Building your own DIY Bluetooth speaker couldn't be a more brilliant project to start your maker journey. It requires a small components list and fairly basic electronic skills. And besides the electronic element, it can provide the perfect reason for learning a little about woodworking or power tools.
To tie it all together, the design elements are incredibly fun, and flexible too. So jump into building a handmade Bluetooth speaker, or get inspired to create your own design.
1. Simple 10W Portable Bluetooth Speaker
Building a small Bluetooth speaker is a great project because it doesn't involve a vast components list, yet there is still plenty of room for customization. For example, this 10W Bluetooth speaker on Instructables showcases a beautiful plywood design for the enclosure, with the added option of using a recycled phone battery to power it. The final product is portable, with an impressive battery life of up to 10 hours at full volume.
If woodworking isn't your thing, you can of course design your own enclosure for the electronics. Sticking to the main design, however, might be worth it because it results in an airtight seal. When making your DIY Bluetooth speaker, aiming to create an airtight enclosure can help to improve the sound quality while also protecting the electronics from dust and moisture.
2. Mini Solar Power Bank Speaker
Building a DIY Bluetooth speaker can be a great way to recycle selvaged electronic components. The recycled materials used in this project include speakers, batteries, switches, and LEDs. But that's not the best part: on top of the recycled electronics, this Bluetooth speaker has integrated solar panels.
As described in the detailed Instructables guide, the goal was to create something small, portable, and easy to take camping. Alongside charging the speaker, the solar panels can also be used to charge a phone through an additional USB outlet. The final icing on the cake is the addition of an LED light to act as a torch.
3. DIY Bluetooth Speaker From a Glasses Case
Once you have an idea of what needs wiring in a Bluetooth speaker, you start seeing DIY speaker ideas everywhere. You can, for example, build yourself a Bluetooth speaker using an old eyewear case. Give it a coat of matte black spray paint, and you'll easily fool people into thinking you've got a commercial product.
Using a combination of selvaged electronics and new components, this project on Instructables comes in at around $15. Don't expect detailed step-by-step instructions for the wiring process, but if you have some experience with electronics already, it will serve as good inspiration.
4. DIY Bluetooth Speaker Made From a Pelican Case
One of downsides of buying a commercial Bluetooth speaker is that they rarely come with satisfying buttons or switches anymore—not like the kind you got with old boomboxes or radios. Which is another reason in favor of going down the DIY route.
Take a look at this homemade Bluetooth speaker on Instructables. Besides being housed in an awesome transparent Pelican case, it has a few satisfying tactile switches wired into the circuit. A rotary dial is used here to control the volume which, by all accounts, is so much cooler than the flat button switches you see these days.
Electronics and music are easily a great match, so if you're looking for more along these lines, check out our list of inspiring DIY music tech projects.
5. Portable Bluetooth Stereo Speaker
You have a lot of choice when it comes to choosing your parts for a Bluetooth speaker. From cheap and cheerful to salvaged electronics, what matters is that you pick out what suits you. This vibrant orange DIY speaker, for example, uses car speakers and a recycled leather belt for the handle.
Take a look on the Instructables page to find the build guide, including a great template you can download for the speaker housing. For a nice touch, you can use wooden pegs to hold the box together instead of metal screws. It's little design choices like this that make building your own DIY speaker worth it.
6. Minimalist DIY Bluetooth Speaker
Not everybody needs high-fidelity sound in a speaker: sometimes it's the design element that deserves more attention. For this young creator, building a Bluetooth speaker was the perfect excuse to create a speaker with a minimalist aesthetic using stained wood and wool felt.
You can make this project using a drill and a saw, but if you want an excuse to try out new construction methods like milling and laser cutting then follow the guide over on Instructables as written. One awesome feature to point out is that the CNC milling machine used here is actually a DIY design also available on Instructables made using 3D printed parts!
If you're wondering if a smaller speaker is best or not, here's our guide for determining what size speakers are best for your room.
7. Vintage-Look Bluetooth Speaker
With most Bluetooth speakers aiming to be ever smaller and more lightweight, it's nice to see a DIY build that does the opposite. This speaker weighs a good 6kg, but in return you get a whopping 15+ days of music on a single charge.
The reason for the heft is due to the use of a sealed lead acid battery, in addition to the weight of the MDF boards used for the enclosure. But possibly as a counter to the over-powered battery, the Bluetooth speaker is designed to look and feel like a beautiful vintage product. If this project appeals to your tastes, head over to Instructables to read the build guide.
Easier Than You Think
After browsing through these awesome DIY Bluetooth speakers, you'll realize that building your own design is easier than you think. All you need is a handful of components to wire up a speaker, then all that's left is a custom-built enclosure.
If you can't find the Bluetooth speaker on the market that suits your tastes, building your own is the way to go.