{"video_id":"H8GptHQ0W2U","title":"Can we build a better bluetooth speaker? - LG XBOOM Go PL Series","channel":"Linus Tech Tips","show":"Linus Tech Tips","published_at":"2021-05-05T14:53:29Z","duration_s":796,"segments":[{"start_s":0.0,"end_s":6.319,"text":"when lg reached out to sponsor a video about their new generation of xboom","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":4.319,"end_s":9.519,"text":"bluetooth speakers we said okay lg","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":7.759,"end_s":15.679,"text":"we'll take your money on one condition the xboom pl7 has to be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":13.12,"end_s":20.24,"text":"way better than anything we at Linus media group can build ourselves for the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":18.0,"end_s":24.72,"text":"same price this doesn't actually happen that often with sponsored videos but","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":22.72,"end_s":27.68,"text":"lg basically said lol","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":25.84,"end_s":33.36,"text":"come at me bro the fact that you're watching this video means that we have","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":30.32,"end_s":36.719,"text":"come at them so stay tuned and see how","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":33.36,"end_s":38.719,"text":"we built our own bluetooth speaker using","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":36.719,"end_s":44.079,"text":"off-the-shelf components and a little bit of can do spirit","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":41.2,"end_s":48.32,"text":"oh and also how it ended up comparing to the lg xboom pl7","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":55.92,"end_s":61.6,"text":"first we need to lay out some ground rules number one is the size if we built","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":59.92,"end_s":65.84,"text":"a speaker the size of a microwave and called it a portable bluetooth speaker","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":63.6,"end_s":69.68,"text":"killer that's kind of a cheap shot on the opposite end of the spectrum making","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":67.52,"end_s":75.2,"text":"a smaller speaker something closer to the size of lg's xboom pl5 or pl2 would","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":73.119,"end_s":80.08,"text":"have made our lives much more difficult and meant a guaranteed compromise on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":77.439,"end_s":83.68,"text":"sound quality on our part so our diy speaker will be roughly the same size as","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":82.0,"end_s":91.68,"text":"lg's pl7 number two is cost we could easily spend thousands","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":88.479,"end_s":94.799,"text":"of dollars and hundreds of hours to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":91.68,"end_s":96.72,"text":"handcraft an artisan bluetooth speaker","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":94.799,"end_s":100.799,"text":"but in the real world if you're doing something like this for yourself you're","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":98.56,"end_s":105.72,"text":"usually trying to turn money you would have already spent into a fun project or","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":103.28,"end_s":110.64,"text":"save a buck an xboom pl7 retails for 179.99 at lg.com so that gives us a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":109.04,"end_s":115.439,"text":"pretty good budget to work with if we're targeting mid-tier bang for the buck","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":112.96,"end_s":119.759,"text":"components you'll find everything we use listed in the video description by the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":117.119,"end_s":124.88,"text":"way as for our labor cost i asked matthias to track his time for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":122.159,"end_s":129.2,"text":"this project to find the true cost of the diy method to give ourselves a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":127.2,"end_s":134.959,"text":"fighting chance we settled on bc's minimum wage which converts to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":131.319,"end_s":138.0,"text":"10.73 cents u.s per hour","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":134.959,"end_s":141.36,"text":"though to be clear even at that rate we","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":138.0,"end_s":143.04,"text":"do not expect to beat lg in this regard","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":141.36,"end_s":149.12,"text":"finally when it comes to sound quality we want to be on par if not better than","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":145.68,"end_s":151.84,"text":"the xboom now we didn't crack open an","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":149.12,"end_s":156.4,"text":"xboom like a technology omelet to see what secrets lie inside but by reading","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":154.48,"end_s":160.959,"text":"the packaging and peering through the speaker ports we were able to put","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":157.76,"end_s":162.8,"text":"together a pretty comparable spec sheet","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":160.959,"end_s":166.8,"text":"getting on to the actual speaker now matthias being a bit of a design nerd","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":164.959,"end_s":172.239,"text":"spent a couple of hours scratching down ideas and doodles eventually settling on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":169.599,"end_s":176.239,"text":"a retro modern scandinavian aesthetic it's clean and smooth with an arching","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":174.16,"end_s":179.84,"text":"silhouette now we would have loved to have a beautiful brushed aluminum","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":178.239,"end_s":184.4,"text":"exterior to go along with the wood features but unfortunately we really","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":182.879,"end_s":188.8,"text":"couldn't justify the cost so we altered the design slightly to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":186.4,"end_s":193.76,"text":"allow