Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo sub advice

I am just finishing up a pair of DIY AV12s from Stryke. Just plugged the first one in last night. It is one great driver. It was the closest thing I could find to the newer SVS drivers (Except I think the AV12 is a little better).

I've heard that a couple of times about these DIY kits...that people that have them seem to think they sound better then SVS, HSU, etc. How is this possible? Those companies have a lot more R&D $ to put into making a good product and it's their main business and from everything you read on here, they're good at what they do. Is it a psychological thing...people think theirs sounds better because they spent the time to build it themselves so they are more attached to it then if they just went out and bought it?

I probbably shouldnt do this, since these people might be competators and all... but the people at www.acoustic-visions.com help out a lot with the DIY.The plans I used came straight from Adire, they spent all the time, and money to do the calculations, and the testing. All I did was to tune the port (which is a pain in the butt)Making it yourself may squew the results, cause I know I feel a lot better about mine, than anything my friends have. Plus you can customize it to match the rooms decour (sp?) I added a red oak table top to mine, and it looks like a nice piece of furniture... just dont put anything on top that will move, cause it will end up on the floor. Also...Pricing ammended : Shiva MKIII $125 Parts express remote plate amp $148 3/4inch MDF $16 Other crap about $11 to make it a round $300, so yeah I was wrong before. Final note, I did this in my shop class with a lot of help, and it still took forever, and was hard to get exact... hope you have some good tools, and a lot of patience...

I have an Adire Rava in an otherwise all-Axiom surround system. It is very musical, very fast, and a good value. Jaco Pastorius never sounded so good. Technically, it does not go low enough for truly house-shaking LFE, but my wife doesn't like that sort of thing anyway. And--here is its real selling point--it met with my wife's interior decorating specifications, which the SVS and Hsu did not.

Zarak,

Subs are probably the easiest type of speakers to build, there are a LOT of good kits out there and a lot of good information available.

It's all about getting the best bang for your buck, you don't include your time because it's a labour of love. You can make it look like a plant stand or an end table, or just a big old box. You can veneer it, laminate it, paint it or what ever you need to do to have it blend into it's surroundings.

Going to the expense of buying a lot of tools is no longer required, there is a company in British Columbia making mitred corner mdf boxes than can be assembled by an apartment dweller. http://www.creativesound.ca/

Bottom line I think is it's all about the satisfaction of building it yourself.