Anything that begins “I built this as part of an audio visual project for Burning Man 2007″ is automatically suspect, but this is actually cool. It’s basically a huge cardboard tube with a massive driver. The resulting noise, at about 30Hz, was loud enough to be heard around the creator’s block.
From what I can gather from research, the longer the tube length will raise your resonant frequency. I figured my resonant frequency was about 30Hz. I am probably wrong. I did the calc a while ago so can’t be sure how I arrived there.. It wasn’t too loud on the “test fire” audio sweep, but a neighbour from 2 doors down, certainly heard it and came running down the street.. “Are you making that noise?!”
Maybe me sitting on my deck with a giant carboard tube and earmuffs on gave me away.
Then he painted it black and dragged it out to the desert where he turned it on, blowing the minds of web developers from everywhere.
http://www.svsound.com has similar stuff available for purchase in case anyone is interested… their stuff is beyond amazing and it’s the one speaker component I can blindly tell people they will love even without listening to it before buying.
I’ve built a “sonosub” well before SVS started making theirs (altho i want to say i got help from some of them in the HTForum back then). Been a believer of the cylinder sub ever since. I had a 15″ avatar driver in a 24″ diameter tube. It was an efficiency monster that went loooow and loud, in-room.
Hmmm. Long tube. Low bass notes in a single frequency. Lotsa volume. Wasn’t that invented centuries ago and considered to be part of an organ?
rick, organ pipes were made out of metal. This is a cardboard sonotube. Completely different. Duh.
Besides, they didn’t have electric subs back then.
I’d like to second SVS subs. Have had one of their ultra subs for years and it’s fantastic.
Am I the only person who read the headline and was subsequently disappointed to discover that the article had nothing whatsoever to do with fish?
I mean, anyone can build a big loudspeaker. But a cannon that shoots *largemouth bass* – now, *that* would be cool.
Yeah, I was looking forward to flying fish too. The reality is a bit disappointing after that image gets in your head.
I am such an audio geek and this would be so fun to do, especially on a college campus ha.
How much did it cost you to build this?
Whether the tube is made of cardboard or steel the principle is the same, it creates a resonant cavity.
The frequencies that will resonate in that cavity can be calculated from the wavelength that they produce.
You will find that the MOST resonant frequency is the one whose wavelength exactly matches the length of the tube, you will then get lesser resonations at 1/2, 1/4, 1/8th etc.. wavelengths.
For example, a 30 Hz wave has a wavelength of 11.3m, so assuming the length of the tube is around 5m then you would be looking at a 1/2 wave resonation.
Very cute idea though … something you might like to look into is that somewhere in the region of 7Hz you can cause people’s stomachs to resonate … standing next to it close-up might not be a good idea, but from a distance you should be able produce a physical feeling of queasiness.
Cathedrals used to be designed to resonate at this frequency to help inspire a feeling of awe amongst the congregation.
CU on the playa (2009 – my first time, all the way from the UK)
The tricks of this are many… coupling is first… all the air in the tubes (both ends) act as part of the speaker cone (this creates the “launch” of air and sound), resonance is second (just like a pipe in an organ the tube is a resonator), resonance “spread” is third (the tubes on each end act 1) singly over their length, 2) doubly over the combined length, 3) at many modes between these, 4) depending on your configuration (how far apart the mouths of the tube are) you get phase separation of the front wave and the back wave… If both mouths of the tube/tubes extend from the speaker driver toward the listening position, then the phase/transit time is in phase with the satelites from the front position (at any other configuation, then the phase is off at some (or many) positions. And lastly, for my limited time/space to comment, the tube is the maximum cross-section for the amount of material in the pipes and the ultimate in moment of inertia (for physics/engineering type this is obvious) so the pipes are very low in weight, high in strength, stiff (but in cardboard, non-ringing) so stray noises from the tube sub is minimal… All of these features lead to efficiency, efficiency leads to ultimate power, and size gives the space for tuning to a VERY low tone.
This is not really the same as a round tube enclosed sub (which is also a great compromise to make in base reflex subs), because the SVSound and the older Hsu original have the exposed woofer… Bose has patents on the bass wavecannon and similar designs, all the way down to the size of the wave radio with its convoluted labarynthine design.
The GREAT news is that you can build one for your own use and amusement and the dread of small animals and older neighbors everywhere… KenB