for 3d printed features for the drivers we went with a pair of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":190.959,"end_s":198.0,"text":"2-inch 8 ohm full range speakers and a single 1-1 8-inch tweeter we would have","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":196.319,"end_s":201.76,"text":"preferred to have a tiny two inch subwoofer instead of the tweeter but","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":200.159,"end_s":206.319,"text":"unfortunately those were both out of stock and over budget","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":204.48,"end_s":210.4,"text":"having a design goal to work towards we then set out to model the various","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":207.92,"end_s":214.799,"text":"components in fusion 360. one of the more important parts of the design is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":212.4,"end_s":219.36,"text":"the speaker housing and we opted for a ported design in hopes that it would","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":217.04,"end_s":224.72,"text":"improve sound quality using online calculators we found the total volume of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":221.44,"end_s":226.799,"text":"air and how long of a port we needed to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":224.72,"end_s":231.44,"text":"at least theoretically prevent sound buffeting which landed in the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":228.159,"end_s":234.72,"text":"neighborhood of 428 cubic centimeters","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":231.44,"end_s":236.239,"text":"and about 25 centimeters long so","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":234.72,"end_s":239.84,"text":"that required a little bit of tweaking to the original design","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":238.239,"end_s":243.76,"text":"after the initial housing design was completed it was time to do some test","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":241.68,"end_s":248.159,"text":"prints to see how everything worked it was then updated to accommodate the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":245.519,"end_s":250.64,"text":"tweeter 3d printed checked for clearance issues","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":249.2,"end_s":256.479,"text":"shrunk due to the aforementioned clearance issues then finally 3d printed","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":253.12,"end_s":258.479,"text":"one last time and sanded with 220 grit","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":256.479,"end_s":262.4,"text":"next the small air gaps where the wires feed into the drivers were filled with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":260.0,"end_s":265.919,"text":"hardening putty and the tops and bottoms of the housings were then epoxied","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":263.84,"end_s":268.88,"text":"together and left to cure it's finally starting to look like a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":267.68,"end_s":272.479,"text":"speaker we did a similar modeling and printing","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":270.96,"end_s":277.12,"text":"process with the external part of the speaker except that it was too large to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":274.639,"end_s":280.639,"text":"be printed as one monolithic unit so we split the design into three pieces that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":278.88,"end_s":284.0,"text":"could be glued together later they're a little rough but we're gonna","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":282.479,"end_s":287.44,"text":"have links to all the parts in the video description if you guys want to download","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":285.68,"end_s":291.52,"text":"and play around with them once all the newly adhered components","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":289.12,"end_s":295.12,"text":"cured they were sanded to 400 grit then primed with etching primer to assist in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":293.199,"end_s":299.6,"text":"filling in the ridges after the paint dried some of the larger divots were","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":296.96,"end_s":303.199,"text":"filled in before re-sanding to 800 grit this time and then it was finally","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":301.199,"end_s":308.24,"text":"reprimed painted matte black and finished with a satin clear top coat","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":305.919,"end_s":312.24,"text":"meanwhile we used our glowforge to laser cut all of the wood pieces and then","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":310.479,"end_s":316.32,"text":"sanded them through the range of grits up to 800. two coats of butcher block","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":314.4,"end_s":320.32,"text":"oil made the wood grain more pronounced then once dried we gave them three coats","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":318.4,"end_s":324.24,"text":"of satin wood varnish and after the third coat they were lightly re-sanded","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":321.84,"end_s":328.24,"text":"to 800 grit to get rid of any grain rise before spraying them with their fourth","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":325.84,"end_s":331.36,"text":"and final coat the front and back panels were then glued to their inner","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":329.44,"end_s":335.919,"text":"counterpart that slots into the top of the external housing and due to a slight","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":333.919,"end_s":339.039,"text":"oversight the screw holes in the housing and on the speaker grilles were drilled","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":337.919,"end_s":344.32,"text":"and tapped after everything else was finished now","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":342.16,"end_s":348.88,"text":"originally we were planning to use a well-reviewed chinese amplifier board","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":346.4,"end_s":353.84,"text":"from dam goo but since it shipped two weeks late we had to find an alternative","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":351.6,"end_s":357.44,"text":"matthias