Probably not the best place to ask, but Im after a speaker of quite specific dimensions.
This isnt for a car, its for a project Im pricing up, and Ive had no luck finding a speaker that is the right size.
Must be 120mm diameter, and a MAX of 25mm depth (less is better!). Ive searched around but as Ive never really been into audio stuff Im not sure where to look. Anything Ive found in the 120mm range is waaaaaaay to deep for what Im looking for.
The reason I ask here, is that maybe some kind of car speaker would be suitable, or someone could suggest somewhere I could start to look? (Replies of www.google.co.uk / .com will get a slap).
Sound quality isnt important, however it being shielded (?) and passively powered are almost mandatory.
If anyone has any suggestions, or even knows what Im talking about (as Im not sure I do), a reply would be appreciated.
My Googling skills once again amaze me.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=37984&doy=26m4#overview
5 inches, so near enough 120mm ( I can be slightly flexible with diameter, but depth is the problem).
Assuming it is less than 25mm in depth (which I doubt), could I somehow rig it to run from the output of a standard PC soundcard? Also what about power? You see where this is leading . . .
*edit - Volume control, how would that work? Via PC I assume?
Its a speaker... itll have two solder tabs, or two wires.
you connect one lead of an audio cable to one tab... one lead to the other.
Plug jack on other end of cable into the speaker socket, and pray your pc soundcard is beefy enough to drive it.
Failing that youre better off feeding the output of the PC through an amp, and then plowing that output into the speaker.
At least those are my first 5 minute thoughts.
If you want to introduce a simple volume control, shove a POT in the middle of one of the leads to the speaker. Sorted.
Cool, ta for the info.
I cant have an amp for this project, so I best get praying! :)
I assume the smaller the speaker, the better chance a sound card would have of driving it?
Quote from: White GiantCool, ta for the info.
I cant have an amp for this project, so I best get praying! :)
I assume the smaller the speaker, the better chance a sound card would have of driving it?
In theory, and by my reckoning yes... but Id imagine some crazy small speaker with an insanely strong magnet in it, could cause issues, however likelihood is next to nil that that will be an issue. :)
no room for a little IC amp ?
Quote from: M3ta7h3adIts a speaker... itll have two solder tabs, or two wires.
you connect one lead of an audio cable to one tab... one lead to the other.
Plug jack on other end of cable into the speaker socket, and pray your pc soundcard is beefy enough to drive it.
Failing that youre better off feeding the output of the PC through an amp, and then plowing that output into the speaker.
At least those are my first 5 minute thoughts.
If you want to introduce a simple volume control, shove a POT in the middle of one of the leads to the speaker. Sorted.
Speakers arent all the same, living room ones are almost always 8 ohm while car ones generally use 4 ohms.
This also means there can be issues connecting them up.
Quote from: SeriousQuote from: M3ta7h3adIts a speaker... itll have two solder tabs, or two wires.
you connect one lead of an audio cable to one tab... one lead to the other.
Plug jack on other end of cable into the speaker socket, and pray your pc soundcard is beefy enough to drive it.
Failing that youre better off feeding the output of the PC through an amp, and then plowing that output into the speaker.
At least those are my first 5 minute thoughts.
If you want to introduce a simple volume control, shove a POT in the middle of one of the leads to the speaker. Sorted.
Speakers arent all the same, living room ones are almost always 8 ohm while car ones generally use 4 ohms.
This also means there can be issues connecting them up.
Just because you may have seen a word on the back of a speaker cabinet doesnt mean you must post about it.
Youre talking about impedence. Not really an issue with any IC based amp/feed, as feedback circuits should allow a range of load impedence values to be catered for.
Its certainly not an issue to be worrying about with the speaker he has chosen.
Quote from: Markno room for a little IC amp ?
Mark has a point, you can buy "amp" kits from maplins ready to go just requires a little solder... failing that you can buy them as pre-printed PCBs with a parts list so you can DIY it from different online places.
Im sure I have one I made (only mono feed in and out however :() in a drawer upstairs somewhere, its always handy to have around... spesh if you just want to listen to some music occasionally on the go.
hmm, what sort of size are we looking at for one of these amp kits?
teeny
(http://www.mtechnologies.com/rainbow/ap1w.jpg)
Excellent, thanks.
Still looking for a suitable speaker though.
Quote from: M3ta7h3adQuote from: SeriousQuote from: M3ta7h3adIts a speaker... itll have two solder tabs, or two wires.
you connect one lead of an audio cable to one tab... one lead to the other.
Plug jack on other end of cable into the speaker socket, and pray your pc soundcard is beefy enough to drive it.
