BillFitzmaurice.info

You're insane, but in a good way.

What year/model is your Forester? I'm currently selling a 04' XT. I love it, but I don't love the gas mileage.

shawn_g wrote:You're insane, but in a good way.

What year/model is your Forester? I'm currently selling a 04' XT. I love it, but I don't love the gas mileage.

2006 Forester X Automatic base model, all stock for now (mods coming!). Great car, OK mileage, super fast off the line for an SUV (faster off the line than an XT due to higher compression ratio and turbo lag on the XT's part). I would love an 04' XT manual, except for the headgasket problems, and the mileage, and the 91 octane the turbo requires. And I don't have the cash for that at the moment.

You PL'd the driver huh. Oh well, never mind, and hope for the best.

Well, I got back yesterday a bit early, so I attached the final side last night.

First, I sanded and sanded and sanded. Next I lined up the holes to screw in the final side. I've heard of using a plastic sheet and Sharpie to line up the screwholes to screw in the final side, but I tried something different because I didn't have a big plastic sheet on me. I first covered the drivers with grocery bags to protect them from paint and such, then, I poured a bead of red tempera paint over the inner horn path.



Then, very carefully, we lowered the final side on top of the horn, being very careful as to not smear the paint across the panel. We lifted the panel off again very carefully, and got a perfect print of the inside of the horn. This was exceptionally satisfying. I then drilled pilot holes straight in the center of the pulled bead of paint all around, about 2-3 inches apart.



Then, I wiped it all off everything and blasted it with a heat gun for a little bit. As I used tempera paint, it dried very very quickly. We then practiced putting on the final side and prepped everything, then laid a MONSTER bead of PL across all the edges, being extra liberal in the corners. Better safe then sorry.



We then attached the final side! We countersunk, then drove around a hundred drywall screws into it, getting great squeeze-out from all the edges.





I then heaved it inside, spritzed the accessible joints with water, and piled a bunch of stuff on top of the monster, just for good measure. You want a massive paperweight, how about an old computer?



I will put in the mouth braces when I get around to painting the horn mouth and everything else.

Also, the 24 hour wait period is terrible, but I get to fire her up later today.

I fired her up for the first time (parents home, low volume). The TT was in about the middle of my living room, mouth in the center, not facing any corners, pretty much the worst placement for a sub. I plugged her into the Bash, crossed it over at about 100hz and played "Bass Head" by Bassnectar, my standard bass song for testing any decent system as it has a great drop down low as well as a dynamic bassline.

"Wow" doesn't even begin to describe it. This thing RIPS. It has a subtle, smooth tone but clearly means business, and a sort of airy feel to it while still being authoritative.

And the sensitivity. Let's put it into perspective. At .5 volts, you could hear it in the other room. At 2 volts, the stuff on glass shelves in the entertainment center showcase starts to buzz, and the Bash on top of the TT starts rattling. Even at full power this NEVER happened with my ported 8". At 3 volts on the TT, my dad was getting a slight headache, but this may be totally irrelevant to the noise, I suffered no effects. Again, this was with the gain on the Bash not up even one notch!! Just for grins I stuck my head inside the horn mouth, and my hair started standing on end a bit. Neat.

I played some of the deepest obscure dubstep in my arsenal, but nothing could compromise the frequency response of the TT. I heard frequencies I'd never heard before in a loudspeaker, even at EDM concerts and raves and the like. And the cleanliness of this thing is amazing. It was like waking up after a long, blurred dream of port chuffing and high volume distortion. The smooth tone from this TT is just pure bass bliss.

I now see why the braces are mandatory. I never really second guessed it, but for all you second guessers read and heed. The mouth braces in my TT are not in yet, they will be installed after I paint. At 3 volts, the un-braced mouth panel (Panel 13) was vibrating significantly. Had the whole inside not been properly braced, the sub surely would be vibrating across the floor, even at 3 volts. At 20 volts, I predict the structural integrity of the sub would be severely compromised- as in panels vibrating so much the response is changed, not to mention the whole sub rattling across the floor, sounding horrible. The bracing is not an option, it is mandatory, and this clearly shows why.


War volume listening tests to come once I'm home alone and the neighbors are away.

