducer adapters. They look sweet in addition to being functional.

After wiring everything I was more than happy to power her up. Gently turned up the volume 1/4 of the way and heard sweet sweet sound. (everything flat, no processing).  I was pleased with what I was hearing.  However, a little intimidated to turn it up until xover and tuned, etc.  Played with the setting’s a while, and came up with settings that I felt really pushed the DB’s.  (I was anxious to hear them both in concert pushed to the limits!).  Here’s the settings:

# Crossover #
[Frequency(Hz)/Slope(dB/oct)/Level(dB)]
Front:160.0/24/-1
Center:160/24/-1
Rear:160.0/24/-1
SW:63.0/24/-1

# Parametric-EQ #
[Frequency(Hz)/Level(dB)/Width(Q)]
Band1:40.0/+6/3
Band2:125.0/-3/3
Band3:1.0k/+4/3
Band4:2.5k/+5/3
Band5:8.0k/+6/3

I’ve got the ability to set six parametric configurations, as well as six xover configurations – so I’ll be playing with those more in the future to accommodate various musical genres. But for now, the above is what I went with to initially hear the system pushed.  With the gains set properly I finally cranked her up!  LOL, OMG, WTF?!!!  PURE INSANITY!!!!  There was nothing but crystal clear sound as loud as I could take her (or stand it). The sound was full, rich, deep, crisp, pleasing tones from across the spectrum.  Bass tones literally blurred my vision and took my breath as the DB’s executed them effortlessly.  A friend who came over later to watch the Nuggets game with me sat in the VehiCROSS as I cranked it up.  With the same blurred vision I was experiencing he looks and tries to yell over to me, “I can feel the bass crushing my nuts!”.  My labors are validated.  LOL…  I wanted the ability to enjoy DEEP clean bass as well as overall SQ on demand.  I’m pretty sure mission accomplished!

Setup:

Optima Yellow Top
Stinger 0/1 & 4 gauge power/ground
10 gauge speaker wire throughout
Stinger HPM 0/1 gauge to 4 – 4 gauge dist.
Alpine CDA-9835
Boston Acoustic Pro 6.5 (Front)
Boston Acoustic Pro 5.5 (Rear)
Alpine SBS-05DC DIN center channel
2 – MTX 8410-44
2 – PPI A600 @ 3ohms
PPI A1200 @ 4ohms
PPI A100 @ 4ohms

Here are the final pics of the build.  Thanks for reading.  Enjoy!












-biju.

Very nice, indeed, biju! Excellent choice of colors, too.

I only have one criticism. Shouldn't your tagline read:

..... cut cut cut cut cut cut cut cut cut "5HIT!!!"

Glad it's healing up OK.

i hope you have an alarm, if you were to park that car anywhere near any of the places i have lived over the years you would lose it all? glad it sounds good tho and that is a sweet cut.here's one of my more recent carless moves, opening a package from the mail man too quickly....you are not alone in the reckless wound catagory.

aww damn, all my hacksaw slips are healing up. I might snap a few of what's left, if I deem them worthy.

EDIT- Sweet install man!

NICE!!!  I hope you don't mind a little copycatting.  well I'm building a WO for my roomate's Chrysler 300C  I think that rhyno lining will be a good idea.  He is a rich guy who needs everything to look like a million bucks.  I am thinking about hiding the amps and using computer fans to cool them. ???