IEM to tiny speaker driver?

[hcproductions]

We've got a small transistor radio that we want to put a speaker in to give a nice isolated sound. There isn't really any space to hide a speaker in the set for where they are, and they move around a lot with the radio so they want to make sure that the audience can follow the sound around. I have a sennheiser ew300 IEM g2, and the sound designer mentioned buying a tiny speaker driver from radio shack and wiring it up via 1/8th inch connector to the IEM. Anyone have any experience in this? I googled the speaker driver and the ones at radio shack seemed a little too large. The dimensions of the transistor radio that we need to fit the IEM and the driver into are roughly 8inches long, 5 inches wide and 2 1/2 inches deep. Thanks

 

[MarshallPope]

You may want to consider just using something similar to this:

Aluratek Bump 3.5mm Portable Mini Speaker With Built-In APS01F

I haven't used that particular product, but I have used a similar one for a practical as you are describing, and it worked fine in a smallish theatre.

 

[tdrga]

Does the radio work? Perhaps one of the small transmitters that used to be popular years ago for playing your Walkman or CD player through the car radio. Just tune the radio to the transmitter frequency...

-Todd

 

[hcproductions]

Not a bad suggestion on the tiny bump speaker, but unfortunately that's still a little too big for what we can fit into this enclosure. Just found the model number of the radio, it's Sony ICF-300w, and it's already been gutted, so there are no possible parts from it.

 

[museav]

The output of the IEM receiver output is rated at 100mw into 32 Ohms per channel (Tip=Left, Ring=Right, Sleeve=Common) is meant to drive a headset rather than to drive a speaker. Do you plan on integrating a battery powered amplifier in the radio chassis?

If you want to use a portable radio then $15 or $20 for a new, working radio and using a low power FM transmitter like FM Transmitter with even/odd frequency select only $295.00 | Broadcastvision Entertainment or Cardio Theater - Wireless Entertainment Systems may be easier.

You didn't mention the size of the space or the sounds you are reproducing, but with a portable radio of that size it seems like you would likely be rather limited in frequency response and/or output. Maybe you want that response but can you get sufficient output level for your use?

 

[hcproductions]

The size of the house is relatively small, about 260 seats with a balcony. The balcony lifts the space up a little bit, so it ends up feeling bigger than 260. The sound designer mentioned to me about some sort of amplifier, but I was going to try and see if there were speaker options first and work my way back. Any suggestions on that would be helpful as well. I guess I'm looking for a whole rig that can be controlled through qlab to play whatever we want out of it, I think we start shifting into more magical realism and the radio starts playing music that is a a sort of motif through the show. So it has to be loud enough to hit the back of the house, but in a smaller house.

 

[cpf]

I think you might have a "volume/fidelity/size; pick two" dilemma here.

Anyways, the way I'd do this would be to find the loudest, highest quality modern battery-powered radio that fits inside the "transistor radio" shell. All the wireless, amplification and power details are already worked out for you, you just need a good-quality FM transmitter. I've had mixed luck with the iTrip-type models, so look for the highest power "pro" one you can afford and legally operate.

If you go the FM route, test, test, and test again. If anything goes wrong you'll probably end up with some scratchy country music station blaring out to the entire audience (what can I say, it worked great during all three dress rehearsals new most-embarrassing moment of my career). Tape down the radio's tuning dial, turn on the transmitter's key lock, and double check that the frequency is clear immediately before showtime.