I know I talked a little about this in flashchat. Pictures will have to wait for now, but what follows will be a good description of what I plan on doing with links to the components I have purchased.

Two weeks ago, my friend and I were stuck inside working and listening to music, and it was an unbelievably nice day out. We started talking about getting a nice boombox, so we went off on a tangent and searched for boomboxes and ghettoblasters. To both our amazement there was hardly anything that looked decent. And anything that did look decent ended up being $150+, wasn't very portable and still couldn't do more than a couple watts without major distortion. We went back to work and I tucked this gripe into the back of my mind.

Last week I pulled it out, and went to work.

The boombox will be...
under $175
under 15 pounds
a manageable size
of decent sound quality
loud for rocking too
playable for 3+ hours at max volume.


Components List:

5.25in Car Speakers
Speaker Covers
amplifier this thing is AMAZING. Regardless of this project, you should own one if you own speakers. It especially likes high efficiency speakers aka 87dB/2.83V/1m and up.
Battery
Arm Strap I got my strap locally, but this thing looks nice. Or you could just salvage one from an old bag.
Rubber footpads
louvered dish
blank dish
speaker cable.... you need 2 feet of it max. find a friend with some if you don't have it.
2 d-rings to connect strap... $6
24in X 48inX 1/2in birch plywood.... $10-15 at local home depot.
can of spray paint in your favorite color... $5
Elmer's wood glue... cheap


This puts me just under $175 including shipping/tax. I already had some of the components sitting around. If I wasn't so lazy, I would have salvaged more. Recycling combined with some cheaper full-range drivers and I could have easily brought this project under 150.

Specifications:
Dimensions: 8in X 8in X 16in
Miter joints will be used whenever possible
The back will removable for future access.
Full drawings will be up in a week. For now, this will have to do...


don't laugh at my skillz too hard

I have most of the material and components now. I just need to make the time to cut and glue the cabinet.

pictures:











more available upon request.

reserved for t-amp modification.

linky

Questions, comments, critiques? This is a DIY forum right?

flip a coin, and I always lose haha, thank you for the move.

it's a nice idea...lets al see how it goes...

I like how this sounds. Can't wait to see some pics!

Will this be a ported box or sealed? The speakers look pretty decent.

It will be sealed except for the louvered dish to vent the battery. I want to keep the inside from getting dirty. I'll be taking this frisbee golfing and camping, so it's ability to keep moisture and dust out is important, especially when much of the electronics will remain bare for continued modifications. Any adjustments to sound quality of the speakers will be done with cloth, carpet scraps and whatever I can find for fill. I'm not looking for an audiophile sound, just decent sound.

I'm using a 2-way version of those speakers right now as desktop speakers, and they/me are hardly picky about where they are, I just plop them down and wad an old shirt behind them for dampening haha.

Unfortunately my source to a nice workshop went and got himself kicked by a horse. Project will be on hold for a week as a result.


A little lesson for you all regarding horses. If the ears lie straight back, you are about to be bucked/kicked. Respectively, hold on tight and pray or prepare for the best dodge ball training ever.

Any updates?

School mid-terms are over with. I can't guarantee a timeline right now, I'm still trying to get the stupid box made :work:.


I have hooked everything together for listening. With my player at half and the t-amp at 3/4 the system is a good listening level. If I crank both to full I can't stand in front of the speakers because it's so loud. Between the t-amp and the speakers there is very little bass. Modifying the t-amp should help some, but I'm not getting my hopes up.