# Would like LOUD & CHEAP speakers



## Jaybo

I've gone the cheap computer speaker route for my props, but they just aren't loud enough. I would like a good LOUD scream or roar from my props, but the computer speakers can't cut it.

I was researching on how to build a small amplified speaker of my own, when I ran across a few small guitar practice amps for around $20 each. I did a few Google video and youtube searches on the amps and they seem pretty loud. Much louder than your typical set of computer speakers.

Has anyone ever used anything like this in their haunt?

Anyone have a better solution that is dirt cheap?


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## fritz42_male

Try some of the audio visual companies to see if they are selling off kit - they often do this. Just be careful that the kit they are selling off is OK. Lots of rental speakers are damaged by being overdriven and the cones of the speakers blow out.

Practice amps are fine and you can often pick them up in thrift stores - again be careful that the speakers are OK.

Cheap home hifi units are good as well. Just check to see that they have an option for line in or aux in.


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## bradbaum

I am afraid loud equals expensive.

As Fritz said, watch for used deals - check craigs list and ebay.

The JBL EON series are really loud and are self powered - but new ones are very expensive.


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## RoxyBlue

You could always try the House of Representatives, but they probably aren't cheap


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## Warrant2000

Kareoke machine usually have a large speaker, input jack, and volume control.


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## Phil

$20 is pretty darn cheap for an amp & speaker. I like cheap car amps or in-dash receivers and 6-1/2" full range automotive speakers in small homemade enclosures. Not quite as cheap, but results in a stable system in a durable package.


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## fritz42_male

Phil said:


> $20 is pretty darn cheap for an amp & speaker. I like cheap car amps or in-dash receivers and 6-1/2" full range automotive speakers in small homemade enclosures. Not quite as cheap, but results in a stable system in a durable package.


Good idea - never thought of that. Plenty of this stuff on sale in Pawn shops - we have a chain over here called Cash Converters. I've seen a lot of this stuff in there and never thought of using it!


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## Jaybo

Phil said:


> $20 is pretty darn cheap for an amp & speaker. I like cheap car amps or in-dash receivers and 6-1/2" full range automotive speakers in small homemade enclosures. Not quite as cheap, but results in a stable system in a durable package.


I've thought of this route also, but how do you power the system? I thought of using a computer power supply, but it seems like the car stereos draw too much power for that to work. Plus, I would like to have the sound self contained in the prop if possible. Looks like I need to hit a few pawn shop.



Warrant2000 said:


> Kareoke machine usually have a large speaker, input jack, and volume control.


Great Idea! I've seen these at our Goodwill store several times and never thought about using them. I will have to check them out again.

I stopped by my local Guitar Center to take a look at the little $20 Honeytone amp. It's very small. It's only $20, so I think I will go back and get one to test out. They also had an even smaller amp called a Smoky Amp for $25 that supposedly can drive a speaker cabinet. Website says it can drive any 4, 8, or 16 ohm speaker cabinet, including 4 x 12's. I can see using this to power a few cheap 6.5" or 6 x 9 automotive speakers in a small box. Any technically minded musicians in the group? Would this be feasible or a waste of time?


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## poison

Here is the Loudest you can get without spending a ton of money.

Its still $89 but its 200 watts and a 2.1 speaker system.
This system is very loud and has a powered sub.

http://www.pcaccessories.org/Logitech-Z2300-THXCertified-200Watt-2.1-Speaker/A/B0002SQ2P2.htm


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## Phil

Jaybo said:


> I've thought of this route also, but how do you power the system? I thought of using a computer power supply, but it seems like the car stereos draw too much power for that to work. Plus, I would like to have the sound self contained in the prop if possible. Looks like I need to hit a few pawn shop.


My scavenged PC power supply delivers 10 Amps and has driven a 50Wx2 car amp without trouble all night at moderate-high volume levels. The PS simultaneously drove a wiper motor from the 5 Volt output.
Poison, those PC speakers actually do look good. You won't beat that price for the output.


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## Decrepit Desecr8shun

Yeah I have their 5.1 setup on my system run through the Titanium Fatal3ty. Even w/winamp optimized running 24bit and a 96kHz output w/EAX II encoding DSP(w/ 31 band constant Q equalizer). And Dfx enhancer on(Blue ray studio quality audio in short).I find the highs pretty distorted and the bass is muddy. I mean they are all right if you don't mind having 2 eq everything heavily but at descent volume level you have 2 retard the treble alot for music. My enemy is distortion,I h8 it with a passion! Of course I'm comparing it against high end home audio equipment,but I think they would be a great investment for $60.00 in the haunt. And they get pretty loud for 140 peak watts...tho more subs....


