If the built-in speakers of your smartphone are falling short on offering a loud sound output, you could either invest in standalone speakers or use everyday (mostly waste) objects and make your smartphone sound louder than ever before. For times when you are cash strapped or simply want to go a little creative, here are some do-it-yourself techniques which could help you amplify your smartphone’s speakers at no extra cost.
1. Best Out of Waste Console
For this technique, you would need a waste toilet roll, two plastic cups, and a pair of scissors. First, trace the outline of the bottom of your smartphone on the roll. Now cut it open and make sure the phone fits in well. Now, on the side of the cups trace a circle using the toilet roll and cut them open. Remember, you need to make a hole on only one side of the cups. Lastly, assemble the console by fitting the cups on the sides of the roll and placing the smartphone on the slot you made on the roll.
2. Magic Bowls
Lay on table all the different type of bowls or jars you might have in the kitchen – wooden, plastic, ceramic, or glass. All you need to do is place your smartphone – speaker side down – into the bowl and see the variations in terms of the sound produced; a medium-sized metal bowl is likely to produce a louder sound while a bamboo bowl offers more depth.
3. Roll up That Old Mag
If you have an old newspaper or magazine lying in your house just roll it up and seal it with a tape so that it doesn’t come undone. Now similar to the technique explained in point no.1, make a hole on the top of the rolled magazine to fit in your smartphone and you are good to go.
4. Don’t Throw Away The Can!
You purchased those expensive chips last week and don’t know what to do with the empty container? Don’t throw it into the bin just yet. Make a cut on one side of the container (as explained in previous steps) to hold your smartphone and you will have another cheap amplifier.
As the tube container will not be able to stay stable as you insert your smartphone, you could keep it in place by either taping pencils or paper clips on both sides. In order to get a more club-like sound effect, you can stuff some tissue paper inside the tube.
5. Paper Horn
Take a letter-size sheet of paper, wrap it around the bottom half of the smartphone like a cone and seal it with a tape. Longer the roll, better the sound. Nice and easy.
6. For The Rear Speakers
This technique works well for phones which have rear speakers or speakers positioned close to the rear center of the device. For this, you would require a small cardboard box (consider your smartphone’s box), a waste yarn cone, and scissors. First make a slot on top of the box to insert the smartphone. Now make a hole in the front of the box for the cone; make sure the wider end of the cone is facing out. Assemble everything and you’ll have a home-made speaker at no additional cost.
7. Build Your Own Acoustic Speakers
One of the trickiest of all techniques, you would require a waste Pringles can, ice cream sticks, saw dust, and a wooden board for the stand. Cut the can into half and smooth out the edges with a sand paper. For the acoustic effect, you need to cover the outer surface of the can with ice cream sticks. You are going to need a little bit of patience for this step but at the end it will be completely worth it.
After you have covered the outer surface with sticks, apply glue over the surface and sprinkle saw dust. Now you need to make an opening to place the smartphone. Since the can will have a thicker surface than before due to the ice cream sticks, you will need a sharper blade to cut open the slot. For the stand, you could either fix pencils with super glue on either sides or if you have the required skills to cut wood then make a C-shaped stand as shown in the clip above. Smooth out the edges and you will have your personal acoustic smartphone speaker! You can watch the complete video by following this link.