Alternate take on Chris Perez's Cinema Tablet radio

[tomzarbo]

Don't know if anyone had a chance to see and hear Chris Perez's cinema tablet sound system at the MWAF this year, but it was a pretty nice piece of hardware in a fairly compact size. It sounded very nice too.
I've asked him several questions on it and how it went together... basically his way of designing it was very ingenious and he used the space very effectively.

I was given four of the Aurasound Cougar 1" drivers awhile back and over the summer I purchased the rest of the parts to put it together. I'm thinking of going with a different layout, but using the same combo of drivers:



Does this look too weird? I kind of like it and my wife says it's nice, but she's a speaker gal too thanks to me. It's about 9" wide, 5" deep and 13" or so tall.
This will be given to my wife's sister who lives in a small apartment in Manhattan. I know counter/desk space is at a premium there and I wanted to go up to gain volume as opposed to wider. The two ND91's look pretty good vented with a 1.5x7" vent. Excursion doesn't exceed Xmax until below 40 Hz with the 30 watts that the amp delivers. At max it looks like it could produce around 84 db at 40 Hz without pushing them too far.

The switch on the right is to switch between the 3.5mm input and the internal bluetooth module. The round thing on the far right is a momentary switch to 'break' the power going to the bluetooth module so it can be paired with a different phone/tablet without powering down the whole thing.

I'm going to use these drivers and amp/hardware, but what would you change or do differently visually or layout wise?

TomZ

[tomzarbo]

Re: Alternate take on Chris Perez's Cinema Tablet radio

Okay, well after thinking about it a bit, I see one obvious problem: The controls are too close to the bottom, it would be hard to adjust knobs and flip switches where they are at.

I may try to put those at the top of the unit to make fiddlin' with the switchgear easier.

TomZ

[jhollander]

Re: Alternate take on Chris Perez's Cinema Tablet radio

You could try stacks of three in a column? Maybe put the controls in a middle column using a matching aluminum volume knob.

I like the idea of resting my phone on the top, maybe put the input jack on the top off to one side? I like the base and the color.

I'd probably fiddle with the height width proportions.

[tomzarbo]

Re: Alternate take on Chris Perez's Cinema Tablet radio

Good suggestions.

I placed the switches and stuff in the middle section up top where it will be easier to fiddle with...



I think putting the input jack on top is a good idea also, that is likely where a device will be placed if it is being used as a source anyway.
Now that I look at it, I think having the source switch point up for the line-in input makes more sense than what I have pictured. Down should be the Bluetooth. Little details, but it makes more sense that way I think.

Thanks for the good ideas John.

I'm hoping to start making some sawdust this weekend since I have a few days off and the time to fiddle with it a bit.

TomZ

[jhollander]

Re: Alternate take on Chris Perez's Cinema Tablet radio

I like that. Maybe add a little more separation at the base, wider recess or a black base? Align the volume knob horizontally with the drivers?

If you can pull off that routed curved channel that will look very upscale.

I'm sure I could help you move these

[David Crewe]

Re: Alternate take on Chris Perez's Cinema Tablet radio

This is a cool little project . I think I would put the jack on the back and have a little gizzy that would keep the wire from falling behind it. Something as simple as an eye hook. It would keep the front cleaner looking.
David

[Jeff F.]

Re: Alternate take on Chris Perez's Cinema Tablet radio

I like it. I've been thinking about building a similar sized/shape box with bluetooth and a pair of Aura NS3's. I'll be looking forward to seeing your build. I think it could be helpful in making some decisions on my own build

[tdv]

Re: Alternate take on Chris Perez's Cinema Tablet radio

Routed curved channel on the bottom? Line in on top. Nice project, following.

[tomzarbo]

Re: Alternate take on Chris Perez's Cinema Tablet radio

I like that. Maybe add a little more separation at the base, wider recess or a black base? Align the volume knob horizontally with the drivers?

If you can pull off that routed curved channel that will look very upscale.

I'm sure I could help you move these

Yeah, these should be a bit lighter than the CTH's

I was thinking of making this as one box and just making partitions inside... I'd make the back removable to make access easier. All the drivers would be rear-mounted. The wee-little Aura's have to be, but the ND91's would look better that way as well, plus add a little protection from bumping into them if they were recessed a bit.

So the grooves would probably just be routed into the box after the veneer was already applied -- they'd be just for looks. I'm planning on using 1/2" MDF for this so I don't want to go too deep. I'd probably apply white cheap shelf liner to the box and then route the groove, then paint black in it and strip off the liner to make it easy, kind of like what Kevin K. did on his mom's 2.1 system build with the cool contrasting bevels on the driver recesses, but with a groove instead.

This is a cool little project . I think I would put the jack on the back and have a little gizzy that would keep the wire from falling behind it. Something as simple as an eye hook. It would keep the front cleaner looking.
David

I'm guessing that this will be placed on a dresser or small table... I'm not sure getting to the back of it would be easy. Oh, I think you mean have the jack/wire on the back held by a hook or something... just reach back there over the top, pull it up and plug it in, okay. That might work and clean up the top as well. I'd have to ask my wife how they might use it, laptop, MP3 player? I'm guessing only the bluetooth would probably ever be used, but I'd like to give them options for the future just in case, plus I like switches. Good suggestion, thanks.

