Bassic-10
Straightforward, easy to build subwoofer designs.
The Bassic-10 Overview:
If it's not already obvious from the name the Bassic-10 is designed for 10" woofers and measures 14" wide x 20" deep x 18.5" high which results in an internal net volume of just about 2cuft. It is tuned to approximately 20Hz using the 3" Flared Precision Port kit or optionally a slot port.
This design would be well suited for smaller rooms (bedrooms, offices) where space is at a premium. Though it can certainly be useful in larger rooms with the more powerful driver options and when used in multiples to increase overall system output assuming you are not looking for extreme wall cracking output, it is just a 10" sub after all.
Note: This page contains affiliate links which if used allows me to earn a small commission if those products are purchased at no additional cost to you. Any drivers or parts for this design were purchased outright, nothing was provided by the affiliated retailers. Any commissions earned just help offset the cost of the build and allows me to continue to design and publish more free DIY speakers like this one.
Cabinet Design and Cutlist:
The cutlist for this cabinent is as follows:
Sides (x2) - 20" x 18.5"
Baffle / Rear & Top / Bottom (x4) - 12.5" x 18.5"
Horizontal Window Brace (x1) - 12.5" x 18.5"
Vertical Window Brace Top (x1) - 12.5" x 10"
Vertical Window Brace Bottom (x1) - 12.5" x 6.25"
The cabinet is designed using a single 3/4" baffle for simplicity but a second baffle layer could be added for extra strength if desired. The second baffle should be 14" x 18.5" and would add 3/4" to the overall cabinet depth.
The cabinet bracing is more or less just an example of how it can be laid out. Bracing can certainly be adjusted if desired such as using stick style bracing to minimize material usage. Don't feel the need to stick to the plans 100% there.
Cutouts:
The center of the woofer cutout is 6" down from the top of the cabinet and the center of the port cutout is 4" up from the bottom.
Be sure to leave space in the center of the lower vertical brace for the internal flare of the port tube. A 5-1/4" diameter cutout is needed to fit the flare through the hole if using the recommended 3" precision port kit unless you wanted to assemble the port inside the cabinet in which case that cutout could be just larger then the port tube diameter. I made the cutout in that brace an octagon in the model but it would be perfectly fine as a square or circular cutout as well.
The rear panel has an open area above the horizontal bracing large enough to accept most plate amplifiers if you choose to install one.
Damping:
Enclosure damping is not a requirement for ported subwoofers but I still recommend a light amount of lining on the internal walls to help kill off reflected noises occuring above the subwoofer passband. Damping could be placed on the side walls, top/bottom and rear wall above the horizontal brace. The area behind the port should be kept open to allow unrestricted air flow. I recommend acoustic foam or poly batting / dacron.
Major Cabinet Dimensions:
3D Cabinet Preview:
Optional Slot Port:
The design could be changed to a slot port for reduced cost. A full width slot port, 0.75" high could be used.
Panel changes:
The panel size of the slot port would be 12.5" wide x 17" long.
The bottom 1.5" of the baffle should be removed also making it 12.5" x 17".
Similarly 1.5" should be removed from the lower brace which makes it's dimensions 12.5" x 4.75".
Finally the bottom panel of the cabinet needs to be extended forward 0.75" to make it flush with the front of the cabinet, filling in the removed section of the now shortened baffle. The dimensions of that bottom panel should now be 12.5" x 19.25".
Subwoofer Driver and Amplifier Selection:
There are a variety of 10" subwoofer drivers that can be used in this, many low-mid displacement 10" subwoofer drivers work quite well, that said the highest output/displacement 10" sub drivers available will overpower the ports and are not recommended. The following is a selection that I have modeled and should work well with this cabinet with minimal to no DSP work to equalize the response.
As this is a ported cabinet it is still recommended that for whichever driver you choose you should implement some form of highpass filter to prevent the driver from over-excursion and bottoming below the tuning frequency as the cabinet becomes unloaded. Most plate amplifiers will have one built in but if using an external amplifier you should also use a DSP and insert a highpass in the 17-20Hz range.
The Dayton DCS255 is an interesting option, while it may be lacking a bit in xmax compared to some of the other longer throw drivers it does have very high BL which gives it both more midbass sensitivity and efficiency at the bottom near tuning then all the rest of the drivers. So per-watt this driver will give you the most output down around 20Hz.
Recommended amplifier power in the Bassic-10 cabinet is 100-150 watts.
Dayton RSS265HF (4 Ohm) / (8 Ohm)
The 10" Dayton Reference HF drivers are probably the best modeling in the Bassic-10 enclosure. They should provide a very flat response with the lowest F3 of any of the drivers. The excellent mix of displacement and power handling and low distortion motor design make these one of the best driver options in this cabinet for overall deep bass output, sound quality and extension.
Recommended amplifier power is 200-300 Watts.
This gives a wide range of plate amp options if choosing to go that route, from Dayton the SPA250, SPA250DSP and SPA300-D, or the Yung SD300 would all be good options.
Additionally if using the 8 ohm version of the driver you can have one powered sub using a 500w subwoofer plate amp and a second passive sub wired in parallel to the powered cabinet. With this method the 500w plate amp powers both subs providing 250w each.
The SD270-88A is the weakest option for this subwoofer cabinet that I have included. This driver had been a better value in previsous years but is now beaten by both GRS options. While it has decent sensitivity which allows it to keep up with the other sub drivers in the upper bass it falls behind at lower frequencies due to more limited xmax and a weaker motor.
The only real reason I've decided to include it here is if someone wanted a matching subwoofer to my Nexus designs since the frame/cone is a match that used on those drivers.
Recommended amplifier power is 50-70 watts, if using a plate amp the Dayton SA70 would be ideal.
The GRS 10SW-4 is the lowest priced option for this cabinet, should provide some good rumble if you are looking for the lowest cost of entry.
Recommended amp power in this cabinet is ~100 watts. The Dayton SPA100-D would be a good plate amp combo if looking for that.
Very high value can be achieved running an external amp. The Monoprice 2-channel 300 watt studio amp supports 2 Ohms per channel @ 250W RMS so four of the subs/drivers can be powered off a single amp each receiving 125W and bringing the amp costs down below $40 per sub.
Additionally something like the Dayton KADB-4100 with the right power supply could be utilized to power four of these drivers, built in DSP as well.
The 10SW-4HE is one of the best bang for buck 10" subwoofer drivers available right now. Excellent specs and displacement for the cost and it works great in the Bassic-10 enclosure. This driver would be my general recommendation in this cabinet for it's good mix of performance and value.
Recommended amp power in this cabinet is 100-200 watts. 250 watts would be the maximum I would use.
The SW270WA01 is another option if you are looking for a higher quality drive unit. Should be a very low distortion option comparable to the RSS265, trades slightly more midbass sensitivity for a tad less low bass output.
One critique I have with this driver is even though they call it a 10-1/2" subwoofer the large frame and massive surround make is to the effective cone area (Sd) is no more then normal 10" drivers.
Recommended amp power would be 100-200w.