Check out my cool new Rubbermaid speakers!!! (1 Viewer)

[Kenneth Harden]

http://www.pbase.com/image/29197615

I am now going to do the second one.

The cashier at the Wal*Mart scanned only one of the Rubbermaid speaker enclosures, and they were 88 cents each, so 44 cents each for the enclosures!

 

[Kenneth Harden]

Oh, about the dust cap - it arrived like that, and I am using that one to measure and take shopping, so if I screw it up, no big deal.

 

[Aaron Gilbert]

That's awesome, now you just need some funky stands for them! That baffle's a lot quicker to get off than the one on my Power Pots, for sure, and probably watertight to boot. So, you're up to about $1.31 in total cost, right? Just find some wire laying around and a dead pillow and you're set, under $3 total cost!

Aaron Gilbert

 

[Kenneth Harden]

Have thousands of feet of wire - thats done, no cost.

I have to find a pillow (my mommy has plenty) still.

However, they sound MUCH better than before. The box is sealed, so the bass is more controled (1mm Xmax) and they play louder. The pillows will help.

The Rubbermain tubs are VERY ridgid, not cheapy ones, so they sound fine.

2 drivers = $1.74
2 enclosures = $1.76 (if you had to pay for both!)
Other stuff = free: scraps.

$3.50 for some 'decent' speakers. If you had woodworking tools, get 4 per side and make a box, and they would probably sound da:star:n good for the money.

 

[Kenneth Harden]

FINAL RESULTS:

Picture: http://www.pbase.com/image/29201210

NOTE: these things have a LOT more bass than I thought, so I am having to use tape to seal the enclosure as not to get vibrations. These things have a big magnet and 3/4 VC, so they are not too wimpy.

WOW!!! Seriously, while these do not go REALLY loud, they sound BETTER than the $50 speakers I see at Circuit City. DEFINETLY better than most 'executive' system speakers (like the $100 Sony system)

I am listening to Moody Blues 'Days of Future Passed' and on track 4 (Lunchtime or whatever), during the bass guitar and organ solo, it was actually loud enought to where the organ 'filled' the room (like, kinda resonates the room) - and they are VERY clear. During the opening track where the old guy is doing the narration, it actually sounded like someone talking, and not just audio voice. The bass is amazing for what I am doing with them.

While these are obviously not 'great', they are amazing for 87 CENT drivers. I have a total of 18, and my next gig will be to make a wood box with 4 per channel. I will run them sealed. At that, I should get about 100 Hz. of bass, and the sub can cover the rest.

Conclsion: if you are bored and/or poor, have fun with this project!!!

 

[minhG]

sigh, some people have way more free time then i do...

 

[Kenneth Harden]

Hey, this is the first project of any sort I have done in a VERY long time. I have been planning this for months, and now the ball is rolling.

 

[Paul Stanley]

Yeah totally, I wish I had that much free time!

:star:

 

[Rob Formica]

lol... ummmm... no thanks, i'm ok, or maybe my mind is in the wrong place...

 

[Kenneth Harden]

Sh!t, I'm gonna have to change that!

 

[Charles J P]

What drivers are they?

 

[Scott Simonian]

4" Pioneer Full-range

 

[Brian Fellmeth]

Let me hazzard a guess that there is no SO to deal with ? The WAF on your second pic is off the scale.

 

[Mark Shannon]

I'm not too good with the whole wiring aspect, but if one were to buy some of these, and put a couple in a box, how would they be wired? Simply daisy chained in the box, with the end wires running to a reciever?

Also, I see that each is RMS 10W Max. What if I had a more powerful source than that? Should I just put 10 speakers in the same enclosure (or seperate ones, daisychained) if i had a 100W power source.

 

[Dan Hine]

Kenneth,

I'm glad you had the time to experiment with these drivers. I bought a case of them a year ago (was cheaper to buy a case than 20 or so b/c of the quantity discount ) and then I never got around to using them. I'll have to find some interesting containers and see what happens.

- Dan

 

[Dan Hine]

No...simply because your amp can output 100watts doesn't mean it always does. Amps are not all or nothing devices. You probably use about 2-3 watts 95% of the time. Obviously you can't just crank the knob up with these drivers but for the application where they should be used you really wouldn't have to.

- Dan

 

[Wayne Ernst]

These little speakers have me thinking. For owners of Yamaha receivers that feature the "presence" channels, these little speakers might be the ticket. Install a few of them in an array, and you'd be all set.

 

[Charles J P]

You wont want to just daisy chain a bunch together. You need to account for impedance. Two together will give you 4ohms, add two more and you've go 2ohms and so on. Most receivers wouldnt handle that load well. You are better off wiring them at 4 or 8 ohms which means like 1 driver, 2 drivers at 4ohms or four drivers at 8ohms.

 

[Wayne Ernst]

Charles,

But, I thought when creating an array, one could wire the speakers in a series-parallel wiring resolving the impedence issues. Am I wrong with this thought?

Series/Parallel Wiring

Now it's time to combine the two wiring methods. The most common reason for wanting to do this is to increase the number of speakers you can use in your system – perhaps to achieve greater volume and/or visual effect – and still maintain an impedance load that's compatible with the system's amplifier. Any number of speakers can be linked using a series/ parallel wiring scheme, as long as you keep the total equivalent-load impedance between 2 and 16 ohms.

 

[Dan Hine]

No, you are correct. Otherwise Line array's could not exist. For that matter any MTM or variation with increasing number of drivers since few amps can drive .05 ohm loads (can any?).