I like it. I've been thinking about building a similar sized/shape box with bluetooth and a pair of Aura NS3's. I'll be looking forward to seeing your build. I think it could be helpful in making some decisions on my own build

Cool. Truthfully, I had originally planned on just duplicating Chris's project board for board, but at least I'll use his basic exact setup hardware-wise. It made me chuckle to hear how good/loud it actually sounded for as small as it was.... kind of seemed to defy physics a bit... especially when you consider those four little 1" drivers were making most of the sound.

Routed curved channel on the bottom? Line in on top. Nice project, following.

Thanks.

Also, does anyone have any ideas on how to very cheaply DIY the white lettering on there? I remember using dry-transfer letters in the past 25 years ago or so in college as an art student, but the amount of pressure needed to transfer them would likely dent the wood.

The only thing I can think of is to print white letters on a black box slightly larger than the text on white paper and glue that to the wood before putting poly on. I guess I could test that easy enough. I would use a laser printer, so no ink to run. Maybe I'll test that out to see if it could work. Possibly a rapidiograph pen and permanent ink for the lines? Just thinking out loud here, I may skip the lettering all together, it's easy enough to figure out anyway.

Thanks for the ideas guys. My creativity has been nil since school started in September, I haven't even really thought about anything speaker-related for a few months, I'm trying to jump-start the process again.

TomZ

[LongHorn64]

Re: Alternate take on Chris Perez's Cinema Tablet radio

Hey Tom. Greetings. Have you checked out Micro-Mark for the lettering and stenciling? These guys specialize in this kind of stuff, often used in modeling and high-end train modeling. Y'know, like Musuem quality. The website is really slick but I also recommend calling em' up and requesting an actual free paper catalog. Perfect for pondering while doing the Morning ablutions. Sorry, I'm a sucker for model trains.

I've used the decal making stuff to great results. Have fun, all the best, Mike

[jhollander]

Re: Alternate take on Chris Perez's Cinema Tablet radio

Tom google inkjet transfer lettering to wood or similar. There are a bunch of videos that show how.

[jhollander]

Re: Alternate take on Chris Perez's Cinema Tablet radio

link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSfj6eiNzew

[[email protected]]

Re: Alternate take on Chris Perez's Cinema Tablet radio

Tom, I don't know what kind of phone she has but, something like this would be pretty cool.
You could recess it in the top.
I searched for 'Iphone base with data out'.

[tomzarbo]

Re: Alternate take on Chris Perez's Cinema Tablet radio

Thanks for the link, John.
The logo they applied to the board came out pretty much perfect. I'll have to think about that, maybe if I can make the copy bolder and the lines thicker...

I may try something I've considered doing before. I have a few laser printers, and sometimes when I get a jam, I've noticed that the toner doesn't get "fused" to the paper.
If I could wire a switch to the corona wire to cut the power to it while printing, I could print reverses of what I need, with the toner just 'laying' on the paper with a static only bond which I could then bond to a slightly tacky coat of poly. I'd have to experiment with this a bit I guess.

Lowell, that's a good idea also. I'm not sure what kind of phone she has. If this was for me and I had an iPhone, that's what I'd do. I got something similar for my iPod several years ago to run a direct line to the amp. I'm not a bluetooth fan, but Chris says this new bluetooth board he used sounds very nice.

Good stuff to think about. I need to get to Home Depot to get some 1/2" MDF, I'm out!

Thanks,
TomZ

[tomzarbo]

Re: Alternate take on Chris Perez's Cinema Tablet radio

I started working on this a few weeks ago, it's supposed to be a Christmas present, so I need to get moving on it quickly.




I used mitered corners on the sides and front to eliminate any issues with joints showing up later on. I will be veneering these with some pieces of leftover Teak wood veneer from the scrap pile.



The lack of any visible seams makes gluing it up fairly easy. I cut the miters to about 44 degrees for a nice tight fit. That goofy looking corner clamp jig is really pretty cool. It doesn't look too sturdy, a gift from my sister/bro-in-law last year, used it a few times and then bought another for larger stuff since it worked so well. You have to 'pluck' the straps as you tighten it to achieve uniform clamping pressure on all four corners, but it really does the trick.

It will have a Sure 12v bluetooth module in the lower subwoofer section and the amp and switches will be in the middle upper section. The two upper speaker cabinets are about .35 cu. in and are vented with a 3/4" x 2" long vent. The vent is a piece of 1.5" long Fir, (2x4 scrap) cut to size, sanded round, and drilled out with a fostner bit. Photobucket is acting up. Chris mentioned that those little drivers would integrate a smidge better with the two 3" 'subwoofers' with the added extension the vent provides.





The black plastic panel is from Kevin K originally intended for my Micro-B 2.1 amp project... it will provide the means to house the switches, jacks, etc. to power this contraption with.

The subwoofers share the bottom part of the cabinet and are vented with a 1.5" x 6.5" long vent. The sub cabinet is about 4.4 Liters. I have satin bar stock drawer handles to use as the base to lift the box up about an inch so the vent can breathe.




The entire box is 14.5" tall, 5" deep, and 9" wide. I went with these slightly weird dimensions to minimize the size of the footprint since space is at a super-premium where this is going to be used. Sound systems, like buildings need to go up to gain volume in NYC.

I hope to get this veneered this weekend and get the electronics put together a few days after that.

TomZ