Small Portable Weatherproof Speaker

smscad · 31st October 2012, 09:35 AM

Hi all,

I want to make a portable weatherproof speaker. I plan to use the Tripath TA2020 Amplifier that will be powered by a 12V 7ah SLA battery. I have found these waterproof speakers that I was planning on using. The speaker needs to be weatherproof as I want to be able to mount it on a bike rack for our tandem bike, use it by the pool and while camping.

I would like some advice on whether these speakers are appropriate to use with this amplifier. Is 4 ohm better than 8ohm in this case? Do I need any tweeters?

I have come up with a rough housing shape. I want to be able to have the speaker be able to sit flat or in a vertical position. Is the housing large enough? Should I keep the battery compartment separate from the speaker housing? I have attached a drawing of what I am thinking.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Simon

Amplifier
Tripath TA2020 PCB 25Watt Class-T Audio Amplifier Board | eBay

Battery specs
7.2 Amp Hour 12V Sealed Lead Acid Battery - Jaycar Electronics

Speakers
FR 13 WP Black - 4 Ohm

mrduke · 1st November 2012, 12:36 AM

Seems like those speakers are weatherproof on "both" sides, with fully encased magnet etc. it also is weatherproof on the back side. It might be overkill for you if you build the box well sealed, since there are a variety of regular speakers that are more or less weatherproof on the front and would give you a better bang for the buck.
For the TA2020 chip 4 Ohms gives more output but 8 Ohm slightly better efficiency for the amp. I think 4 Ohms are generally preferred for that amp/chip.
For a portable speaker I do recommend tweeters, since listeners are generally never on-axis. (Full-range speakers does generally not spread high freqs very good.) It is of course a matter of taste since tweeters increase the complexity, cost and so on.

smscad · 1st November 2012, 12:59 AM

Thanks for the reply Mr Duke.
The speaker information says "IP protection class for front side when built into a sealed enclosure" so I think it is only the front that is waterproof. I need to find a speaker available in Australia. There doesn't appear to be a great deal of variety that I can find. Do you have a suggestion for tweeter size or type?
How do I know how big the enclosure should be for this speaker. I want to make sure the enclosure size is suitable. Should both speakers be in the same space or do they need to be kept separate?

Bare · 1st November 2012, 02:08 AM

Earbuds! Skull Candy brand..if You can afford those :-)

katana2112 · 1st November 2012, 02:36 AM

How about boat speakers?
NEW Bazooka MAC6502B 2-Way 6.5" Marine Audio Speakers Black (Pair) | eBay
Just a thought.....

smscad · 1st November 2012, 03:14 AM

@Kantana
The speaker I originally specified is for a marine application.
@Bare
I want to include some other features besides the speakers ie charge phone while playing music, that earbuds can't do. It was worth suggesting though :-)

mrduke · 2nd November 2012, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smscad

The speaker information says "IP protection class for front side when built into a sealed enclosure" so I think it is only the front that is waterproof.

OK, got it but my point was only that most regular speakers can take quite some "weather abuse" before actually breaking. Have you read the Boominator thread here on the forum? That design uses just treated paper cones and is used it some of the most gnarly, rainy rock festivals you will find... How weatherproof are you really looking at?

Quote:

Originally Posted by smscad

Do you have a suggestion for tweeter size or type?

Just make sure it has higher sensitivity than the woofers so you can attenuate it to the right level. You don't want to attenuate the woofer! And make sure it has wide dispersion, like not variants with deep waveguides or horns.

Quote:

Originally Posted by smscad

How do I know how big the enclosure should be for this speaker. I want to make sure the enclosure size is suitable. Should both speakers be in the same space or do they need to be kept separate?

Download winISD or similar modeling SW and put in the T/S parameters of the woofers. There are guides how to do this, just google it. I would say keep them in separate volumes...

smscad · 5th November 2012, 01:34 AM

Found another speaker. From my reading of the boominator thread it sounds like the higher the efficiency the better.
Would this be suitable for the Tripath amp. I wasn't sure if the rated power of 20W is to low to be used with the tripath amp.
R 10 S - 4 Ohm

mrduke · 7th November 2012, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smscad

Found another speaker. From my reading of the boominator thread it sounds like the higher the efficiency the better.
Would this be suitable for the Tripath amp. I wasn't sure if the rated power of 20W is to low to be used with the tripath amp.
R 10 S - 4 Ohm

Yep efficiency is very important for how loud you can go with the limited power a battery based and portable system can provide you with.
The speaker you link to is probably pretty crappy, the freq chat show huge in-linearities in response and the FS is high (180Hz) meaning you will have no bass.
I don't have any experience of it, but a lot of people have reported good results with the SP-60/4 or SP-60/8 from Monacor. It needs a tweeter though.
I am just finalizing a portable speaker with the NS3 from aurasound. Please note that it is not very loud, that is not the purpose of that one: Completed micro-boombox with TA2020

I think you need to find a proper diy hifi store to start with, seems other Aussies solves it by shipping in from overseas:
Does anyone know where to buy speakers drivers (and subs) in Australia?

smscad · 7th November 2012, 09:10 AM

OK, I think I'm getting the hang of reading these charts now.

