NEWBIE NEEDS HELP WITH SPEAKER WIRING (How impedence works with awkward setup?)

[vuykfuttydty]

Hey guys! Im brand new hear, and brand new to all this stuff. What started out as a simple wood shop project to replace speakers on a n existing portable mp3 speaker turned into me having to delve into the technicals. (I BURNT OUT THE AMP ON THE OLD BOARD BY GIVING IT TOO MUCH VOLATAGE ): )

Anyways, im thinking to buy a new amp board that is stereo, runs on 12v, and sends a maximum of 10w to each channel (@8 ohms). I bought 4 midrange tweeters (didnt know what i was buying back then) that are 4ohms and 10w rated. I understand how series adds impedence and parallel divides it, so I beleived it to be perfect to series two speakers to each channel to get a total of 8ohms on each side. HOWEVER, being midrange tweets, the speakers make terrible bass, so i was thinking to add a 3~4" woofer or midbass, but i dont know how to wire it up. Im trying to get it so the woofer (or whatever you guys think is right) plays audio from both channel. Im still attempting to maintain 8 ohms total on each channel. How would i do this?!?!?! THANK YOU ALL BEFORE HAND FOR ANY HELP!!!




(The amp board however says not to connect left and right channel together....)
So if this kind of set up is impossibru, i can just buy 2 more lower frequency speakers and replace them for two of the mid-tweets, right?

If so, can one of you guys recommend me a good rated, really cheap (cheap as you can find) speakers that makes good bass? The amp responds to 50Hz, but i'm having a hard time finding a speaker that would make nice deep sounds. (I cant have anything over 4", and 4" is even stretching it :b)

Guess i havent elaborate this quite well, but im building a portable tower that i can carry around, so anything small is preferable

[devinkato]

No

[vuykfuttydty]

oh dear...

[Chris Roemer]

oh dear...

The easiest (and cheapest - believe it or not) solution is to throw away (or stash) your 4 ohm tweeters and buy 2 AURA NS3-193-81A full range drivers from www.madisoundspeakerstore.com . You can probably get a pair for under $30.

One on each channel. Each needs a ported box, 0.10 to 0.15 cu.ft. Tuned properly, they'll do bass at least down to 50 Hz. Good highs too. No crossover. Each one is 8 ohms so your amp will like that.

Chris

[ROTECH]

The easiest (and cheapest - believe it or not) solution is to throw away (or stash) your 4 ohm tweeters and buy 2 AURA NS3-193-81A full range drivers from www.madisoundspeakers.com . You can probably get a pair for under $30.

One on each channel. Each needs a ported box, 0.10 to 0.15 cu.ft. Tuned properly, they'll do bass at least down to 50 Hz. Good highs too. No crossover. Each one is 8 ohms so your amp will like that.

Chris

+1000
This advice is nearly your only bet while being able to maintain your amplifier board that you already have. There are hundreds of threads here for the Aura NS3. Some even use 1-2 element crossovers to make them sound even better. Do some thread searching, and buy the NS3

[vuykfuttydty]

Im really new to this stuff, so can you guys elaborate what a crossover is?

[ROTECH]

Are you at all familiar with car audio? The crossover is the small box of electronics that come with a 2 or 3 way speaker component set.

A crossover consists of capacitors, inductors, and resistors. Learning which way to use them and wire them is a whole different can of beans. Some people have 20+ years designing crossovers and they are still learning. If you want to continue with this hobby, prepare for a year or 2 of learning (and $$$$) if you want to design your own crossover networks. If you want to simply build this project of yours, and then forget about speakers.... Then run the NS3 fullrange (no crossover) and call it a day!

Even somebody like me who has been in audio for over a decade, can be daunted by the amount of knowledge needed to make advanced designs. Troll around this website and soak up some vocabulary, read the speaker building bible thread... and the more you know, the more questions you will be able to ask.

[vuykfuttydty]

Thanks, but do you have anything smaller that you can recommend? I really dont want to go over 2" cuase i wanna be able to put them into a tower, and strap it around my torso fo use during my school's club promotions and what not.

[ROTECH]

Search for LeroyR's Minions build thread.
The 2'' speakers are no longer available, but somebody may be able to recommend a similar speaker.... or perhaps if you play your cards right somebody may have 2 of the speakers sitting around collecting dust that they would sell you. They were $5.00 each new, but to me, the cost goes up a tad bit for supply and demand!!

[ROTECH]

aside from all this advice,

Why dont you go to a local department store, or drug store.... They always have a discount rack with tons of little iPod speakers and accessories.
You can easily strip one of these systems apart and make what you want out of it. Chances are it will come out better than trying to make something from nothing on your first attempt. I have purchased a few of these little iPod speakers sets for $3 each, they each contained 4, 1.5'' full range speakers and a little chip amplifier. I made a little baby line array speaker for my canoe and it worked great for about $20.

[Chris Roemer]

Thanks, but do you have anything smaller that you can recommend? I really dont want to go over 2" cuase i wanna be able to put them into a tower, and strap it around my torso fo use during my school's club promotions and what not.

You said "speakers make terrible bass, so i was thinking to add a 3~4" woofer".

Now you say "I really dont want to go over 2" cuase i wanna be able to put them into a tower, and strap it around my torso".

People are VERY friendly/helpful here, but don't pull any punches. You're free to change your mind, but maybe you should get "Speakerbuilding 201" if you're just curious about this stuff. Asking fairly pointed questions for advice can be a real waste of time to answer when the OP isn't serious. Just use what you showed in your original thread. You're not serious about sound quality. No bass won't be an issue in your app.

chris

[fbov]

Hey guys! Im brand new hear, and brand new to all this stuff. What started out as a simple wood shop project to replace speakers on a n existing portable mp3 speaker turned into me having to delve into the technicals.
...im building a portable tower that i can carry around, so anything small is preferable

Thanks, but ...put them into a tower, and strap it around my torso fo(r) use during my school's club promotions and what not.

As Chris notes, it's a friendly bunch, just somewhat direct with their advice, however honest.

I was confused; you start asking about a "simple wood shop project" so we think that's the objective... but it's not. Tell us about what you are trying to do, the end result that has you cobbling up MP3 players on your way to achieving it. We tend to think in terms of high quality sound while you may be willing to tradeoff ultimate sonic quality of capability for some other objective, like portability or cost.

So... what result do you seek at club promos? How do you think you can get there? What are your constraints (size, cost, weight, playing time, etc.)? And what's your skill level - we all started somewhere! Ask and we can try to explain.

Have fun,
frank