How to set up a power connection for the Beovox speakers

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How to set up a power connection for the Beovox speakers

Up-cycling your Beovox speakers is quite easy and can be done with very little electronic knowledge. Still, creating a new power connection can be a bit challenging. That’s why we decided to look a bit deeper into the process, to make sure you have all the information you need for a successful project.

Unlike our other HiFiBerry boards which don’t require soldering, Beocreate will require you to have some basic skills to create a power connection for the board. But don’t worry, it’s really not that hard.

If you have never soldered before, we recommend that you purchase a basic solder starter kit, with exercises for your first steps. Such a kit will prepare you with the basic ‘feel’ for next steps. Soldering the power connector for the Beocreate board is really easy but maybe it’s not the best idea to start your first steps with a very expensive board.

If you don’t want to risk soldering on your own, but still want to up-cycle your vintage speakers, you can check for Maker Spaces or electronic classes in community schools. People there will help you to create your project or maybe even solder your connection for a little fee.

What additional tools do you need?

Tools can be expensive, but a few basic affordable items are all you needed for your project.

To remove the outside of your cable, we recommend a cable stripper. It’s a helpful tool that guarantee a clean and safe result. If you just do even just a few electronic projects from time to time, an inexpensive wire stripper like you can see on the picture below is enough.

Also you need a soldering iron. Things get interesting here because you will find lots of opinions about that. As usual, if you just start soldering and want to try things out, a low priced starter set available in most electronic shops will do the job. There are no sensitive parts that need to be soldered, the solder points are easy to reach and not too small, so there’s no need to spend a fortune if you just use it from time to time. Still, we recommend to buy a soldering iron with exchangeable tips, so you can use it for a bit longer.

Important! Check the polarity!

When soldering, the most important thing is to make sure you check the polarity of the connection. If you connect it the wrong way, you can damage your board!

To find out, which connection is (+) and which is (-) you need to check your power plug. On the Meanwell power supply that we recommend for the Beocreate 4 Channel Amplifier, you will find the following picture:

As you can see from this example, the cable that connects to the (-) needs to be soldered to the ring that is outside placed on your connector. The (+) needs to be soldered to the inside ring. This might be different if you choose another brand of adapter or plug. So make sure you verify the output from the transformer before you start soldering. If you buy the power connector in our shop, you will have one with two connectors. Sometimes there can be three connectors on the plug – one stays unused, but you still must orientate the inside and outside ring to be sure of the correct power connection.

As said before, an incorrectly soldered connection can damage the board. If you are unsure of the polarity, use a multimeter to test it.

When it come to cable colours red/purple is usually used for (+) and black/blue for (-) however black and white are also used. Other times, one wire is smooth, the other has ‘ridges’ or a printed line to differentiate it from the other. The wires are the same inside, however it is an industry standard to help guide electronic projects and avoiding mistakes and be consistent.

Why you should buy a third hand.

To make sure you get a stable connection, you should use a so called third hand that helps you to bring the pieces you want to solder in the right position. Especially when you are a beginner, this will help you a lot.