I got a 12 inch home theater subwoofer for $15 because one of the rubbery legs was missing. I replaced it with a wine cork

I hope you find this less exciting than the vacuum cord replacement post, in which I was (rightly) chastised for being vaguely interesting

432 points · 55 comments · view on lemmy.world

55 Comments

wizzor@sopuli.xyz · 59 pts · 294d (2 replies)

You saved the world like 1500kg of Co2 equivalent with this dullness.

How interesting.

Krudler@lemmy.world · 25 pts · 294d

You no good son of a bitch

Beacon@fedia.io · 8 pts · 294d

Well only if he was already planning to buy a different subwoofer already

Krudler@lemmy.world · 43 pts · 294d (4 replies)

Wait, it was actually a tequila cork. I must remain accurate in my reporting of this buckshee repair.

theorychapter@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 293d

Wait, it was actually a tequila cork

That’s it, I’m taking my upvote back after being lied to

prex@aussie.zone · 4 pts · 294d

Tequila does sound suspiciously interesting...

Beacon@fedia.io · 3 pts · 293d (1 reply)

buckshee

That's a new one to me

Krudler@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 292d

Where I grew up, it was always contextually used to describe a repair done for little or no money, and often had the connotation that it was a poorly done, temporary, or stop-gap job. So I'm kind of poking a little fun at myself even though I believe very much in my engineering and the materials I used.

papalonian@lemmy.world · 23 pts · 294d

I got my 7.1 surround system, which would've been very expensive at the time it came out, for $150. The lady who sold it to me said she bought it when she lived with her ex, who set it up, but when she moved, she had no idea how to set it back up. So she bought a sound bar and sold the "old stuff" for the cost. Both happy! She definitely could have bought a more expensive sound bar, though.

mushroommunk@lemmy.today · 13 pts · 294d (6 replies)

When I first got into home theater it was crazy how much good stuff was out there cheap of you had any inkling of repair. I got my subs free at the start.

Now can I tempt you to be less dull and join me in the world of DIY speakers?

swab148@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 293d (4 replies)

You can tempt me, that sounds rad!

mushroommunk@lemmy.today · 4 pts · 293d (3 replies)

It really is, and through diysoundgroup and parts-express and others there's kits for beginners. Plenty of proven designs. Honestly such a fun hobby and so many great people in it

Krudler@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 291d (2 replies)

I'm very into repurposing stuff, making your own, etc.

But I took a peek at diysoundgroup and I'm not impressed. I can buy a router and jointer and make my own enclosures for the price of 1 press-board enclosure on that site. It's great to build - I really love it - but my mentality wouldn't allow me to buy components so I can build a sub that's worse than a brand new sub at retail. idgi tbh 🤷

mushroommunk@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 291d (1 reply)

I did say they're for beginners, but to say you can get a router and jointer and wood for under $250 you're either buying the cheapest tools and wood I wouldn't trust, or being extremely patient for Craigslist deals (nothing wrong with that, but definitely takes more time than some have), or extremely lucky with where you live. Also the MDF is a plus. No voids or issues in the wood, the uniformity is a big benefit over even plywood.

And worse than retail? In what way? Finish? Eh, maybe. But compared to all those faux wood veneers out there I'll take even a basic rattle can finish. Audio quality? Doubted. The home theater groups near me (at least pre covid) was constantly doing sub/speaker shootouts and measurements. The diysoundgroup stuff was usually the winner or right up with the winners.

Krudler@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 291d

Well I do buy/fix things, I rarely pay retail.

But yeah, that looks like "fun" if you don't consider money/value and need to be spoon fed I guess.

We'll agree to disagree lol

Krudler@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 293d
[ removed ]
TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 294d

Well, there you are then.

remotelove@lemmy.ca · 10 pts · 294d (2 replies)

Cork will work fine for your floor, but if you ever put it on a table for whatever reason, rubber would be better. I personally wouldn't recommend putting a sub on a table, but whatever. (If you have decent monitor speakers on a desk, ideally you should isolate them with some foam.) A resonating a desk sucks ass so I use stands for my monitors.

For extra shimmer, you could just ignore me and just put a beer can that contains one marble on top of the sub. I am sure that would sound great.

Krudler@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 294d (1 reply)

Nobody with any sense of sanity would have this sub on anything but the floor. Its so powerful it blows gusts of air. Even while testing it at medium power, spice jars inside my cabinet were not rattling, but clanking. But thanks for looking out for tabletops.

remotelove@lemmy.ca · 9 pts · 294d

Thank you for tolerating my drive to dump out mostly irrelevant information.

GoatTnder@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 294d

I did the same with a Sony mini hi-fi system! Missing a leg on a speaker, but a cork colored black is great!

currycourier@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 294d (1 reply)

You can also buy replacement feet online if you want to have them all match! They're pretty cheap too: https://www.parts-express.com/speaker-components/cabinet-hardware-speaker-grill-cloth/case-cabinet-feet

Krudler@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 293d

I actually very much appreciate that link, I'm sure at some point in the future I will need it!

