r/diysound

I'm looking for some help in the early stages of planning a build.

I'm a sheet metal fabricator / designer. I have access to some fancy machinery for making custom enclosures and cool bent parts.

I'm looking for some specific tips regarding box shape/design, tuning and anything else that might affect my build that could be prone to reflections and vibrations. I figured I'd just pad the shit out of whatever I made.

Desired Specs:

• 200ish watts (this is mainly to jam with some electronic music gear I have at a friends backyard)
  Loud enough for a smallish house party basically.

• bluetooth and line in preferably switchable

• maybe a simple mixer capable of blending a handful of stereo sources. Lets call it 4.

• shooting for accurate / neutral sound with extension. Something akin to a pair of studio monitors. I know I will not get close, but this is where I'm aiming in terms of "taste."

• battery powered. 10+ hours would be very nice.

• space and weight are not huge concerns, though I suppose 3x2x1' would be a general shape to shoot for.

What I'm kind of unsure on:

• speaker set to go for. Just mid range and a sub? tweaters? Passive radiators? Help me narrow down a choice given my design constraints.

• in general, I'd love some recommendations on amp, crossover, anything really, given my project.

Hi, I started this little project to build a (barely) portable subwoofer to complement my Soundboks and wanted to go with a THAM 15" design. I plan on running it from a 100Ah 12V Lithium Battery with an Alpine S-A60M and FaitalPRO 15PR400. So, I know I'm far from getting something for audiophiles. The main goal is to get something with a good amount of bass that I can haul to the beach with 2 people or a hand wagon and don’t need a generator for.

The original plan uses 3/4" ply, which adds up to 80 lbs. Any suggestions on what material or composite would result in a more lightweight design without too much compromise in audio quality? Using 1/2" instead would make it easier to handle; however, I don't know how bad it is for the overall sound. I read that covering the large areas with felt inside reduces vibrations. I also have a bunch of epoxy and fiberglass leftover from a boat project that I could use to stiffen and waterproof at the same time (however, that also adds weight, so I don't know how much I gain with that route).

The other question is if people glue that type of speaker completely into one solid piece. Once assembled, I couldn't access it anymore (e.g., if I want to add felt). It also would make a good epoxy job harder, as I couldn't cover the last joints with glass or fillet them properly (I can just glass the side plate independently and then glue it on). Does it make sense to have some type of access hatch on the side? Would that impact sound? Or should I not bother at all and just screw the side on so it's easy to remove? The picture is the design with one side panel missing to illustrate the concern. Once closed, I couldn't access the horn path anymore unless I grew a couple of extra elbow joints.

Can anyone tell me what this is and what it does? It connects to the binding post on the rear of the sub.