Table Top MCM

Table Top MCM


 

Designer:
Kev

Project Category:
Freestyle Speakers

Project Level:
Beginner

Project Time:
1-8 Hours

Project Cost:
$100 – $500

Project Description:
The Table Top MCM is a Mid Century Modern designed Bluetooth stereo speaker.

Design Goals:
The goal was to design a table top speaker that sparked conversation, looked as good as it sounds and was easy to use. Audio sources can be connected via the 3.5mm headphone jack or flip the toggle switch to turn on the internal Bluetooth module.

Driver Selection:
(2) Dayton Audio ND90-8 3-1/2″ Drivers and (1) Dayton Audio ND16FA-6 5/8″ Soft Dome Neodymium Tweeter.

Enclosure Design:
The box is .215 Ft3 and has (1) 1.5” diameter, 4” long Port.

Enclosure Assembly:
Nothing fancy with the box. All pieces were glued and brad nailed. The speaker cutouts have a 1 ¼” chamfer and the back is removal to swap parts out as needed. The stand is made of maple and oak dowels.

Crossover Design:
Went with a preassembled 2-Way 8 Ohm 5,000 Hz crossover. Part# 260-198

Conclusion:
Very pleased with the overall look and sound from this table top unit. It scores high on the “wife approval factor”. Anyone who has used the ND-90’s knows you can get some decent bass out of this speaker. Don’t let the price of the tweeter fool you. It is equally impressive.

About the Designer:
I have enjoyed wood working since I was a kid. Time to take it to the next level by integrating speakers and electronics.

Parts Used:
1. Dayton Audio KAB-230 2x30W Class D Audio Amplifier Board with Bluetooth 4.0
2. Dayton Audio ND90-8 3-1/2″ Aluminum Cone Full-Range Driver 8 Ohm
3. Dayton Audio ND16FA-6 5/8″ Soft Dome Neodymium Tweeter
4. Speaker Cabinet Port Tube 1-1/2″ ID x 4″ L Flared

4 Comments

Add yours
  1. 1
    TomZ

    Nice looking project, cool photography too!
    Is this a “stereo” setup, or mono? Description says stereo, so I’m wondering how you integrated the single tweeter into the mix if both woofers are running stereo signals.
    I’ve used the ND90 before and I agree that it can generate eyebrow raising bass for it’s size. It’s a cool little bugger!
    Great project!

    • 2
      Kev

      I used the preassembled 2-Way 8 Ohm 5,000 Hz crossover. Part# 260-198. The ND-90 runs full range off the “woofer” section and the tweeter off the “tweeter” section. With everything wired up it still has an 8ohm load as well. After listening to it for a bit I also decided to pad the tweeter by about -3DB. It was a little bright sounding and this really helped to smooth things out.

  2. 3
    TylerH

    Looks great! I’d love to build something like this. Just a clarification regarding TomZ’s question (which is also what I’m wondering about). With an eight ohm load I assume you have the nd90s as two seperate channels. How did you wire the tweeter so that it wouldn’t just be playing either left or right channel? Or did you?
    Thanks a lot!

  3. 4
    Kev

    This is a Stereo setup. 1 ND90 is on the left channel running full range. The 2nd is on the right channel with the tweeter and utilizes the preassembled crossover (Part# 260-198). So the tweeter only plays on the right channel.

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