My SqueezeBoomBox: Finished (w/Pics)

[asteinmetz]

One day, when I wanted to bring the SB out to the patio during a BBQ I stuck it in a beer case with some PC speakers. Much to my wife's chagrin, the beer case came back into the kitchen and stayed there, happily streaming music...for months.

I finally upgraded the cardboard beer case to a wooden wine case and the result is much nicer. Using advice from the forums, I got a T-Amp, some nice Polk coaxial car speakers and a Radio Shack power supply for the T-Amp. I don't have a great workshop so I hacked up the case with hand tools and a dremel, mostly. Still it looks pretty good. Wiring it up was a snap. The only tricky part was mounting the power supply. I took the cover off the wall wart, screwed it to the inside of the case and snapped the base back on. It anchors the extension cord and the comparatively tiny SB power supply with ease. I lined the bottom with 1/4 inch sponge rubber to dampen the sound a bit. The SB itself is held in simply with a rubber strap so removal is easy but it stays in there pretty well.

I haven't yet mounted the T-Amp. It's just sitting in there. I'm debating how to do that and make the battery chamber accessible should I want to go unplugged. I'm also thinking about solar power at some point.

I don't have the T-Amp switched with the SB as some mods here have shown but leave the T-Amp on. It draws 7 watts with the SB off so I'm not sweating it.

It sounds great and the WAF is high!

The construction pictures are with this msg and the money shot is in the next one.

[asteinmetz]

The front of the final product. I used a maple stain to darken the wood just a bit but I wanted to maintain the contrast with the wine label burned into the wood. The wood is very soft but there is a surprisingly nice veneer on it.

[haunyack]

The fortune cookie is a nice touch.

Sort of reminds me of my first (revolutionary?) boombox project back in 1971.
I mounted my best transistor radio inside one of my step-father's best wine casks', hard wired salvaged car speakers top and bottom and layed the cask on it's side.
I was in heaven whenever KISN played "Stairway To Heaven".

Nice job on the Boombox.
Love the rackmount handles.

btw - I spent the next summer working off the cost of the cask.
.

[SuperQ]

That's pretty damn cool. Reminds me I need to pick up some ply for making a new CD/DVD shelf.

One more thing you may want to try is to add the (partial) contents of one synthetic pillow to the inside surfaces of the box. This will dampen the woofers and reduce the resonating properties of the wood.

Any cheap polyester fill pillow will work. All you're looking for is about 1-2" of fluff on all inside surfaces. Last time I made speakers I just picked up whatever polyester fill pillow was on sale at target for $5.

[Skunk]

mmmm Carmenere. Much better than the Sierra Nevada box.

You glossed over where you obtained the Transporter handles though!

[asteinmetz]

Thanks for the kind words. The handles are drawer pulls and washers from the hardware store.

[aubuti]

Thanks for the kind words. The handles are drawer pulls and washers from the hardware store.
Oooh, doesn't that compromise the airiness and soundstage imaging? . . . What? This is "DIY", not "Audiophiles"?! Oh, then never mind.

Kidding aside, that's a really nice looking setup.

[James_B]

Love the boombox and the wine.. fantastic work

[bklaas]

fantastic work!

cheers,
#!/ben