got my 9500, need a box

I got my Mtx-T9512 today and originally i was planning on having a box built for it and the place i was going to have it taken to was going to charge me like $175 to build it.....now i am looking at the diagram in the mtx manual and it looks pretty simple and straight forward to build this box.....it will be ported but it has all the sizes and everything with it so my question is should i go ahead and build it or is it worth the money to just get it built for me.....also is the recommended box they have in the manual the best box to use(2 cf.)?i have made a few boxes for friends out of fiberglass but they were just simple sealed boxes and we didnt really take airspace into consideration(lol).....what do you guys think? also the other thing i am concerned with is the carpeting and putting the terminals on the back of it......how hard is that to do??? thanks guys

o and merry christmas!!

It's great experience building your own sub enclosure.  Believe me, by the time you have that thing finished you will more than understand the $175 you were quoted.  Anybody who either 1) builds an enclosure for themself, or 2) builds one for someone else, should do the required research first.  You can certainly go by the recommendations given in the manual because it wouldn't be there if it didn't work.  For your first try at building, it's a fairly certain way to get good results.  When you hire a box to be built, the builder should have the resources to take things into consideration that the manual wouldn't know about, like the type of vehicle and the available space....then, using research and experience, make changes as is best for the project.

The air space that is finally arrived at in the enclosure after all else is added (net air space) is critical with vented.  You will measure everything that is inside the box and add the total cubic inches to the gross total, so that the net air space is what you are shooting for.  The manual will give a combination of two factors, port size (diameter and length) and net air space to arrive at a port tuning frequency.  Both of these measurements have to be accurate.  If one changes, the other will have to change as well.  Nothing in the building process is easy, but first-timers are doing it all the time and sometimes with borrowed tools.  You have to use exacting care in every step of the process for a result that is worthy of your time and investment.

Your best bet is to first make your decision, then get everything figured out on paper, buy the materials, borrow the tools, whatever you have to do.  And get the box built (or at least completely designed and on the workbench) before you worry about how-to's on carpeting.  As for the terminal cup, that should be a no-brainer if you are capable of making the box in the first place.

You don't need any kinds of special connectors (bisquit joints and such) when connecting the baffles (side walls, top, etc.).  Just the screws and gobs of glue.  You sound as if you're on the right track.  A box that size wouldn't necessarily need additional bracing if built well with 3/4 MDF, but it depends on which side the speaker hole will be cut.  You would look at the two longest 22" walls and see if the speaker interferes with the area around the center,  and if not you can build in a baffle from front to back, top to bottom there. The baffle would have to have large areas cut out of it to allow for air transfer.   Another method of bracing is to double-wall the face of the box where the hole will be cut to add extra strength to the structure.  Corner bracing shouldn't be necessary.  Any flex, if it occurred, would be at the centers of the longest baffles.

Interior volume is never messed up by adding bracing, because you have to measure everything you put in the box and account for the space it takes up by adding to the overall measurements.  As I said in my previous post, this also includes driver displacement and port area.

Measure in inches, then width X length X height will give you cubic inches.  Add up all the cubic inches, divide by 1728 to arrive at cubic feet.  Measure 10 times, calculate 20 times, cut once...the rule of thumb for building a vented enclosure.  ;)