DIY Dayton Audio 18" Ultimax Sub Kit (UM18-22 and Denovo Flatpack)

[Sonnie Parker]

Picked me up a pair of these bundles today... Dayton Audio Ultimax 18" UM18-22 Bundle with Cabinet

Should be here on Monday along with some Duratex, stuffing, terminals, glue, etc.

Gonna put together a couple of sealed 18's and run them using my spare Behringer amps.

Nothing fancy... a fairly simple build with the pre-cut flatpack.

 

[Medi0gre]

Sweet looking forward to your impression considering all the subs that have been through your room!

 

[tripplej]

Very nice. Congrats!

 

[Sonnie Parker]

They have arrived...

 

[GFOviedo]

Nice. I've been thinking of moving my Power Sound Audio XV15 to the patio area and have 5.1 set up there, and going with a 18" sealed sub for the living room HT. I've submitted the memo request to the senior HR manager (wife), and I am waiting on a response back.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Got one box done late this afternoon in about an hour...

 

[GFOviedo]

Looks good. Did you use screws and glue or finishing nails and glue? Also if you don't mind me asking, what was the total cost?

 

[Sonnie Parker]

The kit cost $400 direct from PE... or $800 for the pair. Then there is the polyfil (about $22 at Walmart for 10lbs)... glue, terminals, gasket and Duratex finish... figure on another 50-60 bucks.

I used glue with clamps until I was able to staple it. I used the 1/4" crown x 1-1/2" staples in my air stapler. I will sand and fill the staple holes then finish it.

 

[GFOviedo]

The kit cost $400 direct from PE... or $800 for the pair. Then there is the polyfil (about $22 at Walmart for 10lbs)... glue, terminals, gasket and Duratex finish... figure on another 50-60 bucks.

I used glue with clamps until I was able to staple it. I used the 1/4" crown x 1-1/2" staples in my air stapler. I will sand and fill the staple holes then finish it.

Sounds good. Thanks for the info.

 

[Tonto]

Dang Sonnie, you got some talent there! Looking good. Are you planning a flat black finish, or getting fancy with a high gloss piano black?

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Ehhh... not much talent to just gluing the pieces together and maybe a few staples.

Using Duratex from Parts Express. I believe it's supposed to be a satin textured finish... very durable... for speaker cabinets.

 

[Peter Loeser]

Nice work Sonnie! I'm putting together a pair of the 12" version of these. Very nice kits. I'll admit the first one is taking me far longer than an hour to put together. What amp are you planning to use? Looking forward to seeing the finished result!

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Thanks Peter. Yeah... I was impressed with the flatpack and the driver as well... very robust looking to be so inexpensive.

I have a couple of the Behringer EP2500's that I've had for years. Not sure if I will use just one or two yet. I will likely use both so that I can set the amp on top of or next to each sub.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Both boxes are together and sanded.

 

[Peter Loeser]

Very nice. I'm convinced unless you need a customized shape/size, there's no better way to build a DIY sub than starting with one of these. Building the 12" and seeing your 18"s go together so nicely has me thinking I might should get 2 or 4... or 8 of them for my HT eventually too.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Thanks! Yeah... really easy to put together. It would have taken me quite some time to cut these out like he did... definitely need a DNC machine for this type of cutting.

 

[Medi0gre]

Thanks! Yeah... really easy to put together. It would have taken me quite some time to cut these out like he did... definitely need a DNC machine for this type of cutting.

Nah... Just a chisel,chainsaw and some woodfiller. Not so bad haha

 

[Peter Loeser]

Nah... Just a chisel,chainsaw and some woodfiller. Not so bad haha

Your chainsaw skills are superhuman!

 

[Sonnie Parker]

My thoughts exactly... of course I've seen guys carve up blocks of ice to precise replications of various things with a chainsaw... so I suppose anything is possible.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Looking great, Sonnie!

Have you ever built anything like this before?

 

[tesseract]

Which room do I get to hear these bad boys in? Theater or Sun/Grace-room?

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Looking great, Sonnie!

Have you ever built anything like this before?

Thanks... and Oh yeah... this is super simple compared to the previous builds I have done. The first one was the Behemoth that Rodny helped me with... in my first theater room:

Dual SoundSplinter RL-p15 D2 LLT Sub Project... (the Behemoth - Revival of old build thread)

Then there was the AudioPulse sub that started out as one unit in my great room after I tore out my old theater room... then end up with a pair of them in my new theater room:

Building the Pulse (Revival of old build thread)

And my last build was the dual Stereo Integrity 18's that Joe Alexander eventually purchased from me:

SI 2+2 HT18 D4 Sealed Build (Revival of old build thread)

The AudioPulse sub builds was by far the most challenging because I had to cutout and route out all those braces... and perfectly fit the port tube in the center. Those took a super long time to build and finish.

Which room do I get to hear these bad boys in? Theater or Sun/Grace-room?

They will be in the theater room

I got one coat of the DuraTex on them tonight. I think that finish is going to work out really nice... the textured look is just right.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Getting closer to having some subwoofin' in my room again...

 

[Peter Loeser]

Almost like you know what you’re doing! Looking good!

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Thanks... been working hard at learning this stuff you know.