Just Finished a Pair of Speakers

Hello all.
I just finished a small project where I built a pair of speaker enclosures from spare parts and recycled materials for a DIY project.



The enclosures are made from cardboard glued in layers and covered with vinyl shelf liner. This worked very well. It looks nice, and is strong.

I described the process here https://www.instructables.com/id/Speakers-Made-From-Recycled-and-Reused-Materials/ .

The amplifier I used is a PAM8403 3W, class D stereo amplifier. It's easy to use, and sounds good, except it lacks some bass.

The speakers are a pair of generic 5W speakers reused from an old boom box.

I entered this project in a contest on the Instructables web site. I'm hoping to be one of the finalists, even if I don't win anything.

If anyone has any thoughts on how this project could be improved in a subsequent version(technically or aesthetically), I would love to hear them.

 

Technically, what you've done is a version of the 'lossy' panel enclosure which has been used in BBC inspired enclosures. The sides will flex quite a bit, but be well damped.

What you could do is to increase the mass and damping by using bituminous damping panels as used on car doors, or heavy carpet underfelt, anything to add mass and still be well damped. Both of these should be available for free either from a friendly carpet shop that may have some felt offcuts, or a car breaker who might let you have a few panels also for free.

I would also not bother with the towel, as it's really not doing much, but fill the whole inside with stuffing, an old pillow or cushion will be prefect.

Further improvements would be to use plywood instead of cardboard, and better drivers than those from a boom-box. If I've understood correctly, the purpose is to do all this with reclaimed materials, not buying anything, buy if you're allowed to repurpose an old boom-box, you could look for a pair of scrapped loudspeakers where the drivers are working OK, even if the cabinets are wrecked. You may then need a more powerful amp, but that's another quest.

Good luck with the project.

S.

 

Thanks! That's some good information and ideas.