IB Sub and The WAF

One of the obstacles to true enlightenment in the audio-visual realm is the WAF. The Wife Acceptance Factor. All guys know that the correct-sized speaker is actually floor to ceiling. This ideal speaker should also have spikes and razor sharp edges to keep people from getting to close (for their own safety). A well-designed speaker will also have lots of LED lights which blink depending on which of 17 different crossovers are activated (floor to ceiling, remember- you think it'll just be a 3-way?). Even the audio purist wants these LEDs because he'll just close his eyes when listening to music. These speakers, since they'll last a lifetime, should cost the equivalent of a college education.


But, that's when the WAF comes in. The Wife will often talk about insignificant topics like decor, and style- they'll even go so far as to complain that the spikes and razor edges on the speaker are a (get this) hazard to guests, children and pets (when you very well know, it is the speakers that are at risk!). Then we hear about budget and that the equivalent money of a college education should actually pay for college!

This 'WAF' is the reason most guys end up with a pair of bookshelf speakers meant to look like a potted plant or other such nonsense.

Which brings us to the IB sub. This is one place that you can do what you want... since the speakers are outside the actual viewing area- the Wife doesn't know that there's actually 12 drivers in the basement. Or that one of you speakers is bigger than a CRT projector. As far as cost- you can start for pretty cheap- just build your manifold to hold the number of drivers you want and then add on. The cost is better than a lot of box subs- which *violate* WAF because they take up space in the room. And, when building it, you're doing stuff around the house. Oh, and you can put all the LEDs on it you want. But, as shown above, it'll probably have a cover over it.

In my case, the whole WAF thing is false. Stefanie wanted *bigger* speakers in the living room. I was going to move the speakers that were there into the home theater, but they weren't big enough so we had to get new ones. Here she is making the grill cover for the IB opening.

What we did is just put up some trim around the outside of the manifold. Then we took some rounded trim and made it slightly smaller than the outside diameter. To keep it stiff we glued small strips of wood behind the corners. I picked up some aucousticly-transparent speaker cloth from a local shop. Steff is shown stretching and stapling it to the frame. Start from the center and work to the corners to keep it taut. We're going to finish by putting velco on the frame and cover just in case I do want to install and see LED lights.