Subwoofer in a Cupboard

[Pepperamip]

Ok I've made the title of this sound horrendous but hear me out.

I have an IKEA Pax 3 unit sideboard type cabinet that contains all my sources and my 2 amplifiers (a Denon AVX3600 AV Amp and a Musical Fidelity M2SI) Everything is hidden and remote commands are sent via an infrared repeater.

With 2 Chanel stereo music I am more than happy with what I'm hearing. However with movies I'm finding I want a bit ooomph in the lower frequencies. L & R speakers are Ruark Crusader 2s.

I currently have no sub and the issue I have is I don't have any floorspace in front of the listening position to place a standalone one. I could place one to the right of my sofa (in the back corner of my room) but i don't think this is going to give me the best results.

So I'm thinking of building one onto my ikea pax unit using a doner sub for the control panel, amp and driver. I know I will need to reinforce the cabinet but my concerns are taming the potential vibration or unwanted bass boost. Also if I build a box within a box using MDF what about the remaining voids within the cabinet?

Anyone tried this with decent results. I appreciate it sounds like a bad idea but is there anyway this works well?

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[struth]

you can put a sub anywhere in the room with great results, although corners often work the best. it doesnt need to be near you etc

[Pieoftheday]

I have my sub on the right hand side of my sofa, seems to work well in my room.mine is a wireless one used with a soundbar so not as big as something you might add to a 2 channel or home cinema set up

[Pigmy Pony]

I can't see a sub working satisfactorily in a cupboard - I can see the various buzzing noises driving you mad, despite your best efforts to dampen vibrations. Is there not somewhere in the room that can accommodate a sub? They're really not that fussy, Mine points diagonally into the room from a corner, with the sofa a little in the way, and doubles as a pedestal for a rather large plant. I've not had any complaints from it or the plant :)

[Pepperamip]

Steve if your plant had teeth they'd have been shaken out by now ;) ok so don't butcher the new sub and stick it to the side of my sofa.

I'll start there and decide if it sounds good. Probably just looking for a new project when it's not actually needed (it would look nice though :)

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[sailor]

Placing the sub where you mentioned, back corner, can work very well. If the sub has variable phase then finding a good spot is easier. If it's only switchable 0deg./180deg. then more experimentation is needed to find the spot.

Building it into the Ikea unit is not impossible just lots of work and it may turn out that the sub exacerbates the peaks and nulls in room. Two subs will work better than one at smoothing out the response. For example: two small 8" subs will be better than a single 10" or 12"

Perhaps you can borrow a couple of subs from some of your mates to have a play with. I bought a small SVS SB1000 which with its remote app on your phone you can make adjustments to volume, low pass filter, phase, polarity, parametric EQ, room gain compensation and presets for movies/music/custom and default all from your listening position. I chose a sealed box because it's much easier to position than having to deal with another bass source from the ports.

[Pepperamip]

SVS subs are exactly what I've been looking at. You seem to get a lot for your money with them.

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[Sherwood]

You should look at this British company. I have the XLS 200 downward facing sub although the forward facing design may better suit your needs. The XLS 300 at £359 is the replacement for that unit. I cannot speak too highly of this model. I have mine under the Ikea Lack table on which my 50" LG TV sits. Works perfectly.

https://www.bkelec.com/

[Pigmy Pony]

You should look at this British company. I have the XLS 200 downward facing sub although the forward facing design may better suit your needs. The XLS 300 at £359 is the replacement for that unit. I cannot speak too highly of this model. I have mine under the Ikea Lack table on which my 50" LG TV sits. Works perfectly.

https://www.bkelec.com/

+1 for the XLS 200DF (downward firing). I have that exact one, and it has served me faultlessly for several years. I recently got a REL T9i at a good price, so my BK sub will be up for sale as soon as I can get round to it.

[Pepperamip]

So the sub in a cupboard was scrapped and I've just taken delivery of the outgoing Rel HT1003. £350 at Peter Tyson but found them on eBay with a 15% discount. Just over £300 Inc delivery. Happy with that deal seeing as some go for around that price 2nd hand.

A nice looking thing it's got some guts for such a small box. More testing required tonight. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20221207/3b0502e78a71e6c253811796bddd237b.jpg

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