{"id":2969,"date":"2019-09-16T11:51:03","date_gmt":"2019-09-15T23:51:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hifihq.com.au\/blog\/?p=2969"},"modified":"2019-08-03T11:58:13","modified_gmt":"2019-08-02T23:58:13","slug":"tech-talk-speedy-enclosure-designs-how-to-design-a-subwoofer-enclosure-that-doesnt-suck-in-10-minutes-or-less","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hifihq.com.au\/blog\/tech-talk-speedy-enclosure-designs-how-to-design-a-subwoofer-enclosure-that-doesnt-suck-in-10-minutes-or-less\/","title":{"rendered":"Tech Talk: Speedy Enclosure Designs \u2013 How to Design a Subwoofer Enclosure that Doesn\u2019t Suck in 10 Minutes or Less"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Is it perfect? No, but will it get the job done? Absolutely! There\u2019s a magical world between the pre-fabricated salt and pepper enclosures stacked up at your local car stereo store and the hyper accurate modeled enclosure that\u2019s fiberglassed, molded and wrapped in leather with LED back lit plexiglass. Making subwoofer specific enclosures is an area where a lot of shops excel. Many shops will incorporate the vehicle into the design as well, but we\u2019re going to make it very easy today. Today we\u2019re going to look at how to design an enclosure for your DD woofer in less than 10 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first thing we need to do is decide how much bass you want. Ideally this will be a reasonable size for your vehicle\u2026 don\u2019t go trying to shove four 15\u201d subs into your Civic Coupe and expect it to go over well with this method. However, let\u2019s say that we do have a Civic Coupe and we\u2019re going to put 2 10\u2019s in it so we have enough space to still fit groceries. We\u2019ve chosen 2\u00a01500 Series Power Tuned 10 Inch Subwoofers<\/a>\u00a0for my build and we\u2019re going to power them with an\u00a0M1d M Series Monoblock Amplifiers<\/a>. It\u2019s a great package that should jam in this Civic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once we know what the system looks like and we know it\u2019s reasonable for the space we have (if you\u2019re not sure what\u2019s reasonable, check out\u00a0This Sweet Article<\/a>\u00a0on how to find out how much bass will fit in your space), we need to get an idea of how big this enclosure needs to be. Behold, the DD Box System in all its glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BOX SIZES FOR HIGH EFFICIENCY SUBWOOFER SYSTEMS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

^ft = cubic feet | sq\u201d = square inch<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All volumes listed are after vent, and subwoofer displacement; a.k.a. NET volume<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This chart is for tuning boxes in the 35-40Hz range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Volume<\/strong><\/td>Number & Size of Drivers<\/strong><\/td>Port Area & Length<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
0.35^ft<\/td>(1) 6.5\u2033<\/td>5.25 sq\u201d vent x 24.5\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
0.50^ft<\/td>(1-2) 6.5\u2033<\/td>7.0 sq\u201d vent x 24\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
0.75^ft<\/td>(2) 6.5\u2033 or (1) 8\u2033<\/td>11.25 sq\u201d vent x 23.5\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
1.00^ft<\/td>(2-3) 6.5\u2033 or (1) 8\u2033<\/td>15.0 sq\u201d vent x 23\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
1.25^ft<\/td>(3-4) 6.5\u2033 or (1) 8\u2033 or (1) 10\u2033<\/td>20.0 sq\u201d vent x 29\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
1.50^ft<\/td>(3-4) 6.5\u2033 or (2) 8\u2033 or (1) 10\u2033<\/td>24.0 sq\u201d vent x 28.5\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
1.75^ft<\/td>(4) 6.5\u2033 or (2) 8\u2033 or (1) 12\u2033<\/td>28.0 sq\u201d vent x 28\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
2.00^ft<\/td>(4) 6.5\u2033 or (2) 8\u2033 or (1) 12\u2033<\/td>32.0 sq\u201d vent x 27.5\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
2.25^ft<\/td>(2-3) 8\u2033 or (1) 12\u2033<\/td>36.0 sq\u201d vent x 27\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
2.50^ft<\/td>(3) 8\u2033 or (2) 10\u2033 or (1) 12\u2033<\/td>40.0 sq\u201d vent x 26.5\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
2.75^ft<\/td>(3) 8\u2033 or (2) 10\u2033 or (1) 12\u2033<\/td>44.0 sq\u201d vent x 26.5\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
3.00^ft<\/td>(3-4) 8\u2033 or (2) 10\u2033 or (1) 15\u2033<\/td>48.0 sq\u201d vent x 26\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
3.25^ft<\/td>(3-4) 8\u2033 or (1) 15\u2033<\/td>52.0 sq\u201d vent x 25.5\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
3.50^ft<\/td>(3-4) 8\u2033 or (2) 12\u2033 or (1) 15\u2033<\/td>56.0 sq\u201d vent x 25.5\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
3.75^ft<\/td>(3-4) 8\u2033 or (3) 10\u2033 or (2) 12\u2033 or (1) 15\u2033<\/td>60.0 sq\u201d vent x 25\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
4.00^ft<\/td>(4) 8\u2033 or (3) 10\u2033 or (2) 12\u2033 or (1) 15\u2033<\/td>64.0 sq\u201d vent x 24.5\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
4.25^ft<\/td>(4) 8\u2033 or (3) 10\u2033 or (2) 12\u2033 or (1) 15\u2033<\/td>68.0 sq\u201d vent x 24.5\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
4.50^ft<\/td>(4) 8\u2033 or (3) 10\u2033 or (2) 12\u2033 or (1) 15\u2033<\/td>72.0 sq\u201d vent x 24\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
4.75^ft<\/td>(4) 8\u2033 or (2) 12\u2033 or (1) 15\u2033<\/td>76.0 sq\u201d vent x 23.5\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
5.00^ft<\/td>(4) 8\u2033 or 10\u2033 or (2) 12\u2033 or (1) 15\u2033 or 18\u2033<\/td>80.0 sq\u201d vent x 23.5\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
5.25^ft<\/td>(4) 10\u2033 or (2-3) 12\u2033 or (1) 18\u2033<\/td>84.0 sq\u201d vent x 23\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
5.50^ft<\/td>(4) 10\u2033 or (2-3) 12\u2033 or (1) 18\u2033<\/td>88.0 sq\u201d vent x 23\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
5.75^ft<\/td>(4) 10\u2033 or (3) 12\u2033 or (1) 18\u2033<\/td>92.0 sq\u201d vent x 22.5\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
6.00^ft<\/td>(4) 10\u2033 or (3) 12\u2033 or (2) 15\u2033 or (1) 18\u2033<\/td>96.0 sq\u201d vent x 22\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr>
\u2026\u2026<\/td>\u2026\u2026<\/td>\u2026\u2026<\/td><\/tr>
8.00^ft<\/td>(3-4) 12\u2033 or (2) 15\u2033 or (1) 21\u2033<\/td>128.0 sq\u201d vent x 20\u2033 long<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

