Bunny Mod: Speaker upgrade

bunny · Post by **bunny** » Fri Oct 26, 2018 9:08 am

hello I did a vague search and found nothing, so I decided to experiment and figure out how to "upgrade" the speaker.
This is the basic info I discovered & are unsure if anyone knows about, so I wanted to make my own "share" post.

Anyway.... the Included speaker is SUPER loud, and suffers a bit from volume dependent definition.
I am not bashing the creators product, I think they found a very nice, and very decent performing option.
I applaud them!!!
However I like to tinker.

I ended up spending about $4.00 this mod.

Here is the low down and dirty.
I went to my local electronics part store and picked up a

"3/4th in, 32 Ohm Full Range" speaker
exact matching JST connector of current kit speaker

This is literally all I needed.
i had to bend some contact points on the speaker to fit into the front face, but the speaker is an exact fit.
Wire connections *MIGHT* matter (need to test)
I soldered the wires onto the contacts of the speaker, plugged it in, and worked instantly as if kit intended.
The speaker also had a ring of sticky tape around the front, but I took it off because it looks cleaner. I also put a round cut piece of foam BEHIND the speaker because the back of the speaker looked unsightly, I felt. foam makes it cleaner.

I know what you want to know, how does it sound?
It is EXTREMELY CRISP. SO MUCH detail in the sound at ANY volume. wow. WOW. just wow.
Downside? It is quiet if you are not into that..... Volume 4 is now about the range of volume 1-2... however it has SOOO MUCH MORE detail in the sound.
*WIRE PLACEMENT MIGHT MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN TOTAL SOUND OUTPUT. HAVE YET TO TEST*
Also, one last thing: i am unsure about the affects this speaker has on the battery life, if any at all. i haven’t noticed anything abnormal so far...

Thank you.

bunny · Post by **bunny** » Fri Oct 26, 2018 9:09 am

Last pics. I hope I gave someone help. Please let me know if I can answer more.

Thank you.

mad_ady · Post by **mad_ady** » Fri Oct 26, 2018 2:44 pm

Looks great! I'm interested in adding a headphone jack when I have time

bunny · Post by **bunny** » Sun Nov 04, 2018 1:17 pm

thank you mad. hurry up and make your av jack.

just a small update to anyone who try’s this out, as i have now made a second one of these, and have a final third to still build, i have updated info:

i want to make note that the speaker you see in the above photos was assembled with a rather.... primitive soldering iron than my personal inventory, which i later used instead on the second speaker i have currently built.
ALSO, i didn’t pay attention and i soldered the wires opposite of the first one you see in the above photos.

i had issues getting the FIRST speaker to solder with such a Basic iron and noticed that it got QUITE a bit more warm than i liked.

The reason i bring both of these points up, is because the second speaker i have now built is MUCH louder. it’s still less than the original and the biggest difference is the amount of sound quality at any volume.

anyway, i either Borked the first speaker by overheating it, OR THE WIRE DIRECTION actually plays a difference in total sound output.

as soon as i feel like making it, the third speaker i’m going to revert the wires back to the placement from the original post and hope it lowers the volume again..... if it does not, then..... i guess next is a resistor installation.....

sydarn2 · Post by **sydarn2** » Mon Jun 29, 2020 3:28 am

I would really like to make this modification, but I can't for my life find this or a similar loudspeaker. I am in Europe and 3/4" translates to 20mm. Anyone knows a retailer in Europe which has good assortment of small loudspeakers?

EDIT: I am looking specifically for a loudspeaker with same specs. sizewise drop-in replacement and 32 ohm full-range.
EDIT2: Best option I have found so far is this https://www.mouser.ch/ProductDetail/243-K20%2c8OHM It is 8 ohm but significantly harder to drive, 73 dB W/M vs 89 on the original I think.
EDIT3: I actually went ahead and bought this speaker that I suggested,but it is not quieter.

datatrash · Post by **datatrash** » Wed Jul 29, 2020 1:33 am

Hey sydarn2,
I found a speaker similar to the one bunny used at https://www.pollin.de/p/kleinlautsprech ... -mm-640965.

Don't know if it's worth the shipping cost to Switzerland. But since you're there, they have plenty of other (Odroid) Products, including the Odroid Go Advance BE.

For hardware volume control I wanted to somehow implement these https://www.pollin.de/search?query=PT15 ... c0RcCwgaNR with these nice little dial wheels https://www.pollin.de/p/raendelscheibe-piher-rot-221573.
Although I have not even started thinking this through. Don't know if this will even work.

ODROID