Upgrade (modify) Sony subwoofer?

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aidanor

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Joined 2012
#1
Hi, I was wondering would you upgrade a Sony subwoofer sa-wmsp4 by replacing the 8" woofer with a 10-12" car woofer? I'm running it with a Sony str-dg820 and tannoy dc floorstanders up front and tannoy mx1 at the rear and a tannoy mc centre.. Total new to this🙂

Thanks

Aidan
 
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#2
You'd be likely to significantly 'downgrade' your subwoofer. Speakers and enclosures have to be matched based on their specifications; you can't just toss any speaker into any box and get good results.

It's great that you are interested in DIY, and subwoofers are a great place to start. Stick around and do some reading. Others might be able to recommend online beginners guides, but there are some great books that would be a better use of your funds than than random car subwoofers!

Paul
Wild Burro Audio Labs - DIY Full Range Speakers
 
#3
Thanks for the reply, yeah I'm new to this🙂 I'm actually making floors standing cabinets at the moment for a set of 6.5" tannoy dual concentric speakers at the moment so yeah liking the DIY🙂 I'm a cabinet maker by trade,

Maybe I should just copy the enclosed I have but wit just better build quality??
 
#4
The best thing you could to to improve that would be to open it up and add stuffing as necessary. Also floor spikes will help. A cone treatment could help too. I haven't looked up that one specificly but my Sony sa wm40 (or something like that) wad in desparate need of stuffing. You may be able to see large improvements for very cheap. But using a different driver without modeling and doing your homework could have very poor results as said before

Or you could just do what I'm doing now and steal its plate amp and build a huge tappen horn hehe
 
#5
I'll second the stuffing with polyfill (polyester pillow stuffing from craft store is fine - filled but not packed in) - cleaned up my cheapie Polk ported by a noticeable amount. While the theoretical basis is up for debate in a ported sub, it does seem to work on these cost constrained production subs - my guess is it damps the upper harmonics coming off the back of the cone which muddies up the sound and leads to the boomy stuff. Also, I just got a measurement mic and I had the sub way too hot by ear - using the mic to measure and get it flat, the sound is much better balanced with mains and surrounds and is quite enjoyable now....
 
#6
aidanor,

I've found that the only thing to do with that kind of woofer is to plug the port and add some polyfill. I wouldn't waist money building a new box for that driver. Get a real subwoofer (not one for a car) and using the T/S specs that come with it design a good subwoofer. The amp with the sony may work well, check the Re (DC resistance of voice coil [ohms]) of the sony driver and when you get a new driver make sure the ohms are the same or higher.

best,
revb.

kctess5,

Floor spikes will do nothing unless it is sitting on thick carpet and rocking is a problem. Spikes may actually do more harm than good with a thin wall enclosure as they allow a panel that was previously damped by the floor to resonate. I'm not sure what a cone treatment is but without knowing the exact T/S specs anything added to the cone is at best a stab in the dark.
 
#7
Cabinetmaker, gesh you're in for a nice surprise, there are many projects on here and very talented folks that will lead you in the right direction.

I'd start fresh if I were you; check out some of these great woofers:


DIY Speaker Components | Replacement Speakers | and Speaker kits from Meniscus Audio Group CCS-SDX10"


(I'd stay away from car subs for home also)





aidanor said:
Thanks for the reply, yeah I'm new to this🙂 I'm actually making floors standing cabinets at the moment for a set of 6.5" tannoy dual concentric speakers at the moment so yeah liking the DIY🙂 I'm a cabinet maker by trade,

Maybe I should just copy the enclosed I have but wit just better build quality??
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