Hey y’all. After lurking these forums for the last few years, I figured I should finally login and post something. I’ve been toying with a bunch of ideas, mostly of the boombox/Bluetooth portable speaker variety. They’re great gifts for everyone I know, and I really enjoy both the technical challenge, and the “cosmetic” challenge!
A HUGE thank you to SO many of you guys, for curating such an insanely-informative and helpful forum that’s helped me countless times. I’ve only been tinkering and building for a year, but I’m looking forward to contributing as much as I can!
Anyway, here’s a few random builds over the last year after starting this VERY addicting hobby!
- Fender Champ BT Speaker: My first project; a 12v Bluetooth speaker for my friends wedding present. (he’s a lifelong musician) PAM8610, 3” 8 ohm Sony “buyout” speakers from Parts Express (I’ve since bought dozens of these $1.89 speakers - they sound shockingly great for small boxes!)
- Mom’s “Tube” Nightstand Speaker: Literally designed for my mom to listen to her podcasts. The tube is purely aesthetic, lit with a blue LED. PAM8403, cheap amazon 2” full rangers.
- Pelican Case On-Set Bluetooth Speaker: I work in film/tv, and slapped together this little 2.1 channel monster for on-set duty. TPA3116 2.1 amp, M38 Bluetooth module. Two 3” GRS full range drivers, and a Drok 4.5” woofer. Powered by single Sony NP-F style batteries; which are commonplace on any set. 8.4v boosted to 12v, each battery gets about 3 hours of full-blast runtime. I’m pretty sure I threw this thing together in an afternoon, and it looks like it. But damn it sounds great, and it’s indestructible!
- Paige’s NYC Dorm Speaker: A portable Bluetooth speaker for my niece’s freshman dorm. 8.4v LiPo, boosted to 12v, powering a PAM8610. Two 2.25” Aiyma full-range drivers, with matching passive radiators on the rear.
- Lastly, a few other random builds; I tend to build lots of prototypes for the hell of it.
Thanks for reading! I look forward to stealing as much knowledge as I can from all of you!
- Zack
A HUGE thank you to SO many of you guys, for curating such an insanely-informative and helpful forum that’s helped me countless times. I’ve only been tinkering and building for a year, but I’m looking forward to contributing as much as I can!
Anyway, here’s a few random builds over the last year after starting this VERY addicting hobby!
- Fender Champ BT Speaker: My first project; a 12v Bluetooth speaker for my friends wedding present. (he’s a lifelong musician) PAM8610, 3” 8 ohm Sony “buyout” speakers from Parts Express (I’ve since bought dozens of these $1.89 speakers - they sound shockingly great for small boxes!)
- Mom’s “Tube” Nightstand Speaker: Literally designed for my mom to listen to her podcasts. The tube is purely aesthetic, lit with a blue LED. PAM8403, cheap amazon 2” full rangers.
- Pelican Case On-Set Bluetooth Speaker: I work in film/tv, and slapped together this little 2.1 channel monster for on-set duty. TPA3116 2.1 amp, M38 Bluetooth module. Two 3” GRS full range drivers, and a Drok 4.5” woofer. Powered by single Sony NP-F style batteries; which are commonplace on any set. 8.4v boosted to 12v, each battery gets about 3 hours of full-blast runtime. I’m pretty sure I threw this thing together in an afternoon, and it looks like it. But damn it sounds great, and it’s indestructible!
- Paige’s NYC Dorm Speaker: A portable Bluetooth speaker for my niece’s freshman dorm. 8.4v LiPo, boosted to 12v, powering a PAM8610. Two 2.25” Aiyma full-range drivers, with matching passive radiators on the rear.
- Lastly, a few other random builds; I tend to build lots of prototypes for the hell of it.
Thanks for reading! I look forward to stealing as much knowledge as I can from all of you!
- Zack
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Oh yeah, my current build. It’s a 2.1 channel desktop system. I’ve recently been fascinated by these tiny, 3” and 4” subwoofers. In particular, the Tang Band W3-1876S - a tiny 3” subwoofer that’s generated a ton of great reviews. And while the YouTube “Hexibase” stuff is totally impressive, I wanted to see how it sounded in a small 2.1-channel desktop build…not to mention, I don’t have a 3D printer!
Anyway, I was reluctant to drop $50 bucks, but I picked up a rare used, unopened one on eBay for $22 bucks shipped. Woot!
A pair of 2” inch Peerless TC6FD-00-04 full-rangers rounds out the speakers. I’m testing them with a 200uf capacitor to cut out anything lower than about 200hz.
* I actually cut a different baffle/front panel to test the 3” inch Dayton Audio 3” Poly full-rangers. They sounded much fuller in the midrange, but they had nowhere near the treble and HF response as the Peerless.
I’m currently in pre-fab/testing mode; mostly because I’ve got a ton of free lumber at my disposal, but also because I just prefer listening instead of modeling! I’ve tried a few inexpensive 2.1-channel class-d amp boards, like the TPA3116D2 and the dual PAM8610-based amp from Parts Express. So far, the cheaper PE amp board is in the lead. Tons of output for a TINY little board, especially at a measly 12 volts, AND it’s got an external pot for the sub volume.
I’ll do my best to follow-up with the progress!
Anyway, I was reluctant to drop $50 bucks, but I picked up a rare used, unopened one on eBay for $22 bucks shipped. Woot!
A pair of 2” inch Peerless TC6FD-00-04 full-rangers rounds out the speakers. I’m testing them with a 200uf capacitor to cut out anything lower than about 200hz.
* I actually cut a different baffle/front panel to test the 3” inch Dayton Audio 3” Poly full-rangers. They sounded much fuller in the midrange, but they had nowhere near the treble and HF response as the Peerless.
I’m currently in pre-fab/testing mode; mostly because I’ve got a ton of free lumber at my disposal, but also because I just prefer listening instead of modeling! I’ve tried a few inexpensive 2.1-channel class-d amp boards, like the TPA3116D2 and the dual PAM8610-based amp from Parts Express. So far, the cheaper PE amp board is in the lead. Tons of output for a TINY little board, especially at a measly 12 volts, AND it’s got an external pot for the sub volume.
I’ll do my best to follow-up with the progress!
Attachments
Quick update on my current project; 2.1 channel “executive” Bluetooth speaker.
Finally found some time tonight to wrap the frame in grey tolex, mounted and sealed the drivers/subwoofer. Vinyl-wrapped the baffle in matte black, and then I ran out of matching black cap head screws! I’ll have to swap those silver bolts out asap.
Finally found some time tonight to wrap the frame in grey tolex, mounted and sealed the drivers/subwoofer. Vinyl-wrapped the baffle in matte black, and then I ran out of matching black cap head screws! I’ll have to swap those silver bolts out asap.
