Wood Choices for THT

[Bruce Weldy]

If you are going to spend the time and money on building a cabinet - spend the extra for Baltic Birch. No voids, dead flat and won't warp. By far the best stuff I've ever worked with.

[nightfx]

I hope someone else finds this thread useful; it's been quite the adventure!

Seth, if I could buy you a beer I most certainly would

One of the places I've been emailing came back with some options as well today (20m away). This is the best they have and can get:

In Stock:
½” AC Radiata Pine 4x8 @$42.32, it is 5 ply with one finished face. Didn't answer me if it's a thinner face or 5 equal plies.

Can order:
12MM BALTIC BIRCH 9 PLY GRADE 4B FOOTBALL PATCHES BOTH SIDES
4X8 @$48.00
5X5 @$30.00

This 5 plies Baltic Birch is basically a hidden treasure.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

The Radiata pine is probably the Arauco listed in the plans. That's the species and ply count they use.

[Bruce Weldy]

Can order:
12MM BALTIC BIRCH 9 PLY GRADE 4B FOOTBALL PATCHES BOTH SIDES
4X8 @$48.00
5X5 @$30.00

This 5 plies Baltic Birch is basically a hidden treasure.

Personally, I'd go with this. If you are planning to use duratex or something similar, the footballs can be covered with some filler and a good coat of primer.

Here in Texas, I get BB in 5x5 for $32 with one clean side - no footballs....and one side with only a few.

I don't understand how we can get it cheaper here than on either coast - it's farther to get it to Texas...

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

It probably has to do with where the distributors are. Coming from Finland and Russia it's going to be by ship. Maybe Houston is a primary port where it comes in.

[Seth]

This 5 plies Baltic Birch is basically a hidden treasure.

You're not likely to find BB in 5 ply, I don't think. 5 plies is the generic minimum required amount of plies for any species of ply you can find. And the more plies, the merrier. More plies is a good thing usually. If you came along place that had 5 ply or 9 ply, get the 9 ply.

BB is usually 9+ ply in my admittedly limited experience. I think the stuff I used for my SLA Pro build was 9 ply. The quarter inch BB I got for my Wedgehorn 6 and (outside the boundaries of the plans) ultralight DR200 build is 5 ply.

Guessing the $42.32 sheets of Radiata were from Seiwers... I got that same quote.

[Seth]

Can order:
12MM BALTIC BIRCH 9 PLY GRADE 4B FOOTBALL PATCHES BOTH SIDES
4X8 @$48.00
5X5 @$30.00

This 5 plies Baltic Birch is basically a hidden treasure.

Personally, I'd go with this...

+1

Me too. Decent wood , decent price point, and relatively close to you. Especially since it's going to be hidden behind a screen. As long as it doesn't take too long to get it in hand.

Honestly, I'm a guy who doesn't go out of the way to look good. But, even if your subs are hidden from view forever and no one ever sees them... there's some feeling of personal pride I get when a cab looks good. In that light, if you don't have them, I would recommend getting a router with a flush cut bit and a ¼" round-over bit, along with a gallon of Duratex paint. That combination of supplies is like tequila... makes an ugly girl pretty, right quick and easy.

[Bruce Weldy]

It probably has to do with where the distributors are. Coming from Finland and Russia it's going to be by ship. Maybe Houston is a primary port where it comes in.

Very possible.

[nightfx]

I would recommend getting a router with a flush-cut bit and a ¼" round-over bit, along with a gallon of Duratex paint

I do have a router with bits; I have built basic sub boxes before and sonotubes. I found that using Behr Deckover with Extra Texture works really well for a covering: It is very durable for things that aren't moved around a lot, you can get whatever color will have a cool factor, you can get it just about instantly, and it's way cheaper than Duratex.

Sounds like I'll just go ahead and have them order 8 sheets of the BB; the turn-around time was a week which is perfect!!

Again, thanks so much for chiming in; this thread was very helpful and I'm extremely excited to start these builds and share progress!!

[Seth]

I would recommend getting a router with a flush-cut bit and a ¼" round-over bit, along with a gallon of Duratex paint

I do have a router with bits; I have built basic sub boxes before and sonotubes. I found that using Behr Deckover with Extra Texture works really well for a covering: It is very durable for things that aren't moved around a lot, you can get whatever color will have a cool factor, you can get it just about instantly, and it's way cheaper than Duratex.

