How to find a better audio speaker for permanent and interactive art installations?

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CaseyScalf
 
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How to find a better audio speaker for permanent and interactive art installations?

Post by CaseyScalf »

I am on the quest to find a better solution to adding audio to interactive sound based art installations.

Sometimes it's okay to hook up a bluetooth speaker. It works in a pinch though is not good for long term, or even large/live events. Bluetooth can cut out. Smart kids will figure out how to play their music on it, and of course most are battery powered, don't auto turn on, etc.

So, I would like to see if the team at Adafruit has any solutions or parts that can enable this.

I would like to optimize for 1) installation ready/ reliability, 2) uses an AUX input (1/8" 3.5mm stereo),3) sound quality, 4) scalability (small options and larger options).

To be sure this should be sound big enough for a room. Not a KISS concert.

Currently my best solution is the UE Boom 2 (see attachments). It has mounts. An aux cable. But it doesn't turn on automatically (like when the installation is plugged in). Also they are not made anymore.

I have tried making my own from random "amps" and car audio speakers but for some reason they are noisy (not in a good way) and are not very loud. I admit I probably have no idea what I am doing and hooked them up wrong.

Anyways, what might be some good options?

I see that there is a set of USB powered speakers. In all reality this will solve most of the issues except I feel the sound quality might not be that incredible. Which is to be expected for USB power and that size.

https://www.adafruit.com/product/1363

So is there anything a bit bigger here on the Adafruit shop?

What about some of the 3" - 4" speakers or this 20w amplifier? Can I just connect them and be good to go? How important are the ohms in this case?

https://www.adafruit.com/product/1752

Overall it would be great to use a setup like the amp and a few speakers as I can mix and match plus print a custom enclosure for them.

Alternatively, maybe there is another option online that I am unaware of? Should I just take apart the UE Boom and try to remove bluetooth and solder in a permanent power supply? Maybe just make an actuator that cycles once and presses the on button of the UE Boom every time?

Either way thanks for the great projects and insight!
Attachments
Screen Shot 2023-01-24 at 10.24.14 AM.png
Screen Shot 2023-01-24 at 10.24.14 AM.png (124.09 KiB) Viewed 139 times
UE-BOOM-2-Bottom-View-1200x900-cropped.jpg
UE-BOOM-2-Bottom-View-1200x900-cropped.jpg (87.4 KiB) Viewed 139 times

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Franklin97355
 
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Re: How to find a better audio speaker for permanent and interactive art installations?

Post by Franklin97355 »

Is there anything you could use in this link? https://www.amazon.com/s?k=powered+comp ... doa-p_2_25

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: How to find a better audio speaker for permanent and interactive art installations?

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

There are lots of 'off-the-shelf' powered-speaker options that will connect to a standard 3.5mm stereo jack. We carry these in the store: https://www.adafruit.com/product/1363 But there are hundreds of others ranging from pocket size to concert size - including some powered studio monitors with impeccable sound quality.

It is possible to 'roll your own'. And that is probably a good option to consider if you need the speakers to be tightly integrated with the piece. But designing a good sounding combination of drivers and enclosures is an art in itself. There are plenty of DIY audio forums dedicated to the topic.

The 20W amp is a good building block. To get the full rated 20W output, you would need to mate it with a suitable power supply and a pair of 4-ohm speakers. And raw speakers will need to be mated with a suitable enclosure to properly deliver that sound.

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CaseyScalf
 
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Re: How to find a better audio speaker for permanent and interactive art installations?

Post by CaseyScalf »

Hello Support_bill.

Thank you for the input! I think I will try the off-the-shelf variety you have first and then experiment a bit with building my own.

As for the 20W setup you offer, I do recall in the past having issues where it would not get to full loudness even though I had a proper power supply. Like barely being able to hear levels of quiet whereas a bluetooth speaker was plenty loud.

What is the most usual case for why this is? Does anything other than 4 ohm speakers cause this? Or maybe I need to clean up the signal before?

Either way I am going to order and then put something together so we can pick apart an actual project. Just thought I would ask in advance in case there was an obvious consideration.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: How to find a better audio speaker for permanent and interactive art installations?

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

There are a few things that can result in low output sound levels:

1) The source material - sometimes the recording is just at too low a level.

2) Speaker impedance - All else being equal, higher impedance speakers will have a lower sound level. 4 Ohms is optimal for that amp.

3) No speaker enclosure. A bare speaker emits sound waves from both the front and back surfaces. Without an enclosure, the sound waves from the back will cancel out much of the sound from the front. A properly designed enclosure will contain those back waves and help you get you the most volume and sound quality from the speaker.

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CaseyScalf
 
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Re: How to find a better audio speaker for permanent and interactive art installations?

Post by CaseyScalf »

Thanks Bill!

I think that option #2 & #3 are the most likely culprits. I'll be sure to double check the ohms and make an enclosure for testing purposes. Sometimes I forget the basics! Thank you!

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