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OG Xbox Forums => Hardware Forums => Xbox Case/Hardware modding => Topic started by: 67thRaptorBull on March 23, 2004, 01:25:00 PM

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 23, 2004, 01:25:00 PM

ok, first off, i must stress that i have a clear comp case, so room isnt to big of an issue for this mod, but lets get on with it

first, ill let you guess what im thinking by listing my supplies below

Altec Lansing 2.1 speakers
mp3 player
..................................anyone??

well ok, here it is

i want to take the speakers (including the sub woofer if its at all possible) and hook them up in my comp case, and then have my mp3 player hooked up internally (buy extend the usb port and controls so i can reach them) becuase i always take the speakers or mp3 with my xbox so i can listen to music in the background, so yes this mod does have a use

and as for power, id just split the power cord (its a regular wall outlet cord, 2 prong) and split the power with the 2 wires coming in from the psu power plug, so i got that covered

i figure the hardest part will be mounting (the 2 small speakers ill mount probably on top, and the sub will probably go on the side)
but the sub seems like itd be a bitch, as to i dont know how big it is, and i dont know what to do to port it and keep it (if its possible) from fucking up the xbox

but thats what your all for, suggestions and opinions  

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 23, 2004, 01:39:00 PM

well, the speakers im not worried bout, ill have holes in the case and ill leave the screens on em

the subwoofer seems like it will be a bitch, the only good thing is its really small, and ill find a way to sheild it
but if i mount it on the side window, as long as the window is screwed on tight it wont break it through vibrations will it?

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: UndercoverPunker on March 23, 2004, 01:50:00 PM

I can appreciate what you're trying to do, but if you take the subwoofer out of it's enclosure, it WILL sound like ass, those little subwoofers only work because they are tuned to that sub... I honestly think it wouldn't be worth the time/money/effort to do this, but if you do do it, and make it function right, I'll be very impressed with it...

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 23, 2004, 02:11:00 PM

well, whats the difference between in the case and out of it, the only thing that will be missing is the port, but thats a fraction of the sound, the rest come out of the speaker......

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 23, 2004, 03:12:00 PM

ok, i knew it would, and the sub isnt a real big for me, i know ill still get some sub from it, but i dont need alot

the speakers themselves r the only thing im questioning, and i need a good answer on this, not just, yea theyll suck dick, but i need suggestions on how to make it not suck dick

will the speakers (granted im not gonna run this at high volume, just low or medium levels) sound like complete shit, will they lose some quality, how much quality....and the likes???

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 23, 2004, 04:03:00 PM

umm, i dont know, what would it look like?

and there altec lansing comp speakers, and there really powerful, if i turn them up all the way and putthem away from were im walking, i can hear them 1/4 a mile down my friends road at night
and there really clear at low levels

but heres how im mounting them....

the sub is going in the back where my 80mm fan was gonna go, and im gonan use small spacers to part it far enough from the hole so it can expand and contract
(i have another 80mm fan in the front, so 1 should be enough)

the 2 speakers are gonna go on top, and since im afraid drilling 2 big 2" holes in acrylic will crack it, im gonna drill like 1/8" holes (6 or 7 per speaker ) to give the sound places to go out (i also figure it will help to deflect the sound into a straight line when it leaves the case, but i could be wrong)

and thats basically how its gonan be

a reminder, im not looking for high power, really aswome sound, just good enough so i have background music when i play halo online, or other games where i need something else in the background

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: UndercoverPunker on March 23, 2004, 09:02:00 PM

well the regular speakers will sound how they normally sound, but if you're not going to put the sub in a custom built very well tuned enclosure you might as well scrap it...  I don't think you're quite grasping just how bad that sub will sound when you eliminate the tuned enclosure...

if you don't believe me ask Jer what he thinks...

