Project: Logitech X530 speakers

[SarverSystems]

Goal:

1. 
   Make the speakers match the theme of the finished computer system.

Tasks:

1. Paint inner trim rings purple on sattelite speakers.
2. Swap green power LED to a purple LED.
3. Paint outer trim ring on subwoofer purple.

Instructions:

1. Unpack speakers, confirm all parts are operating correctly (no sense modding broken parts!)
   
   
   
   
2. Figure out how to take the speakers apart. In this case, the front grills simply "pop" off with a little persuasion from a small straight-edge screwdriver. There's 6 pins on the back of each grill that fit into 6 sockets on the front of the faceplate. Be very careful not to slip or you'll rip the mesh that covers the grill.
3. Once you have the grills off, you'll have access to 6 screws that hold the faceplate to the housing. Remove the screws.
4. Remove thefaceplate from the housing, be be careful! The wires that run to the speakers are VERY short.
5. Lay the whole assembly on the table, and remove the 2 screws that hold each speaker to the back of the faceplate.
6. This is what you should end up with:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   The main satellite speaker (the one with the power button and volume control) disassembles in a very similar way, but the grill has 2 parts to it. It also has some extra electronics inside it.
   
7. Now that the satellites are disassembled, it's time to turn to the subwoofer.
   
   
   
   
8. There is no need to completely disassemble the subwoofer (in fact, it is glued shut, there is no way to open it). DO NOT unscrew the 2 screws on the bottom of the subwoofer. They hold the power transformer to the bottom of the enclosure, and are VERY VERY VERY difficult to put back in if you take them out.
9. Take the grill off the speaker. This is accomplished by finding a screwdriver that fits into the holes in the grill, and very carefully prying it up slowly as you work your way around, until it pops right off.
10. This should gain you access to the screws that hold the trim ring to the enclosure. Remove them.
11. (Optional) Remove the screws that hold the speaker in the enclosure.
12. This is what you should end up with:
    
    
    
    
    
    
13. Time to start painting!
    
    
    
    
14. For Metalcast paint, you first need to paint a "primer" of silver. This is what gives the paint it's anodized look.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
15. Let it dry for about 10 minutes, then paint your overlay color. Paint in VERY thin coats. These took about 6 coats to get this deep of a purple. It is only important to get paint on the areas that'll show. Don't waste your paint on areas that'll never be seen!
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
16. Let the paint cure for AT LEAST an hour. The last thing you want it fingerprints in your paint!
17. Reassemble your speakers in exactly the opposite order as disassembly.
18. This is what you should end up with:
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    There is no "finished" pic of the subwoofer or main satellite speaker yet. The subwoer required a few more coats of paint, and the LEDs haven't come in yet for the power LED.

 

[chrisewaters]

nice not a big fan of purple though, a brush aluminium effect would be cool.

 

[Andhar]

I like what you did, its Original to say the least.

 

[Hort]

There is no need to completely disassemble the subwoofer (in fact, it is glued shut, there is no way to open it). DO NOT unscrew the 2 screws on the bottom of the subwoofer. They hold the power transformer to the bottom of the enclosure, and are VERY VERY VERY difficult to put back in if you take them out.

SO... how long did it take you to get the screws back in?

 

[oneil]

Originally Posted by SarverSystems
There is no need to completely disassemble the subwoofer (in fact, it is glued shut, there is no way to open it). DO NOT unscrew the 2 screws on the bottom of the subwoofer. They hold the power transformer to the bottom of the enclosure, and are VERY VERY VERY difficult to put back in if you take them out.

The same happened to me when I took my dryer apart to swap some broken parts, the screws holding the drum to the back wall went through a plate-type aluminium piece which wouldnt co-operate in any way. 4 hours later, managed to get 1 of the screws in and wrench the other two in place.

Good mod, simple, effective and elegant. I'll agree that I'm not a huge fan of purple, but I might follow your example with some chrome once I pick up these speakers

 

[SarverSystems]

I'm thinking of replacing the white plastic with some blue tinted acrylic and backlighting it. Not on this set, but maybe the next set.

 

[xLiquidx]

I must admit thats a pretty cool idea you had there.

Edit: Can we see a workstation picture so we can see what the setup looks like now?

 

[Stu55]

Very nice

 

[Jarod888]

I may have to try this out with mine. I will probably be painting them green though. I really like how the purple came out!

 

[SarverSystems]

I must admit thats a pretty cool idea you had there.

Edit: Can we see a workstation picture so we can see what the setup looks like now?

There are no pics of the workstation yet. I haven't gotten all the parts in yet. There will be several more worklogs for each major mod of the system.

 

[SarverSystems]

The rest of the parts came in today. I'll be posting a few more worklogs as I complete more mods.

The LEDs came in today as well. I'll be posting pics of the rest of this mod before proceeding to the next.

 

[SarverSystems]

Here is a pic of the finished subwoofer.

To mod the LED:

1. Determine what size LED you have. The Logitech X530's have a 3mm LED.
   
   
2. Find a suitable LED of the same size and comparable voltage.
3. Carefully unsolder the existing LED. Be sure to note the polarity of the LED. The LED will have a flat spot on the rim to mark it's polarity.
4. Solder in the new LED, using the same polarity. If you get it backwards, no damage will occur, but the LED will not light up. Unsolder it, flipit around, and resolder it.
   (pic here soon)
5. At this point, the volume control and power button could be removed and painted to match your scheme. They simply slide right off the switches they control.
6. Reassemble the speaker, and test it out.
   (pic here soon)

 

[Thermalmodder]

Looks very nice, but could you paint the speaker cones on the sattelites to match?

 

[SarverSystems]

They would be extremely difficult to mask off properly, and I would assume the extra weight of the paint would affect their wattage and make them sound different.

 

[SarverSystems]

The main satellite speaker is at work with me today. I'm planning to con one of my co-workers into swapping the green LED for a purple one today. I'll have some pics by tonight if all goes as planned.

 

[FLECOM]

They would be extremely difficult to mask off properly, and I would assume the extra weight of the paint would affect their wattage and make them sound different.

the wattage is determined by the amp, painting it would modify the db/watt or the efficiency of the speaker... probably a poor idea... mostly on the surround as you want that part to be soft and the paint would probably make it too stiff...

nice job on the speakers tho, i might have to do something similar for the gf... she loves purple lol

 

[SarverSystems]

she loves purple

I'm working on the rest of the system (as will be seen in other project logs) which will have purple parts through-out. I'm still piecing things together as we speak. Some parts aren't fitting as expected, while others are fitting way BETTER than expected (as if they were MEANT to be modded!!!).

 

[NnighTmarezZ]

Sweet deal, nice colors and a great idea!

 

[elektronisch]

I dont have a multimeter, what kind of LED did you use?

Voltage?

 

[SarverSystems]

Got em off Ebay. I'll get you a link when I get to work.

I took some pics last night. I'll upload them tonight. It looks cool as shit!!!