DIY Portable Speakers?

[fury]

Hey...
I'm interested in creating some small portable speakers.
They will be run off a small tripath amp (2x25wrms @4ohms) through an ipod shuffle.

I understand obviously i'm going to have to compromise somewhere, and in this case it'll probably on lower end extension for portability.
At first I was thinking of just buying a set of cheap 4" car component speakers (tweeter, woofer, xover) but I figure I might's well as you guys what to do before I get anything.

I was now thinking a pair of 8 ohm 4" drivers, and a small 4ohm tweeter per side. Ultimately I'd like final impedence to be 4ohms as to get the most from the amp.
I was considering mounting these open baffle, just a small baffle with a stiff wire mesh around front and back to keep the drivers protected.

Couple of requirements I have...
All up the drivers can't cost more then about $50 AUD (+$20 if i feel it's worth it).
Also the drivers must be easily available in Australia...

Anywho, any help would be appreciated.

Cheers.

 

[Stocker]

I don't know if you can get them inexpensively where you are, but Aurasound has some nifty-looking 3" drivers with (relatively) huge excursion...

NS3-193-8A is the one I am thinking of, but the NS3-194-8E might be a perfect fit for you, size and price.

The only thing about these drivers is that they are a little deep, but not excessively so.
madisound

 

[AJinFLA]

I am listening to these right now as I type. I would go with the best 4-6" car drivers you can find (used if possible) for your $. You may be suprised by how good they end up sounding OB. You could also hinge the side wings so that they fold over the drivers front to protect it when not in use. Then fold back when in use.

cheers,

AJ

 

[AJinFLA]

Btw,
those are JBL P422's. Very nice sounding drivers.

 

[fury]

I've been thinking, hinged walls that fold behind to protect the driver, and grill mesh over the front to protect the cone...
Those NS3-193-8A's look awesome, and have more xmax then any speaker < 6" i've used! but i'm worried that they're too inefficient and we'd end up pushing the amp too hard.

How do the NS3-194-8E sound?
They're slightly cheaper and would probably run 2 of them per side, if postage isn't too bad.
I can't seem to find any "decent" 4" speakers for ~$10 AUD each nearby, so a pair of car splits might be on the cards (although 6" or bigger == bigger baffle == less portable).


Cheers

 

[Jim McPherson]

Hi,
I've been following your power thread on 41hz.com as well. I'd have a good look at the 2'' full range Aurasound. I just built an iPod speaker system with the Sonic Impact T-amp and a pair of the 2'' full range Aurasound's. I'm QUITE surprised at how well it sounds. It's as loud as I have any desire to play music. My wife loves it for it's compact size and portability. These little 2'' speakers can fit in a super small box. Sure your not going to hear much below 200hz, but it's portable, what should you expect? I highly recommend this setup for the iPod.

-Jim

 

[quiet]

i made a little something for my recent trip to jamaica -

The Rasta Boom Box

had great low end thatnks to 2 harmon 4" and the mids where ok
i used 2 oval compaq speakers - dont bash till you here -

powered with a cyber acustic 3 way amp - i liberated from some desktop speakers - so it runs via ac and with a home made battery pack

got it down to 50 hz via tone generator - befor it got crappy
from 10 feet its loud and has enough punch to listin to dub and hiphop

checkit out !!

RASTA BOOM BOX

 

[quiet]

oh yeah did i mention they are made out of cardboard

 

[Netlist]

Rasta Boom Box.

I like the duck tape....you're not going to cross the borders with them aren’t you?

/Hugo

 

[AJinFLA]

That is a very impressive use of the materials at hand. Did you watch MacGyver often ? Seriously, I like what you have done.
Now for even more portability, you could leave some of the sides folded (but still attached) and the back untaped together, carry a roll of duct tape with you , then unfold and assemble on site! Sweet. Myself and this gentleman are impressed. Just be careful not to put any acoustic "stuffing" in the box when returning from Jamaica...

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

Cheers,

AJ

 

[quiet]

yes MacGyver was part of my child tv line up the a-team too

number one question asked by anyone - how are you going to get that past customs...???
i wasnt worried about that - check in a bag - it would look like speakers and an amp - no big deal - if searched - and opened - i could repair it with duck tape - i wasnt worried -

the box never made it.... during a second battery test - i crossed my wires - too much "stuffing" ahead of time - this blew the amp
so it stayed behind -

i thought about a collapsible design - still thinking about one
to get respectable bass (from a 4" or 2) bracing is need : cardboard likes to vibrate - i think some ikea style wizardary is needed : but possable

thanks guys for the comments

respect

 

[johnnyfive82]

i was wondering if anyone had any design for a horn type. im thinking the 3d spiral.Im going to use the t-amp and the hivi b3s. kind of want a fullrange deal.If anyone got better ideas on drivers or box design that would be awesome.
thanks

 

[rich_gale]

quite a bit of stuff about portable rigs/12v rigs over on speakerplans... definately worth checking some of systems. mine is quite a big 12v rig, but ill be using a tripath in a smaller setup soon..

 

[johnnyfive82]

Is speaker plans a web site?

 

[rich_gale]

yes. www.speakerplans.com/forum

here are some links to 12v systems..

http://www.speakerplans.com/forum/12volt-big-daddy-wheelie-system_topic26041.html

http://www.speakerplans.com/forum/12-volt-wheelie-system-including-build-pics_topic25611.html

http://www.speakerplans.com/forum/another-12v-mini-rig_topic26056.html

http://www.speakerplans.com/forum/portable-sound-system_topic25442.html

a few of us have started to dig deep into the do's and donts, some say to only use class d/t amps to keep efficiency up, others are just going along the direction of huge gel lead acid batteries. the further you go through the threads, the more stuff has been brought into the equasion..

 

[rich_gale]

this is an awsome concept...

http://www.speakerporn.com/displayimage.php?pid=256&fullsize=1

class d -450wrms into the 2x 15" neo eminence drivers (up to 300hz)
class t - 20wrms into each 'PA Horn' doing the 300hz up to meet the eminance APT150 tweeter which have 20watts each too..(if i remember correctly)

the guy who made the system built his own active crossover with eq for the PA horns and apparently they go very loud and clear.

his deep cycle battery gives a few days use aswell!

 

[PeteMcK]

the cheap Hi-Vi fullrangers might be the go (~$20 ea, available from Darcher in Tassie), with any cash left over you could add a small sub...?

 

[johnnyfive82]

Has anyone seen any new portable designs?