1st Boombox Project - The Madeleine

[sunghei]

Thanks Gordy for the fantastic design. This is my version of the Madeline using the KAB boards

[Millstonemike]

I'm not a speaker expert but I do know there is a difference in components and audio grade components. You might be able to find them cheaper someplace else but, I never looked. The speakers were designed around these components so making them simpler would require a redesign. You could make a similar speaker with the Quarks but, the HiVi drivers just look so much cooler. I made 4 of these speakers and put the Sure 2x30 amp with separate Sure BT board in 3 of them and the Dayton 4x30 in one. I did not like the sound quality of the Dayton at all and swapped it out for the Sure boards.
If your making them for Christmas start now, they take longer than you would think. My kids are 28 and 30 and they love them. My daughter just rocks, it's enough to fill her 1000sf house with music. My son uses his mostly for sound while playing video games. My mother keeps her Ipad paired with hers because her ipad won't get loud enough for her to hear stuff. They were a lot more expensive to build than I was thinking when I started but, they are more of a piece of furniture than a plastic BT speaker and they appreciated them more because I made them. Hope this helps. You can check out my build thread also.
http://techtalk.parts-express.com/fo...ong-long-build

The C-Note speaker kit comes in a $100 even and has good reviews for a low end speaker. They come complete with a flat pack. You could build them and glue them together to make a boombox 22" x 7.5" x 9". If you're a woodworker and want to build the cabinets, check the kit's BOM and tally the cost for just the drivers, OX and port tube runs. If you go that route, ask about the extra XO component some have added to refine the sound even further (it's cheap). There was a thread when the kits first came out detailing the extra XO component.

It'l cost more than you think unless you have all the finishing materials.

[Chris Roemer]

I think the Sprite uses a single driver per channel? Here, each side has a woofer and a tweeter. Twice as many speakers, twice as many XO parts, and also more expensive.

[bogey-1]

Mike, thanks for the response, I agree that the HiVi's look so much better. I know I am new to this, and do not plan on getting into the "design" aspect at all, I just like building things, not designing them. I guess that I am just curious why these two speakers (Madeleine and Quark) require such different crossovers, they have the same tweeters the only difference is the woofer. Thanks for the info on the amps, I will probably go with the Sure's, that way the bluetooth mod gives a little boost to the amp, and I will probably add a volume control as well. Like I said budget is a big concern right now, I am going to school full-time so I only have a part-time job and Navy retirement pay to support my hobbies.

[Mike The Welder]

I'm not a speaker expert but I do know there is a difference in components and audio grade components. You might be able to find them cheaper someplace else but, I never looked. The speakers were designed around these components so making them simpler would require a redesign. You could make a similar speaker with the Quarks but, the HiVi drivers just look so much cooler. I made 4 of these speakers and put the Sure 2x30 amp with separate Sure BT board in 3 of them and the Dayton 4x30 in one. I did not like the sound quality of the Dayton at all and swapped it out for the Sure boards.
If your making them for Christmas start now, they take longer than you would think. My kids are 28 and 30 and they love them. My daughter just rocks, it's enough to fill her 1000sf house with music. My son uses his mostly for sound while playing video games. My mother keeps her Ipad paired with hers because her ipad won't get loud enough for her to hear stuff. They were a lot more expensive to build than I was thinking when I started but, they are more of a piece of furniture than a plastic BT speaker and they appreciated them more because I made them. Hope this helps. You can check out my build thread also.

http://techtalk.parts-express.com/forum/speaker-project-gallery/1357030-slightly-modified-madeleine-long-long-build

[bogey-1]

Hello,

Just came across this site recently, I am looking into building something very similar to the Madeleine for each of my college age kids for Christmas, but I am on a budget. I just have a couple of quick questions:
1. Since I am on a budget I was wondering if there is anyway to make the crossover cheaper, but still do a decent job? I looked at the crossovers of the Quark and they appear to be much simpler, and cheaper.
2. I would be using either the Dayton 2x15 with bluetooth 2.1, or the 2x30 with bluetooth 4.0. What are the real world differences between these 2 cards? Does the aptX make that big of a difference?

Thanks,
Bill

[Jeff F.]

Thanks Jeff, They are 3/4" and I did taper them a little and I'll do more on future builds. They sound awesome regardless.

Excellent! A roundover bit or my preference, a 45° chamfer bit does a nice job.

[Mike The Welder]

Thanks Jeff, They are 3/4" and I did taper them a little and I'll do more on future builds. They sound awesome regardless.

[Jeff F.]

I do have a question for Gordy or anybody else that might know. I forgot to route the inside of the driver openings before I glued up the boxes. I have a plan to use a burr or sanding drum on a die grinder to taper the inside edge but, here's my question.... what if I don't? I'm new to speaker building and I assume this is to let the air move in and out of the cone area easier. Any help is appreciated.

How thick is your baffle? It would be a good idea to try and taper it some if its 3/4" material. Paul says 1/2" needs no taper, but recommends it for 3/4"

[Mike The Welder]

I do have a question for Gordy or anybody else that might know. I forgot to route the inside of the driver openings before I glued up the boxes. I have a plan to use a burr or sanding drum on a die grinder to taper the inside edge but, here's my question.... what if I don't? I'm new to speaker building and I assume this is to let the air move in and out of the cone area easier. Any help is appreciated.

[Mike The Welder]

It's been a year since I posted on this thread because life got stupid crazy, but everything is settling down and I started on my Madeleine's again about 3 weeks ago. I started a build thread here- http://techtalk.parts-express.com/fo...ong-long-build. I should be done in a couple of days just in time for Christmas. Here is a teaser if anybody wants to check it out. These are just in sanding sealer, I think they should look pretty good once finished.

[Jeff F.]

Can I ask why you didn't use the all in one Dayton bluetooth amp board?

If you were asking me, I'd say the same as Gordy. I built it in 2015, the Dayton Bluetooth board didn't exist. I did use the Sure version of the amp in a Choti boombox I built last year.

[Gordy]

If the question is for me that’s easy. It was not available at that time.

[Jamesbil]

Can I ask why you didn't use the all in one Dayton bluetooth amp board?

[Jeff F.]

Thanks Jeff! I actually used the Wondom AA-AC11161, nice amp, it's got integrated BT4.0 and comes with all the wiring, LEDs (which I have yet to install ) etc.
Here's the link to the amp:

I used a Lepai 2020A+ in the one I built. I also used the same Wondom Bluetooth amp that you used in my Choti Boombox build. The Wondom amp sounds good and the Bluetooth works well too. I really like that amp, my only complaint with it is that I wish it put out a little bit more volume.