ended up sacrificing one of his personal cheap bluetooth speakers to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":355.6,"end_s":361.68,"text":"harvest the board from inside it but then at the last possible second the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":359.919,"end_s":364.8,"text":"damn goo board arrived and matthias hastily installed it only a few hours","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":363.6,"end_s":370.8,"text":"before right now a few hours ago before filming","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":368.0,"end_s":375.759,"text":"it's bluetooth 5.0 it supports up to 40 watts of total speaker power it requires","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":373.199,"end_s":379.919,"text":"no soldering to work with and while it doesn't have a built-in battery","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":377.039,"end_s":384.56,"text":"management system or an aux cable input at eight dollars i think we can forgive","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":382.479,"end_s":388.88,"text":"some of those deficiencies anyway it only cost us another six","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":386.56,"end_s":393.199,"text":"dollars for a type c charging board for our twin banks of four genuine 18650","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":391.44,"end_s":398.24,"text":"cells and after some last minute paint repairs and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":395.28,"end_s":401.759,"text":"finishing touches the whole project is for better or for worse","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":400.08,"end_s":405.919,"text":"done i'm actually really excited about this like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":403.6,"end_s":410.16,"text":"come on guys it's not perfect there are definitely some warts and a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":408.0,"end_s":413.44,"text":"handful of design changes that would have been beneficial","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":411.68,"end_s":418.0,"text":"but we've already blown our time budget on this one and it's time to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":415.919,"end_s":422.0,"text":"judge the result like many bluetooth speakers you pair it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":420.4,"end_s":426.4,"text":"by holding down the button on the bottom which is actually also the volume knob","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":424.8,"end_s":430.08,"text":"and it automatically shows up in your bluetooth devices list and gives a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":428.4,"end_s":434.96,"text":"notification tone through the speaker to tell you that you're connected which","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":431.759,"end_s":437.84,"text":"leaves only the big question","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":434.96,"end_s":441.199,"text":"how does it sound i feel like you know i'm in my i'm in my","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":439.84,"end_s":446.199,"text":"listening room you know i need my glass of wine oh wait","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":443.919,"end_s":451.62,"text":"no i don't oh lttstore.com water bottle","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":448.479,"end_s":458.0,"text":"hit me with some jams","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":458.0,"end_s":461.639,"text":"this is my jam","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":467.759,"end_s":472.39,"text":"okay cut it for now","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":472.479,"end_s":479.759,"text":"i don't know what surprises me more the deficiencies","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":476.879,"end_s":484.879,"text":"or how surprisingly adequate it is all things considered the base is a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":482.4,"end_s":488.479,"text":"little muddy to do it again i think there's no way we can compromise and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":486.879,"end_s":493.039,"text":"leave out the subwoofer absolutely not although","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":490.72,"end_s":497.919,"text":"in fairness you know even though this was absolutely a first attempt for us","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":495.68,"end_s":502.479,"text":"you can really tell that the porting in the back does help enhance it it just","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":500.56,"end_s":507.199,"text":"lacks the clarity that we would get with a proper base focus driver i feel like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":505.52,"end_s":511.68,"text":"the tweeter's not contributing much either if anything the highs are a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":509.36,"end_s":514.959,"text":"little harsh and the base is a little muddy","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":512.56,"end_s":519.599,"text":"but if i were to compare it to just like kind of a cheap bluetooth speaker","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":517.68,"end_s":523.68,"text":"i think we're in really good shape here as long as we don't mind","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":521.36,"end_s":527.6,"text":"you know the weight and some warts this is this is some excellent use of hot","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":525.279,"end_s":532.16,"text":"glue by the way 100 10 of 10 approved you haven't actually listened to a pl7","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":529.6,"end_s":534.959,"text":"yet have you so matthias has listened to his own","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":533.92,"end_s":541.68,"text":"speaker but has only evaluated it in a vacuum","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":537.92,"end_s":541.68,"text":"i'm like i'm really excited","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":543.6,"end_s":548.279,"text":"i think we got a little wrecked son","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":548.88,"end_s":555.2,"text":"that is it's pretty tight","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":555.2,"end_s":559.44,"text":"here turn it down here hold on hold