Ridiculous DIY Bluetooth speaker?

I was going to ask for a camera for Christmas as my phone camera is absolutely mediocre, but costs to build my BT speaker could easily scorch over $200-$300. So I'll have to wait until my birthday till I can get an actual good camera.
Yeah, forget the camera. Spend all your money on audio equipment.
 
Now I'm looking for a radio mechanism to add into my bluetooth speaker. It can be any shape as long as it isn't longer than a foot, since I will be placing it on the right side of the cabinet. I was looking at some tuner dial graphics, but I'm afraid I won't have the correct string to move the needle. No LED/LCD displays, I like to keep it AM/FM analog. I don't want a volume control on the radio as I will already have one on the surface of the BT Speaker, so just the tuning knob is necessary.
 
Now I'm looking for a radio mechanism to add into my bluetooth speaker. It can be any shape as long as it isn't longer than a foot, since I will be placing it on the right side of the cabinet. I was looking at some tuner dial graphics, but I'm afraid I won't have the correct string to move the needle. No LED/LCD displays, I like to keep it AM/FM analog. I don't want a volume control on the radio as I will already have one on the surface of the BT Speaker, so just the tuning knob is necessary.

Seems to me that adding an analog radio will add a bit more complexity to an already complex build. If the final design is a bluetooth speaker, why not just play radio stations from an app like Tune In, sent over bluetooth?

Since your budget has creeped up to $300, I still think you could buy an excellent set of headphones, plug them into your phone, and get WAY better sound than what you'll get out of this thing, and you won't have to worry about something you won't be able to lift, and you won't need to listen to your music in a closet. No bluetooth needed, radio onboard.

If meeting your initial design criteria is important, headphones are your best bet. If having fun working on the project is more important than your initial design criteria, proceed with the build.
 
Seems to me that adding an analog radio will add a bit more complexity to an already complex build. If the final design is a bluetooth speaker, why not just play radio stations from an app like Tune In, sent over bluetooth?

Since your budget has creeped up to $300, I still think you could buy an excellent set of headphones, plug them into your phone, and get WAY better sound than what you'll get out of this thing, and you won't have to worry about something you won't be able to lift, and you won't need to listen to your music in a closet. No bluetooth needed, radio onboard.

If meeting your initial design criteria is important, headphones are your best bet. If having fun working on the project is more important than your initial design criteria, proceed with the build.
Romeo man, if you want seriously good sound for cheap, you should get a pair of these:
https://www.newark.com/stellar-labs/35-5960/full-size-dj-style-headphones/dp/52W8580

Trust me, they will blow your mind.
Ah, No thank you sir. I'm happy with what I've got right now. They're just your average cheap generic earbuds, but I just wanted them to be capable of lots of bass boost and deep bass, and they totally serve that just fine.
If only I had high quality Bianural microphones and some foam, something like that, then I could give you a demo. But those are real expensive for the money we make.

And kids bragging about how low and hard their earbuds/headphones can go on bass tests, That's literally in every single headphone. It's nothing special. So I've decided to wait out the camera, and raised my DIY budget to the max of $500. Plenty enough to buy all or most parts, and obviously better than my sucky-ass Aiwa Exos-9 which is really thin on bass and doesn't even sound like a true 2.1 system as they claim.
 
Every time I read this thread it makes less sense. Guess I need to Photoshop something up: Romeo Wolf Approved!
It's definitely confusing. It's almost like needing to work on a couple missing assignments but have no time to work on them because homework is in the way.
 
So, if all you want is bass, buy a nice powered subwoofer and run it by itself. If you buy a $500 subwoofer you will be able to use it with every HT and/or 2 channel setup you ever get and it will sound great. Tons of rich deep bass.







;)
 
So, if all you want is bass, buy a nice powered subwoofer and run it by itself. If you buy a $500 subwoofer you will be able to use it with every HT and/or 2 channel setup you ever get and it will sound great. Tons of rich deep bass.







;)
I've got quite a subwoofer. It's not powered, but since I don't have any plans to use it, I'll stuff it into my Bluetooth speaker. 5 Ohms, 10", probably around 130 watts as they say on the internet but doesn't say it's actual wattage on the magnet. Whatever, it's a Yamaha SW-P3600 so it'll probably sound good for a passive Subwoofer. But the twist is that when I Install it on my Bluetooth speaker, it'll be inverted the other way for deeper bass. No worries, the diy enclosure will also be ported as it was with the original. Just on the front and not the side.

Pictures:
P_20181102_192856_vHDR_On.jpg
P_20181102_193426_vHDR_On.jpg
P_20181102_193018_vHDR_On.jpg
I will be building an enclosure, twice the width of the original, but with so many features that I won't be able to list them all. It's going to be expensive, but totally worth it. Check this video out:
 
Last edited:
It's going to be expensive, but totally worth it.

I agree it will be expensive. But you won't know if it's worth it until it's done. Could very likely be a $500 mistake. So I'd encourage you to build the cabinet, mount the drivers, build your crossover, then hook it all up temporarily and test for sound quality before adding a bunch of additional features and finalizing the build. It will probably sound bad to start out with, and you'll probably want to tweak it in a few ways to get it where you want it. Once it sounds ok to you, then I would start adding features. If it sounds like crap and you're unable to fix the sound, at least you're only out a box. You can use the drivers and crossover to start a different project.

And I agree with tyella. Less typing, more building! We want to see pics of your progress by the end of the day! :rflmao:
 
I agree it will be expensive. But you won't know if it's worth it until it's done. Could very likely be a $500 mistake. So I'd encourage you to build the cabinet, mount the drivers, build your crossover, then hook it all up temporarily and test for sound quality before adding a bunch of additional features and finalizing the build. It will probably sound bad to start out with, and you'll probably want to tweak it in a few ways to get it where you want it. Once it sounds ok to you, then I would start adding features. If it sounds like crap and you're unable to fix the sound, at least you're only out a box. You can use the drivers and crossover to start a different project.

And I agree with tyella. Less typing, more building! We want to see pics of your progress by the end of the day! :rflmao:
Haha, that's some great advice of yours! Unfortunately it definitely won't be today, but maybe, maybeeeeeee.... Christmas when I start building it?
 
I was playing with the tuner on my 2nd Sherwood receiver (scrolling around the dial) and then the Tuning meter lit up! I never even changed the bulb or anything. It just turned on. Especially now:
P_20181118_100017.jpg
P_20181118_101751.jpg
 
Kinda hard to tell in the pic but it looks like they should just slide off when pulled by the clips. Never pull on the wire. Use a pair of pliers to firmly grasp the crimped part of the clip and wiggle/pull.
 
Kinda hard to tell in the pic but it looks like they should just slide off when pulled by the clips. Never pull on the wire. Use a pair of pliers to firmly grasp the crimped part of the clip and wiggle/pull.
Took another image:
P_20181118_103541.jpg
 
Back
Top Bottom