# Help Designing a Mini BoomBox



## lveillon (Jan 3, 2013)

I've been looking for some help in designing/calculating air space for building Mini BoomBoxes. I'm talking about the ones like Logitech, Monster etc...that you can dock or connect a smartphone or mp3 player. 

I will be using 2,3 & 4 inch speakers in these setups. 

I've seen a few of the speaker box designers, but most seem to be dedicated to SubWoofer box design and that's nothing I need(that I know of). I am wanting to add a single small 3 or 4 inch sub possibly when the space allows. 

I currently have no specific design as I'm wanting to have the ability to get creative with whatever I come up with even odd-ball setups that I would need to know how much air space to use and know what to seperate from the remainder.

Perhaps one of the calculators that I've already seen is what I need to use, but I'm unaware of the features. 

I recently saw a company that came up with the idea of using old retro suitcases for some really cool setups, but of course they don't show the guts.

Maybe I'm overthinking this, but am just looking for some guidance so I don't waste a lot of time designing somthing that just won't work.

Thanks In Advance!


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## SACRAMANIAC916 (Apr 9, 2011)

Not sure if you already have speakers or not but these TB's seem cool!

Tang Band W3-881SI 3" Speaker 299-113


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## lveillon (Jan 3, 2013)

Yup already got all the speakers and these are some of the ones I bought to try.


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## m3gunner (Aug 6, 2008)

The enclosure calculators are what you need...

Most of the frequency response curves you see with the drivers are into free air (with no enclosure). Putting the driver into the proper enclosure will reinforce the lower frequency response of your speaker and restrict the travel of the driver so that it can handle more power at low frequencies.

The retro-suitcase boomboxes are a *great* idea... the basic idea is to use the suitcase as a thin walled enclosure and mount an amp inside the case. 

Check out these builds (all portable boxes...)...

First speaker project- Suitcase enclosure

The Sprite - self-contained ND90 boombox

Budget BoomBox - A.K.A. - COÜGAR Jr. Build Thread

The Boominator - another stab at the ultimate party machine - diyAudio

Good luck!


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## lveillon (Jan 3, 2013)

Thanks for all those links..It will help with design thoughts.

One other question/thought...Since I'm not going to be driving 100's of Watts is it essential to use MDF or heavy-ply for this project? 

I'm looking at maybe cutting foam and making a few plugs to create something different. With that said I'm assuming that I need to still make sure the final piece is rigid and do some sound deadening inside the shell.

Thanks!


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