I am using a 10,000 mAh battery bank at the moment, just ran out of charge. Would be nice to see how long it will last. Battery banks do not last forever, though.
The sound improvement is well worth it.
Someone suggested putting in a larger battery, maybe.
The sound improvement is well worth it.
Someone suggested putting in a larger battery, maybe.
LM3420, CN3791 and similar chips are available for battery charging...as chips and also as complete modules.
No ties to sellers.
No ties to sellers.
There are cars, but no junk yards, although I may be able to find the odd used car radio for sale. Plywood and MDF pieces are hard to find so far.
What we they have here, in the Maldives are some really nice island resorts and tourist areas, surrounded by the clearest water I have seen.
It was somewhat amusing to see the speakers they used at the island we visited, called "Crossroads" - a dedicated tourist shopping and dining location. If you stay in the main island or the next one, a day trip to the island is not as expensive as you might think, and I would recommend it to anyone. From the website you can see what it is like, and only a 15 minute boat ride from Male.
I attach images of the speakers used: both outdoors and indoors. The outdoors speaker sounded good enough, playing recognizable songs that were pleasant to listen to, and with sufficient bass.
The indoor speakers, large, overhead mounted, were playing at volumes that were registering 60 dB at the listener. There was no bass, which is why they need a subwoofer, or to enable loudness, or equalize. The high end was not there, and from what is known from the Fletcher - Munson curves, this is to be expected.
I come home and listen in near-field and at my desk to an amplifier putting out less than 1 Watt equalized to sound clear and pleasant. The car ride was no different, again, sub-human levels of sound output, but we all enjoy it. Most music is listened to at sub-optimal settings, I suppose. (The strange pattern on the speaker is due to it being taken from a still from a video, the grille is straight in real life. Makes you think that sound also is distorted in the same way)
I also took videos of the speaker playing, to identify them and analyze the sound. Playing the video over my headphones and phone showed a marked increase in bass which was not present in the original listening experience, which really benefits the speaker. A reminded to calibrate the headphones with real voices and keyboards available. It's all about Fidelity.
It was somewhat amusing to see the speakers they used at the island we visited, called "Crossroads" - a dedicated tourist shopping and dining location. If you stay in the main island or the next one, a day trip to the island is not as expensive as you might think, and I would recommend it to anyone. From the website you can see what it is like, and only a 15 minute boat ride from Male.
I attach images of the speakers used: both outdoors and indoors. The outdoors speaker sounded good enough, playing recognizable songs that were pleasant to listen to, and with sufficient bass.
The indoor speakers, large, overhead mounted, were playing at volumes that were registering 60 dB at the listener. There was no bass, which is why they need a subwoofer, or to enable loudness, or equalize. The high end was not there, and from what is known from the Fletcher - Munson curves, this is to be expected.
I come home and listen in near-field and at my desk to an amplifier putting out less than 1 Watt equalized to sound clear and pleasant. The car ride was no different, again, sub-human levels of sound output, but we all enjoy it. Most music is listened to at sub-optimal settings, I suppose. (The strange pattern on the speaker is due to it being taken from a still from a video, the grille is straight in real life. Makes you think that sound also is distorted in the same way)
I also took videos of the speaker playing, to identify them and analyze the sound. Playing the video over my headphones and phone showed a marked increase in bass which was not present in the original listening experience, which really benefits the speaker. A reminded to calibrate the headphones with real voices and keyboards available. It's all about Fidelity.
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I've finished the PAM8046 amp, and it sounds great, I've started a thread on it (why do I like low powered amps so much)
There is a serious problem running off a battery bank meant for charging mobile phones, the power shuts off after a few minutes, maybe the sensors indicate that resistance indicates that the battery is fully charged. Back to AAA batteries and battery packs, ultimately rechargeable.
After I wrote the above lines a few days ago, I realized that the entire DC input circuit was not working with AAA batteries as it did before. No light nothing. Maybe the input circuit is burned, I am running off an USB charger and 5V USB input. Could sound better.
A good standby amplifier when my other amplifiers are being repaired. All low power.