on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":558.399,"end_s":565.76,"text":"okay matthias in fairness to you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":562.48,"end_s":567.279,"text":"your highs are more articulate","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":565.76,"end_s":570.16,"text":"but almost in a way that's like imbalanced and a little detrimental to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":569.04,"end_s":575.68,"text":"the sound and you can absolutely tell where the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":573.279,"end_s":579.279,"text":"engineering went into i mean that's the popular sound profile right","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":578.32,"end_s":583.68,"text":"is that that like bumpy heavy like bass heavy","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":582.32,"end_s":588.32,"text":"sound and it's right in the name right x boom","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":588.88,"end_s":594.14,"text":"they definitely got us and we're not smaller or we're not the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":593.2,"end_s":596.32,"text":"same size even","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":596.32,"end_s":599.68,"text":"did you just say close enough","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":601.6,"end_s":605.16,"text":"a little bigger","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":611.44,"end_s":617.68,"text":"the lgx boom go pl7 is linked in the video description having the sound tuned","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":615.839,"end_s":620.72,"text":"using meridian audio technology results in less distortion at the highest","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":619.36,"end_s":626.72,"text":"volumes for our great listening experience if you want to see how meridian makes their 100 000 speakers","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":624.56,"end_s":630.72,"text":"you can click this video right here by using the internal air pressure to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":628.56,"end_s":634.56,"text":"move the external dual passive radiators the xboom pl lineup can deliver more","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":632.64,"end_s":639.04,"text":"bass to give superior full range sound in a compact package and it features","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":636.8,"end_s":643.44,"text":"ipx5 water resistance oh we didn't even think of that for ours and up to 24","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":641.519,"end_s":646.399,"text":"hours of battery life it's got led lights that pulse to the beat of your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":644.64,"end_s":651.519,"text":"music we didn't think of that either and you can control your speaker with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":647.839,"end_s":652.72,"text":"the lg xboom bluetooth app okay","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":651.519,"end_s":657.76,"text":"well hey at least we were cheaper sort of the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":655.76,"end_s":664.72,"text":"total cost of parts before shipping and taxes came to 139 us dollars which","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":661.92,"end_s":669.44,"text":"is by no means cheap but is still slightly cheaper than the xboom go pl7","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":667.2,"end_s":674.959,"text":"weighing in at 179.99 although in fairness after the battery","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":672.56,"end_s":680.32,"text":"the single most expensive line item on our project was","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":677.12,"end_s":683.519,"text":"the time involved to make it 62 and a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":680.32,"end_s":686.48,"text":"half hours apparently by matthias count","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":683.519,"end_s":691.839,"text":"so using our labor calculation of 1073 times hours that comes out to a massive","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":688.44,"end_s":693.92,"text":"670 dollars and 63 cents bringing the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":691.839,"end_s":698.32,"text":"grand total of our diy adventure to a staggering","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":695.64,"end_s":703.399,"text":"809.72 cents how could we have shaved that down maybe maybe sand it a little","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":700.399,"end_s":703.399,"text":"less","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":703.68,"end_s":709.76,"text":"don't use three different materials um","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":707.279,"end_s":713.839,"text":"you know maybe spend more on having like a subwoofer","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":711.44,"end_s":718.24,"text":"and like spend more on your drivers and maybe a little less on your scandinavian","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":716.0,"end_s":722.399,"text":"design although you know what i personally think it looks wonderful even","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":720.48,"end_s":727.279,"text":"if you know it ended up getting its butt kicked by an off-the-shelf solution it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":724.72,"end_s":732.24,"text":"hey it really says you know i care you know that's what it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":729.519,"end_s":736.079,"text":"says so in closing if you want to spend the time to design and build a bluetooth","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":733.839,"end_s":740.48,"text":"speaker the way you want it while also having a diy project that can last","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":738.16,"end_s":744.959,"text":"anywhere from a few hours to days or even weeks then","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":742.72,"end_s":747.68,"text":"hardy matthias recommendation thumbs up two thumbs up","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":746.16,"end_s":752.399,"text":"two thumbs up especially if you love playing around in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":749.2,"end_s":753.92,"text":"cad software as for our original goals","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":752.399,"end_s":759.92,"text":"well