Hi y?all,
I have had a few boomboxes through the years since around 1980, but have never really had one that I wanted to keep, if you know what I mean.
Some of you may already know that I have been playing with battery operated amplifiers too, so this idea of a decent boombox/ghettoblaster have been spawned over recent many months and I think I?m finally ready to go for it and actually make one that I ?should be happy with?.
I would have liked it to be cheaper than it is going to turn out, but good sound will make it worth the investment in cash and hopefully my time.
So without further ado, this it what I have accumulated so far:
You may notice the ?big ticket? items namely the 2 Yamaha ear speakers, these being the JA-5101 (8 ohm) models.
These set me back R2500 which I bought here 7 months ago from @Johnnie - here is that sales thread: https://www.avforums.co.za/index.php/topic,63108.0.html. They are in pretty decent shape and were somehow a bit bigger than I envisaged and just shelved them ?for later?.
The big ear speakers have a sensitivity of around 100 dB @1W and 1m, so very sensitive indeed.
The are full rangers, but for high fidelity, most certainly require at least the additional help of a tweeter.
The Dixon (yes you heard right) tweeter I ordered off Takealot for R200 for a set of 2, also available from you local Cash Crusaders at the same price. 4 ohm, 98 dB, 2kHz >
I received these yesterday.
Neither of these two drivers are the last word in Hi-Fi but, they will bo very nicely for a boombox IMHO.
I have purchased two used car audio adjustable crossovers for R300 for the set. It can adjust the tweeter -3/0/+3 dB and can be very handy during setup and development as well as in various acoustic environments.
My amp of choice presently is the TPA3116D2 based class D chip amps which is dirt cheap on Ebay for around R80 and free shipping.
I started a thread here on cheap battery driven amps: https://www.avforums.co.za/index.php/topic,56233.0.html
What I would like to achieve with all of this:
I want a portable full range boombox that sounds fantastic and can play for days on cheap batteries, like my 18V drill batteries, or even from any 5V USB power bank, basically from 5V all the way to 24V DC. Obviously it will accept power from a wall-wart or laptop power supply as well. It must also be serviceable cheap replacement parts and must be upgradeable. Upgradable like better crossovers and tweeters, disco lights, etc.
I also want to and probably need to build this as an open baffle design. It may prove tricky, but it should sound best and also save on weight too.
So, wish me luck and please feel free to chime in if you have ideas or criticisms.
I have had a few boomboxes through the years since around 1980, but have never really had one that I wanted to keep, if you know what I mean.
Some of you may already know that I have been playing with battery operated amplifiers too, so this idea of a decent boombox/ghettoblaster have been spawned over recent many months and I think I?m finally ready to go for it and actually make one that I ?should be happy with?.
I would have liked it to be cheaper than it is going to turn out, but good sound will make it worth the investment in cash and hopefully my time.
So without further ado, this it what I have accumulated so far:
You may notice the ?big ticket? items namely the 2 Yamaha ear speakers, these being the JA-5101 (8 ohm) models.
These set me back R2500 which I bought here 7 months ago from @Johnnie - here is that sales thread: https://www.avforums.co.za/index.php/topic,63108.0.html. They are in pretty decent shape and were somehow a bit bigger than I envisaged and just shelved them ?for later?.
The big ear speakers have a sensitivity of around 100 dB @1W and 1m, so very sensitive indeed.
The are full rangers, but for high fidelity, most certainly require at least the additional help of a tweeter.
The Dixon (yes you heard right) tweeter I ordered off Takealot for R200 for a set of 2, also available from you local Cash Crusaders at the same price. 4 ohm, 98 dB, 2kHz >
I received these yesterday.
Neither of these two drivers are the last word in Hi-Fi but, they will bo very nicely for a boombox IMHO.
I have purchased two used car audio adjustable crossovers for R300 for the set. It can adjust the tweeter -3/0/+3 dB and can be very handy during setup and development as well as in various acoustic environments.
My amp of choice presently is the TPA3116D2 based class D chip amps which is dirt cheap on Ebay for around R80 and free shipping.
I started a thread here on cheap battery driven amps: https://www.avforums.co.za/index.php/topic,56233.0.html
What I would like to achieve with all of this:
I want a portable full range boombox that sounds fantastic and can play for days on cheap batteries, like my 18V drill batteries, or even from any 5V USB power bank, basically from 5V all the way to 24V DC. Obviously it will accept power from a wall-wart or laptop power supply as well. It must also be serviceable cheap replacement parts and must be upgradeable. Upgradable like better crossovers and tweeters, disco lights, etc.
I also want to and probably need to build this as an open baffle design. It may prove tricky, but it should sound best and also save on weight too.
So, wish me luck and please feel free to chime in if you have ideas or criticisms.