Would this be a better combination
http://www.essentialaudio.com.au/pdf...C9FD-18-08.pdf
http://www.essentialaudio.com.au/pdf...C25SC55-04.pdf

I don't think I'll worry about trying to waterproof.

If they are alright then I have a couple of questions.
Do they need separate enclosures or do the tweeter and driver go in the same enclosure?
How do I know what to use as the crossover?

1st November 2012, 02:36 AM	#5
katana2112 diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2008	How about boat speakers? NEW Bazooka MAC6502B 2-Way 6.5" Marine Audio Speakers Black (Pair) \| eBay Just a thought..... __________________ Aggressively Passive

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Small Portable 3" Speaker?	Entreated	Everything Else	1	10th August 2012 06:32 PM
Small and portable headphone amp Crisis	firefart_1st	Headphone Systems	15	26th May 2010 08:24 PM
Any recommendation for outdoor weatherproof speaker connectors?	swechsler	Multi-Way	3	27th August 2008 05:46 AM
small driver for portable speakers	_atari_	Full Range	7	15th May 2008 01:04 PM
Small Portable Speakers and a T-Amp	guitarobert	Full Range	2	24th January 2008 06:40 PM

New To Site?	Need Help?
Register to Participate Search Privacy Statement Contact Us	Frequently Asked Questions Did you forget your password? Mark Forums Read


	Please consider donating to help us continue to serve you. Ads on/off / Custom Title / More PMs / More album space / Advanced printing & mass image saving

1st November 2012, 12:36 AM	#2
mrduke diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2012	Seems like those speakers are weatherproof on "both" sides, with fully encased magnet etc. it also is weatherproof on the back side. It might be overkill for you if you build the box well sealed, since there are a variety of regular speakers that are more or less weatherproof on the front and would give you a better bang for the buck. For the TA2020 chip 4 Ohms gives more output but 8 Ohm slightly better efficiency for the amp. I think 4 Ohms are generally preferred for that amp/chip. For a portable speaker I do recommend tweeters, since listeners are generally never on-axis. (Full-range speakers does generally not spread high freqs very good.) It is of course a matter of taste since tweeters increase the complexity, cost and so on.

1st November 2012, 12:59 AM	#3
smscad diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Maitland	Thanks for the reply Mr Duke. The speaker information says "IP protection class for front side when built into a sealed enclosure" so I think it is only the front that is waterproof. I need to find a speaker available in Australia. There doesn't appear to be a great deal of variety that I can find. Do you have a suggestion for tweeter size or type? How do I know how big the enclosure should be for this speaker. I want to make sure the enclosure size is suitable. Should both speakers be in the same space or do they need to be kept separate?

1st November 2012, 02:08 AM	#4
Bare diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: vancouver	Earbuds! Skull Candy brand..if You can afford those :-)

1st November 2012, 03:14 AM	#6
smscad diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Maitland	@Kantana The speaker I originally specified is for a marine application. @Bare I want to include some other features besides the speakers ie charge phone while playing music, that earbuds can't do. It was worth suggesting though :-)

5th November 2012, 01:34 AM	#8
smscad diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Maitland	Found another speaker. From my reading of the boominator thread it sounds like the higher the efficiency the better. Would this be suitable for the Tripath amp. I wasn't sure if the rated power of 20W is to low to be used with the tripath amp. R 10 S - 4 Ohm

7th November 2012, 09:10 AM	#10
smscad diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Maitland	OK, I think I'm getting the hang of reading these charts now. Would this be a better combination http://www.essentialaudio.com.au/pdf...C9FD-18-08.pdf http://www.essentialaudio.com.au/pdf...C25SC55-04.pdf I don't think I'll worry about trying to waterproof. If they are alright then I have a couple of questions. Do they need separate enclosures or do the tweeter and driver go in the same enclosure? How do I know what to use as the crossover?