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## DarkLore

Yall are talking about $60 and $80 solutions. That doesn't come close my opinion of cheap for an amplified speaker solution. Most of us are also looking for something that fits inside a prop or small enclosure. 

I've got three standing shiatsu zombies in my garage...waiting for some type of amplified speaker solution. I don't think I can fit a whole karaoke machine in there. These are made with a $6 shiatsu, spare wood, plumbers tape, pvc, and screws. $20 is about what I probably spent on the entire materials list.

So far...a small amp sounds like the best thing I've heard. I'd like to hear how well one of those works.


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## Jaybo

DarkLore said:


> Yall are talking about $60 and $80 solutions. That doesn't come close my opinion of cheap for an amplified speaker solution. Most of us are also looking for something that fits inside a prop or small enclosure.
> 
> I've got three standing shiatsu zombies in my garage...waiting for some type of amplified speaker solution. I don't think I can fit a whole karaoke machine in there. These are made with a $6 shiatsu, spare wood, plumbers tape, pvc, and screws. $20 is about what I probably spent on the entire materials list.
> 
> So far...a small amp sounds like the best thing I've heard. I'd like to hear how well one of those works.


I'm probably going to pickup one of the $20 practice amps this week to see how they work. I'll let you know how it works out.


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## kprimm

Go the guitar amp route, i have done this for a couple of my props and they cant be beat. I got A 50 watt gorilla amp off craigslist for only 25 bucks and you can hear that thing at the end of my block. The computer speakers work well if you have an isolated scare but if you have multiple things going on or need alot of sound for a good startle scare you need to go the amp route.


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## DarkLore

kprimm said:


> Go the guitar amp route, i have done this for a couple of my props and they cant be beat. I got A 50 watt gorilla amp off craigslist for only 25 bucks and you can hear that thing at the end of my block. The computer speakers work well if you have an isolated scare but if you have multiple things going on or need alot of sound for a good startle scare you need to go the amp route.


You got lucky. I haven't seen any cheap amps on craigslist in our area.


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## Jaybo

I never did buy one of the small Honeytone Practice amps. They had an Ibanez 15W practice amp on sale for close to the same price that I bought instead. It was plenty loud enough!










I've still been looking for smaller sound solutions that can be placed inside of a prop. This past weekend I was planning on going to Guitar Center to get that small Honeytone amp again, but got distracted again by a good deal at Best Buy. I ended up buying two small amps used for guitars/Sony PSP/or Nintendoe DS. They were only about $13 apiece and are quite loud! You have to play around with the source volume, the gain and tone on the amp, and the actual volume knob on the amp itself to get a good sound. For the price they are great!

This is the amp:










You won't find the amp on Best Buy's website. You will find the amp on CowBoom.com, which BestBuy owns. They are listed on the site for $6.99 each, but with shipping they come out to about $13.00. Ironic huh?

I still might go get that Honeytone Amp at Guitar Center since it can also be run off a 9v battery. Let's see if I make it this time!


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## The Watcher

If you a loud scare out of a guitar amp. You need at least 30 watts and a good source. That first act amp is the one I put in my Nemesis Gun. I got one on clearance at Walmart after Christmas, 10.00. I ran it off a 9 volt battery In my gun so I could take it where I wanted to go. Here I went to see If I had a good picture showing it in the gun. I moved the off and on switch just above the led. But it will work on 9 volts.


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## Jaybo

Actually, the 15W Ibanez I bought is very loud. I used it to run my thunder track and had to actually turn it down to keep from blowing my neighbors away. Now, I agree that a 30W amp would be much louder and probably much more effective, but the cost goes up considerably once you get to higher wattages. 

I've been looking for loud, small, low cost speakers that I can buy in quantity without going completely broke. These will be used at short ranges to startle people, so the bigger amps are not needed. 

I did stop and get one of the Honeytone Amps last night. It's a very cool little amp, but not for haunting. The cheap First Act amps blow this thing out of the water. It's actually smaller than the little First Act amp. Don't get me wrong, this thing is loud in small enclosed spaces and actually rocks when used as an actual practice guitar amp, but it gets overwhelmed easily outdoors. The one redeeming fact (for prop building) is it can be hacked to run a speaker cabinet box. I just happen to have a few spare speakers lying around I can build into a box. I'll have to give this a try.


