Nice little project. I really like your design with the 2 materials. I've actually made 2 of these speakers but mine were all wood. one was a gift for my father and the other is on an end table in my living room. I really enjoy the simplicity of them.
Yay Linn! I like the fact that no electronics, (other than the phone of course), are involved with this speaker. If I was to make one it would have to be as wide as my phone is tall and have twin concrete molds with the put phone in sideways as I have stereo speakers, one on each end of the phone. A little more challenging build perhaps, but still doable. When I cup my hands over the speakers to direct the sound towards me, it changes the already awesome sound to a deeper bass, so I can see this possibly having similar results.
Nice idea using the canola oil on the form to help prevent the concrete from sticking! To help get air bubbles out of your mold, use a random orbit sander (without a sanding pad) to vibrate them out. Nice project! 🤓👍🏼
Another great creative video. You are so talented and have such excellent taste! No surprise your a good cook too. Just one of your many talents. Relax with a good whiskey after supper.
Little hint use an orbital sander without the sandpaper to vibrate the molds as you fill them. Works great and no picking up and banging required. Love your ideas.
Oh wow, I am actually making a concrete + wood project now! Great coincidence :D And I think that's not mahogany, that is agba wood which is...exactly what I am using. Crazy! Anyway, lovely video and well incorporated ad. I love cooking too and that seems a great way to get fresh and ready to make meals. Too bad it is only in the US. Keep it up!
I had water in my mouth I had the impression that I was smelling the scent of this delicious food. Congratulations, your project was very beautiful, but I still prefer the food, kkkkkkkkkkk.
A fun project to try. A way to amplify or focus the sound without using amplifiers, passively!. No need to plug in anything, just drop it in and enjoy. Looking forward to other concrete ideas.
You always have fresh ideas of things you build and this is another one. Some people don't seem to get the passive aspect of this project but I think it is essential. I'm also starting to get used to the bangs.
So many negative comments. :( It is a great idea as most people are not audiophiles and just want to be able to hear. This fills that need in an interesting, cute way. Great project Lynn!
Just 49 seconds in - wow - is it just me or have you improved a lot? Love the story telling, the new quick intro, the audio, the editing - just 49 seconds! Nice project like always. Now need to watch the rest. Cheers!
great build working out all the part and hole placement ahead of time you could then skip the mold and cast the cement with wine glass stright into the final box giving a 100% flush smoth transition from wood to cement.
I have a pneumatic chisel. It comes with a blunt bit. It's great to vibrate concrete or plaster molds to get the bubbles out. It still has bubbles without placing it under vacuum but they are much smaller. By having these solid it might resonate better. I've always found these to be uninspiring sound. Mainly because of the cheap small speakers. Ever thought about putting some thin metal around like rebar might focus higher tones maybe adding thick rods might focus lower tones. I might just try this and see if it makes a difference.
Very nice project. For a further refinement, I would suggest using moldable epoxy putty to further customize the interface between the phone speaker port(s) and the entrance to the "horn". (Essentially, fill in any unnecessary void, so things work like ear canals.) This sort of product can complement concrete projects nicely in various ways, for example, fixing any undesired voids or cracks. ((I really like using Oatley Fix-it Stick for so many project elements. I buy at least several at a time, to keep shipping costs low, after finding the best on-line price at the time...))
FYI. in acoustics bimatetial enclosures are enclsoures made from two materials which have different resonant frequency, and are linked (glued) together in such way one cancels other vibration and as they dont resonate distortion are much lower. you made a compression load concreet horn ;) Nice build, and all the best !
One way to refine the design would be to us an adhesive caulk to secure the wide end of the stem glass to a base piece of plywood, then build up the 4 sides of the form around it. This would let you get the glass centered in the form. The top of the form would be open and because the wide end of the glass is on the bottom, filling and compacting the cement around it will be easy with either vibration or a trowel. As long as your workbench is close to level, you will get a pretty precise finish.
David waelder had a smart idea a while back with using a sawzall with no blade on it to vibrate the mold and get rid of air bubbles have used it since and it does work very well
It's an interesting idea, there a number of 3D printable passive speaker designs, which do improve the the sound of the phone, and they're fun to play around with. Considering you can simply print one out to try out passive speaker stuff, and have the printer do the work while you can do other things. But if I'm going to actually go through the manual process of doing this much work, I would at least get a decent bluetooth amp and an actual speaker.
