The Boominator is waaay too big for my taste. Besides, I can't get its core parts in the US. So, I've decided I'll have to design my own, no bigger than an 80's jumbo/full-size, and hopefully little over twenty pounds. With that said, I have some questions I'd like to throw out here so I can continue designing with increased confidence:
1. The only OK (light + sensitive) speakers *I* can find are the Faital W10n8-200s. I was thinking of wiring two in series to hit 4 ohms, but curious how they sounded and if they might model worse than expected (2-3DB hump ~110-160hz) in a 1-1.2 cu. foot space. I know one forum member got his to thump at 1 cubic foot for a lone driver, his model looking close to mine at 2 cubic feet for two, but still can't trust.
Faital Pro W10N8-200 10" Mid-Bass Speakers - Faital Pro W10N8-200 mid-bass speaker . This 10" speaker that has a lightweight neodymium magnet - Faital Pro W10N8-200 400 watt 10" efficiency of 98dB SPL woofer for all high power mid-bass applications.
2. Rather than make lossy xovers to blend woofs and tweets, I was thinking about going passive. The monoxover circuit looks adaptable to stereo if I made one per channel. Anyone used them, or can at least speak to real world gains?
monoXover 2-way pre-amp audio crossover
3. I know it's not hifi, but nothing screams ghettoblaster like ol' school sound controls. So, I found this LM4610 board that looks a-mazing in terms of features. But, I know it's not hi-fi. I plan on adding a bypass switch if I buy it, but all the same, am curious if it'll make my boombox sound as distorted as an 80's model...
LM4610 3D surround volume tone control board xd | eBay
www.national.com/pf/LM/LM4610.html
4. How thin a plywood choice do you think I can get away with? Even the 1/8" Home depot tat looked functional, so I'm thinking 4mm lumber yard plywood, if heavily braced and treated no rougher than a plastic boombox, should hold up under Tolex. Beyond rigidity, how badly might it affect the sonics if given little/no batting?
5. To keep weight down, I'm thinking of making a semi-compo. Remember the mini-compos, or mini-component system boomboxes? Like, the ones that had a control unit in the middle, then bracketed speakers? This way, I could leave one at home if I were to hit the park, saving much weight. I'm already leaning against it because it would inherently hurt aesthetics and slightly increase combined size + weight. Any other reasons not to make it mono convertible?
6. Have people had luck with keeping large plywood access bays rattle-free and air-tight? I might eventually switch amps (low voltage tk2050 hifimediy), upgrade batteries, and even add a phono input, integral MP3 module or other circuits. I can't spare the volume I'd lose to sealing off circuitry in its own compartment.
7. Though I know it'll cost me a bit of cabinet potential, I *really* want to hide my woofers behind grill cloth so it doesn't look like I've Peavey's bastard child on my shoulder. Any reason this isn't widely done, assuming there's slatting underneath?
Drakmin does it in his builds, as shown here:
Scratch Build Ghettoblaster 2012 by Drakmin (DIY audio) - bit-tech.net Forums
8. Having owned high-power 80's boomboxes, I've found that the treble radiates okay off cone tweets mounted in crude, integral horns. Am I right to think that bullet horn tweets would do this too? If so, might their performance fall apart at a distance?
1. The only OK (light + sensitive) speakers *I* can find are the Faital W10n8-200s. I was thinking of wiring two in series to hit 4 ohms, but curious how they sounded and if they might model worse than expected (2-3DB hump ~110-160hz) in a 1-1.2 cu. foot space. I know one forum member got his to thump at 1 cubic foot for a lone driver, his model looking close to mine at 2 cubic feet for two, but still can't trust.
Faital Pro W10N8-200 10" Mid-Bass Speakers - Faital Pro W10N8-200 mid-bass speaker . This 10" speaker that has a lightweight neodymium magnet - Faital Pro W10N8-200 400 watt 10" efficiency of 98dB SPL woofer for all high power mid-bass applications.
2. Rather than make lossy xovers to blend woofs and tweets, I was thinking about going passive. The monoxover circuit looks adaptable to stereo if I made one per channel. Anyone used them, or can at least speak to real world gains?
monoXover 2-way pre-amp audio crossover
3. I know it's not hifi, but nothing screams ghettoblaster like ol' school sound controls. So, I found this LM4610 board that looks a-mazing in terms of features. But, I know it's not hi-fi. I plan on adding a bypass switch if I buy it, but all the same, am curious if it'll make my boombox sound as distorted as an 80's model...
LM4610 3D surround volume tone control board xd | eBay
www.national.com/pf/LM/LM4610.html
4. How thin a plywood choice do you think I can get away with? Even the 1/8" Home depot tat looked functional, so I'm thinking 4mm lumber yard plywood, if heavily braced and treated no rougher than a plastic boombox, should hold up under Tolex. Beyond rigidity, how badly might it affect the sonics if given little/no batting?