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 24, 2004, 02:27:00 AM

well, im gald u said the speakers part, so the speakers wont sound anyworse, or if they do, it wont be real noticable??

second, the sub woofer i understand it needs that enclosure, but all it basically does is expand and contract fast enough to produce really low and heavy sound waves, and im not going for good subbage here, but im still trying to see why it will sound like complete shit and not sound just ok, becuase all the speaker was doing in my case it was in was projecting out, and beleive me, this case it was in had no design to it to help the subs sound, it wasnt even magnetically sheilded  

the only thing i could see that would be a problem is there being no port, but theres plenty of holes on this case to allow the expansion and contraction of the air around the sub

i guess im just stubborn and wish/think i know what im talking bout    

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 24, 2004, 12:46:00 PM

bump, so undercover, in ur expert opinion, ud say id lose more then id gain fi i hooked up the sub, but that the speakers being hooked up will be fine?

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: thefatness on March 24, 2004, 01:01:00 PM

that will be cool man

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: sk8phreak88 on March 24, 2004, 01:40:00 PM

raptor, if you take that sub out it will sound like ass. they have them incases so it can get the air stuff right. trustme, if you have a car sub take it out the box and try it.

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 24, 2004, 01:50:00 PM

ok, so no go on the sub?

but the speakers themselves will be ok right?

and yea, i was kinda leaning towards no sub ne ways cuase of the virbations, and it was taking up a fan hole  

thanks for ur help, and as of right now im carfeully drilling small holes throught the top so the sound from the speakers can get out

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: sk8phreak88 on March 24, 2004, 01:55:00 PM

yeah, the speakers will work fine but sub wont at all, lets see some pics as you go man.

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 24, 2004, 02:29:00 PM

this should be done tonight, but i wont have power till tomorrow to run it

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: UndercoverPunker on March 24, 2004, 07:34:00 PM

, so I don't think you'll be getting any noticable bass outta them, but the rest of it sounds good, I also have another question, Why aren't you just playing your MP3's off of your box through XBMC?  And I agree progress pics!!!

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 25, 2004, 02:54:00 AM

well i stated it earlier, i wanted to be able to play music while playing a game (like halo)

and the pics will be coming tonight if i can get my adelphia internet to work, damn them

i also have to decide how many holes i need for each speaker to let out a good amount of sound, what would u guys think (im using medium sized drill bits, as if i go ne higher in holes size the acrylic will crack)??

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: aweirdguy on March 25, 2004, 04:52:00 AM

hey not a bad idea, if you want music and game at the same time

you should figure out how to wire a switch so the speakers play the mp3 player or the xbox sound, that would be even cooler

you're happy you scrapped the sub, the issue isnt even how bad it sounds
it would toast your xbox if it was in the same enclosure
if the magnetic field (not practical to shield) didnt wipe your drive
the vibrations would crash your drive platters sooner or later

as for sound ports, speakers under 6" sound just fine even without ports
they dont push enough air to matter
you should put a couple small ports in tho...
i'd guess make them as big as the speakers
not too big, wont affect the structure of the case

post pics when its done

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 25, 2004, 06:51:00 AM

yea, first off, it wasnt really ports i was talking bout drilling, but it was holes in front of the speakers for the sound (waves) to get out of the case and let me be able to hear it
so i was asking how many small holes (around 7/64 on a drill bit, maybe a few sizes bigger) would be needed to have adequate sound coming out of the case??

second, i figure if i were to have a switch (u got me thinking now =-) ) what kind would it need to be and how would i do it (i know id hook up the cables from the phone jack going to the mp3 player to it, and then id have to solder wires from the audi pins on the AV connector to the switch, but what kind of switch and how would i do it exactly)???

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 25, 2004, 12:46:00 PM

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: sk8phreak88 on March 25, 2004, 12:50:00 PM

i think i would put atleast half as many holes more then you have.

