Low-profile PC speakers?

[jasonbar]

So, I've got a Sony PVM for my consoles: http://s242.photobucket.com/user/infernolab/library/Sony_PVM-20N2U?sort=9&page=1

I rescued from eWaste recycling a couple of old Harman Kardon speakers from work, wired their AC adapter into the monitor's internal IEC power cable connector, & screwed them into existing monitor cover cooling holes to attach them to the case.


They look silly. They wing out rather far. Plus, they're a bit of an impedance when trying to reach behind the monitor, & my 1-year-old will wreak havoc on them them when he learns to get on top of that cabinet.


I'd like to swap them out for a low-profile, short speaker pair that look better & will be more robust. Any suggestions? What I envision is something like an old sports car pop-up headlights wedge shape that points small speaker cones frontward but doesn't stick out too far from the case.

Or, perhaps a typical "tower" PC speaker that provides a good surface for mounting it in a vertical orientation (by screwing through a nice big flat side wall) rather than mounting them sideways through their flat base, as I did.

Thanks,
-Jason

[RandyT]

If you want to use the current speakers, I'm sure you can fine some large "L" brackets.  Mount them with part of the "L" between the speaker and the monitor, and screw into the speakers from the back (make sure the screws won't hit any internals).

If you are just looking for speakers, do a search for wedge shaped automotive speakers.  Made for sitting in the rear windows of cars.

[jasonbar]

Not a bad idea--thanks. If I were to implement this, though, it would be rather kludgy. I'd be happier w/ mounting a speaker directly to the monitor housing. :]

Thanks,
-Jason

[JDFan]

How much empty space is there inside the box ?? -- could go the Auto speaker route and mount inside the cabinet with the speaker grill on the outside or perhaps a TV style Sound bar that is made to mount to the bottom of the TV but you could probably mount on the top rear of the box (Newegg has a refurb Vizio for $47 shipped - ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882262004 )

[BadMouth]

Some of the enclosed oem tv speakers parts express has look pretty cool:
http://www.parts-express.com/Search.aspx?keyword=tv%20speakers&sitesearch=true#
Like most times with PE, shipping might make it too expensive.

[keilmillerjr]

Pictures would help.

[jasonbar]

Pictures would help.

Me? Pictures? See first post gallery link: http://s242.photobucket.com/user/infernolab/library/Sony_PVM-20N2U?sort=9&page=1

Thanks,
-Jason

[Xiaou2]

You have plenty of room to work with...  Why not just build 2 boxes on either side of the monitor and affix them to it?   IMO, its far better to have sound that is like Candy to the ears... than to have eye-candy speakers... that sound like crap.

 And or if you are worried about the kids beating the speakers up... then just mount some speakers higher up on the walls, or ceiling... pointed diagonally downwards.  You can fish the wires into the wall.. or, use stick-on wall strip cable-hiders.

 Edit:  Id also recommend building a non-tip framework for the monitor.  If a small kid pulls that monitor off its corner... he could end up with a sheared appendage.   By making a monitor box, you would solve the safety issue, having screws driven into the base..   as well as the speaker issue.   And, you could add a (adjustable level) diagonal tilt to the monitor... , as if its too high from their sitting position, ..your kids will get neck strains.. similar to sitting in the front row of the movie theater.   Its also known to cause headaches if the monitor you are viewing, isnt on the same plane angle as your eyes... because you eyes have to keep re-focusing at different distances constantly.

[jasonbar]

Thanks for the input & good ideas, however, I have counter-arguments that I didn't spell out in my first post:

Build boxes? Short on time. Would much rather use an existing product & mount it.

Mount speakers on walls/ceiling. I did that on my main living room AV system & in homes past, but I want this monitor to be self-contained & able to lift it as one unit, just like a TV. Right now, those wing speakers look like convenient handles that will be ripped off if used as handles.

Monitor is totally earthquake-proofed--thanks for bringing that up. Earthquake-strapped to both cabinets. It's solid--almost too solid--I couldn't even undo the straps the other day--I may need to slide out both pieces of furniture to once again access the back of that monitor.  =O

I'll be in this home for only 1 more year, so I'm not planning on any grand projects, just cleaning up the existing monitor/speaker concept.


Thanks for the input.
-Jason

[BadMouth]

My old driving cab had Logitech x series speakers with the bases removed.
They were held on by a single screw into the side.
It wouldn't be too hard to run a bolt or multiple bolts through.


EDIT: slightly different style:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Logitech-X-540-3-Computer-Surround-Sound-Speakers-LEFT-RIGHT-MIDDLE-/261359675974?pt=US_Computer_Speakers&hash=item3cda402a46

Of course they'd still need to be powered and won't sound that full without a sub.

Not exactly sleek, but for something self contained with some bass, I was impressed by these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genius-SP-HF1800A-2-0-Speaker-System-50-W-RMS-Black-20-Hz-20-kHz-31730936100-/251280582388?pt=US_Computer_Speakers&hash=item3a817d66f4
They are bigger than you'd think.  15" tall.  More bookshelf speakers than standard PC size.
The cabinets are wood on the sides and back; plenty to screw or bolt into.

[jasonbar]

Thanks for the input. Nothing presented has caught my eye for my application yet, though.

No need for high fidelity or a subwoofer or anything--I'll be playing 2600 through PS2 console games on this setup.


