Compact under monitor speaker project: Introduduction These days you can get some pretty decent sounding speakers for not very much money. I've spent allot of, well actually too much money on 7.1 seperates from Teac and Marantz. I even bought a Cyrus amp a few months ago and I have a load of hi-fi gear in the attic. I even have a little 2.0 speaker system from M-audio. Guess what? I'm really not satisfied with anything I have. The 7.1 system is WAY to big. The cyrus is great, but sorta too good for using with my pc. The M-audio sound is very hard on my ears, even though they look great and are very well built indeed. The next step was going to be a set of Sennhiser wirless headphones, but really I didn't like the thought of wearing them everytime I play a youtube clip. What I really wanted was a very small speaker sytem that was discreet and had a little punch that I could fit under a lcd monitor. Ok, there is a soundbar you can buy from hp and dell, but judging by the look of them I really doubt they would do the job for watching a movie, or listening to music. So I bought these: The logi-tech S220's. Really cheap at £15, so if I break them I'm not going to cry. Most importantly the speaker drivers are small. The sub speaker is only 4 inches and the speakers are only 2 inches in diameter But the sound? Well I was not suprised at all! Having owned logi-techs before I have yet to be dissapointed at the sound to value ratio.They sound really great for the money and would be ideal for this little project. The bass is quite rich, but the little speakers sound a little harsh without the sub. Combined they do a really good job. I just hope I am not too ham fisted as I try and fashion them into my dream! I do not have a google sketch up to show you, nor anything from auto cad, basically because I don't see a need. This is a project to break me into the project world, and I want to learn as I go along. Don't worry I'm not going along too blindly. The plan is to adapt the existing componets as I learn about them. I won't know anything until I take them apart! I do have some basic reqirments and aims though! Project aims - All three speakers must fit in one box, so there is as little fuss with cabling as possible. - Now the idea, the main goal as you have it is that these speakers take up as little footprint as possible and also look nice under my desktop monitor - I really don't want t be able to see the speaker drivers. - I'm not concerned about working out exactly what dimensions for the optimum sound. I'm most concerned about ok sound for music which is why I have gone 2.1, but the small size is the biggest concern. They MUST sound better than the Dell soundbar though! (pictured below) The specs as not bad for £15 and they build quality is very good indeed! There is a three year warranty no less, so that will be void in the next few days!lol General Product Type PC multimedia speaker system General Design Features Piano finish General Localisation United Kingdom Speaker System Media Type 2 speakers, subwoofer Speaker System Speaker Type Active Speaker System Nominal Output Power (Total) 17 Watt Speaker System Max (RMS) Output Power (Total) 34 Watt Speaker System Audio Amplifier Integrated Speaker System Connectivity Technology Wired Speaker System Controls Power on/off, volume, bass Speaker System Details Speakers Included 2 x satellite speaker - 4 Watt - wired ¦ 1 x subwoofer - 9 Watt - wired Connections Connector Type 1 x headphones ( mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm ) ¦ 1 x microphone ( mini-phone 3.5mm ) Miscellaneous Packaging Type OEM Miscellaneous Cables Included Audio cable kit Miscellaneous Remote Control Remote control - cable Power Voltage Required AC 240 V Manufacturer Warranty Service & Support 3 years warranty Manufacturer Warranty Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 3 years In the first update: (Please forgive me is this project seems a little ignorant and cavman esque as this is my first project ever) - I have some sketches up in my head. I'll try and pull them onto paper and show you them. - I'll be attempting to pull my speakers apart and find out whats inside. - I'll also be looking into the best (maybe the best value) material for the speaker cabinet. A trip to B&Q is in order I think. Sorry there is only an aim so far, but V soon there will be the above update. I don't plan on taking a year to complete this. Nor do I plan giving up half way though even tough I have little in the way of tools and know how, which is why I've decided to begin with a simple and hopefully fun project. If I havent bored you too much already, please do drop in again! Right. I think I'll get a sketching! Thanks for bearing with me so far. Moderators: sorry for not having some modding to show. I just wanted to grab some attention. I am working on getting the project up and running as you read this. thank you
You are not planing on trying to put the sub in there too are you? I really do not see that working out unless the final size is a bit bigger than the sub box you already have. You see, for the sub to work as well as the original you are going to need a box that has the same volume as the first. Also it will need to be separated from the other speakers even though it is going to be all the same enclosure. I would recommend having the sub be behind the monitor or something like that so the over all shape of your unit will be like an L if you want I can make a quick sketch in paint of what I think the best shape would be from a sound perspective. Also I should note that the new sub box should be sealed so that you can use less volume. It will not be as boomy but the bass will be tighter.
Totally understand what you are saying there. My system may well not sound as good as the original because a larger chamber allows more bass, but my main goal is a compact and OK sounding package within the one box.(including the woofer) This is a bit of an experiment, but it will be exciting to see what happens!
