The Boominator - another stab at the ultimate party machine

Indeed, it controls gain instead of signal amplitude. It's not in the signal path, so it won't affect the sound.

I wouldn't worry about carbon/black attracting heat unless you're going to use it in really hot places.
edit: Ah, australia. Then maybe it's more of an easy. White warnex looks really clean, have a look at Phaedras' white signature boominator: click

IMO a serie/parallel switch is the way to go. Get a decent quality switch so it won't fail on you when you need it the most (murphy's law ;)). Labeled boost/eco, high power/lower power, party/energy saver or something like that. The most foolproof, easy and cost effective solution. Wouldn't worry too much about the increased power consumption on 12v unless you really value every minute of playtime.
 
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I wouldn't worry about carbon/black attracting heat unless you're going to use it in really hot places.

Australia is a pretty hot place though. Leave a black Boominator in the midday Summer Sun and you can quite literally fry eggs on it. Other Aussie builders that build for outback hiking tend to use lighter grey, or at least lighter colours to avoid issues. Typically, carbon fiber is only rated for 65 degrees celcius, I'm quite convinced black carbon fiber would get well above that if left in the Sun.
 
The reason the miniDSP pot can be dirt cheap is that it only controls a digital volume control so the quality doesn't matter at all.

Ok, fair enough, i'll just get a pot then. Cheers.


EDIT: btw, you can get carbon fibre sheets in pretty much any colour you like.

Cool, i just googled that, the coloured stuff looks awesome, i may look into that further. I never knew.

Camp Fri Ost (means Free Cheese) at Roskilde Festival have a amp9/amp6 set-up that works pretty well and is completely fool proof. It simply have the two amps in separate but identical cases with identical lead in and out's. When the amp6 case is used the 2 batteries are paralleled inside the case so that it's 12V and the opposite in the amp9 case for fixed 24V operation.

I assume that Camp Fri Ost's interchangeable amp9/6 are both only using 2 channels then?

Based on what you've said, perhaps i should just stick to the pure signature version.
Most of our music festivals here are 2-3 days anyway. Random camping trips could be longer but with a bit of increased battery size and (if i can find it) increased solar size, 12v mode may just work for me for extended periods.

Get a decent quality switch so it won't fail on you when you need it the most (murphy's law ;))
Yep i will be sure to use good quality components throughout. No point dropping $1000 AUD on speakers to then buy cheap switches and stuff.

Typically, carbon fiber is only rated for 65 degrees celcius, I'm quite convinced black carbon fiber would get well above that if left in the Sun.
Definitely - when it's 40c in the shade, a black object sitting in the sun would easily exceed 100c. Mind you, i probably wouldn't leave it sitting int he sun in those conditions anyway.
 
Saturnus,

Would rotating the main driver space on the MINI V2 affect the diploe? I'd rather have a squarer front profile if possible at the expense of sacrificing stereo separation (which is likely poor under planned usage).

Also, I've been through several of the threads. Is the Monocor SP60 the latest MINI V2 driver? I'm in the US so a Parts Express is my choice source (along with Madisound and Midwest Speaker).

Thanks for educating me about sensitivity in my quest for a Beach boom box.

Regards,

Michael
 
I suppose you could rotate it if you like. It will naturally affect the sound and you'd likely have to fiddle with the filter in order to get the same response. But you don't have to really as you would probably just live with the small change.

As a US builder on speakerplans.com pointed out, it's cheaper to get the whole set including drivers, amp and filter parts shipped from Europe from one of the retailers that sell complete sets than it would be to buy alternatives from any of the American retailers because the total cost of shipping would be the same and the alternatives are much poorer anyway. Accusafe.com offer this service for example.

We (us Europeans), have been doing the same for years. And maybe someday an American retailers will pick up on this and offer the right drivers, and maybe even complete sets, for both the MINI and the regular version. Please note that when you look at European retailer prices that these include sales tax (VAT) of 19%-25% depending on country. This is deducted when you buy from outside the EU.
 
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I have been looking on different ways of connecting my phone to my boominator. Found this on Ebay:
Good Airmusic DLNA Airplay Qplay Music Audio Receiver WiFi HiFi Speaker | eBay

What do you guys thing of it? is the sound quality better or worse with airplay than with bluetooth? how is the power consumption generally on these type of devises? will there be any problem using the same powersource for the airplay device as for the amp?
 
It Lives!

It isn't done, but it has played music. :D This actually a photo of the 'back' side. The slot at the bottom is for a kensington lock.

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First impressions favorable. Most of my listening has been done in a basement with concrete walls and floor and maybe 10 minutes out side so it is a bit early to comment on sound quality other than to say it packs a lot of punch for its size.

Does anyone want to be added to my Christmas list (maybe 2015 given how fast the time is going!)

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Thanks again Saturnus for a great design and your tireless support of this project.
 
Wow, that looks amazing. Do you have more pictures?

I can certainly take some. Is there anything that is of particular interest? I did take some photos along the way and will write something up in the coming weeks to chronicle what was a rather trying build. Primarily due to finishing challenges, that little 45 degree chamfer around the edge, wiring a woofer backward (this was a real Homer Simpson moment).
 
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Okay, paint is rustolium hammer finish for the handle and face plates. The black is duratex and the orange is 'Chevy orange' engine paint. The wood behind the cooling slot is painted flat black to obscure the fact that only the center part is functional.

The front (and back) silver panels are 3" wide aluminum that is recessed into the front panel. The actual electronics compartment is the stock 26mm width so the face plate actually covers (and is recessed into) part of the speaker baffle. I really likes the resulting proportions.

All but one of the future builds will be 10mm wider to provide more flexibility in the electronics bay. It is quite tight at 26mm.

The grill material is a heavy screen door material. I have used it on two Boominators now and really like it. Absolutely Amazing Pet screen doors saves family pets petscreen doors dogs cats approved
 
I was around at five hardware stores and no one had a clue what corrision free silicon was... At last i found an old man at a supermarket who recommended a acetoxi based silicon, will this work?

https://www.xiameter.com/EN/EXPLORESILICONES/PRODUCTTYPES/SEALANTS/Pages/Acetoxy-Sealants.aspx

No. Acetoxy releases acetic acid, which is corrosive. It's specifically not corrosion free. You want silicon which does not produce acetic acid as it cures (which has a very distinct smell). If you can't find "corrosion free" try asking for "acetic acid free," or just google acetic acid free silicone.