Dorm Room Boom, and what in the world am I doing? (1 Viewer)

[Dude]

Ok, so I thought I would give myself a fun summer project and work on building a sweet sound system for my dorm room, boombox-style. I have two sets of Logitech Z-2300 speakers that are going into this project. The goal is to wire everything into a single enclosure, with volume/bass dials and a headphone jack.


2 8" subwoofers


4 ~3" side speaker cones


1 control unit (I lost one from the second set) that controls volume and bass, and has a headphone jack

and the guts of both subwoofer enclosures.

One subwoofer is nonfunctional, but I believe it to be a blown fuse. (Actually, I don't know for sure, I'm just hoping, but as it failed quietly and not spectacularly, that's my best guess.)


After taking one set apart, I realized that I have no clue what's going on on the insides of the speakers, and that's where I need some help.


http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m273/McC4rtn3y/DSCF3999.jpg


1. black wire

2. red wire

3. speaker jack for side speaker

4. speaker cone apparatus from side speaker


http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m273/McC4rtn3y/DSCF3998.jpg


A. connects to Z, sends inputs to entire system

B. Headphone Jack

C. Volume/Bass controller


http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m273/McC4rtn3y/DSCF3997.jpg


X. Subwoofer cone apparatus

Y. not 100% on this, but it has tons of coils of copper wire so it has to be something that adjusts voltage/current from the wall socket to the speakers. Guessing that it steps down voltage and steps up current.


http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m273/McC4rtn3y/DSCF3996.jpg


This is where I run into trouble because there's so much stuff going on. What is the square thing on the bottom right? what do the two black cylinders in the middle do? The control board looks confusing but I figure if I cannibalize the whole thing i won't need to know too much.


H. Heatsink on the back of the metal panel.

P. power cord out. Im probably going to use two plugs to power the whole thing, and just try to split the inputs to both sets of speakers at the same time.

F. Fuse, haven't looked at it yet. may need to be replaced.

S. On/Off switch

Z. behind the little "c" of green wire is where the control cable plugs in to the speaker set. This is my biggest problem. I only have one plug, and I'm not sure how could split out from there because it goes right into the control board.

I. This is where the side speakers plug in.


So...where do I go from here? I'm not worried about building the enclosure itself, as that won't be a problem. I just need to figure out how to combine the two sets to run at once with a single input, and have it actually work.

 

[Dude]

Got the fuse out, then put it back. No problems there. How do I go about figuring out what the issue is? I simply do not get a response from one set of speakers when they're hooked up

 

[Dude]

Additional information as I screw around with things....


Is there a way that I can re-wire all the speakers through one circuit board and not lose a significant amount of power?


I see how I could split signal and power to go to two subwoofers, and I'm considering figuring out how much power 18 gauge wire can handle without catching on fire. Possible to run power from two outlets to two amps then put it all through the same circuit board and split it out to the speakers without blowing everything? Hm.

 

[CB750]

Originally Posted by Dude


Is there a way that I can re-wire all the speakers through one circuit board and not lose a significant amount of power?

Welcome Alex


This is not the answer you want to hear. No, you cannot re-wire all the speakers to be powered by one amp. Each channel is designed to drive only one speaker. If you double up you risk blowing your one remaining amp. Perhaps you would be better served to get a summer job and buy a system (even used) that will meet your needs. Remember a dorm room is a close community and have respect for your neighbors.

 

[Dude]

Originally Posted by CB750

Welcome Alex


This is not the answer you want to hear. No, you cannot re-wire all the speakers to be powered by one amp. Each channel is designed to drive only one speaker. If you double up you risk blowing your one remaining amp. Perhaps you would be better served to get a summer job and buy a system (even used) that will meet your needs. Remember a dorm room is a close community and have respect for your neighbors.

I have two amps, two power cords, etc. The issue is that the circuit board (of which I only have one) reroutes the signal from the input jack to each individual speaker, as well as the power that comes from the amp. It would be fairly simple to split the signal and power to both sets of speakers and use only one amp, but the whole thing would only be able to run at half power.


What I am asking is if there is a way to use an additional amp/ power supply for the entire thing to reach full power.


The value of this is in the project itself, rather than simply the end result. Obviously I could just buy a set of speakers that would more than fill my needs, but what fun is that? Also, kindly save the life advice for someone you know.