TheSamba.com :: View topic - Just finished my Suitcase Stereo

Tue Jun 01, 2010 1:53 pm

- 1960's samsonite Suitcase
- Pioneer 4 Channel Amp
- Blaupunkt 6x9's
- iphone
- NO STEREO

I made the custom enclosure for the 6x9's to fit in the suitcase along with the amp. I have the amp running through a switched fuse along with a toggle switch to turn it off while the car is running. The amp plugs directly into my iphone where i can stream Pandora or use the ipod feature.

It sounds good for what it is. I just dont want an ugly speaker box or a new car stereo in the dash.

Tue Jun 01, 2010 3:24 pm

very nice.

what are dimensions of that suit case?

do the speakers sound pretty good with the seat up?

i just picked up a small case at a thrift store. i'm not real sure if its big enough.

Tue Jun 01, 2010 4:50 pm

The box inside the suitcase is about 20"x16"x5.5"

I dont think it would sound much better with the seat down. The top half of the 6x9's stick out above the back seat. Im thinking about painting the speaker grills to match the suitcase.

I have a new pair of 4x6's for the front, but I just dont know where to put them. im not cutting holes in anything and i dont want to see them, so its proving difficult to find a good spot for them.

Tue Jun 01, 2010 6:19 pm

Cool little set up, yeah...you should paint the speaker grills, that way they sorta blend with the case.

Tue Jun 01, 2010 6:41 pm

ballsie wrote: The box inside the suitcase is about 20"x16"x5.5"

I dont think it would sound much better with the seat down. The top half of the 6x9's stick out above the back seat. Im thinking about painting the speaker grills to match the suitcase.

I have a new pair of 4x6's for the front, but I just dont know where to put them. im not cutting holes in anything and i dont want to see them, so its proving difficult to find a good spot for them.

I'm pretty much I want the same sound system as you. For the front of mine, i didn't want to cut any holes either, so i used a 4 1/2" component set. i made mini boxes that fire forward under the front seats. then i'm just going to hide the wires and double face tape the little tweeters under the dash.

Tue Jun 01, 2010 7:48 pm

Did you put a smaal fan in the case to blow over the amp or vent the case to let heat out? Just wondered.

Tue Jun 01, 2010 8:16 pm

If those two 6x9s are sharing the same tight enclosure...

At higher volumes they are working at a fraction of their efficiency and sound quality. Wire one of them out of phase from the other for the meanwhile until you divide that enclosure- stat.

Wed Jun 02, 2010 3:39 am

Quote: Wire one of them out of phase from the other for the meanwhile until you divide that enclosure- stat

Ummm - they will be 180 degrees out of phase in the front and will sound like crap since any common sound will cancell .... The small enclosure will limit bass response unless your box is properly sized for the speakers (my 8" JBL sub only wants a small box (9x10x10 ish). But as mentioned - maybe a small fan and a vent hole to cool the amp.

Very neat set up - great work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wed Jun 02, 2010 3:14 pm

Im just going to throw a partition in there. Thanks for the tip. I thought it should sound better than it does.

Wed Jun 02, 2010 5:25 pm

Very cool. I will be doing the same soon.

Wed Jun 02, 2010 5:38 pm

Let me clarify - the partition is a good idea - Also load it up (not pack it in hard or anything) with fiberglass insulation. Do NOT wire them out of phase as was suggested even if sharing the same enclosure.

There's a lot to speaker enclosures - and what you are doing looks cool and will sound OK - but not great since its probably not tuned for the speakers - but so what? It looks bitchin, is very unique and was very nicely executed. Enjoy what you did....

Wed Jun 02, 2010 5:59 pm

The case will sound better sitting facing up in the back seat. The curved roof of the bug makes the sound echo.

I built mine the same way as you did but instead of putting the fugly grills on the outside, I made an internal box on the inside (tight fit so it wont rattle at all) and used a protractor to mark circles of equal amounts on the outside of the case directly over the speakers and drilled numerous holes in the top with a very small drill bit. So the case looks like nothing was ever done to it, has way for the sound to escape, and since the case didnt have the large holes drilled into it it makes for more of a enclosure making the suitcase louder.