i mean you could make an argument that we did","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":757.04,"end_s":764.24,"text":"okay as far as size is concerned but i really can't recommend following our","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":761.76,"end_s":768.72,"text":"design as a cost-saving measure unless you just really love making things and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":766.24,"end_s":773.04,"text":"ignore the time factor and unless you really know what you're doing beating","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":770.639,"end_s":778.88,"text":"the sound quality of a properly balanced and tuned solution like the pl7","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":776.32,"end_s":783.12,"text":"isn't going to be easy thanks again to lg for sponsoring this video check it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":780.88,"end_s":786.8,"text":"out on their site or at the link in the video description it's always great when","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":785.2,"end_s":792.079,"text":"we can use sponsor money to go on an adventure like this isn't it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":788.72,"end_s":794.079,"text":"yep that's that's 800 of lg's money hard","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":792.079,"end_s":797.519,"text":"at work right there thanks lg i will treasure it always","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"when lg reached out to sponsor a video about their new generation of xboom bluetooth speakers we said okay lg we'll take your money on one condition the xboom pl7 has to be way better than anything we at Linus media group can build ourselves for the same price this doesn't actually happen that often with sponsored videos but lg basically said lol come at me bro the fact that you're watching this video means that we have come at them so stay tuned and see how we built our own bluetooth speaker using off-the-shelf components and a little bit of can do spirit oh and also how it ended up comparing to the lg xboom pl7 first we need to lay out some ground rules number one is the size if we built a speaker the size of a microwave and called it a portable bluetooth speaker killer that's kind of a cheap shot on the opposite end of the spectrum making a smaller speaker something closer to the size of lg's xboom pl5 or pl2 would have made our lives much more difficult and meant a guaranteed compromise on sound quality on our part so our diy speaker will be roughly the same size as lg's pl7 number two is cost we could easily spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours to handcraft an artisan bluetooth speaker but in the real world if you're doing something like this for yourself you're usually trying to turn money you would have already spent into a fun project or save a buck an xboom pl7 retails for 179.99 at lg.com so that gives us a pretty good budget to work with if we're targeting mid-tier bang for the buck components you'll find everything we use listed in the video description by the way as for our labor cost i asked matthias to track his time for this project to find the true cost of the diy method to give ourselves a fighting chance we settled on bc's minimum wage which converts to 10.73 cents u.s per hour though to be clear even at that rate we do not expect to beat lg in this regard finally when it comes to sound quality we want to be on par if not better than the xboom now we didn't crack open an xboom like a technology omelet to see what secrets lie inside but by reading the packaging and peering through the speaker ports we were able to put together a pretty comparable spec sheet getting on to the actual speaker now matthias being a bit of a design nerd spent a couple of hours scratching down ideas and doodles eventually settling on a retro modern scandinavian aesthetic it's clean and smooth with an arching silhouette now we would have loved to have a beautiful brushed aluminum exterior to go along with the wood features but unfortunately we really couldn't justify the cost so we altered the design slightly to allow for 3d printed features for the drivers we went with a pair of 2-inch 8 ohm full range speakers and a single 1-1 8-inch tweeter we would have preferred to have a tiny two inch subwoofer instead of the tweeter but unfortunately those were both out of stock and over budget having a design goal to work towards we then set out to model the various components in fusion 360. one of the more important parts of the design is the speaker housing and we opted for a ported design in hopes that it would improve sound quality using online calculators we found the total volume of air and how long of a port we needed to at least theoretically prevent sound buffeting which landed in the neighborhood of 428 cubic centimeters and about 25 centimeters long so that required a little bit of tweaking to the original design after the initial housing design was completed it was time to do some test prints to see how everything worked it was then updated to accommodate the tweeter 3d printed checked for clearance issues shrunk due to the aforementioned clearance issues then finally 3d printed one last time and sanded with 220 grit next the small air gaps where the wires feed into the drivers were filled with hardening putty and the tops and bottoms of the housings were then epoxied together and left to cure it's finally starting to look like a speaker we did a similar modeling and printing process with the external part of the speaker except that it was too large to be printed as one monolithic unit so we split the design into three pieces that could be glued together later they're a little rough but we're gonna have links to all the parts in the video description if you guys want to download and play around with them once all the newly adhered components cured they were sanded to 400 grit then primed with etching primer to assist in filling in the ridges after the paint dried some of the larger divots were filled in before re-sanding to 800 grit this time and then it was finally reprimed painted matte black and finished with a satin clear top coat meanwhile we used our glowforge to laser cut all of the wood pieces and then sanded them through the range of grits up to 800. two coats of butcher block oil made the wood grain more pronounced then once dried we gave them