I am looking to build four 18” permanent outdoor subs. They will be installed in weatherproof enclosures under a roof overhang to cover a outdoor pool area. They will need to be 8 ohm with waterproof cones. I have been looking at B&C, PRV, and Lavoce, etc. Budget would be around $300 per driver. I will only have about 600 watts per sub available. I am partial to bass reflex. Any suggestions on drivers, box design, and tuning frequency would be great.
Outdoor Sub
- Thread starter Steven Guettler
- Start date
You’ve thought of the obvious stuff, like non-paper cones, so all you are really doing now is looking for designs, and sites like speaker plans and others have plenty of designs. Practically, though, it’s marine ply, not ordinary ply and a steel grill will corrode quickly and badly. Outside, the designs with slots not grills are attractive, but also make great nesting boxes, so some form of protection is needed. A place I visit regularly has old celestion 10” twin boxes used to do background music outside, and after twenty years, they look terrible, with rusty grills and faded and marked plastic style cabinets, but they work. This is on a pier, so salty atmosphere and wind and rain. Subs, out of the way, made from decent materials and painted in a decent finish, with plastic cones should do really well, I would think. For subs, nobody ever has managed to assess audio quality, as they just thud so driver differences are really a punt. I’d look at the design. Aluminium or steel, exposed steel bolts and magnets, or enclosed ones, stuff like that.
I am looking for more output. I currently have four 15” subs in the front yard with paper cones that are not even waterproof that I keep covered when not in use. They have been problem free for four years. The natural progression is to go bigger in the back yard. Just looking for suggestions on drivers, tuning frequency and box.
Hi Steven,
I'd suggest B&C, they are waterproofed and I've had very good luck with them in outdoor applications.
You can find a variety of 18" sub designs on their site.
https://www.bcspeakers.com/resources/suggested-designs/ - each one of these plans is for a specific driver of theirs so it's very easy to follow and get a good result.
I'd suggest you use an aluminum grill (you can get a metal shop to custom cut perforated aluminum to your dimensions and paint it if desired).
In terms of a finish, a 2 part epoxy finish, or taking them to LineX will tend to hold up better than something like Duratex or the DIY truck bed liner products.
Hope that helps.
I'd suggest B&C, they are waterproofed and I've had very good luck with them in outdoor applications.
You can find a variety of 18" sub designs on their site.
https://www.bcspeakers.com/resources/suggested-designs/ - each one of these plans is for a specific driver of theirs so it's very easy to follow and get a good result.
I'd suggest you use an aluminum grill (you can get a metal shop to custom cut perforated aluminum to your dimensions and paint it if desired).
In terms of a finish, a 2 part epoxy finish, or taking them to LineX will tend to hold up better than something like Duratex or the DIY truck bed liner products.
Hope that helps.
I am not to worried about elements or cridders. I have a good system for protecting the drivers. I make the box out of marine grade plywood, them completely cement black rubber roofing membrane over the entire enclosure, then cover with cedar siding. Then I make a flap with Velcro all around to seal the front. All I have to do is lift the flap when in use. The pics show my front yard system with PA380s that look brand new and have been out there for years. They are not even waterproof cones. I put the HTMs on top of the front subs and store them inside when not in use. The front yard system sounds fantastic and I want to one up it on the pool system. We only use the front yard system a couple time a year for parties but the pool system will be used regularly. B&C, Lavoce make waterproof cones that are rated for outdoor use. The pic below shows the new system location. I have a XLS2502 for the HTNs and two NU6000DSPs for the subs. I would consider four 12s or 15s horn loaded. What B&C driver and tuning would you suggest?
