Mark I Super Psyllium Passivia Speakers

Inspired by the multitude of speaker designs on instructables, what better way to enter the Art of Sound fray than to make YAS (Yet Another Speaker)! We are regular people here at Regularity Audio Labs, and had these wonderful empty containers scattered about the house. A tube enclosure speaker came to mind with the enclosure driving the design. Design: Find an inexpensive full range shielded speaker to fit a bottom cutout, retain the screw-on lid as an access hatch, and add feet so the speakers wouldn't roll around. The speaker drivers are 3", full range, magnetically shielded, rated at 30 watts/8 ohms and could probably substitute as the mains in a low powered multimedia setup, or a small desktop monitor system. The driver spec sheet recommended a 2L sealed enclosure. The containers are 1.9L, close enough!

Step 1: Parts and Tools

PARTS:

The speaker drivers ($12/each), back connectors, spikey feet, speaker wire, and poly stuffing were purchased online. All the rest locally sourced.

2 - 1.9L plastic fiber containers from big box store (regularity is good, ask Jamie Lee!)
2 - 3" magnetically shielded full range speakers(30 watts/8ohms) (speakers came with gaskets)
4- speaker connectors (2 black, 2 red)
8 - slip on connectors for the terminals
8 - pairs of fasteners to attach speakers to enclosures
4 - spikey feet
fiber filling
speaker wire
8 - #4 lead fishing weight eggs
duct tape

TOOLS:

Dremel Tool with router attachment OR Xacto knife for cutting driver opening
Drill with assortment of drill bits. You'll need a 3/8" bit for the spikey feet.
Small wrenches
Soldering iron and solder (if you break off a speaker terminal like I did)
Needle nose plier
Wire stripper
18" long thin hardwood dowel
Allen wrench
Permanent marker
Tape measure to calculate enclosure circumference and calculate 60 degree foot spacing
Ruler with mm scale
sandpaper & safety razor to smooth: cuts, sharp edges, and drill hole burrs
cello tape

Comments

[JCoffey]

Are these Tang Band speakers? Do you ahve a link as to where you got them?

[regularityaudiolabs]

Here'e the link. Rawk on!!

http://www.madisound.com/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=136&products_id=1503

[iApple guy]

You can also buy the same speakers at parts express!

[pineapplenewton]

Just to let you know showing us a video that only includes the speakers playing music we can only tell how good our speakers sound or maybe how good your mike is.

[regularityaudiolabs]

Reality is always perceived.  Especially when processed through your brain,

[danlab]

Even more so when it is processed elsewhere.

[regularityaudiolabs]

Yes, I see.......

[swingline]

It kind of reminds me of an HDTV commercial.

[regularityaudiolabs]

I guess you'll have to come to Seattle for a listen!

[regularityaudiolabs]

No ports, just a sealed tube.

[supercrazytutorials]

did u do any holes  for the air to go out?

[pdub77]

The Mythbusters tested whether or not speakers can make you lose control of your bowels. They claim sound can't do that, but I don't think they saw this. ; )

[regularityaudiolabs]

I was waiting for an appropriate comment like this. The Mark I Super Psyllium Passivia Speakers don't sound like crap, but will help you do it!

[pdub77]

Glad to help! =)

Good work. Just remember what I always say: a clean colon is a happy colon!

[explosivemaker]

nice.....the plastic containers that frozen juice comes in would work good for slightly smaller ones.....

[regularityaudiolabs]

That's good! You can also get 1" or 2" full range speakers that would fit a smaller container. The container pretty much drives the design along with speaker availability. I also look for colorful or unusual labels.

[explosivemaker]

....the ones we usually have around have a diameter of approx. 2 3/4".....a 2" one would fit pretty good....I guess if the labels weren't exciting enough, some high grit sanding and a cool spray paint job would do the trick....

[codongolev]

can they hit the brown note?

[555mst555]

cool....u should try and make it double sided...like 2 speakers on one bottle.....then the connecting wire plug thing at the middle...

[regularityaudiolabs]

That's a great idea for a push-pull mini-subwoofer!

[codongolev]

done. I had semi-broken computer speakers and I used a cookie tin to make them into a pair of portable speakers. (there was a 9-volt power supply in them, so I just cut it out and replaced it with a 9-volt battery.)

[regularityaudiolabs]

Sounds nice!

[gummybear33]

these are very nice speakers :)

[regularityaudiolabs]

Thank you for enjoying the instructable!!

[mattyuke]

very good sound

[regularityaudiolabs]

Thank you! Positive comments related to this instructable are highly appreciated!!

[Rotten194]

You have lots of bottle of laxatives around the house? Should I ask?

[regularityaudiolabs]

Life's a blast with good speakers!!

[lemonie]

How well do these operate in the infra-sound (sub 10Hz) range? L

[regularityaudiolabs]

That's high end subwoofer territory! I have a Fostex personal monitor system that has a subwoofer and 2-15W satellite speakers. I replaced the speakers with the Passivia's. With a subwoofer, my speakers sound awesome!

[dosadi]

@Lemonie,

You're not going to get anything useful below 100Hz from a 3" driver in a 2L enclosure. Sorry, but that's physics. Although the author doesn't state what the drivers are, I'm guessing from the appearance and stated price that these are HiVi B3N drivers, which have a frequency response of 100-7000Hz and a resonant frequency (Fs) of 77Hz.

For anyone interested in making these, here's a URL for the driver...

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=297-428

I personally prefer Tangband drivers over HiVi. For anyone willing to consider an alternative, these drivers have more high end response and are somewhat more efficient, but don't look as cool and aren't shielded...

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=264-880

Small full-range drivers like this are pretty easy to burn out. Been there, done that. If you use an amp rated over 20 watts per channel, be careful.

[regularityaudiolabs]

I believe HiVi merged with the Swans speaker company. I chose these drivers firstly for design aesthetic (fit, gold color (matches container label), no dust cap), secondly for shielding, and lastly for performance, although they have good performance criteria. See the link for product info and graphs. I sourced the speakers from Madisound. On aesthetics, I would have liked gold plated feet, but they were out of stock. http://www.swanspeaker.com/product/htm/view.asp?id=51

[dosadi]

I thought those were B3Ns. Those anodized aluminium cones do look great. I never thought of Costco as a source of speaker parts. Although I did use wood bowls from Target as bases for one pair I built. How about a matching sub using a 5 gallon bucket? Here's a tip: instead of ordering poly fill from speaker vendors, just pick up polyester pillow stuffing from a fabric or craft store. I got mine at Walmart.

[Ward_Nox]

you know i kept a couple of game fuel empties thinking of doing somthing like this

[regularityaudiolabs]

Go for it! Check out Madisound they have a wide selection of speakers. They have always given me great service! I'm waiting for Costco to increase their "unit size" and will then develop a Mark II Passivia .