The Boom Bench, aka THT LP
Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 7:18 pm
I just completed my first BFM build during the Christmas holiday. My dad was in town with us, so we got to enjoy a father-son project for a few days. WAF had to be very high for this, so I planned a built in installation under the fireplace hearth and sheet-rocking over it.
It is a 21” wide version, using 2 sheets of Arauco and some leftover ¾” ACX I had on hand. I made panel #1 ¾” thick, so the overall height is 18 ¼”. The driver cover is also ¾” so the total length is 72 ¼”. By making those two pieces with my leftover ¾”, I was able to get everything else cut on 2 sheets of ½” Arauco. Cutlist was great for laying out all the panels. I ordered the Dayton DVC while it was on sale in early Dec (yeah!) and the Dayton 250watt plate amp.
We started the day after Christmas and cut all of the panels in about 4 hours.
I don’t think I’ve ever made that much sawdust in one day. My cheapo table saw did fine, though it took a bit more time measuring and setting up the junky fence than if I had a nicer saw. That night I broke the sub in overnight with a 25hz signal at about 9V.
The 2nd day we installed panels 1 through 8.
My brad nailer came in super handy to hold everything in place. Used about 1 ¾ tubes for PL for the entire build. By the way, PL doesn’t come off your hands for about 3 days.
Day 3 we finished installing everything except the driver cover and did the stethoscope/hose test.
Found a few areas that needed some silicone around the driver seal. Installed the driver cover and brought it inside for its first trial run.
The original plan was to install it under the fireplace hearth. It was already sheet-rocked and would fit fairly nicely underneath. After positioning the sub right in front of that location however, I found that my couch fell into one of the worst nulls in the whole room. I tried it standing up in the front left and right corners, and one corner was okay, the other, not so much. My wife suggested moving a rarely used table in the rear corner of the room and trying it there. Victory!! 25hz give a nice back massage on the couch! So we decided to make it into a bench, and bought some 4” foam for a cushion. We covered the cushion with some leftover fabric we had that matches the pillows on our couch (more WAF points!). Textured and painted both sides, and installed matching baseboard molding on the bottom. My five year old gave it the moniker: The Boom Bench.
I have two boys, so a grill is required to prevent the THT mouth from being used for a Transformer fort. The grill cloth was a light beige shirt that I didn’t wear often that matched the paint color beautifully (even more WAF points!). Corner molding covers the staples on the sides and top.
Listening:
Wow. Just one word, that’s all that’s needed. The THT quickly pointed out which windows need some additional caulking to minimize the rattles! I’m very afraid to crank this thing after feeling the glass flexing. I haven’t even checked to see what voltages I’m listening at, but I bet they’re only about 10% of its capability. Music sounds fantastic and can quickly give my wife a headache if I’ve got it too loud (boo). Movies are my primary use, and it totally improves the experience. Explosions shake the house (and windows) and really immerse you into the movie. I’m loving it
It is a 21” wide version, using 2 sheets of Arauco and some leftover ¾” ACX I had on hand. I made panel #1 ¾” thick, so the overall height is 18 ¼”. The driver cover is also ¾” so the total length is 72 ¼”. By making those two pieces with my leftover ¾”, I was able to get everything else cut on 2 sheets of ½” Arauco. Cutlist was great for laying out all the panels. I ordered the Dayton DVC while it was on sale in early Dec (yeah!) and the Dayton 250watt plate amp.
We started the day after Christmas and cut all of the panels in about 4 hours.
I don’t think I’ve ever made that much sawdust in one day. My cheapo table saw did fine, though it took a bit more time measuring and setting up the junky fence than if I had a nicer saw. That night I broke the sub in overnight with a 25hz signal at about 9V.
The 2nd day we installed panels 1 through 8.
My brad nailer came in super handy to hold everything in place. Used about 1 ¾ tubes for PL for the entire build. By the way, PL doesn’t come off your hands for about 3 days.
Day 3 we finished installing everything except the driver cover and did the stethoscope/hose test.
Found a few areas that needed some silicone around the driver seal. Installed the driver cover and brought it inside for its first trial run.
The original plan was to install it under the fireplace hearth. It was already sheet-rocked and would fit fairly nicely underneath. After positioning the sub right in front of that location however, I found that my couch fell into one of the worst nulls in the whole room. I tried it standing up in the front left and right corners, and one corner was okay, the other, not so much. My wife suggested moving a rarely used table in the rear corner of the room and trying it there. Victory!! 25hz give a nice back massage on the couch! So we decided to make it into a bench, and bought some 4” foam for a cushion. We covered the cushion with some leftover fabric we had that matches the pillows on our couch (more WAF points!). Textured and painted both sides, and installed matching baseboard molding on the bottom. My five year old gave it the moniker: The Boom Bench.
I have two boys, so a grill is required to prevent the THT mouth from being used for a Transformer fort. The grill cloth was a light beige shirt that I didn’t wear often that matched the paint color beautifully (even more WAF points!). Corner molding covers the staples on the sides and top.
Listening:
Wow. Just one word, that’s all that’s needed. The THT quickly pointed out which windows need some additional caulking to minimize the rattles! I’m very afraid to crank this thing after feeling the glass flexing. I haven’t even checked to see what voltages I’m listening at, but I bet they’re only about 10% of its capability. Music sounds fantastic and can quickly give my wife a headache if I’ve got it too loud (boo). Movies are my primary use, and it totally improves the experience. Explosions shake the house (and windows) and really immerse you into the movie. I’m loving it
