Custom 115 cab acoustic stuffing

[Patman27]

Okay, I'm back, and I've nearly finished my 115 bass cabinet, as mentioned here. I've got the box assembled, and am waiting for some carpet, corners, and handles from Reliable Hardware. I ended up going with the Eminence Kappalite 3015LF, and Al from US Speaker helped me with the nitty-gritty port sizing.

The only thing missing (aside from aforementioned hardware) is acoustic stuffing/insulation. What would you fine people recommend? Parts-Express has [Invalid or Expired Link Removed], egg-carton foam ([Invalid or Expired Link Removed], [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] thick), and [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. Here are some pictures so far:

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Notes on the build: I used 5/8" Paraguay Cedar (11 ply), all of the joints are routed butt joints (i think thats what they're called?), where each piece fits into a groove routed into the other piece (even the port shelf). Used 1 1/2" wood screws and wood glue to hold it together. I made a simple caster board to place the whole rig on, so that I wouldn't have to drill into the cab.

 

[Steveaux]

Lemme guess .... now, you're just waiting on the sprayer.

Kidding.



I like the fiber-fill. No worries about the glue giving out and foam leaning on the cones.

 

[Patman27]

Bump

 

[koobie]

I read your earlier cab thread, I'm probably going to posting a similar thread looking for input on a second cab for my set-up too. So you went with the 3015LF? What is your other cab again? Are you going to run both full-range from a single amp? I could see using a 3015LF for the lows in a biamped setup but I'd be concerned there won't be much definition if it's going to be run full-range.

 

[Patman27]

It's all running full-range, and the other cab is an SWR Goliath Jr. III. Tried running it today, I had to plug up the handle holes though, and it has no carpet or fill. Sounds very mid-y, but handles the low end very well. Gonna test its punch tomorrow.

So, for filling, any suggestions?

 

[BeauZooka]

A foam mattress topper works well. Like this:

http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_10104_070B725122110001P?vName=Bed & Bath=&cName=BeddingEssentials

sorry for the long URL

 

[Patman27]

No problem BeauZooka, thanks! That almost looks like professional foam paneling, surely there's a difference though, isn't there? I can see this being extremely easy to apply, but is there any particular advantage to stuffing (as the 5lb bags from Parts express) versus relatively rigid foam?

 

[BeauZooka]

I'm not much of a technical guy so I don't know for sure. But I would bet that you would have a very hard time telling any difference in sound between the topper and the stuffing. The topper is cheaper and easier to apply. I think you can get it even cheaper at Walmart. Perhaps someone else can chime in with their opinion.

 

[Patman27]

For example, the inside of my SWR cab is lined with an almost fiberglass-esque filler. Not a foam, but some type of white acoustic dampening fiber. So, what's the real difference in performance between something like this mattress topper and a fibrous filling?

 

[Patman27]

Well I'm tempted to get this mattress topper, hell, it doesn't need to ship if I can get it locally!

 

[BeauZooka]

I know it is recommended at http://billfitzmaurice.net/ and he is pretty knowledgeable about cabinet design.

 

[Patman27]

Bought a Twin size bag of the foam you mentioned, lined all walls of the cab minus the back side of the baffle and the bottom. Sounds a little less muddy, a tad more defined.