HiVi SP10 DIY Subwoofer Project
Adam McCall  
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HiVi SP10 DIY Subwoofer Project
This subwoofer was created to match and aid the 1.618 Hi-Vi 3-way tower loudspeakers. The main focus of the HiVi SP10 subwoofer was to reproduce ultra low frequencies that the 1.618 could not reproduce and aid in overall low end musical reproduction. Low, flat and not "boomy" was priority one. This DIY subwoofer project uses the HiVi SP10 10-inch subwoofer driver which can deliver plenty of bottom end.
General Info:
- 10" HiVi SP10 4 ohm subwoofer
- O-Audio 500 Watt plate amplifier
- Freq Response: 25Hz up to chosen x-over point.
- Overall Dimension: 21"x 12.75"x 20"
The enclosure design and model frequency response are shown below.
Figure 1: HiVi SP10 DIY Subwoofer Enclosure Drawing
Figure 2: Modelled Response HiVi SP10 Subwoofer Enclosure
DIY Subwoofer Enclosure Construction
The subwoofer enclosure construction is shown in the photographs below. I cannot begin to express how important it is to stuff the enclosure to the HILT with poly fill.
Photograph 1: Subwoofer Box Assembly
Photograph 2: MDF Subwoofer Box ready for Painting
The finished subwoofer cabinet is then primed and painted using several coats of an oil based epoxy paint.
Photograph 3: Primer and Epoxy Painting Subwoofer Cabinet
The remainder of the subwoofer cabinet is finished with red oak trim.
Photograph 4: Finished DIY HiVi SP10 Subwoofer
Photograph 5: Rear View - HiVi SP10 Subwoofer with O-Audio Plate Amp
Measurements and Listening Notes - HiVi SP10 DIY Subwoofer
The measured in-room response of the HiVi SP10 DIY Subwoofer is shown in the plot below.
HiVi SP10 DIY SubwooferFigure 3: HiVi SP10 Subwoofer Measured Room Response
INSANITY! This is a VERY powerful sub, and being involved for years with car audio, I mean that. The gain is about 1/4 of the way and I love it! Smooth, tight, accurate and excellent at reproducing lows. I only wish I didn't live in an apartment I could unleash this thing! It tries to move across my floor when turned up half way, and it has spikes on the base. Once I got it tuned they way I like it, it definitely adds to the 1.618 HiVi 3-way tower loudspeakers well.
Parts List and Costs - HiVi SP10 DIY Subwoofer
A list of the parts used for this project and corresponding cost is provided in the table below. With the excpetion of the O-Audio plate amplifier, All of the speaker parts for this project are available from Parts Express (USA). All prices are in US dollars and were last updated in Spetember 2011.
| Parts Express # | Description | Qty | Price (each) | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
260-317
240-730 268-320 268-328 100-072 100-074 297-460 081-425 O-Audio |
Acousta-Stuff Polyfill 1lb 1/2" Super Toe Spike Set Dayton 3" Outside Flare Dayton 3" x 15.75" Port Tube 16awg Black Wire 100ft 16awg Red Primary Wire 100ft HiVi SP10" Subwoofer #8x 1" Screws - 100pc O-Audio 500W Plate Amp |
3
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 |
$10.80
$7.90 $8.69 $12.78 $14.70 $14.70 $249.50 $3.25 $219.00 |
$32.40
$7.90 $8.69 $12.78 $14.70 $14.70 $249.50 $3.25 $219.00 |
Speaker Parts Total: $569.92
Cabinets Materials (MDF, Red Oak, Screws, Caulking, Glue, Lexan, Screws, Stain, Paint, Wood filler): ~$100US
Total Project Cost: ~$670US
Note that the cost estimate is a little on the high side as some of the material (ie - 100 feet of wire, screws, glue, paint ...) was previously left over from the HiVi Tower build.
Photograph 6: DIY HiVi Home Theatre Speakers
The above photo shows the HiVi SP10 Subwoofer with the 1.618 HiVi 3-way Tower Loudspeakers and the 1.618 HiVi Center Channel Speaker.