speaker travel box?

[timfishy]

hi, im going away for this year and to university for a few years after and im looking to sort out a sound system.

Im my room at home i have a 2x400Wrms PA amp in a 2U rack mount case and 2x200Wrms floor standing speakers. Its obviously not as good sound as most of you guys want/like but ive never heard better and im on a low budget.
For starters this is hardly portable :-)

My basic idea is to have a box not much bigger than 16",11" and 9" internal dimentions that the amp sits in with the small speakers.
I will get the lot out and the other end. Then the box that it all came in acts as the sub box.

So this is two speakers 5.5" x 5.5" and 14" tall
and a sub with box size 16" x 11" x 9"

Im looking at MDF construction.

Sorry about my description but its really hard to explain.

So what are the chances of making this with cheap drivers for under £150, and more importanly will i be able to do it?

Tim

[timfishy]

oh and my amp is into 4ohm minimum and only two channels, and it would be good if i didnt have to use a seperate amp for the sub. you can get 2 channel wired subs cant you? oh and then i'd need some sort of crossover to give the sub only the lows.

Tim

[joe carrow]

You want to build a box that works as a speaker box, but holds the amp? This is so that you won't have as many boxes when you travel?

Well, you're not going to cut down on size if you put it all into one box. Then you'll just have one really big box! Also, the amp ought to be in free air so that it can stay cool.

Maybe you can take a step back and explain your goals a little more.

[timfishy]

yeah sorry,

the speakers and amp will only be in the sub during transit

then when i get to my destination (or home) I take the speakers and amp out and connect it all up.

Te main reason is so i only have one reasonable sized box rather than...

one reasonable sized box, an amp and the speakers.

is that clearer?

Tim

[Variac]

I believe that he wants to put the 2 satelite speakers and the amp in the subwoofer box for travel, then remove them to use.

Since they will fit in the required sub box, they will be quite a bit more compact that carrying a separate sub, 2 satelites, and an amp.

Seems like a good idea to me. The sub box might require some work to make sure it seals well when used as a sub, and some stuffing might need to be added for use. Instead of stuffing, maybe foam could be glued to the sub inner walls, which would act as padding for the amp and satalites while being transported!

MDF is rather heavy and fragile. Maybe plywood would be better.

[Kittle]

interesting idea...

couple comments from my end. I designed my sealed box sub to have a removeable bottom (so I can get inside the thing when needed), and one of the problems that came up was making an airtight seal on the removeable bottom.

What works so far is to get a sheet of 40mil PVC sheeting -- used in creation of shower stalls(?) and cut a single piece of that as a gasket. Then regular machine screws with tNuts on the internal bracing to hold things to gether.

You may also want to look at building in some fittings/holders so the amp & other speakers will bolt onto during transit. Then there is less worry about things shifting and screwing up the internal damping of your box.

[timfishy]

you've got it spot on,

My mum had 2 Mission 731's
they got left outside after a party (nothing to do with me :-) ) and always sounded funny at high volume after that.

Im thinking of getting another two of these because they were pretty good for the money and somebody i know is trying to sell some nearly new ones.

I might have to do some sub dimention changes (not too much of a problem) to get these in but i shouldnt be to bad for a compact system and with the sub. They always did suffer with the bass end of things...

Then i have to work out wiring with a sub.. the missions are 8ohm from what i remember.
anybody know of any cheap 2 channel wirable sub at only 9"ish

Tim

[timfishy]

well actually any size not just 9" because i can adjust the sub box to suit....

[johnnyx]

You might be able to use some ideas from a portable system I made, which was able to go camping, in caravans, hotels, or chalets. When travelling you often get satellite TV, but no music.

The satellites were built into a diecast box, about 1l internal volume. I used a 3" bass unit from a car audio speaker, and a 11mm (?) tweeter by Audax. The crossover was one coil and one cap. I used a fan grille to protect the woofer. Spring clip terminals on the rear. If a wire breaks when camping, it's easy to re-connect. There was no bass, but they sounded really clear and detailed.

The amp was in another diecast box, with a transformer, Ni-Cds, & 12v inputs. It was a car type chip amp.

The whole thing, along with a Walkman, fitted into a case intended for power tools. Easy to pack in the boot (trunk) with all the luggage.

It was very successful.