This chart will tell us exactly how much airspace we need for our system. Under (2) 10\u201d we have the options for 2.5-3 cubic feet of net volume needed for this enclosure. We\u2019re going to select the middle value of 2.75 cubic feet. Now, this is net volume so we need to calculate the gross volume to see exactly how big this enclosure will actually be. There are 2 main things, apart from bracing which is optional in this enclosure, that will occupy airspace in the enclosure \u2013 the woofers and the port. The airspace occupation of the woofers is easy enough to calculate because we\u2019ve already done all the work for you. On the DD Audio Website you can find all Woofer Displacement values on each woofer\u2019s respective page. Here\u2019s the page for the 1500 Series woofers we\u2019ll be using \u2013\u00a0Woofer Specs<\/a>. Each woofer occupies 0.06 cubic feet or 0.12 cubic feet for the pair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s all been pretty easy so far, right? It\u2019s just a little careful navigation of the DD Audio website. Well here\u2019s where that super difficult middle school math is going to come into play. In our magical Civic we\u2019ve determined that we can build the enclosure 15\u201d high and still be able to pull the enclosure in and out of the vehicle if need be. Since we\u2019re going to be using \u00be\u201d MDF for our enclosure construction we can subtract the top and bottom sheets of the enclosure from our total height to find the internal height of the enclosure. We\u2019ll need this number for the final calculation but it\u2019s also going to help us with our port. Referencing the 2.75 cubic foot enclosure on the DD Box System chart, we\u2019re going to need 44 square inches of port for this box. So we simply need to divide our port size by the 13.5\u201d internal height of the enclosure, which is 3.25\u201d. To figure out how much space our port occupies, we\u2019ll add a \u00be\u201d piece of MDF to our port width to accommodate the dividing wall and multiply this number by the height of the port and the length of the port from the chart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(3.25 x 0.75) x 13.5 x 26.5\u201d = 1431 cubic inches or 0.83 cubic feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that we know our net volume goal, our woofer displacement and the space occupied by the port we can simply add the 3 values together to find out how big our enclosure actually needs to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.75 + 0.12 + 0.83 = 3.7 cubic feet gross<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the number we\u2019ll need to calculate our outer enclosure dimensions. This is where everything comes together. We know that our enclosure is going to be 15\u201d tall, and after measuring between the wheel wells in our Civic we\u2019ve determined that we can build an enclosure that is 36\u201d wide. This internal dimensions of these measurements are 13.5 and 34.5, respectively. So all we have to do is convert out 3.7 cubic feet to cubic inches (multiply by 1728) and divide it by our two known dimensions. The resulting number will be our previously unknown depth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.7 x 1728 = 6393.6 cubic inches<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6393.6 \/ 13.5 \/ 34.5 = 13.72 inches<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can round up to 13.75\u201d to keep our measurements easy. Just remember, this is the internal measurement, we\u2019ll need to add 1.5\u201d to this number to get the external dimension. So, the final external dimensions for this enclosure will be,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

15\u201d Tall x 36\u201d Wide x 15.25\u201d Deep<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From here, you\u2019re only 7-8 pieces of wood away from having a completed enclosure, depending on where you choose to stick the port. However, all the hard work of figuring out the math is taken care of. A basic enclosure, when you have the right tools at your disposal, can be a simple endeavor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is it perfect? No, but will it get the job done? Absolutely! There\u2019s a magical world between the pre-fabricated salt and pepper enclosures stacked up at your local car stereo store and the hyper accurate modeled enclosure that\u2019s fiberglassed, molded and wrapped in leather with LED back lit plexiglass. Making […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tech-talk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hifihq.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hifihq.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hifihq.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hifihq.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hifihq.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2969"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/hifihq.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2977,"href":"https:\/\/hifihq.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2969\/revisions\/2977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hifihq.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hifihq.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hifihq.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}