Wizarding World Inspired Steampunk Speakers!

 The Inspiration:

 

The Challenge:

 

The End Result:

 

 When it came time to re-install our surround sound in the new steampunk room, John and I brainstormed how to make our plain black wall speakers more in-theme. Then we spotted those fantastic metal cone speakers over in Diagon Alley at Universal. SO GOOD. The long pointy end wasn't practical, but a flared metal cone with a fabric screen? Heck yeah!

So then we just had to figure out how to do it.

John was the one who found the solution, and it's almost laughably simple. I bet some of you have already figured it out:

See it?



Yep, those are $2 plastic flower pots.

Here, I'll walk you through the process:

 

Remove speakers from housing.

 

Cut a small slit in the back of each pot and push through the metal tab of the original wire connectors (the red and black things). Also drill two holes - one on either side - for the long side screws that will come later.

 

 Trace & cut round interior braces from thin wood. Rout the outside edges to give them a bevel. (This will help them sit snugly inside the plastic pots, so there's no gap around the edge.)

 

Paint wooden braces & screw heads black.

Attach speakers to braces using the four corner screws...

... and secure with nuts on the back side.

The finished interior. 

(The two large side screws are long enough to reach through the back of the pot where we drilled those holes, and will hold everything in place once secured with more nuts.)

 

Paint everything gold/brass. (Shiiiiiny....)

 

Attach the original speakers' wall hardware to the backside of the flower pots.

 (Don't they already look cool?!)

Attach speaker wires to the connectors you pushed through the back of the pots earlier. (They just plug in, nothing scary.)

Carefully set each speaker in place in the pots, making sure to get it level on all sides. (It will want to slip and go in wonky.) Once it's level, stick the long side screws all the way through the back of the pot, and secure with nuts:

Now it'll look like this:

 

And all that's left is the decorative screen!

Cut round hoops out of more thin wood, and use hot glue to stretch fabric around them:

We found this fantastic brown linen over at JoAnn's, which looks just like antique speaker cloth.

Print decorative emblems on card stock, cut out with a craft blade, and spray paint those gold, too:

Attach the emblems to your fabric with spray adhesive.

(That emblem is actually a stylized W, btw, for the Wizarding Wireless Network. Those of you with an eagle eye and too much time on your hands may spot a few other examples of it around the parks:

 

That one's in a relatively hard-to-notice spot, so 10 points to anyone who knows where I found it. (It's like a giant light bulb behind a radio facade, and I am mildly obsessed with it.)

Lessee... where was I? 

Ah! And finally, stick the fabric screens to your speaker interiors with a couple of tiny glue dots or Velcro.

Now you can install your new speakers as you would any others, using the quick connectors on the backs to attach your speaker wires. Easy peasy!

Since they hang in the top corners of the room, it's actually pretty hard to see the sides of our new speakers - mostly you only see them face on, like this:

Even so, I am completely in love with them. I love that they're round (circles beat squares ANY day),  I love the added level of steampunky detail for the room, and I love how the emblems gleam in the light:

Plus they're super nerdy! SCORE.

And since I'm sure you audiophiles are curious: they sound great! John was concerned that they might be a little more tinny than before, but it's possible that's more the fault of the new wood floors and all the hard surfaces in the room than the speakers themselves.

Now to figure out how to camouflage the sub-woofer. :D

(Oh! And John's scratch-built, rivet-licious TV cabinet is done, too, so stay tuned for the finished reveal on that, probably some time next week!)


*****

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