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CREATIVE LAB'S 2.1 INSIRE SPEAKER HACK


Now I realize there are better ways of getting high quality sound out of your MAME cabinet (high powered amps, receivers, 15 inch Subs, etc.) but for the low level system I took this route for the time being I'M VERY HAPPY. All the stuff I had on-hand minus the Creative Labs 2.1 and the car speakers so the total cost a shy under $100 bucks in parts.
THE PARTS/TOOLS NEEDED

First go out and buy the stuff you will need to wire up your overhead speaker project. I suggest:

HOW DO I DO IT?

1.)Purchase a Creative Labs(CL) Inspire System because it's the best system I've worked with: 4 Ohms, Nice Bass/Volume adjuster you can mount under the cabinet, M-port on that same adjuster, Very nice bass, $29 refurbished, $43 new, very easy to work with.


2.)Take the 2 Speakers supplied with the CL and cut the ends off as far as you think you will need in wire (leave a few inches so you can solder new wire to use the speakers for something else in the future).


3.)Strip the ends off so you have two exposed wires. Take the speaker wire supplied with the car speakers or your own and strip the ends just like the CL wires. Twist the ends together but do not solder them because you have to determine the polarity. (The reason being sometimes car speakers have a larger female connecter on the postive and a smaller on the negitive.) If you solder it ahead you'll have to either de-solder or recrimp a larger female connector. A simple polarity check is to take a 9 volt battery and hook the ends to it...if the cone moves outward on both speakers then you are in "phase" if they move in different directions switch the wires so both are moving outward and mark accordingly. An easier way is plug the stereo connector in and see which way they sound better, one way will have no bass the other way will. It's sort of a push/pull when it's out of phase, you want all cone movement in one direction. After you find the correct polarity twist, solder and electrical tape those bad boys together.


4.)Your speaker setup should consist of 4 ohm speakers so you can drive them at the CL fullest potential. Now it doesn't sound like a lot but each speaker will see only 6 watts, but trust me it sounds excellent. Be careful because if you "under ohm" an amp (below 4 ohms) you will fry it, "over ohm" (above 4 ohms) will split the total by half...so a 8 ohm speaker will see only 3 watts a piece. Chose car speakers because they are almost always 4 ohm. I chose the Blaupunkt TS-542 5 1/4 Coaxial (140 watts/4 ohm/$60) because of the translucent cone these speakers were actually made to be backlit and sound fantastic. Also it gives you headroom if you later on want to add a more powerful amp/receiver. (ex. 120 watts a channel). Mount them, corner load the bass box, crack the volume and enjoy some very amazing sound.

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