three coats of satin wood varnish and after the third coat they were lightly re-sanded to 800 grit to get rid of any grain rise before spraying them with their fourth and final coat the front and back panels were then glued to their inner counterpart that slots into the top of the external housing and due to a slight oversight the screw holes in the housing and on the speaker grilles were drilled and tapped after everything else was finished now originally we were planning to use a well-reviewed chinese amplifier board from dam goo but since it shipped two weeks late we had to find an alternative matthias ended up sacrificing one of his personal cheap bluetooth speakers to harvest the board from inside it but then at the last possible second the damn goo board arrived and matthias hastily installed it only a few hours before right now a few hours ago before filming it's bluetooth 5.0 it supports up to 40 watts of total speaker power it requires no soldering to work with and while it doesn't have a built-in battery management system or an aux cable input at eight dollars i think we can forgive some of those deficiencies anyway it only cost us another six dollars for a type c charging board for our twin banks of four genuine 18650 cells and after some last minute paint repairs and finishing touches the whole project is for better or for worse done i'm actually really excited about this like come on guys it's not perfect there are definitely some warts and a handful of design changes that would have been beneficial but we've already blown our time budget on this one and it's time to judge the result like many bluetooth speakers you pair it by holding down the button on the bottom which is actually also the volume knob and it automatically shows up in your bluetooth devices list and gives a notification tone through the speaker to tell you that you're connected which leaves only the big question how does it sound i feel like you know i'm in my i'm in my listening room you know i need my glass of wine oh wait no i don't oh lttstore.com water bottle hit me with some jams this is my jam okay cut it for now i don't know what surprises me more the deficiencies or how surprisingly adequate it is all things considered the base is a little muddy to do it again i think there's no way we can compromise and leave out the subwoofer absolutely not although in fairness you know even though this was absolutely a first attempt for us you can really tell that the porting in the back does help enhance it it just lacks the clarity that we would get with a proper base focus driver i feel like the tweeter's not contributing much either if anything the highs are a little harsh and the base is a little muddy but if i were to compare it to just like kind of a cheap bluetooth speaker i think we're in really good shape here as long as we don't mind you know the weight and some warts this is this is some excellent use of hot glue by the way 100 10 of 10 approved you haven't actually listened to a pl7 yet have you so matthias has listened to his own speaker but has only evaluated it in a vacuum i'm like i'm really excited i think we got a little wrecked son that is it's pretty tight here turn it down here hold on hold on okay matthias in fairness to you your highs are more articulate but almost in a way that's like imbalanced and a little detrimental to the sound and you can absolutely tell where the engineering went into i mean that's the popular sound profile right is that that like bumpy heavy like bass heavy sound and it's right in the name right x boom they definitely got us and we're not smaller or we're not the same size even did you just say close enough a little bigger the lgx boom go pl7 is linked in the video description having the sound tuned using meridian audio technology results in less distortion at the highest volumes for our great listening experience if you want to see how meridian makes their 100 000 speakers you can click this video right here by using the internal air pressure to move the external dual passive radiators the xboom pl lineup can deliver more bass to give superior full range sound in a compact package and it features ipx5 water resistance oh we didn't even think of that for ours and up to 24 hours of battery life it's got led lights that pulse to the beat of your music we didn't think of that either and you can control your speaker with the lg xboom bluetooth app okay well hey at least we were cheaper sort of the total cost of parts before shipping and taxes came to 139 us dollars which is by no means cheap but is still slightly cheaper than the xboom go pl7 weighing in at 179.99 although in fairness after the battery the single most expensive line item on our project was the time involved to make it 62 and a half hours apparently by matthias count so using our labor calculation of 1073 times hours that comes out to a massive 670 dollars and 63 cents bringing the grand total of our diy adventure to a staggering 809.72 cents how could we have shaved that down maybe maybe sand it a little less don't use three different materials um you know maybe spend more on having like a subwoofer and like spend more on your drivers and maybe a little less on your scandinavian design although you know what i personally think it looks wonderful even if you know it ended up getting its butt kicked by an off-the-shelf solution it hey it really says you know i care you know that's what it says so in closing if you want to spend the time to design and build a bluetooth speaker the way you want it while also having a diy project that can last anywhere from a few hours to days or even weeks then hardy matthias recommendation thumbs up two thumbs up two thumbs up especially if you love playing around in cad software as for our original goals well i mean you could make an argument that we did okay as far as size is concerned but i really can't recommend following our design as a cost-saving measure unless you just really love making things and ignore the time factor and unless you really know what you're doing beating the sound quality of a properly balanced and tuned solution like the pl7 isn't going to be easy thanks again to lg for sponsoring this video check it out on their site or at the link in the video description it's always great when we can use sponsor money to go on an adventure like this isn't it yep that's that's 800 of lg's money hard at work right there thanks lg i will treasure it always"}