Hi Ibis. I really do agree with your concern. What I was thinking of was making the box as stiff as possible & possibly even more so than the original. I will show you what I mean as I am working on this at the moment. I should be finished by tomorrow hopefully. While being in one box the other two speakers will be in seperate chambers within the actual unit. I would be interested in seeing you idea and will take onboard your advice. At the same time I need this to be as compact as I can make it. Sound odly enough isn't the biggest issue as long as it is acceptable. I do understand that this may not be ideal though.
You see what I am saying is to make the sub attached to the back of the LCD. If I was to see A pic of the LCD I could give you dimensions if you also gave me the dimensions of the original box. Also how do you plan to mount it to the LCD. I would recommend something like double sided foam tape so that it sticks good and does not cause vibrations or reverb. Also how many drivers are there in the L and R speakers, if you can show those and give some dimensions for 1 of the speakers I can try to optimize the chamber sizes so you can get optimum sound. I would also recommend putting your jacks and button in the center so that the space can double as a buffer zone. Remember that bass is non directional so you can put it anywhere, you could even use it as the base for your lcd if you wated... but then you would need to mod your lcd mount.
Hey mate, im working on a sound system mod of my own as my year 11/12 design project, and i love your idea. You might also have a few magnetic issues with the sub and the monitor, just try to mount it as far as possible as you can from the actual screen.
sheilding works rather well in these situations. However saying that i dont think a TFT can be effected by EMI. I have a pair of speakers right behind my TFT with no issues. The old school CRT's how ever did pick up interference.
Thanks guys, for all the advice. I'll work on replying to you all tonight as I'm at work now. I have made good progress and there's a healthy update to come, cinluding pic's and diagrams. I was up to 1.30am. By gum this modding is addictive!
My idea. Tonight I have got as far as dismanteling my system. It took a while to be honest. Allot of the screws were not visable, but were behind speaker grilles which were actually detachable! " - I have some sketches up in my head. I'll try and pull them onto paper and show you them." Here is the basic plan. Nothing set on stone yet, just my basic plan. The speakers to have to be in one cabinet. -I am thinking now it should be possible with the above design to place the speaker anywhere using a bracket to mount above the monitor. "- I'll be attempting to pull my speakers apart and find out whats inside." Well I really wanted to show you some pics of the internals, but my dads got the camera away with him I think. However I was really pleased to see how compact everything is. This will allow me to stay within a certain shape and size. The transformer and amp are tiny. I plan on housing them seperatly so there will defo be no interfernce to the speaker. "- I'll also be looking into the best (maybe the best value) material for the speaker cabinet. A trip to B&Q is in order I think." -Ply wood appears the best material having looked in B&Q and not liking mdf that much it seemed pretty tough meaning I could bring it to work and even use it there! I'm sure people may disagree with my plan, but please remember that I'm not recreating a 2.1 system, but basically a very compact boom box I can use while oneline and for day to day entertainment. I've got the cyrus for the serious sound and the marantz for the home cinema. Next update. More than likely tomorrow: - I will have finalised my design. - Plenty of sketch work to show to you. - Definately some pictures of the internals. -
No probs. This really shouldn't be a problem as long as I have no interfernce between my speakers and transformer.
Thank you for your valuable imput Zero Ibis. I could see this idea working, but it's really not my goal to have anything except the speakers in one cabinet. I feel that having a sub mounted to the back of the monitor may have a negative effect on my new lcd panel. I'd be afriad of something coming loose internaly. I do like the idea though in itself.
From a guy that has 2 15" 1000W ported subs I can say that even putting one of those next to an lcd will not effect it. Also I would once again recommend not porting the new enclosure because it is not going to be big enough. If you port a case that is too small you will only lose bass and possibly make ti sound really bad. Just make it a sealed case and it will sound good. It looks pretty good but also remember that the sound form the sub while non directional will tend to go towards the direction the speaker is pointing. Also where is the switch and connections going are you going to put them in the center. With a sub that small you could actually have the connections in the center if you wanted and run the wires though the sub box without problems.
Thanks you. The design will be a bit different . I've decided upon lstening to the small speakers I don't want them facing directly at my head so the direction they're facing will be slightly away from my face. Complete understand you as I've had to subs also, but I wouldnt mount them to my monitor. Don't mind having them close, but as a sub is really designed to go on a hard surface, I'd rather not mount it to something as fragile as a monitor so none of the internals work loose due to vibration. I also meant to ask why the sub not be ported? It was my understanding that only the very powerful subs that did not need the porting because the extra power would give enough bass, but the smaller sub would need to be ported because the amp would not have sufficent power to move the air around a non ported box. The sub box on the original is ported you see.