I came across these, which look to be easy to mount, won't stick out too far, will look slick, but will probably be too fragile:
http://www.amazon.com/Altec-Lansing-BXR1220-2-Piece-Desktop/dp/B0025VKUPW/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1388174887&sr=8-7&keywords=pc+speakers


This is more like the shape that I was envisioning, but I don't see a straightforward mount scheme, & they still wing out a fair bit:
http://www.amazon.com/MANHATTAN-Rechargeable-Soundbar-Speaker-161664/dp/B0074020BQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1388187442&sr=1-1&keywords=speaker+bar



I think the answer is a speaker bar. That can just be plopped on top, can never be grabbed as a handle accidentally or intentionally, will fit nicely, might even look "stock", & I can probably attach it w/ Velcro to remove as needed without too much fuss.


The PVM-20N2U monitor case is 17.5" wide.


These look promising:

a) 14" wide, seems intended to snap to a specific flat monitor, but I could adapt it: http://www.amazon.com/DELL-AS501-Sound-Speaker-Ultrasharp/dp/B000KIQ15U/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1388187442&sr=1-2&keywords=speaker+bar

b) 13" wide, seems intended to snap to a specific flat monitor, but I could adapt it: http://www.amazon.com/Dell-AX510-SE178WFP-SP2008WFP-SP2208WFP/dp/B008D2IHES/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1388187442&sr=1-5&keywords=speaker+bar

c) 13" wide, seems intended to snap to a specific flat monitor, but I could adapt it: http://www.amazon.com/HP-NQ576AT-Speaker-System-Black/dp/B005OSPK5I/ref=sr_1_12?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1388187442&sr=1-12&keywords=speaker+bar

d) 14" wide, standalone, but has other things I don't need (USB hub, etc.): http://www.amazon.com/iLuv-Stereo-Speakers-Laptops-iSP200BLK/dp/B003HIXPFY/ref=sr_1_13?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1388187442&sr=1-13&keywords=speaker+bar

e) 17" wide, looks nice--I think this is the winner--any feedback?: http://www.amazon.com/Syba-CL-SPK20149-17-Inch-Powered-Speaker/dp/B00BKXWEW8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388191385&sr=8-1&keywords=CL-SPK20149


Thanks,
-Jason

[JDFan]

Got an end of year clearance E-mail from Newegg today that had this RCA refurbished sound bar for $27 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16886985005&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL122913&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL122913-_-EMC-122913-Index-_-HomeAudioSpeakers-_-86985005-L0I&et_cid=4035&et_rid=68469 )  that might work (It's a bit big @30" but is also wall mountable if it doesn't fit right on the box ) and for the $ seems like a decent buy so figured I'd post it here for you.

[jasonbar]

Thanks, JDFan. Ended up ordering this one & will report back after I get it all installed & squared away (about #5 on my current projects list...).

http://www.amazon.com/Syba-CL-SPK20149-17-Inch-Powered-Speaker/dp/B00BKXWEW8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388191385&sr=8-1&keywords=CL-SPK20149

-Jason

[jasonbar]

I had some time this weekend to work on the speaker bar replacement on my gaming PVM CRT.

Step 1: Drag furniture out to access fasteners on earthquake anchor straps on back of monitor that refused to de-Velcro or de-bond from furniture!

Step 2: Remove Harman Kardon speakers. Non-trivial & non-quick but not bad.

Step 3: Create internal power for new speaker bar. To the inside of the IEC male connector, I soldered in parallel an old day-glo orange 2-prong -> 3-prong AC adapter (like this: http://www.allelectronics.com/mas_assets/cache/image/1/a/0/416.Jpg). Into that, I plugged an AC -> USB adapter from an old cell phone. Now, I could power the speaker bar w/ USB.

Step 4: Create internal audio connection. Already done from the previous effort. I added red & white RCA jacks to the back of the case (see pic below), which terminate in a female 1/8" stereo female connector, into which the speaker bar's male equivalent plugs.

Step 5: Remove 2 bottom feet from new speaker bar. Mount the speaker bar to the monitor case. 3 Velcro pads secure it front & center. If I wish, I may replace the Velcro w/ glue or double-sided tape in the future, but the Velcro noise & its breakaway nature should let somebody know if they're trying to lift the monitor by the speaker bar & should alert them to stop trying to use the speaker bar as a handle. I hope...

Step 6: Route power & audio wires from inside the monitor case to the top front of the case, where the speaker bar is now mounted. The housing (w/ three decade + old Centipede sideart) slides forward into place. I decided to file a slot in the front edge of the top of the monitor housing & pop in a grommet through which the 2 cables pass. So, it's pretty easy to slide off the top as needed.

Step 7: Exterior cable management. A cable tie & anchor hold the 2 cables in place so they can span from the speaker bar grommet to the monitor grommet. There was absolutely 0 gap in the center of the monitor, right where the wires exit the speaker bar, because of an EM shield that snugs right up against the case. This would have pinched or snipped the speaker bar cables.

Step 8: Rethink the earthquake anchors. I drilled holes & inserted screws from the inside out & nutted them to present threaded studs at the back bottom corners of the monitor. After lifting the monitor into place, I just pass the earthquake strap steel garment grommet over the stud, pop on a fender washer, & hold it in place w/ an acorn nut. (I didn't have wing nuts in this size...)

Step 9: No picture! Tear it all down & notice that the neck board is loose & an old hot glue blob is no longer securing it. Push neck board on snug, test again. Picture! Glob lots & lots of hot glue at neck/neck board interface. Reassemble.

Step 10: Get my RGB N64 on.

Thanks,
-Jason