Open source Symfonisk WiFi speaker

Final Assembly

Once you have checked the functionality, the only thing left to do is to install everything in the housing. (Unplug!) Because it has quite a lot of available space, this task does not pose any problems. The first thing to do is to screw the power socket onto the rear panel and glue on the sockets for the USB and SD card connectors (Figure 7). Next, screw the standoffs onto the Rasp Pi to compensate for a step in the housing (Figure 8).

Figure 7: The Rasp Pi connectors can be easily integrated into the housing of the Symfonisk box.
Figure 8: To compensate for a step in the housing, the Raspberry Pi sits on spacers of different heights.

Now all the preparations for gluing the components are complete. I used a hot melt gun. If necessary, the bond can be released later with a little caution. The Rasp Pi can simply be unscrewed from the spacers for maintenance. If you want to avoid background noise from vibrations, you can glue the cables to the side of the housing.

Last, but not least, connect the speakers and the control panel and reinstall the speaker front. As a reminder, the sound funnel should be located above the Rasp Pi.

This process completes your speaker. Various clients are available as mobile apps. I use Squeezer [13] on Android. Additionally, the SlimServer offers a direct web interface through which it can be fully controlled. I would recommend using the Material Design plugin; otherwise, the interface looks a bit old-fashioned.

Conclusions

This project represents a step toward independence in a smart household, elegantly combining an appealing design, open source components, optimal maintainability, and a compact build.

Of course, this conversion might not be for everyone: Together, the components add up to the same price as a standard smart speaker, and you must have the required skills. However, if you value your independence or want to lay the foundations for a loudspeaker conversion on a larger scale, I'm sure you will appreciate the project.

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