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## Psyc0 Walrus

Guitar training amps are really really loud lol All you would need is a 5w Speaker and it can be REALLY loud.. I have one. I think it was like 20 dollars? It runs on batteries and has a Mic In, Aux In, and Line In. Very Cheap and VERY good


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## The Watcher

Jaybo I read what I wrote last night later. I really ain't no writer, and I certainly didn't mean it to sound the way it came out. What I was trying to say, was like if you wanted a scream, to make someone jump or cringe. Or I am thinking about having a door this year. With a soft spot, then have some solenoids make dents in it. I want it sound like someone is hitting it with a axe. For that Kind of volume you need at least a 30 watt. But yes the 15 watts is a lot louder then most computer speakers. I like the first amp the fact I can run it off a 9 volt battery, even though it comes with a 14 volt adapter is great. I use 12 volt Solenoids, so I can tie it right and use 1 adapter. It will be good for like a monster in a box. My gun was run with those little 50sec recorders. It put out a descent sound. People at the Con were surprised. Look for Peavey Amps they use to be low cost with lots of options. A lot of the guys that played with with used them. I was thinking about getting a Bandit for my daughter. But she started playing bass. The funny thing Is I spent 2 years picking up the Computer speakers. I have a ton of amps. Just didn't think about it. But I did start last year.


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## DarkLore

Jaybo said:


> ...This past weekend I was planning on going to Guitar Center to get that small Honeytone amp again, but got distracted again by a good deal at Best Buy. I ended up buying two small amps used for guitars/Sony PSP/or Nintendoe DS. They were only about $13 apiece and are quite loud!...


Pretty impressive for the price Jaybo. Did you pick those up at a Best Buy store, or did you order them through the website you mentioned?


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## stagehand1975

For a small speaker. Try an outdoor wall mounted landscape speaker. They are small enough to fit in the chest cavity of your corpses. They are not self powered but can be run from a home stereo receiver. They are around 100 watts each and I have found them as low as $20 for a pair. They are usualy better with the highs as they are designed cary sound for outside. I have a pair installed on the outside of my camper that I run off of the car stereo in the camper. They Cary sound far and they don't distort. These were purchased from radio shack. However they don't sound as good as the pair of advent speaker that I have permanantly installed on the outside of my garage that I bought from BJ'S years ago for $40. At top volume they cary to the neihbors house several hundred feet away without distortion. This pair also has a good bass response for there size. I also have 2 pair of the same type of speaker that I paid $20 for each pair from a pro audio music store. I use these 2 pairs in my huant. I have every type and style speaker that listed in this thread. I use them all at my huant. Each set I have has been picked for the area I use it in and sometimes bigger isn't always better. Self powered is great but can get exspensive. I have a pair of the jbl eons listed in the begining of this thread and they sound great but I paid almost $800 for the pair used 4 years ago. I have had many years to gather the amount gear that I use and it is nice to have options to chose from when putting together my huant.


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## Jaybo

The Watcher said:


> Jaybo I read what I wrote last night later. I really ain't no writer, and I certainly didn't mean it to sound the way it came out.


 LOL! No worries! I didn't take offense at anything you said. I know what you mean by the computer speakers. I work in the IT industry and have a ton of the speakers. I've been trying to make them work for awhile and was getting REALLY frustrated with them. I didn't clue in to the guitar amp until I was watching a street performer use one as a PA. It clicked when I saw that. Ultimately, I would like to have some really nice PA speakers, but I don't have that kind of money. So, those speakers go on the "someday, but probably never" list.

I've also been studying on how to build my own amps and loudspeakers. I'm not really saving any money at this point, but I am learning new things.


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## Jaybo

DarkLore said:


> Pretty impressive for the price Jaybo. Did you pick those up at a Best Buy store, or did you order them through the website you mentioned?


Yep, I picked them up in the store. They were back in the back corner where the musical instruments are located. I bought the only two they had left in the store I went into, so I went looking online and found them on Cowboom.com. I think that is an excess inventory clearing site for Best Buy, kind of like woot.com.


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## Just Whisper

Jaybo said:


> This is the amp:
> 
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> 
> You won't find the amp on Best Buy's website. You will find the amp on CowBoom.com, which BestBuy owns. They are listed on the site for $6.99 each, but with shipping they come out to about $13.00. Ironic huh?


