My message to Saturnus about the SB 2

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His inbox is over quota, so I decided to post it here - who has some ideas?

Hello,

I am considering to get the Soundboks 2 for listening to cellphone streamed Spotify music when walking around, Carneval, private party etc.
Problem: I 've heard that the backpack is not available, right?
Questions: About SPL. I usually measure dBC weighted, slow average. I have a PA system where I usually listen up to 114dB, C weighted, slow average. I want to FEEL the music. Unfortunately, my neighbors are a real problem, so I cannot go above about 114dBC/slow. Most energy is between 50 and 150Hz (2 x 18 inch plus 2 x 15 inch 3 ways). That system is not portable. For portability, I am willing to give up a little SPL AND low end response - even over that already reduced - due to neighbors - listening experience, although that hurts A LOT.
What is - honestly - the 3 hours, C weighted, slow average 1m distance outdoors SPL capability of the Soundboks 2 ? More like 112dBC/slow, right?
What is approx. the lower corner frequency? 80 Hz?
Why use a DC DC booster within the SB 2 instead of 2 series connected batteries? Even a good efficient booster will CONSUME energy, while a 2nd series connected battery would ADD energy storage! Please consider this!
I really NEED some serious SPL capability. Not sure if I should get the SB2 or some passive 12 inch PA speaker plus bicycle battery plus class D mono fullbridge. SB 2 would be less heavy, while my solution would most likely beat it on SPL AND play duration. Cost would be almost similar.
Your opinion?
 
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Got the Soundboks 2 today. Tested indoor, seems working. Full power test maybe this or next weekend outdoors if the weather is ok.
Question: Should I have got the batteryboks or the Batteryboks 2? The cardboard box where the battery was inside says "BATTERYBOKS". I have no iďea if I got the right battery - what s the difference between the 2?
 
Hello, thanks I think I got the right Batteryboks.

Impressions so far: The charger needs endless time, think a 5 Amp charger would' ve been better, especially when playing while charging, though maybe 3 dollars more expensive.

Tested the speaker today in a small room, mode set to "outdoor", with the charger plugged to help the battery rail.
The speaker was not in the corner, more in the midlle of the room. I pushed it all the way to 110dB, C weighted, slow average at a distance of 1m. I am used to listening at that levels with my main system, that sounds completely clean and plays effortless at that level (20dB below rated power). The Soundboks already sounded a little "agonized" in comparison, so I did not push more SPL, although I guess a few more dB would still 've been feasible.
But hey: NOT BAD for a battery speaker!!
Tomorrow I am planning an outdoor test, if the weather is ok.
 
Today I did the outdoor test. Went to the football area outside the village.
Result: 90dBC, maybe 91 in 10 meters distance, slow average metering. That is it. And that is NOT BAD, since it can keep that for quite some time. After 2 hours of mixed playing, at times full volume songs , breaks, low volume listening etc... I still had 3 of 5 battery meter units left.
At greater distances on axis, the treble and bass more or less disappear and leave only the beaming midrange of the 10" drivers. That is why 70dBC at 100m is not possible, more like 65 (though I did not exactly measure the 100m).
Cannot attach fotos of today, since the computer I am sitting at has no bluetooth.
Had to change the location after a few minutes, since some camping nomades near the football area did not like DJ Klubbingman as much as I. Though it was NOT sunday and NOT night, I wasn't sure if I d be allowed to continue by law at all since it looks like the boring guys always seem to be favored by law against the party crowd. I will NEVER understand these kind of guys, NEVER EVER! Anyway I went down further to the river danube where I could continue testing. Listening to the soundboks across the big river would ve been technically possible at up to 60dBC, but there was no way to get to the other bank.
 
Fotos attached.
 

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Today I went to carnival parade with the soundboks (dressed as DJ - how imaginative!). I took it all the way to "11" of course!!
There was of course no way to compete with bigger AC (gasoline generator) powered systems on carriages, but the soundboks did raise some eyebrows! Definitely.
Soudboks did well in some light rain.
It really LOVES being next to a wall, better still within a corner, otherwise the bass gets lost after a few meters.
It was a real pain checking that battery meter once a while and losing indicator after indicator. A second battery would come for EUR 149, that is steep!! (It is already in my amazon shopping basket, waiting for some sale at maybe EUR 129 - maximum what I could afford ;)
Anyway - I 'd really LOVE a few more dB's. Who knows the schematic / components rating? Is there any way to increase DC-DC booster output by a few volts without damaging the class D modules? I am thinking of connecting two batteryboks in parallel to cope with the increased current (But then I d need 4 batteryboks if I want to increase playtime too OMG).
Or wait ! The booster does what? 23V, right? What if i ditch the booster and supply the class D's by 2 series connected batteryboks, 1 in the enclosure, the other one glues on top of the soundboks? Not a big improvement in dB output, but in efficiency and playtime......
 
I could get almost +6dB if I just bought a second soundboks. But if I can solve the issue of size and weight then, there is still the question of how to connect both to bluetooth. Maybe I should aim at a stereo setup. Is that possible over bloetooth or is a cable needed? An stereo to 2 x mono adapter cable from cellphone headphones out... hmm .. What nominal level does the signal need to have?
 
My school does parties now and then - We use two SB2 along with a CUBO 15" sub. If you don't want to invest in anything big right off the batch, I'd start by using an AUX cable. Better quailty and possibly louder sound. (Also makes life easier when connecting two boxes). Also - What device do you DJ on? Iphone has a very low output - If you use spotify, there is a way to EQ the sound louder, which helps us A LOT!

Maybe a Tham12 with superbass plugin (ADAU1701) would help out with the not so loud bass outdoors :) But that's a bigger investment
 
I DJ using Spotify on Android over bluetooth (Huawei P10 lite, maybe will update to Honor 8X or Honor 10 lite soon) . Not sure why an AUX cable would make the sound "louder"?? This can only be possible if the bluetooth signal level is too weak to utilize the full power of the SB2. But I do not think so - I cannot imagine that there is more SPL capability in that tiny battery speaker than I am getting right now over bluetooth.
Understand: I WANT more SPL, but I do not think this speaker can deliver it.
Anyway - SB2 = great speaker for the currently asked prize of EUR 800. I LOVE IT!!

Think I may not change much with my current soundboks "system", but think hard and try to find a way to carry and power my big system (2 x 18" + 2 x 15/3way) for next year s carnival.
That system will deliver about 18 - 20dB more than a single SB2 +no pain watching any battery indicators going low!
Trouble: Gasoline generators are need space for storage and can be counted on to not start up when needed afer months of storage....
 
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