- Enclosure Design -
When it comes to subwoofers, by far the most important
aspect of the enclosure design is the net woofer volume,
which will be determined by the desired bass alignment and
extension. In our design, we will use a small .65 cu. ft. sealed
enclosure to minimize the physical size and at the same time allow us to take full advantage of the subwoofer amplifier's
power. The overall dimensions or proportions of the
enclosure are insignifi cant at low frequencies, so the shape
of the box is not important. Due to my personal preference
for geometric objects, I chose to make this subwoofer a cube.
While on the outside, it appears as a pretty standard 15"
cube, it does have a few things going on in the inside that
are different from what is normally seen. It uses 1" thick
material throughout, which was chosen to maximize the
rigidity and weight of the cabinet. (Keeping the weight of the
cabinet high will help to minimize the vibrations of the entire
enclosure, which robs acoustic energy.) I chose to use MDF
to subdivide the enclosure into two parts, one for woofer
airspace and one for the amp. I knew that the pressures
inside the cabinet would be extreme at high excursions, so
much so that even the best plate amp would have difficulty
not allowing air to leak around the controls and inputs. Also,
the front baffle is 2" thick, which allows the woofer to be
recessed 1" into the front of the cabinet. This was done for
aesthetic purposes, and is not necessary to the performance
of the system.
|