I actually did try to source cabinet feet from our used material building center... Then I saw the price on Amazon and said no way dude... Finally I went to a wine store and saw rubber bungs for $0.50... but in the end I realized this reinforced cork is actually just groovy

Definitely bookmarking this for later, it's not worth future tomfoolery for five bucks!

BCsven@lemmy.ca · 7 pts · 294d (2 replies)

Genius. I'd cut the cork slightly shorter and add those sticky rubber pads you can buy at the dollar atore (meant for furniture legs) over it. So the screw or whatever doesn't touch the floor and vibrate.

Krudler@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 294d (1 reply)

I have a bunch of rubber caps, I had considered it. But that's not a screw poking out, it's a rubber collar to provide rigidity.

BCsven@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 294d

Nice

LemmingOnTheEdge@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 293d (11 replies)

Luxury! You can afford bottled wine? I can't even afford bottled water.

HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 293d (10 replies)

no i just collect corks

Krudler@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 293d (8 replies)

It's actually true haha

I'm 10 years sober and I collect nice bottles to make bongs - I even cut the glass bowls myself! The corks are kept because they're always useful for something.

HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 293d (7 replies)

i've been thinking about turning a kraken bottle into a bong those are pretty nice

Krudler@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 293d (6 replies)

Do yourself a favor and do not buy a cheap glass cutting bit. Expect to pay at least $30

HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 293d (5 replies)

wait i can't just melt my way through like with a gatorade bottle? well now i'm not gonna.

Krudler@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 293d (4 replies)

Brother, nobody said you can't you just can't use your cig lighter - you'll need something slightly bigger like an acetylene torch. Never give up hope, especially when it comes to acting in an unreasonable fashion.

HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 293d

Never give up hope, especially when it comes to acting in an unreasonable fashion.

i'm gonna melt through it with a magnifying glass. that is sure to work.

overworkedandundersane@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 293d

I enjoy a little cardboardeau on occasion.

kernelle@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 293d (4 replies)

Lucky find! I've been looking for a 12" sub secondhand, I'd buy this in a heartbeat.

Krudler@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 293d (3 replies)

Thank you my friend, I was doing a little Snoopy dance when I found it! $15 is a completely unreasonable price for this considering that the current gen models from the same company are $1,500 !

Somebody threw this out because of a single rubber foot. As a repair guy, that is the kind of thing that never stops shocking me.

kernelle@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 293d (2 replies)

I noticed immediately it's a 12" active sub, those things go up to 1 kW IIRC. Had one over from a friend recently for a house party, believe me when I say you'll have more than enough oomph

Krudler@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 293d (1 reply)

Yeah no yeah.... this thing is fucking... bananas!

I ramped it up to as high as my amp could output and it didn't break a sweat... but the gypsum was rattling out of my walls!!! Glasses in cabinets 10m away were not tinkling... they were clanking hahha

I captured this video at mayyyybe 40% of its max output... I was taking the video for the sale ad and higher output was overwhelming my phone's mic!! https://streamable.com/obdjus

kernelle@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 293d

That's sick! I had two spots vibrate out of my ceiling as well, with great bass comes great responsibility

Branch_Ranch@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 293d (4 replies)

Nice temporary fix! Check out Ace hardware or a similar place for a more permanent solution. It's crazy the stuff they have, probably have a close match.

InevitableWaffles@midwest.social · 7 pts · 293d

What do you mean by temporary? Problem has been solved. Lol

shalafi@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 293d

The little family hardware store in town has hundreds and hundred of drawers full of any part you can imagine.

Krudler@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 293d (1 reply)

This is a permanent solution, and frankly, it's better than the stock rubber bumper feet.

pupbiru@aussie.zone · 0 pts · 293d

as far as isolation goes, probably not better… cork will transfer quite a bit of vibration into the floor; it’s much firmer than the rubber feet: they should be soft enough that you can almost push the sub around and see it jiggle like jelly

if it’s good enough, great! but better than vibration isolating rubber is an exaggeration

morphballganon@lemmynsfw.com · 3 pts · 293d (3 replies)

Why are the rubbery feet on the same face as the diaphragm?

Krudler@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 293d (1 reply)

As much as these are designed to produce sound, they are "downfiring" which provides both bass and vibration.

There's a lot of hot air when it comes to audio. Some will say that down firing is best for home theater, some will say side-firing is best for music. What it really comes down to is how good you are at tuning your outputs, and if you understand how to place your speakers within your space.

BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today · 3 pts · 293d

Your downstairs neighbor HATES you.

Jyek@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 293d

Pretty normal for such a large subwoofer to be downfiring with a sound port on the side facing the listener.

Hadriscus@jlai.lu · 3 pts · 293d (1 reply)

Oh that's neat, invisible and ecological fix! you even went for the same grey paint. Gettouttahere

Krudler@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 293d

I two-coated that mofo with dollar store craft paint 8)

(edit: after two-coating it with polyvinyl acrylate ((clear children's glue)))

1985MustangCobra@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 293d

shitteeeee thats what im talking about

Resonosity@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 293d

Carry on!