Boom for low bucks

Hi,

You guys will probably laugh but I'm gonna try this anyway.

I am in the process of trying to put a decent sounding system together for low $$ for my son.  Here is where I'm at:

Spent $6.50 on Ebay for an old Jensen A220 amp that works fine.  It is 120Wx2@4ohm or 250rms bridged.  Since it is old there is no LPF.  My main question is does anyone know where I can get a couple of 3 milliHenry coils for a 1st order or a 9mH coil for a 2nd order LPF and also if I can find these coils should I install them before or after the amp if I have a choice?  Radio Shack did not have them.

I have an old home Panasonic system with a set of "Thrusters" that have a 10" sub and a 10" passive radiator.  The speakers are rated at only 40W and are already about gone after 25+ years.  I bought a new Infiniti 1040 sub.  I plan to try and use the existing passive radiator and try to add some weight to dampen it to match the 1040 if possible.  The 1040 calls for a ported enclosure of 1.75 cubic feet.  The Thruster cabinet is well made and is 1.8.  I think the 10" passive radiator is equal to the 3"dia x 9L port requirement for the 1040??? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Of course my son thinks I'm nuts for going to all this trouble and would like to just go and buy a new amp but he doesn't have a job yet!  I am able to do this but like to "tinker" and see if I can come up with a cheap box that sounds as good as his buddies who have spend several hundred $$ on their systems that sound mediocre to me at best.

Ok, you can stop laughing now

Not laughing, there's nothing wrong with trying to make a system work with older or cheaper gear, as long as you know that's what you're doing.  I laugh at people with flea-market gear who think it will sound like the top of the line.

In any case, for passive crossover parts, the cheapest and most readily available are from  Parts Express or Madisound.  Now as far as trying to fit the Infinity speaker into the Panasonic enclosure, go for it and see what it sounds like.  You might be surprised.  But I bet you will be disapointed.  I'd suggest making a simple MDF enclosure for the Intinify woofer.  As I recall a Reference 1040 works best in a small (0.5 to 0.75 cuft) sealed enclosure.  Screw and glue together a 12"X12"X10" cube out of 3/4" MDF, seal it with silicone, add your woofer and see how it sounds.  The MDF will cost you less than $15.

Cheers!

I agree with DYohn about building a new enclosure with 3/4" MDF.  Those Thruster cabinets are not nearly HD enough for subwoofer use.  If you're still looking at gear, I just saw a sweet deal on a USacoustics 2 channel amp that I would just love to have reason to buy:

http://www.thezeb.com/p-USacoustics-USX-2050-2-Channel-Amplifier-105480.htm

Sorry, I should have been more specific.  I am using my old Panasonic box that is pretty heavy duty to build the sub for my son's '02 Mustang. 

I know it won't be competition quality but I am trying to teach my son that sometimes it is rewarding to build something out of nothing rather than just go out and buy it.  Especially at his age (16) with only odd jobs so far and over $200/month for insurance that he must pay.  I could go out and buy him a system but that would be too easy!  Man I'm starting to sound like my dad

Thanks stevdart, that looks like a great deal.  I think with the setup I am putting together 150 to 250W RMS is going to be just fine.  Might not rattle windows in nearby buildings but inside the Mustang it should sound great. 

If the Thruster cabinets don't hold up or resonate I bought plans from Decware to build a Deathbox II for the Infinity 1040.  Any comments good or bad on the Deathbox from anyone?

Thanks