A while ago a pair of 3.6 Watts PC speakers 2.0 used to occupy the already crowded shelves on my shed. So they either had to be removed or get new "clothes". The model is very similar to "Inland Pro Sound 1000" (mines don't have the headphones' jack), and I didn't take any photos of them, so if you want to know how they used to look like, click here or the name mentioned above.
1. Considering the good sound that they provided, I decided to gave them a chance. So I removed their grey plastic cases, and sent them to the bin. After this operation, for quite a while (I am working every now and then to my projects) the speakers along to the power supply and the amplifier were carefully stored in a shoe box.
2. Then, one morning, I decided to make the next move! This is the beginning of a DIY (Do It Yourself) project. I needed new boxes for the speakers, and another box for the power supply (a 220/9 V~ transformer - you're right, I live in Europe!). Among my storage boxes, some cans have drawn my attention. They are:
| Coffee Sommelier's --- ♦ --- Suprême Réserve Davidoff Café ---------------------- Grande Cuvée Limited - Edition - Honduras San Marcos |
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Coffee Sommelier's --- ♦ --- Suprême Réserve Davidoff Café ---------------------- Grande Cuvée Limited - Edition - Colombian Cordiliera |
The Davidoff Coffee - just click for more coffee! :-) |
3. In each of these cans only a single speaker may be accommodate, so I must find another proper container for the supply and the amplifier. I remembered a metal box for coffee which was no longer in use. What better solution to be found for a coffee drinker like myself?! Here's the coffee box:
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Unfortunately I don't have a picture without the front drilled hole, due to the fact that I only started to make photos after I've started the project!
4. There must be holes for the speakers in the cans, so I cut one for each speaker. I decided to place them toward the bottom of the cans in order to gain stability (lower gravity point).
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5. The inside of the speakers cans was soundproofed using packing cardboard!
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6. The coffee box suffered more interventions. There were drilled holes for the power supply bolts and jack, power on LED (in the picture above), power on/off button, volume knob, input and outputs jacks. There's also a hole for the bolt that will tighten the amplifier circuit board (other way it will float inside the box). All these are shown in the picture below. Don't ask which is which, because you'll figure it out as the description of the project will go on.
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7. Prior to mount the speakers inside the can, I had to fill the gap between the edges of the speakers and the ones of the cuttings in the can. I used self-adhesive general purpose foam. I also removed the original wires (shown in this picture).
8. The hardest part, due to the decision taken at point number 4., was to be able to keep in place the nut on the inside of the can until I'll manage to screw the first step of the bolt's thread. That's because the tight space left for my hand behind and under the speaker. And also because there's an angle due to can's curvature... And there were 4 bolts and nuts at the bottom! But I've found a solution: I've taped the nuts on the speakers (visible in the picture above)! And it worked! Not quite easy, yet far easier than the simple way! :-)
9. The new wires were soldered to the speakers' terminals.
10. I've inserted and tighten the power supply (the transformer) on the bottom of the coffee box along with its plug.
11. The 3.6 watts amplifier was also inserted and tighten in the coffee box.
12. The RCA jacks were put in place, then their respective wires were soldered. For the input I used a former cable that came with a female connector jack installed. In this stage I also mounted the power on LED.
13. The power on/off button and volume knob were painted black (brown would be better, but the permanent marker I have is black...). I've finally bought the RCA jacks, that were missing from my spare components, and I've soldered to the speakers' wires.
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14. Plug the power cord, connect a device able to provide audio for the amplifier, power on, and listen to the music!
15. There's a single step to fulfill: a grill for the speakers openings. I don't want to ruin this project by accidentally break the exposed membrane of the speakers. A colleague provided a stainless steel mesh. He also gave me a metal scissor. After cutting the mesh and bending it in accordance with the curvature of the cans, I had to fix them, but I didn't want to unscrew the bolts that were fixing the speakers! You figure out why! :-) So I've soldered small wires on the can in positions corresponding to each corner of the mesh. Then I've inserted the mesh, twisted the wires, soldered them and remove the excess. I used the permanent marker to draw a coffee bean on each mesh. It is an attempt to draw coffee beans, but after taking the pictures, I've modified a bit their shapes, and now are more like coffee beans! :-)
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