Failing that youre better off feeding the output of the PC through an amp, and then plowing that output into the speaker.
At least those are my first 5 minute thoughts.
If you want to introduce a simple volume control, shove a POT in the middle of one of the leads to the speaker. Sorted.
Speakers arent all the same, living room ones are almost always 8 ohm while car ones generally use 4 ohms.
This also means there can be issues connecting them up.
Just because you may have seen a word on the back of a speaker cabinet doesnt mean you must post about it.
Youre talking about impedence. Not really an issue with any IC based amp/feed, as feedback circuits should allow a range of load impedence values to be catered for.
Its certainly not an issue to be worrying about with the speaker he has chosen.
It can reduce the quality of sound severely and damage either your amp or speakers if they are badly matched.
Damage isnt going to be a problem with that small amp tho.
No... impedence matching is old. It would only be a problem if the equipment he was using to drive the load (in the case a speaker) was made perhaps 30 years ago.
Welcome to active discrete electronics... or rather welcome to the latter quarter of the 20th century.
Dont be so dismissive and condescending, my brother ruined one of a pair of Celestion Dittons because he thought it would be a good idea to run them through his car, it seemed highly likely to me it was the impedance mismatch causing the problem.
Youll also find a lot of top end hifi kit will ask you not to try to drive speakers of unusual impedence (like 4ohm or less) without checking if it is compatible first.
if you dont fancy soldering, I seem to recall you can get tiny amps for guitars. Smokey amps I think they are generally called, about the size of a packet of cigs.
Quote from: Clockd 0NeDont be so dismissive and condescending, my brother ruined one of a pair of Celestion Dittons because he thought it would be a good idea to run them through his car, it seemed highly likely to me it was the impedance mismatch causing the problem.
Youll also find a lot of top end hifi kit will ask you not to try to drive speakers of unusual impedence (like 4ohm or less) without checking if it is compatible first.
Id go with unlikely on the car front.
And while at the top end you may notice some difference in audio quality (noise for example) I exceedingly doubt something costing several hundred if not thousands of pounds lacked a zener diode or two.
Call it dismissive if you like im just dubious.
For White Giants case it is not going to be an issue. were talking a simple IC op amp, driving a relatively mundane speaker.
If you want more "proof" (in inverted commas as google is about as reliable as a peadophile in a nursery is safe) then have a google for "impedence matching" and see how almost every source will say it is either a myth (wikipedia), or something left over from passive electronics and tube amplifiers.
Im not disreputing what youre saying Rich. Im simply going on my own understanding and what Ive read. Solid state devices do use impedence bridging to get around this, yes, but that doesnt mean its necessarily the most efficient or least degenerative way to pass the signal to ignore the impedence.
Theres a good roundup of things here: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/audio/imped.html. I dont trust Wikipedia the give a wholly accurate summary.
The manual for my Mira 3 explicity states to check speaker compatibility when using low impedences. Id rather be cautious than throw it to the wind and just assume any loudspeaker will match any amplifier.
I do fully agree its probably not an issue in WGs case. I did feel you were far too dismissive of what Serious had to say though.
Obviously Metalhead has a thicker titanium skull than we thought.
Quote from: Clockd 0NeIm not disreputing what youre saying Rich. Im simply going on my own understanding and what Ive read. Solid state devices do use impedence bridging to get around this, yes, but that doesnt mean its necessarily the most efficient or least degenerative way to pass the signal to ignore the impedence.
Theres a good roundup of things here: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/audio/imped.html. I dont trust Wikipedia the give a wholly accurate summary.
The manual for my Mira 3 explicity states to check speaker compatibility when using low impedences. Id rather be cautious than throw it to the wind and just assume any loudspeaker will match any amplifier.
I do fully agree its probably not an issue in WGs case. I did feel you were far too dismissive of what Serious had to say though.
From your own link:
QuoteOn the output side, a loudspeaker may still have a nominal impedance of something like 8 ohms, which formerly would have required having an amplifier output stage carefully matched to 8 ohms. But now with the active output circuitry of audio amplifiers, the effective output impedance may be very low. The active circuitry controls the output voltage to the speaker so that the appropriate power is delivered.
And I agree with pretty much everything that article says.
Yes for Max Power... impedance is important, however for the average joe bloggs building an amp and speaker setup in a box, it has no place in the thread. thats my point :), My issue serious is that you had no reason to post anything about that, you could (if unchecked by myself) have caused WG hassle in trying to find a perfectly matched speaker for the output of his amp, and generally by being a busy body you helped noone and could have hindered instead.