Parts Express Ultimax 18 sub flat pack kit

[gus6464]

Got an Ultimax 18 kit built. I ordered the combo which comes with driver and flat pack. Flat pack was beyond easy to assemble and took around 30 mins to glue together. Just make sure you got a lot of clamps. I did not use screws or nails to hold the MDF together, just titebond II. Sprayed on primer and 3 coats of regular semi-gloss interior paint with gun.

Box has 5lb of polyfill inside. Using a 4-pole neutrik connector going to a Crown XLS 1500 bridged 4-ohm. All in with kit, amp, and other misc materials was $600. I can hit 105db with amp at 75% gain and receiver at -25db. Not even close to clipping and still have to run REW and connect the minidsp. Will have some measurements later this week once I have done measurements and PEQ.

All in all this thing is a beast and for the price it is very hard to beat. It's not that big either.

 

[Thump553]

Excellent assembly and finish job-it's nice to see a sub that isn't either a big black box or looks like some construction site debris.

How does it sound with music? Most of time I'm playing music on my system. I've tried a couple of (cheap) subs and when I turn them up loud enough to hear them the bass sounds very artificial.

 

[soulcougher73]

Looks great in white. Nice choice. I been thinking about doing one of these flat pack subs.

 

[gus6464]

Excellent assembly and finish job-it's nice to see a sub that isn't either a big black box or looks like some construction site debris.

How does it sound with music? Most of time I'm playing music on my system. I've tried a couple of (cheap) subs and when I turn them up loud enough to hear them the bass sounds very artificial.

Thanks the sub had to hide as much in the living room as possible which is why we went with the off-white to match the couch and walls.

For music it is very controlled. My speakers are also high efficiency with 2x Eminence 12" drivers with one being a coaxial with a B&C compression driver so it's very hard for the sub to drown out my mains when I crank it as they can keep up easily.

Here are my mains which are Spatial M4 Turbo. Open baffle.

They put out a huge soundstage so just going to run phantom center.

For my rears I am doing Magnepan MMGW also powered by another Crown XLS 1500.

 

[13Gigatons]

I've been thinking of building something similar for some 15" drivers I have. I'd didn't really want to build boxy type cabinets. Those open baffles look exactly what I was thinking.

I'd like to see more pics...

 

[Excelsior]

Well done. Love the new Ultimax drivers and can't beat flat-pack. It really is insane the value out there today in home audio. Are you using a trigger from your main amp to turn the XLS1500 on or just flipping it on when you need to?

 

[gus6464]

Well done. Love the new Ultimax drivers and can't beat flat-pack. It really is insane the value out there today in home audio. Are you using a trigger from your main amp to turn the XLS1500 on or just flipping it on when you need to?

I have all the amps in a closet next to my living room. I am using a Panamax M8-AV-Pro power strip which has a 12v trigger input that works for 4 out of the 8 plugs. My Marantz receiver is in the TV stand.

I was going to build my own relay box with trigger but then found the Panamax unit refurbished for $70. The cost to build it myself was going to be ~$50 so it was a no brainer.

 

[sdifox]

Nice