ZCON 15 enclosure build log

[edouble101 314]

I had a looooonnnnggggg day today. Went into work at 4am to get shit done then dentist.

Pretty cold outside, moved the project into the basement. Don't mind the shitty basement carpet

I have the port mounted rock solid. It is screwed, glued and caulked I also applied silicone to the inside of the elbow/flange in certain areas

The elbow is flush with the front baffle.

I like to discard the supplied gasket and use foam tape. I also recessed the mounting hole because subwoofer basket it is right against the sides/bottom of the enclosure.

One ZCON 15 mounted!

This is how it will look once it is finished. I still have a bunch of small details to complete until the enclosure is "done".

Yep the flared flanged aero is huge, about 14.5"

[ricksi30 923]

Looking good man! Treat her well

[edouble101 314]

Looking good man! Treat her well

No doubt Rick. I am stoked to hear this beast

[Julian 641]

Dreadful carpet... lol

nice box lol

[emh9009 199]

Like the port on the motor picture! Beast of a flange

[edouble101 314]

Dreadful carpet... lol

nice box lol

I am not going to carpet it until I know that it sounds good. I am hoping...

[Julian 641]

Dreadful carpet... lol

nice box lol

I am not going to carpet it until I know that it sounds good. I am hoping...

Talking about your floor

Personally, the textured paint looks awesome on boxes.. but is expensive

[edouble101 314]

Dreadful carpet... lol

nice box lol

I am not going to carpet it until I know that it sounds good. I am hoping...

Talking about your floor

Personally, the textured paint looks awesome on boxes.. but is expensive

Haha yeah, it's on the to-do list.

[sefugi 166]

Loving the extended port with the inverted sub!!! Keep up the great work!!!

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Very cool to see one of Adrian's ports used with our drivers.

[edouble101 314]

In progress pic. Need to wire up the amp and secure the enclosure.

Better pics to come!!!!

[emh9009 199]

That's going to be so loud. Trunk lid is going to just crumple up and die..

[edouble101 314]

Finished up the install I need to spend some time fine tuning the amplifier. I only listened to one song so far so I am not going to comment just yet on sound quality and output. I do need to prevent my rear deck from bouncing off the roof though!

My install helper

A few pics of the install. I didn't spend much time on making it look good Need to tidy up a few loose ends.

[emh9009 199]

I like how simple that amp is. Looks like a small footprint for 2k!

[edouble101 314]

I like how simple that amp is. Looks like a small footprint for 2k!

Yeah man, it isn't a large amp. It has all the adjustments that a sub amp should have and I think it looks great!

[sefugi 166]

Looks great!!! Intersted to hear your thoughts on the output with that mondo port!!

[Adrian_D 520]

I never realized the flare was that big

When building a low-ish power SPL setup with a 15 I only saw 0.4dB gain by going from 8" to 10" port, so for a daily application 8" will provide the most output while being practical

Good job on the build

[edouble101 314]

Looks great!!! Intersted to hear your thoughts on the output with that mondo port!!

I haven't had much time listening to it yet. I had a sever rattle from the rear deck cover. The rattle was so loud I could'nt stand to turn it up.

I had a thought to glue 8lb carpet padding to the underside of the rear deck cover. So I stopped in at a local carpet store and they gave me a 5'x5' piece for free

I cut it to shape and glued it to the underside of the cover. I also put a strip of 3/8"x1/2" foam weather stripping at the base of the rear window extending the width of the window, right where the deck cover meets it. From listening to it for 10sec the rattle was gone I am hoping that is cured.

I also have a snapped roof brace at the front of the car near the windshield. It drives me nuts. It rattles just from road vibrations Eventually I will have to drop the headliner to fix that.

I had to install the enclosure in my car in two pieces. The back, sides, top and bottom as one piece then mount the front baffle to it. I knew this wasn't going to work well. I was not able to seal the front baffle from the inside and sure enough it was leaking from the top I have seen guys use aluminum tape to seal an enclosure. I just happen to have some. I wrapped the top of the front baffle with it and so far so good, not leaking.