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 25, 2004, 12:51:00 PM

yea, i was thinking lowering the drill bit size by half and just covering all the empty spots with smaller holes

im also thinking of making the inter most center ones 1 and a half times as big

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: sk8phreak88 on March 25, 2004, 01:01:00 PM

yeah sounds good, post some more pics when you get those done

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 25, 2004, 01:05:00 PM

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 25, 2004, 02:20:00 PM

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 25, 2004, 03:06:00 PM

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 25, 2004, 05:06:00 PM

)



speaker hole 1



speaker hole 2


o and can someone please try to answer my question in the above post, the one bout splitting audio with a switch and what points on the AV conenctor are the L and R audio??

thanks

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 26, 2004, 02:45:00 AM

yea, i have a few extra fan grills, i might do that, or i might think bout cutting it out tonight, and i know id have to switch between the mp3 player and the xbox audio, but do i need a special switch for that (see how the headphone plug has 4 or 5 wires thatd need to be soldered to one side of the switch)??

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 26, 2004, 12:34:00 PM

well, i decided itd be to hard and the end result would be it looking like shit, so i took a 2 old 80mm wire grills (chrome) and they dont fit exactly, but i can drill some holes, and then im painting them with my uv reactive paint, so when this is turned on, with the grill and speakers there, the holes dont draw to much attention

ill post pics soon, but i have yet to recieve my psu, so i cant run ne thing

and cueball, what i mean is, a normal switch only has like 1 or 2 wires for each side (or each part of the switch, like on, off or idle) but the wires id be using are 5 or 6 for each side of the switch, so is there a special switch or certain kind i can get?

o and on that tutorial you linked me to, do i just use the left and right audio aolder points, or do i also use the left and right screen points?

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 26, 2004, 03:16:00 PM

yea, thanks

my old man said well go to radioshack, and they could probably help me with it

and also, i asked before, but do i need to solder to the left and right audio only on that diagram u linked me to, or do i need to also solder to the left and right audio and screen?

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 26, 2004, 05:37:00 PM

bump

o and more pics to come

and also, i asked before, but do i need to solder to the left and right audio only on that diagram u linked me to, or do i need to also solder to the left and right audio and screen?

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 26, 2004, 06:13:00 PM

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 26, 2004, 06:32:00 PM

well cueball i read it. and the only thing i seem to not be able to comprehend, is that im going to be hooking up 4 seperate wires (left and right audio, and left and right screen) to one part of the switch, then 3 wires to the other side, and the destination of the switch (the pcb that my speakers run off of) only has 3 wires to solder onto the switch, so i dont see how the 4 wires from the xbox audio will match up with the 3 going to the pcb, although, one of the wires might be ground thats on the pcb, so that might help, what do u think of the situation?

*(a quick sum up, the xbox audio has 4 wires, the mp3 audio has 3 wires, and the destination of the audio's has 3 wires, 1 of which is a thick black one, so i can assume its ground, so maybe it will work out, i dont know though)*

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: RX3 on March 26, 2004, 06:56:00 PM

I have alot of experience designing and building speaker enclosures. Please don't be offended but, i'm gonna be blunt and tell you your mod is going to sound like crap. Guaranteed. It would take too much time to explain why because there is so much involved in getting good sound from a speaker.

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 26, 2004, 07:09:00 PM

well, id usually agree with someone that says they know what there talking bout, but ive already discussed this with my brother in law, who is a genuis with car speakers, subwoofers or ne thing speakers, and he confirmed that, without the enclosure, the sub would sound like shit, but that tje speakers dont need ne such enclosure to work (seeing how they have no ports, and the cases there in provided no room for adequate air movment, and all the sound comes out of the speaker itself, were as subwoofers ((at least the size of the one i have, but not bigger ones like 10 inches)) get 75% of thier sound from the enclosure there in)
but thanks for ur worries ne ways




* o and cueball, i get what ur saying now, thatd work easier, just get 2 rca connectors (female) then a dual RCA to phono adapter, cut of the phono (headphone) jack and use the wires from it to wire to a switch, which if i did it that way the switch would only need to be a 3PDT switch then

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: UndercoverPunker on March 26, 2004, 09:51:00 PM

agreed with the crossover comment, you need that... although, i don't really know if he'll be putting that much power to them, errrr.. I don't think that what I wanted to say, alos there may not be a crossover, there might just be a cap on the tweeters... that's how alot of lower end speakers are...

