Wanting to build Bluetooth speaker box

[TonyTriumph]

We would love to have streamed music on our patio and have looked into some readily available Bluetooth speakers, but have found them either lacking in sound quality (not volume!) Or very expensive.
I have some very good sounding bookcase speakers and thought it might be a nice project to mate them with a Bluetooth receiver, an amp and a small 12v battery. This could be assembled in a nice portable cabinet/ case.

My question is: what should I look for in a 12v amp? Lots of bare boards available on ebay. Mono is all that is needed.
Any other thoughts on this?

 

[Oildudeny]

"Stereo 4.2 Bluetooth 2 x 30W Amp Board with Volume Control, USB Reader/Charger, and IR Remote" from www.parts-express.com!

Stereo 4.2 Bluetooth 2 x 30W Amp Board with Volume Control, USB Reader/Charger, and IR Remote

www.parts-express.com

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If you want more treble you can add tweeters but I'd keep it a simple setup..

 

[jhellwig]

https://www.amazon.com/Nobsound-Bluetooth-Amplifier-Wireless-Receiver/dp/B07YJKSKJS/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=Bluetooth+Amplifier+Stereo+Receiver&qid=1599430367&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExVVpWWkszSUI5NUtJJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNzAzOTYzMjFHNTBKRFNOOVpWUSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTE4NzUyMU9NVjU0N0ZBUlU2UyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

 

[wdn]

Hello. I have built quite a number of Bluetooth and non-Bluetooth speaker systems and boomboxes. I design the cabinets and speaker layouts myself. I can suggest both amps and drivers.

This one is a lunchbox sized 12V unit I built using a Yamaha YDA138 10 watts per channel board with built in Bluetooth receiver. I

t is really easy to work with.

Here's one of the boards that looks just like mine I got it on aliexpress, eBay also them. Search for Yamaha YDA-138 Bluetooth.

Mine is a sealed cabinet made from Baltic burch 1/2 plywood. Sometimes I do pine frame make the front and back panels the Baltic plywood as in this case.
It's stereo and wired in series with no crossover are this Boston Acoustics 1-1/2

tweeter and a Logitech 4" woofer. It runs from a 12V supply. Volume is controlled by the streaming player itself. The Boston Acoustics tweeter is on the right I got mine from All Electronics Corp but I think Parts Express still sells them. A closed cabinet is easier for a beginner but you must match the dimensions to the speakers according to the Thiel-Small parameters. There is software to help you.



Moving up a couple of notches, this behemoth is 22" wide and is 30W per channel stereo plus I think 60W subwoofer amp that is has an active crossover for the woofer. Here it is:

This one is a bass reflect ported design using a MCM 6.5" subwoofer and (2) Recoton FRS7 2.5" full range speakers on each side, as the tweeters.

The sound quality of one is amazing not just loud, really good sound with true deep bass. Here's the board. It operates up to 48V I think I am running a 36V laptop adapter at this time.

The knobs are master volume, stereo volume, and subwoofer volume. I is a bit non-intuitive but once you get the balance between the little speakers and the subwoofer the two controls on the right will rarely need to be adjusted again.

Here's the speakers for comparison,the Recoton full range speakers in the boombox are on the left, the Boston Acoustics tweeter for the lunchbox is on the right.

Another good option is get a dedicated Bluetooth front end/preamp with a remote control and use a Texas Instruments based stereo amp like this one I use in a lot of projects. It is less than 2" square and needs no heat sink. I believe they are 15W per channel but have to recheck. Good luck whatever you do.

 

[TonyTriumph]

Thank you, perfect information!

Any other advice still welcome.

 

[TonyTriumph]

When boards have built in bluetooth such as the
Yamaha YDA-138 Bluetooth.

How do you link to them ? I would be using a Samsung tablet with Bluetooth as a streaming source, what the procedure for syncing ?

 

[TonyTriumph]

Also, thoughts on this: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Yamaha-Blue...837192?hash=item3426a7e6c8:g:07cAAOSwXMZegvcR

It would be driving a pair of 4" Paridigm speakers.

 

[JC1]

Hello. I have built quite a number of Bluetooth and non-Bluetooth speaker systems and boomboxes. I design the cabinets and speaker layouts myself. I can suggest both amps and drivers.

This one is a lunchbox sized 12V unit I built using a Yamaha YDA138 10 watts per channel board with built in Bluetooth receiver. IView attachment 28757t is really easy to work with.

Here's one of the boards that looks just like mine I got it on aliexpress, eBay also them. Search for Yamaha YDA-138 Bluetooth.
View attachment 28758
Mine is a sealed cabinet made from Baltic burch 1/2 plywood. Sometimes I do pine frame make the front and back panels the Baltic plywood as in this case.
It's stereo and wired in series with no crossover are this Boston Acoustics 1-1/2 View attachment 28759tweeter and a Logitech 4" woofer. It runs from a 12V supply. Volume is controlled by the streaming player itself. The Boston Acoustics tweeter is on the right I got mine from All Electronics Corp but I think Parts Express still sells them. A closed cabinet is easier for a beginner but you must match the dimensions to the speakers according to the Thiel-Small parameters. There is software to help you.



Moving up a couple of notches, this behemoth is 22" wide and is 30W per channel stereo plus I think 60W subwoofer amp that is has an active crossover for the woofer. Here it is:View attachment 28761

This one is a bass reflect ported design using a MCM 6.5" subwoofer and (2) Recoton FRS7 2.5" full range speakers on each side, as the tweeters.View attachment 28762
The sound quality of one is amazing not just loud, really good sound with true deep bass. Here's the board. It operates up to 48V I think I am running a 36V laptop adapter at this time.
View attachment 28763
The knobs are master volume, stereo volume, and subwoofer volume. I is a bit non-intuitive but once you get the balance between the little speakers and the subwoofer the two controls on the right will rarely need to be adjusted again.

Here's the speakers for comparison,the Recoton full range speakers in the boombox are on the left, the Boston Acoustics tweeter for the lunchbox is on the right.View attachment 28764
Another good option is get a dedicated Bluetooth front end/preamp with a remote control and use a Texas Instruments based stereo amp like this one I use in a lot of projects. It is less than 2" square and needs no heat sink. I believe they are 15W per channel but have to recheck. Good luck whatever you do.
View attachment 28765

I like you Nova Scotia Ruler. Imported from Canada!