Top Projects
REGULAR
DIY
Bluetooth
speaker
designed and built a DIY Bluetooth speaker with an
integrated LED matrix. The LED matrix includes a number
of different visualisation modes, including a fireplace mode,
an abstract ‘moving art’ mode, and several that react to the
music via a microphone inside of the speaker box. I haven’t
seen any other product designed for the home which
marries sight and sound in this way.
The idea for this project came about in a somewhat
unorthodox way. I wanted to build something for several friends
expecting newborns. I wanted a gift that would help their
children develop neurologically, and a gift that they wouldn’t
outgrow. Having done a number of LED projects, and having
some woodworking experience, I came up with the idea to
integrate an audio-reactive LED matrix in a Bluetooth speaker.
The speaker box involved a fair amount of woodworking. The
outside of the box is made from rough curly maple lumber, which
I milled to ¾”. The front and back panels are made from MDF.
Internally, I used a 2 × 15 w Dayton Audio bluetooth amplifier
board for the audio, and an Arduino Mega to control a 16 × 16
LED matrix (WS2812 LEDs). A small electret microphone inside
the speaker box detects the music that is playing, and provides a
signal the Arduino can use to create reactive display on the LEDs.
The design also allows for mechanical adjustment to entirely
change the look of the LED matrix; from pixellated to abstract. I
am particularly proud of this feature, as I haven’t seen it
anywhere else before, and the effect is very cool (it is shown
towards the end of this video hsmag.cc/ojCwxn). The LED
matrix is mounted to a baffle behind the white semi-transparent
acrylic diffuser, and by twisting a thumb screw on the back of the
speaker, you can move the LED baffle towards or away from the
diffuser. The thumb screw thus allows you to go from a pixellated
display (where individual LEDs are visible), to an abstract display,
where the LEDs blur together to form moving art, with an almost
3D-like effect. -I
By Mike Clifford modustrialmaker.comRight
The curly maple
finish was inspired
by electric guitar
finishes, like those
on some of Mike’s
favourite PRS guitars