Love this, Linn. I know you wanted to do this sans wires, but what about adding a slot in the back that you could, if you wanted, slip a charging cable through so you could put this on your desk?
Very nice project and video, thank you for sharing it. I've been interested in experimenting with concrete, and love the idea (and simple design) you have here.
Linn, your design using concrete is brilliant!! Over the years that I've had my rear-facing speaker phone (Samsung Note 2), I've tried making passive amplifiers from plywood and glossy painted cardboard, with reasonable success. However, I always wanted to have a better shaped sound tube, like a clarion (or His Master's Voice gramophone loudspeaker). You have solved the shaping problem - a Big Thank You 😃. I'm quite familiar with using a Plaster of Paris mix with 50% sand, so will use that in preference to concrete. The end result is weatherproof and durable, plus I don't need to deal with heavy brown paper sacks that ruin my back Ha!! Ha!! My option is also to use "landscape mode" so I can view Darbin Ovar and other famous makers on RU-vid, which is my main reason for wanting increased volume and tone enhancement. I'm looking forward to making it.
I do like the build and was wondering how it would differ if the whole project was made out of wood. Also, a really good cooking show I started watching a couple years ago is called "Simply Ming". If interested in the show, chef Ming Tsai has a RU-vid channel with clips on cooking under the same title. The show is usually on PBS.
Very neat build. I want to make one for myself and its on the list already. Let me admit, it never occurred to me that concrete could be used. But I want to try out if this concept will work if I attached 20 litre water cans with a pvc in between... How loud could it get? thats something I could try
And for a small extra expense you could dye the mortar to suit the color scheme of the room you plan to use it in. Great concept, but I kind-of expected better fit and finish from you after watching your other videos. Still a great idea.
Absolutely fantastic job Linn!! I think that it's a really great idea. The hardest part is the concrete. It looks fairly simple to make. I would use it in my living room, my bedroom and my shop. What kind of concrete do you use and where can I find it? Thanks for sharing
Very nice Lynn! Well done, I love your concrete builds and how you use at as a medium with wood working projects. BTW, I recently started a RU-vid channel called; DIY on Huicho's Circuit. Hence, it is at a infant stage - which I need to soon create some projects and content to gain subscribers.
Initially did not think I'd like this project. Now, i think it is nice. Using something like this in a kitchen is perfect. Dust and oil and moisture are not good for speakers. Wires get in the way. Perfect.
Excellent and creative idea. I have one question. If you were using this on 'speakerphone' mode, would you be blocking the microphone (or one of them, depending on phone type)? I'd probably use this as a speaker 95% of the time anyway, but was just curious about the other bit. Thank you for the inspirational and inventive videos!!
Several questions ... 1. I'd like to do something similar with my iPad -- looks like I'd make a rectangle and have two cones instead of a cube and one cone. Wondering if that would work or not. 2. How do you think plaster of paris would work instead of concrete? 3. Had you thought of covering the concrete face with light denier cloth?
Are you worried at all about having your glass screen sliding against raw cement? I sure would be. I am thinking a small bit of felt glued over the raw cement would be a good idea.
good goat My iPhone got scratched by a metal hinge while in the pocket :/ But I would go with some material not so for the peace of mind, rather for a better tactile experience
The sound vibrations must be transferred to the concrete. Have not tested it, but I think the felt would dampen the vibration. You could try it with a mock-up before making the fancy wooden housing.
I applaud your desire to expand on things you try to design and build but I don't believe this works as well as I'd like it to.....it doesn't seem to have a very warm sound.....might be it doesn't come thru on this video as it would in person. But it reminds me of a build i want to make that would help me to hear better......Thanks!
This is a great project. My only fear is that when I get a new phone it will not fit. Maybe a adjustable insert at the top that can be easily replaced?
Great job ! I'm thinking to make one, do you try another glass form ? I think it will make the sound different ? Don't you think that concrete make the sound brighter ? Hi from France !
Just one thing: this is not a speaker! passive speaker is just like a regular one for a pc just without the amplifier. This is a box... Other than that, looks cool and directs the sount toward you, im sure it helps!
