8" stereo ceiling speaker/MP3 boombox

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http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=300-476

Would this work as a single point stereo speaker in a simple box enclosure. I called the tech at Parts Express and he said it could be mounted in a ceiling, wall, kitchen island pretty much anywhere. If I put it in a small box should it be ported or sealed?

I was thinking of mounting it in a small box maybe 12X12X6" or so. I would like to mount a small chip amp or T class amp inside as well as a rechargeable DC power source.

The Dayton is pretty efficient( SPL: 91 db 1W/1m) I would think one of the chip amps could drive this couldn't they?

Any advice on what equipment to use or how to do it would much appreciated! I have never done anything with active designs or chip amps.

To keep it simple I would like to just use the MP3 player for volume control. Also to keep it simple I would like to use a 2.5mm stereo jack for input.

Also I have not researched any rechargeable power source for the amp. There must be something out there that would work?

Thanks, TY
 
Hi,

Since no one else has replied I will give you my opinion however that is all it is as I have no real experience with this driver.

As to weather this driver will work in the box you have sugested, the answer is probably. It seems to have been designed with a small enclosure built in with a resistive vent to the outside. Presumably this is so that it is fairly tolerant to different chamber sizes. A very small box will probably make it peak in the bass but your suggested box didn't sound that small. If it does peak you could try an open back box, you will sacrifice some bass but it may not be that much as the driver seems to have a built in enclosure to some extenet.

Unless you want this for a work site or to have a party then the 9W amp will be OK for normal listening levels with some very minor compresion of transients. It won't be the highest quality but again it depends on what you want.

However if you want something that sounds really good for your money, I think you could do better with drive units designed for HIFI use rather than convinience. I looked at the 6.5inch version which shows pictures of the rear of the speaker, assuming the 8 inch works in the same way, I think this speaker is going to suffer from quite alot of energy reflected into the back of the cone causing distortion.

Don't get me wrong it won't be a disaster and if you just want something that will work and is fairly easy to get up and going then this may be the best bet.

However if you went for a drive unit with an open back and full technical details such as the TS parameters you could actually simulate the response, work out a box that would work well and probably end up with a much better result. However it would involve alot more work and quite alot of reading through these forums to pick up ideas. So I guess it depend on how high a quality you need, if this is a hobby project or a solve a requirement type project. If it is to solve a requirement for a smallish speaker than it will probably work ok. Since there doesn't seem to be any details on the technical performance of the drive unit it is hard to say much more.

Hopefully someone who has actually used this drive unit will post to tell you what level of compromise it is, it may not be that much. Sorry if this has left you more confused.

Regards,
Andrew
 
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