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: cueball13 on March 27, 2004, 04:31:00 AM

And since there's apparently some pcb that he's got which everything hooks up to, the crossover may be in that instead....I don't know, it's hard to tell without seeing the setup. Also, I've got to agree that even if the crossover still works, the speakers are not going to sound very good....but then again, they started out pretty cheap anyways. I personally would not be able to tolerate them, but if you're not an audiophile or really picky about your music, then it's not too big of a deal.

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 27, 2004, 04:41:00 AM

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 27, 2004, 05:12:00 AM

well actually, you can have good speakers, and have them be cheap, and dont get me wrong, i love the way audio sounds, and i hate it when it sounds like shit
i know the correct balance i should have between bass, treble, mid, and and the likes (specially in my car), and i helped peice together are custom surrond sound in are big screen tv room, and ive leanred alot

and im being truthful when i say, for how much they costed, these are really good speakers (well they were really good when they had the sub with it, but i dont expect to much crappiness to come from the loss), and im not gonna ve expecting the best sound in the world, just ample sound for some background music

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 27, 2004, 08:30:00 AM

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 28, 2004, 06:32:00 AM

ok, cueball, heres were im at

radioshack didnt have any 3PDT toggle switches, so i got 2 DPDT switches, and this is how i was gonan do it

since the headphone jacks have 3 wires (a red, white and black) i was gonna use the one switch and solder the red and whites for each headphone jack and the speaker pcb, and then id use the other switch for just the black wires, so even though id have to throw both switches together, itd still work right?

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 28, 2004, 07:28:00 AM

yea, but its all i got, and i wont be switching to much, im just gonan cut down the switch and round it off with a dremel so it doesnt stick out as much

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 28, 2004, 10:32:00 AM

hmm, apperantly rubbing alcohol is bad for acrylic, as i now have 4 1 inch cracks inside the arcrylic

so now the back of the case lookes like shit, but its the part no one will see and the lights will make it look alright

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 28, 2004, 01:55:00 PM

well, its almost gone, all i have left to do is secure the controller ports, mount the psu (whenever it comes) and mod a samsung 616t

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 30, 2004, 04:32:00 PM

         

for anyone who had doubts, to bad, for anyone who was hoping this would work      


i hooked up the power, and they powered up, good first thing to see
then i plugged the mp3 player in, and played Tenacious D "Tribute",  but nothing came out, and then alas, i switched the toggle switch and sweet music came out of those speakers
i played Red Hot ChilliPeppers, Rolling Stones, marshall tucker, bob dylan, led zepplin, every good artist, and they all played with reall really good sound, and i even got some bass out of the speakers

job well done

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: sk8phreak88 on March 30, 2004, 04:37:00 PM

cool, post some pics of the product finished, include a pic from a few feet away so we can see the whole thing

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 30, 2004, 04:43:00 PM

o, i will, but wait till friday once im done with the whole xbox, then ill have a new thread with lots of pics and info

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: sk8phreak88 on March 30, 2004, 04:45:00 PM

ok cool im waiting to see it, while i work on my of course lol.

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 30, 2004, 04:52:00 PM

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: sk8phreak88 on March 30, 2004, 04:59:00 PM

hehe sounds fun.

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 30, 2004, 05:29:00 PM

well after 4 weeks, it gets a little nerve wrecking, but thats why i pace myself

Title: Hmmm, I Think I Found A New Mod, I Need
Post by: 67thRaptorBull on March 31, 2004, 02:14:00 AM