Im running a 150w (1 channel, will be rebuilding it soon with a multi-channel) amp to 2 4-way 6x9's controlled by my ipod. Mines so loud that I cant listen to it in the car over half way on the iPod. I have longboard ride nights around town here in the summer, and we just put the case outside the bug and crank it. can be heard a 1/4 mile away on a still night.

The suitcases are a lot of fun. With mine being completely hidden underneath the case, I have had numerous people fall in love with them. I have mine, and have built 4-5 for numerous porsche 356 owners around.

I will try and get a picture for you of the two I have at my house at the moment (mine and one in process of being built)

Wed Jun 02, 2010 7:24 pm

yes pics please! i like the drilled holes idea.

Wed Jun 02, 2010 11:48 pm

Well mines outside and didnt feel like going out there so I will take pictures of that one when I get back in a few days. Here is one that I finished yesterday for a 356 friend of mine. Samsonite Leather suitcase with the whole internal box setup. Im not finished, still have to go back over the holes with a icepick and press the leather back into the holes and polish up the case.

Lets see if these pictures work.....here we go.

The case with the drilled holes:

[img]https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/686922.jpg[/img]

A shot of what you see when you unbuckle the latches and open the top:

[img]https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/686924.jpg[/img]

The flush mount input for an iPod cable or any other sort of media device:

[img]https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/686923.jpg[/img]

And then lastly a shot where you can see the amp is inside of the box (not sealed yet cause this was during a stage of final test fitting):

[img]https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/686926.jpg[/img]

Pretty fun. And when you go somewhere, you just unplug the cables and most people, unless they really look would never be able to tell. Mine is personally covered with stickers and I didnt use circle designs, I just drilled them in a uniform distance so the entire top just looks like texture. [/img]

Wed Jun 02, 2010 11:49 pm

Oh nuts. Can someone tell me what I am doing wrong? I read the thread on how to post pictures and I am still having the damnest time figuring this out......

Thu Jun 03, 2010 12:07 am

Hmm. i dont seem to have any problems posting pics, using your same URL....

Thu Jun 03, 2010 12:21 am

mrblyoung wrote: Oh nuts. Can someone tell me what I am doing wrong? I read the thread on how to post pictures and I am still having the damnest time figuring this out......

try removing the [/img] at the very end of the post.

Thu Jun 03, 2010 3:45 am

As A-Wall said. That fixed it. Very well done case. 8)

mrblyoung wrote: Well mines outside and didnt feel like going out there so I will take pictures of that one when I get back in a few days. Here is one that I finished yesterday for a 356 friend of mine. Samsonite Leather suitcase with the whole internal box setup. Im not finished, still have to go back over the holes with a icepick and press the leather back into the holes and polish up the case.

Lets see if these pictures work.....here we go.

The case with the drilled holes:

A shot of what you see when you unbuckle the latches and open the top:

The flush mount input for an iPod cable or any other sort of media device:

And then lastly a shot where you can see the amp is inside of the box (not sealed yet cause this was during a stage of final test fitting):

Pretty fun. And when you go somewhere, you just unplug the cables and most people, unless they really look would never be able to tell. Mine is personally covered with stickers and I didnt use circle designs, I just drilled them in a uniform distance so the entire top just looks like texture.

Thu Jun 03, 2010 9:47 am

Thanks for the kind words. They are fun to make and sell.

Thu Jun 03, 2010 1:58 pm

mrblyoung wrote: Oh nuts. Can someone tell me what I am doing wrong? I read the thread on how to post pictures and I am still having the damnest time figuring this out......

You need to make sure "Disable BBCode in this post" is unchecked when you type a reply. It's right below the text field where you type.

You can set it to default off in your user settings.

If it's checked it ignores the [img] tags. (Or any html / BBCode tags)