This project is not officially finished yet, so don't jump ship on this thread just yet! I still must prep the whole sub (sand and stuff), paint the horn mouth red, Duratex the outside, install the mouth braces, and plop it in the corner of my room. Only then will it be finished.

bassmonster wrote: At 3 volts on the TT, my dad was getting a slight headache, but this may be totally irrelevant to the noise, I suffered no effects.

This was a head ache of dawning knowledge and despair.

Something like:

OHHH.... What have I let be born?!?!?!

In other news: Congrats dude!

bassmonster wrote:I poured a bead of red tempera paint over the inner horn path.



Then, very carefully, we lowered the final side on top of the horn, being very careful as to not smear the paint across the panel. We lifted the panel off again very carefully, and got a perfect print of the inside of the horn. This was exceptionally satisfying. I then drilled pilot holes straight in the center of the pulled bead of paint all around, about 2-3 inches apart.



Then, I wiped it all off everything and blasted it with a heat gun for a little bit. As I used tempera paint, it dried very very quickly. We then practiced putting on the final side and prepped everything, then laid a MONSTER bead of PL across all the edges, being extra liberal in the corners. Better safe then sorry.

Out of curiosity ... Is this paint step part of the plans? ( I don't have them but I do have the original AX article ).
The copious use of PL made me chuckle

Sydney wrote: Out of curiosity ... Is this paint step part of the plans?

No, the plans make no mention of making any sort of template like this. The paint template was my dad's idea. I expect that using a plastic sheet and Sharpie to make a template would be a little more accurate, but this worked very well. You can tell when you're hitting the panel by the red paint in the wood shavings that get pulled out by the drill bit.

The copious use of PL made me chuckle

I like it. No leaks.

Good work Bassmonster, have fun!

BassMe wrote:

bassmonster wrote: At 3 volts on the TT, my dad was getting a slight headache, but this may be totally irrelevant to the noise, I suffered no effects.

This was a head ache of dawning knowledge and despair.

Thanks!

JonoSkip wrote:Good work Bassmonster, have fun!

Thanks!

Your parents have paid up on their home insurance, right? Earthquake cover?

Video?

88h88 wrote:Your parents have paid up on their home insurance, right? Earthquake cover?

Video?

As Memphis lies within the New Madrid seismic zone, I sure hope so!

Videos will come after it's all finished, painted, and corner loaded in my room.

So now you must be wondering what a T60 or THT will do. When I heard a TT it was cleaner sounding than either of those two but lack the brute force of either of them.

Anyway nice build and thread. Wait until you let her rip. Also you may want to start keeping an eye out around the house for items that may break if they fall off shelves, make a list and pit them in a safe area before nuclear blast levels.

subharmonic wrote:So now you must be wondering what a T60 or THT will do. When I heard a TT it was cleaner sounding than either of those two but lack the brute force of either of them.

Oh why did you have to remind me? It's been in the back of my head all day, but as long as I'm under my parents' roof I will not be able to build a THT. Maybe some slim T60s, but never a THT until I'm on my own, it's just too big. The TT is much bigger than I or my dad bargained for size, but I like it. Plus, I haven't yet gotten to flex the TT's muscles yet, which brings me to this point...

subharmonic wrote:Wait until you let her rip. Also you may want to start keeping an eye out around the house for items that may break if they fall off shelves, make a list and pit them in a safe area before nuclear blast levels.

This is what I'm thinking. My dad told me today after hearing it for the first time at 3v, "You understand this thing will never be used to its full potential while in this household." To which I replied, "What about in the car?? I want to build another for my room after this one goes in the car." Mistake. He replied, "I think this is too much for the car, maybe you should consider something smaller." We'll see. You guys were totally right about the 10v, BTW. At 2.3v my mom was saying it was too loud cause she could hear it from another room.

Surely the plates in the kitchen 80ft from my room are safe?

bassmonster wrote:
"Wow" doesn't even begin to describe it. This thing RIPS. It has a subtle, smooth tone but clearly means business, and a sort of airy feel to it while still being authoritative.

Nice description!

bassmonster wrote: I played some of the deepest obscure dubstep in my arsenal, but nothing could compromise the frequency response of the TT. I heard frequencies I'd never heard before in a loudspeaker, even at EDM concerts and raves and the like.

This is a very strong statement! And I totally agree with it since there is a TT in my house.