After I wrote the above lines a few days ago, I realized that the entire DC input circuit was not working with AAA batteries as it did before. No light nothing. Maybe the input circuit is burned, I am running off an USB charger and 5V USB input. Could sound better.
A good standby amplifier when my other amplifiers are being repaired. All low power.
Great, will have a look at your thread. I am a little hesitant to try out Class D, my experience has not been good with them, with the Lepai type and also the class D I heard on YouTube - there was a real difference between the Class D and class A ampifiers I heard on the same You Tube channel. Depends on design of course.
Could you post a audio clip (phone audio is good, though it emphasizes the bass), I think listening on You Tube or a recording on headphones gives a fair idea of what a system sounds like.
Back to topic: I will have to add some internal bracing to the speakers and finish them off.
Low powered amplifiers can be very good. Nelson pass frequently comments on how the system he is running seldom shows more than 1 Watt output.
Audio Files: Why Are Ultra-Low-Power Amps All the Rage Among Audiophiles?
High expectations for a low-power audiophile amplifier
I had a good listening session last evening with the MG2 and the Wharfedale Diamond IV. As the reviews say generally for Wharfedale Diamonds, smooth uncoloured sounds. I had to use the EQ on my phone, however when I did the sound quality was amazing, including the bass.
If I am to build speakers that give a similar quality output I have a lot of work to do. I also am abandoning the open baffle and cardboard speaker approach since it is difficult to get a sufficiently strong enclosure that will stand up to rough handling in use. A few more cuts of the knife and I can build a six sided speaker box instead of a 5 sided one. The existing ones sound good, however, surprisingly.
As for sourcing speakers, this is after all an experiment on using a cheap amplifier and cheap speakers to obtain decent quality sound.
Revisiting the parameters I mentioned earlier:
Constraints:
Cost of drivers
Shipping time of drivers
Simple construction
Easy to work with materials and tools
I will order low cost drivers, and if it works, OK if not, that's it, move on to a higher priced driver.
If I am to build speakers that give a similar quality output I have a lot of work to do. I also am abandoning the open baffle and cardboard speaker approach since it is difficult to get a sufficiently strong enclosure that will stand up to rough handling in use. A few more cuts of the knife and I can build a six sided speaker box instead of a 5 sided one. The existing ones sound good, however, surprisingly.
As for sourcing speakers, this is after all an experiment on using a cheap amplifier and cheap speakers to obtain decent quality sound.
Revisiting the parameters I mentioned earlier:
Constraints:
Cost of drivers
Shipping time of drivers
Simple construction
Easy to work with materials and tools
I will order low cost drivers, and if it works, OK if not, that's it, move on to a higher priced driver.
Get the drivers from Delhi in India, or Chinese ones.
Scrap car speakers?
Try those.
And look around, foam board or marine grade plywood makes good housings, you might find small pieces left over from an interior project.
Scrap car speakers?
Try those.
And look around, foam board or marine grade plywood makes good housings, you might find small pieces left over from an interior project.
Maybe you can help me, I need to get drivers within a week, is India a good source?
What if all you have is a small listening room? Can a 10” woofer be crossed over to a 4” open baffle mid and not get too big or over equalized, or whatever in a 12x14‘ room? Then there must be an optimal room size, which makes sense. As I get older I’m leaning more and more towards monitors in the wall.
What does an open baffle mean to you, what does it do that you want?
In wall infinite baffle sounds interesting. Smaller rooms don't necessarily want smaller speakers.
In wall infinite baffle sounds interesting. Smaller rooms don't necessarily want smaller speakers.
Well, open would be a loudspeaker with no box but with a board or baffle where the driver radiates into both hemispheres. This baffle can be of any size up to a Planck number.
What does it do that I want? Well heck, everything posted about them says they are the best thing since canned beer! Wide dynamic range, pinpoint imaging, and a lot of other unsubstantiated claims.
Seriously, I thought a small open baffle in a small room would give good results in the upper midrange that are better than a closed box with sides and corners. I’m thinking that a small open baffle wouldn’t have as many early reflections and might produce clearer sound in the upper midrange.