I looked on CowBoom and cannot find these. They only have one amp listed and it is a guitar amp for $74. Do you know if they still have them and exactly how they are listed?


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## Jaybo

Just Whisper said:


> I looked on CowBoom and cannot find these. They only have one amp listed and it is a guitar amp for $74. Do you know if they still have them and exactly how they are listed?


Cowboom.com is a clearing site for Best Buy. It's where they dump excess inventory, so the speakers are no longer on the site.

The speaker was a First Act MA007 Gaming Amp. You can still find online at various places. Here is a Google Shopping search that might help.


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## Holcomb Haunter

I hook an mp3 player up to a TV suround sound system I picked up at a garage sale for $7. the speakers came in various sizes, lots of bass and no distortion.


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## fritz42_male

They do have this though - dirt cheap!

http://www.cowboom.com/auction/index.cfm?P=5&I=705559


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## Just Whisper

Jaybo said:


> Cowboom.com is a clearing site for Best Buy. It's where they dump excess inventory, so the speakers are no longer on the site.
> 
> The speaker was a First Act MA007 Gaming Amp. You can still find online at various places. Here is a Google Shopping search that might help.


Thanks Jaybo...$12.60 and free shipping. Good deal. Maybe.


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## JeffHaas

I took a chance and ordered one of the First Act Gaming Amps off ebay the other day. It's pretty darn good for $17.00 delivered! 

The amp has a 4 inch speaker, an AC adapter that puts out 14 volts, and comes with a cable. The amp accepts a large speaker jack, and there is an adapter included so the speaker cable can plug into a standard headphone jack.

The quality of the sound is pretty good, it will make a good local sound effect speaker. I might use it in the mad scientist lab for sound effects, hidden under the bench, playing a loop of bubbling flasks, etc.

There is a bright blue LED on the face that indicates the power is on; that may have to be covered with duct tape. And the speaker has a bit of a hum when it's not playing anything, but that won't matter when it's playing a loop of sounds.


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## mattie

I auctually had all of this stuff so it didnt cost me anything....
I used some Alpine 4x6 2way speakers in an enclosure built with some plywood around my house and sprayed with ruberized sound deadner and even threw in some pillow stuffing. I also used 2 10" 3way MTX boxs, 4 speakers total.
I had an old car cd player which had a set of inputs so I hooked up my ancient JVC 6 disc cd player to it. I powered the car cd player with a car battery charger and the JVC pluged into the wall.
This setup ran very well for about 6 or so hours on halloween. I constantley checked the temp. of things by touch and nothing ever warmed up enough to be worried about and I had some decent sound volume in all of my speakers.
I auctually had the 4x6's in the porch with me and the 10" 3ways outside so I adjusted the balance from all 4 channels balanced , to more of the 10" 3ways so it was alot louder outside and quieter inside the porch.
Now that I have a bit more money and the thrift stores stock some good old stereo stuff Ive upgraded.


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## JeffHaas

Update on the First Act Gaming Amp...I gave it a try tonight with a fogger, blue floodlight and a graveyard sound track, to complete the picture. It puts out a very nice, impressive sound! It easily filled our front yard with a low background atmospheric sound track, and I had to keep the volume down to not bother the neighbors.

It also turns out that this is actually a standard guitar amp that was re-named for Best Buy. It's the First Act MA104, here's a link to a review of it as a guitar amp:





So this gets a definite thumbs-up as a very useful, inexpensive speaker.


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## Jaybo

JeffHaas said:


> Update on the First Act Gaming Amp...I gave it a try tonight with a fogger, blue floodlight and a graveyard sound track, to complete the picture. It puts out a very nice, impressive sound! It easily filled our front yard with a low background atmospheric sound track, and I had to keep the volume down to not bother the neighbors.
> 
> It also turns out that this is actually a standard guitar amp that was re-named for Best Buy. It's the First Act MA104, here's a link to a review of it as a guitar amp:
> YouTube - First Act MA104 Practice Amp
> 
> So this gets a definite thumbs-up as a very useful, inexpensive speaker.


Yeah, I forgot to mention that the MA007 and the MA104 are the same exact amp. Not sure why they renamed the model. You can find some retail outlets online charging as much as $45 for this amp. Just to clarify, this amp is not worth that amount of money. At that price range, you can get a much better (and bigger) used amp. Keep searching and you will find this amp listed for as little as $15. It is well worth that amount. I got lucky and found them for $12 months ago, but it appears they've gone up in price since then.


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