Pics of tri-sub box under construction

[Hartman]

Here are some pics of my tri-box that will house 3 12 inch Kicker Comp VRs. Comments welcome.

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Now this is my first attempt at buiding a box. I know the basic principles but I'm no expert. I know that you're not supposed to have two parallel sides on a sub box, but this is my first one and I don't think it'll sound all that bad. I plan on covering this box in black vinyl.

 

[Hartman]

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[VairKing]

Looks good man. I have heard that MDF is slightly porus, so if you paint the inside of the box, it will be sealed better. I will be doing this when i build a ported enclosure for my sub...just thought id pass that along! keep up the good work dude!

 

[Robb]

Hartman,
Is it just the pic or is the middle chamber smaller than the outers?

Looks Good Tho!!

Robb

 

[Hartman]

Thanks for the comments guys. The middle chamber is slightly smaller because I want the middle sub to be less powerful, the left and right subs to pound the most. Don't ask me why I did it that way.

I plan on spraying some primer or something inside just to make some good seals. I will keep you guys updated with new pics.

 

[B94Sport]

Looks good so far... Nice to see another member putting a tri-12" sub system in their X!

 

[FrankRizzo]

U R A Stud.

Since you did not dado the baffles into the enclosure, I suggest that you add more screws to the panels.
The stiffer the better (that's what she said).

Big question:
Sealed (+10 points)
Ported (+5 points)
Bandpass (- 10 points)

 

[Hartman]

I was planning on adding some strips of wood in the butts of the joints inside to strengthen them, but I don't want to sacrifice airspace. I will add more screws.

This will be a sealed enclosure. No way in hell would I ever build or buy a bandpass box. That's wal-mart stuff if you ask me. I have a ported box right now and I want something different. I will also be adding quite a bit of poly fill.

Tomorrow I have to go to Radio Shack and get some terminal cups for each of the chambers (I hope they have them there). I will have more pics tomorrow.

 

[VairKing]

About the terminal cups, I know a lot of people use them, but they can be hard to seal in place. If you use liquid nails, you can do a pretty good job. Another problem is that you lose a little bit of power thru the connection, unless you do a really really really good job and solder and blah blah blah. What I usually do for boxes is just drill a hole in it, and run the speaker wire (one piece) from the sub to the amp, then liquid nail the hole up with the wire in it. That way its completly sealed, and you only have 2 connections, one at the speaker and one at the amp. Granted it doesnt look as nice, but hey, sacrafice a little appearance for sound...

 

[rydinhigh]

Originally posted by Hartman
I was planning on adding some strips of wood in the butts of the joints inside to strengthen them, but I don't want to sacrifice airspace. I will add more screws.

This will be a sealed enclosure. No way in hell would I ever build or buy a bandpass box. That's wal-mart stuff if you ask me. I have a ported box right now and I want something different. I will also be adding quite a bit of poly fill.

Tomorrow I have to go to Radio Shack and get some terminal cups for each of the chambers (I hope they have them there). I will have more pics tomorrow.

I agree 100% and I also did the same thing with my subs. also I plan on doing the whole box over the wheel well thing. how many sheets of plywood do you need.

 

[Hartman]

Found some terminal plates at Radio Shack and installed them. ($5 a piece, ouch)
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Cut the holes for the subs, still needs some fine sanding.
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Insides of the chambers all sealed up with primer.
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[bates]

hey great job hartman! i like the idea of making the middle one smaller, that would be kinda cool to have the outside two pound a little harder, plus its really unique. keep the pics comin i like em, makes me want a new box!

EDIT: are yuo gonna cover that in carpet or vinyl? what colour?

 

[Hartman]

I'm going to cover it in black vinyl. I'm kind of concerned about how good of a job I can do though. I'm not very good at covering things, I don't really know how to hide the seems, etc.

 

[bates]

ya i dont think vinyl is real forgiving, mainly cause i cant think of one that i really liked cause they usually have wrinkles and stuff. good luck and keep the pics comin!

 

[WoodysX]

Thats a TIGHT looking box. Cant wait till your all finished and done with the install so we can see what it looks like compleated. Im also doing a tri box encloser with 3 12's, since I cant fit 4 10's in that area (facing stright back I really wanted to do that. But I think it will turn out good anyways. Your looks like its going to pound also! Later, and post some picts.

Also how many pieces of MDF did you use? 1? Did you buy the sheet at Home Depot for $20?? I need to know how much wood to buy.

How many cu ft is your box?

 

[Adam Foote]

why didnt you wait to put the terminals in after the carpet? or are you not carpeting it? sorry i havnt read the whole thread

 

[Robb]

Now this is my first attempt at buiding a box.

Hartman, Congratulations! It looks great! Very PRO looking!

I personally would go with the vinyl if you can get some to match. If you find a closer match with carpet, I would go with it. Either way, if you take your time and use some good 3M adhesive (or preferably laudau top adhesive), you can create some excellent results with little or no experience.

If you happen to "use" your cargo area to carry a lot of things, I would go with the carpet. Much more durable.

Once again, Congrats!

Robb

BTW: Adam, sometimes it is easier to put the terminal cups in first, then cover around them. It makes for a much better seal. Hard to install the cups tightly around vinyl or carpet.

 

[Hartman]

Again thanks for the compliments. I put the terminal plates in there but they're not glued in yet, so I'm going to take them out when I cover the box. The plates are a snug fit so I'm really not worrying about leaking air around the seal. I'm going to run some Liquid Nails on the inside just to make sure everything is right. I should have some pics up on Tuesday with the top piece on, and I'm going to make a Kicker emblem to put on the top of the box as well.

Woodysx, if you go to Home Depot you will find a section of wood devoted to "Projects." There they have managable sheets of 3/4 MDF (I think the sheets are like 40x30 or something like that). It took 5 of those sheets for me.

So far this box has cost me about $45 in materials. Not bad.

 

[Hartman]

Ok I'm getting to the point where I need to cover this box. After thinking about it, black vinyl would not be an ideal choice because all of the imperfections of the box will be visible, and vinyl is a pain anyway. So I've desided on black speaker carpet. I figured I could find something like this at a fabric store, but that wasn't the case as I found out today. Does anybody know any online stores that sell this type of speaker carpet? If I have to, I will get gray and dye it black.

 

[Robb]

I know "Pep Boys" and other auto parts stores sell car carpet. You can get it in generic black, tan, gray, and blue. Prolly cheaper than you could find it in a fabric store or online (once delivered).

Robb