5. To keep weight down, I'm thinking of making a semi-compo. Remember the mini-compos, or mini-component system boomboxes? Like, the ones that had a control unit in the middle, then bracketed speakers? This way, I could leave one at home if I were to hit the park, saving much weight. I'm already leaning against it because it would inherently hurt aesthetics and slightly increase combined size + weight. Any other reasons not to make it mono convertible?
6. Have people had luck with keeping large plywood access bays rattle-free and air-tight? I might eventually switch amps (low voltage tk2050 hifimediy), upgrade batteries, and even add a phono input, integral MP3 module or other circuits. I can't spare the volume I'd lose to sealing off circuitry in its own compartment.
7. Though I know it'll cost me a bit of cabinet potential, I *really* want to hide my woofers behind grill cloth so it doesn't look like I've Peavey's bastard child on my shoulder. Any reason this isn't widely done, assuming there's slatting underneath?
Drakmin does it in his builds, as shown here:
Scratch Build Ghettoblaster 2012 by Drakmin (DIY audio) - bit-tech.net Forums
8. Having owned high-power 80's boomboxes, I've found that the treble radiates okay off cone tweets mounted in crude, integral horns. Am I right to think that bullet horn tweets would do this too? If so, might their performance fall apart at a distance?
1/4" won't add much weight, and will be much stiffer than 1/8".
The Faital mid/woofer would be overkill. There has to be something lighter and cheaper. Look at the stamped-frame Eminence, maybe Alpha, or house brand speakers at Parts Express. If you have random car speakers around, give them a try. 10 real watts is quite a bit of power; that's essentially the same real power as "high power" car head units put out. Plenty of real ghetto blasters were under 1 watt per channel.
For access covers, look at the latches used on flight cases. I assume you'll want a place to stash an MP3 player or Discman, plus maybe a line cord or wall-wart charger.
Detachable speakers would make for better stereo listening, and allow locating speakers up higher for more coverage if desired. But it's more weight since you've got more sides. And you need a way to attach them securely.
The Faital mid/woofer would be overkill. There has to be something lighter and cheaper. Look at the stamped-frame Eminence, maybe Alpha, or house brand speakers at Parts Express. If you have random car speakers around, give them a try. 10 real watts is quite a bit of power; that's essentially the same real power as "high power" car head units put out. Plenty of real ghetto blasters were under 1 watt per channel.
For access covers, look at the latches used on flight cases. I assume you'll want a place to stash an MP3 player or Discman, plus maybe a line cord or wall-wart charger.
Detachable speakers would make for better stereo listening, and allow locating speakers up higher for more coverage if desired. But it's more weight since you've got more sides. And you need a way to attach them securely.
True. A 1/4" box would likely also weigh closer to a really hefty eight or nine pounds. That' essentially mean I'd need to make a smaller box, meaning I might not need the extra case strength in the first place.
As for speakers, I looked into the Eminence Alpha 6c and Fane Sovereign 6 drivers. Very little bass for the Eminence Alpha 6, not quite as loud (~2-3B), and they weigh within half a pound of the Faital drivers. However, the Fanes are $35 a piece and can work in pretty small boxes with tolerable extension. I might seriously consider those. As for car speakers, they're usually both inefficient and very directional. Some claim high sensitivity, but others here written both that they're a horrid boombox choice and that I shouldn't trust their specifications.
As for the old boomboxes, they often were weak. But, to get a full(ish) sound, the bigger ones used woofers that by virtue of no open cabinet space were pretty inefficient. On my M-70, (7wpc RMS) I have to turn on loudness and kick the bass up for it to not sound thin and really shrill. Like that, Mr. Street Legend really isn't loud. Even with the sound set flat, it still just doesn't have much output for outdoors use.
In regards to access covers, my concern was about gasketing,as I'm thinking I'd share the battery and electronics space with the speakers' chamber.
As for speakers, I looked into the Eminence Alpha 6c and Fane Sovereign 6 drivers. Very little bass for the Eminence Alpha 6, not quite as loud (~2-3B), and they weigh within half a pound of the Faital drivers. However, the Fanes are $35 a piece and can work in pretty small boxes with tolerable extension. I might seriously consider those. As for car speakers, they're usually both inefficient and very directional. Some claim high sensitivity, but others here written both that they're a horrid boombox choice and that I shouldn't trust their specifications.
As for the old boomboxes, they often were weak. But, to get a full(ish) sound, the bigger ones used woofers that by virtue of no open cabinet space were pretty inefficient. On my M-70, (7wpc RMS) I have to turn on loudness and kick the bass up for it to not sound thin and really shrill. Like that, Mr. Street Legend really isn't loud. Even with the sound set flat, it still just doesn't have much output for outdoors use.
In regards to access covers, my concern was about gasketing,as I'm thinking I'd share the battery and electronics space with the speakers' chamber.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.