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DIY HiVi SP10 Subwoofer Project

Adam McCall   USA Flag     To email Adam, type out the email address.   Bookmark or share this page with others.


HIVI SP10 SUBWOOFER

This subwoofer was created to match and aid the 1.618 Hi-Vi 3-way tower speakers. Its main focus was to reproduce ultra low frequencies that the 1.618 could not reproduce and aid in overall low end reproducing. Low, flat and not "boomy" was priority one.

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.

HiVi SP10 DIY Subwoofer Enclosure Drawing
Figure 1: HiVi SP10 DIY Subwoofer Enclosure Drawing

HiVi SP10 Subwoofer Model Response
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 HILL with poly fill.

Subwoofer Box Assembly
Photograph 1: Subwoofer Box Assembly

MDF Subwoofer Box ready for Painting
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.

Primer and Epoxy Painting Subwoofer Cabinet
Photograph 3: Primer and Epoxy Painting Subwoofer Cabinet

The remainder of the subwoofer cabinet is finished with red oak trim.

DIY HiVi SP10 Subwoofer
Photograph 4: Finished DIY HiVi SP10 Subwoofer

O-Audio Subwoofer Plate Amplifier
Photograph 5: Rear View - HiVi SP10 Subwoofer with O-Audio Plate Amp


MEASUREMENTS AND LISTENING IMPRESSIONS

The measured room response is shown below.

HiVi SP10 Subwoofer Measured In Room Response
Figure 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 LISTS AND COSTS

A list of the parts used for this project and corresponding cost is provided in the table below. All of the parts for this project are available from Parts Express.

PARTSEXPRESS PART# DESCRIPTION QTY PRICE TOTAL
260-317
240-730
268-320
268-328
100-088
100-074
297-460
081-425
O-Audio
1lb Acousta Stuff
1/2" Super Toe Spike Set
Dayton 3" Outside Flare
Dayton 3" x 15.75" Port Tube
16Awg Gray Wire 100ft
16Awg Red Wire 100ft
HiVi SP10" Subwoofer
#8x 1" - 100pc
500W Plate Amp
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
$9.75
$7.90
$6.94
$10.19
$14.70
$14.70
$168.48
$2.35
$229.00
$29.25
$7.90
$6.94
$10.19
$14.70
$14.70
$168.48
$2.35
$229.00

Parts Total: $483.11US
Cabinets (MDF, Red Oak, Screws, Caulking, Glue, Lexan, Screws, Stain, Paint, Wood filler...): ~$100US
Total Project Cost: ~$580US

Cost estimate is a little on the high side as some of the material (wire, screws, glue, paint ...) may be left over from the Tower build.

DIY HiVi Home Theatre Speakers
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.