I never realized the flare was that big

When building a low-ish power SPL setup with a 15 I only saw 0.4dB gain by going from 8" to 10" port, so for a daily application 8" will provide the most output while being practical

Good job on the build

Thanks again for making a great product! I love using custom built pieces! I posted a pic of the front baffle not mounted on the enclosure on facebook and my Dad asked me if I was building a port-a-potty

[Mark LaFountain 1,054]

very clean/cool looking build. How is it sounding for you so far?

[CrazyKenKid 64]

when you pull the head liner off don't forget to put some sound deadener up there! unless you already did and if so congrats! and I like how that all looks!

[edouble101 314]

very clean/cool looking build. How is it sounding for you so far?

I haven't listened it long. But, it is definitely loud! Much louder than the XCON 15 that I had powered by a 3kwp. The XCON shook my car viciously, I haven't noticed that with the ZCON. But then again I need more listening time. The XCON was forward facing and sealed from the trunk. The ZCON is rear facing. I am going to listen to it tomorrow with the back seats down, maybe that will make a difference.

So far I like it. I will keep you posted!

when you pull the head liner off don't forget to put some sound deadener up there! unless you already did and if so congrats! and I like how that all looks!

Thanks for the tips! I've seen SDS selling a thinsulate product for headliner use. I haven't researched it's use and purpose but that is an option.

I think I am going to keep the enclosure "raw" looking.

[edouble101 314]

I spent over an hour listening to this sub today. I really like. Output its great and it sounds great. The 8" port is also sounding great for this setup.

My current enclosure was really a test box both for the sub and 8" port. Time to build a new enclosure. I have a couple new enclosure design plans in mind. When I start building I will post pics!

[sefugi 166]

I spent over an hour listening to this sub today. I really like. Output its great and it sounds great. The 8" port is also sounding great for this setup.

My current enclosure was really a test box both for the sub and 8" port. Time to build a new enclosure. I have a couple new enclosure design plans in mind. When I start building I will post pics!

Glad you are liking.... interested in what you have in mind for the real box!!

[ricksi30 923]

I spent over an hour listening to this sub today. I really like. Output its great and it sounds great. The 8" port is also sounding great for this setup.

My current enclosure was really a test box both for the sub and 8" port. Time to build a new enclosure. I have a couple new enclosure design plans in mind. When I start building I will post pics!

Awesome man! Looking forward to the new enclosure.

[edouble101 314]

I spent over an hour listening to this sub today. I really like. Output its great and it sounds great. The 8" port is also sounding great for this setup.

My current enclosure was really a test box both for the sub and 8" port. Time to build a new enclosure. I have a couple new enclosure design plans in mind. When I start building I will post pics!

Glad you are liking.... interested in what you have in mind for the real box!!

I didn't put too much time into building this enclosure. Plus I would rather use birch for an enclosure of this size.

The is ZCON and 8" port are moving a lot of air and I think it its being trapped in the trunk. It is loud but oddly enough it isnt felt like I expected. I would like to cut out the metal rear deck and have the port and sub mounted there sealed from the trunk. Would be cool to look in my rear view mirror and see a ZCON Or mount them behind the rear seat sealed from the trunk. I hate having to put the rear seat down all the time though. I thought about modding the rear seat backs to allow better air flow. I like the rear deck idea more.

This setup isn't as musical as I like. I pounds like a mother f'r with rap songs. I don't listen to rap often though. Other types of music seem to be missing the sub bass qualities that I enjoyed from the 13w6. I realize that the ZCON wasn't designed to be an SQ woofer. I am hearing it's purpose LOUD AND CLEAR lol. I am very anxious to get this sub firing forward sealed from the trunk. I think I will enjoy it even more then! Maybe the 8" port is hurting the overall response and capabilities of this setup.

On a side note. The DC Audio 2.0k is a great amp. When I had my JL Audio XD600/1 my voltage would fluctuate drastically, even into the high 15V range. Weird. The 2.0k definitely stresses my stock alternator but I am not seeing those crazy +15V spikes.

Hopefully within a couple weeks I can have a better more permenant install with this ZCON and 8" port.