Sounds like I'll just go ahead and have them order 8 sheets of the BB; the turn-around time was a week which is perfect!!

Again, thanks so much for chiming in; this thread was very helpful and I'm extremely excited to start these builds and share progress!!

Sounds like you're all set. I look forward to hearing about your build/s and completed system results

What drivers do you plan to use in your THTLS pair?

[nightfx]

I'm going with the Dayton RSS390 HF-4 for the drivers (going to grab them as soon as they are back in stock); I can not wait to hear these things.

Considering getting a Behringer NX3000 to power them. Looks like those are going for about $350 and should power both fine.

[Seth]

I'm going with the Dayton RSS390 HF-4 for the drivers (going to grab them as soon as they are back in stock); I can not wait to hear these things.

Considering getting a Behringer NX3000 to power them. Looks like those are going for about $350 and should power both fine.

For your neighbors sake, I hope you live in a brick house neighborhood. LOL

I'm not too much of a home theater enthusiast, and I'm not sure how much you've read up on sub placement, but from what I've read here on this forum it seems more times than not people say they get the best performance with the subs in opposing corners. Apparently it helps minimize nulls creating more even sound throughout the room. Just thought I'd mention it since you're doing a dedicated room, to keep it in the back of your mind. It's kind of a rolling joke around here that the place we want the subs to be is the many times the worst placement for sound quality. But, I've also seen pics posted of systems with both subs on the same wall behind a screen and no serious sound complaints too.

Just something to think about and take into consideration as you're putting this project together, if you hadn't read it before. Unfortunately, the best sub placement is a product of trial and error.

Really, you would probably be fine powering them with a 100 watt amp. But, I get it... go big or go home. Right?

[nightfx]

For your neighbors sake, I hope you live in a brick house neighborhood. LOL

I'm moving into a new house so I'll be THAT new neighbor...

Unfortunately, the best sub placement is a product of trial and error.

This I know all too well. I use REW and do some room hunting beforehand. If it looks like I can put them close to where I would like them and tame the beasts with some EQ, I sprinkle a little in then let Audyssey do its thing. It's worked very well so far with dual PC-2000s. I even added quads with 2 PB-1000s in the back of the room at one point. With these I figure they can stand behind the screen or lay down on the sides of the room if needed; it's part of the fun I guess. The best part about all this is it's finally a dedicated room so they can go where they want with no complaints

Really, you would probably be fine powering them with a 100 watt amp. But, I get it... go big or go home. Right?

I looked for 200w amps and I don't really see anything priced well enough; I figured the NX3000d seems to be really solid at the price point ($399 with DSP) and probably won't get worked too hard with the efficiency.

Question about width:

The plans state the wider the build the more efficient on the low end. Does anyone know with the suggested width of 23.5" what the freq response looks like? I would love to get usable fq down in the 16hz range. And of course... the lower the better!! I'm going for reference level as well - 115db peaks at 9 - 13ft away.

[AntonZ]

I looked for 200w amps and I don't really see anything priced well enough; I figured the NX3000d seems to be really solid at the price point ($399 with DSP) and probably won't get worked too hard with the efficiency.

My view would be: build the cab (or cabs), then first use whatever simple amp you have readily available and you may find that the 200W thing is waaaaaay more than you would ever need with these subs. I have used a T18 in the house on one channel of an old 60W amp. It has never been anywhere near full power. I know some like it hot, you may have different preferences, but these things tend to go quite low and loud with little power. Depending on the construction of your house driving a THT or two to full power on the right (or wrong) frequencies may actually cause structural damage. No kidding.

[Seth]

Question about width:

The plans state the wider the build the more efficient on the low end. Does anyone know with the suggested width of 23.5" what the freq response looks like? I would love to get usable fq down in the 16hz range. And of course... the lower the better!! I'm going for reference level as well - 115db peaks at 9 - 13ft away.

Found this chart in the SPL Charts Page. An inch off of your inquiry and a different driver, but should be close enough to get an idea.

The Tuba HT, freestanding, wall and corner placement, 24.5 inches wide, loaded with a Tempest Classic 15.