Some Kind of WAW Part 1.

A 2-way sat-sub (sound like a very strange animal)? Well I was considering to make a pair of satellites out of my W5-2143 after my fun with foam core. I was also playing with the idea of making a custom fiberglass baffle like some car audio builders do (I always wanted to try it out on a regular speaker). This is when the idea of a 2-way sat-sub was born. I got two ARGSUB840 with two 8 inch elements, two plate amps and two W5-2143, why not put them together into two cabinets like a regular 2-way?

Note: The initial title for this build was "The 2-way Sat-Sub" like in the text above. But two speakers running full range assisted by two sub-woofers sounds more like a WAW (Woofer Assisted Wideband) than a traditional 2.1 sat-sub arrangement. I have therefor changed the title of this build to "Some Kind of WAW" instead of the original "The 2-way Sat-Sub". 

I have always liked the look of the slanted speakers by Spica, especially the Spica TC-60.

I want a sealed compartment of 6 to 8 liters for the W5-2143 and the volume of the ARGSUB840 is around 15 liters. So I made a quick drawing of something like this (the angle of the baffle is 15º).

The dimensions are quite close to the Spica TC-60. The two compartments close enough to what I am aiming for and the fiberglass baffle will add some extra volume. For the shape of the custom baffle I was thinking about something along these lines (but for only two elements and not as an OB).

Making this kind of box is super simple using a 45º cross cut sled on the table saw. The 15º taper was made using a taper jig. The grove across the sides is for the piece that will separate the top compartment from the bottom. The material is 16 mm MDF (just as in the ARGSUB840).

I also used the table saw to make the rabbets on the backside.

Note the tiny rabbet around the front. More about it later...

It seems like car audio builders often use MDF to make the rings for the elements. I opted for plywood, less dust and better to screw into. I used pine plywood, the darker areas are not burnt, it is the natural color of some of the laminated wood.

This is what I managed to get done today. I hope I can start making the custom baffles tomorrow...