Sorry, gotta go, my wife wants to look at the Milkyway.
What does it do that I want? Well heck, everything posted about them says they are the best thing since canned beer! Wide dynamic range, pinpoint imaging, and a lot of other unsubstantiated claims.
Seriously, I thought a small open baffle in a small room would give good results in the upper midrange that are better than a closed box with sides and corners. I’m thinking that a small open baffle wouldn’t have as many early reflections and might produce clearer sound in the upper midrange.
Sorry, gotta go, my wife wants to look at the Milkyway.
For the infinite baffle in a small room the room becomes the speaker enclosure. So I would be sitting in the loudspeaker. Heater vents and hallways could be problematic but it would be an interesting project.
OBTW, the Milkyway was spectacular arching across the sky. I‘ve seen people cry the first time they see it.
OBTW, the Milkyway was spectacular arching across the sky. I‘ve seen people cry the first time they see it.
Does it seem unusual to you that this implies that closed boxes can't do these things? Just saying..
An open baffle has edges too. Still, I think you'll be glad you tried an open back speaker.
I do think closed boxes do those things, I’ve heard some really amazing loudspeakers in my day and the vast majority are boxes.
I’m going to try an open baffle and see what the fuss is about. A drawback is I really don’t have a good sized room for listening. I should be OK though, I do have a good listening room. I’m also building a set of Le Monstres to see what all the hype is about class A.
I’m going to try an open baffle and see what the fuss is about. A drawback is I really don’t have a good sized room for listening. I should be OK though, I do have a good listening room. I’m also building a set of Le Monstres to see what all the hype is about class A.
Hi all,
I have done this several times. Went to the thrift store to find some cheap speakers and mod a bluetooth speaker for its amp.
this setup
$10 Bose 21 bookshelf speakers
$3 some Volkswagen bluetooth speaker
$1 cable to use for wire.
$6 soldering iron from harbor freight
8002d ic.. running speakers in series.
It sounds best when near full volume.
At first i had to add 6db at 50hz to get it to sound right.
It made the bt-amp auto adjust to like 80% max volume. it sounded like more power less gain therefore better sound.
After some playing around with different dsp and such:
I simply set foobar to 'downmix channels to mono'. Bingo. sounds perfect and gets plenty loud.no other eq settings needed.I am surprised by the sound.
It doesn't come close to my home setup (scanspeak classic 2way, briangt lm3886, audiogd dac 8x 16/441, dayton titanic 12" dayton spa1000)
With other bluetooth speakers, I had problems with ones that have a mic built in.
I think they autoadjust for voice calls and such so the mic provides feedback to the dsp
I didnt do much testing as these setups are for friends who dont have much.
Other stuff in picture..
Roku
Chromecast w/ ethernet
Extreme networks AP with openWRT
HP G1 mini PC with ESXi
LED controller
42" lcd tv
-Marshall
I have done this several times. Went to the thrift store to find some cheap speakers and mod a bluetooth speaker for its amp.
this setup
$10 Bose 21 bookshelf speakers
$3 some Volkswagen bluetooth speaker
$1 cable to use for wire.
$6 soldering iron from harbor freight
8002d ic.. running speakers in series.
It sounds best when near full volume.
At first i had to add 6db at 50hz to get it to sound right.
It made the bt-amp auto adjust to like 80% max volume. it sounded like more power less gain therefore better sound.
After some playing around with different dsp and such:
I simply set foobar to 'downmix channels to mono'. Bingo. sounds perfect and gets plenty loud.no other eq settings needed.I am surprised by the sound.
It doesn't come close to my home setup (scanspeak classic 2way, briangt lm3886, audiogd dac 8x 16/441, dayton titanic 12" dayton spa1000)
With other bluetooth speakers, I had problems with ones that have a mic built in.
I think they autoadjust for voice calls and such so the mic provides feedback to the dsp
I didnt do much testing as these setups are for friends who dont have much.
Other stuff in picture..
Roku
Chromecast w/ ethernet
Extreme networks AP with openWRT
HP G1 mini PC with ESXi
LED controller
42" lcd tv
-Marshall
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