Portable Boom Box - VAF Octavio - Part Two Continued -It arrived!!!

To read Part 1 Portable Boom Box - VAF Octavio + how to add battery and car use click here.

The VAF Octavio Arrived. I got it for a bargain price! I could not contain my excitement to get it out.

So I unboxed it all set it up on top of my center speaker and listened to my favourite testing track Sarah McLachlan using the Sansa Fuze + Electric Avenues PA2V2 (which I have both done reviews on).

The sound was simply amazing. The piano was so life like. I was extremely surprised. Next I put on some dance music to put it through its paces. For some reason the bass was lacking. I noticed there was a problem with the left woofer. The seller sold this item as new but the rubber surround has come away from the driver basket.

This is repairable but such a let down after being extremely excited for Octavio's arrival!

I have contacted the seller in regards to this. There is a 7day return policy the issue is I have to pay return postage so I will lose money on this. Possibly the seller will be happy to offer a partial refund to help cover the cost of the re-gluing of the surround.

In the meantime I have purchased one 12v 9800mah Lithium Ion battery for $35, have to order another.

The great thing about this battery is the inbuilt controller board. It allows the batteries to be charged while in use (that got me thinking about solar power but possibly more on that in later updates) maximum voltage output is 12.6v and the batteries cut out if it drops to 10.5v total output to protect the internal cells from over discharge.

Also I also bit the bullet and ordered the DC-DC booster converter.

This only cost in the end $10 delivered from Hong Kong, it will take at least 2-3 weeks to arrive which will provide sufficient time to resolve the isses with the woofer surround. It is capable if 120watt without upgrading the heat sinks. This is more than capable of delivering the maximum 90watt's that I need to power this baby. 24v @ 3.75amp (power = Volt x Amps).

Conclusion
So I am still extremely happy with this besides the required repair. Hopefully the seller will offer a discount for the obvious fault with the so called brand new item. Can't trust ebay these days! Who am I kidding I still love my fleabay! More updates as soon as things progress!

Now I am waiting on the batteries and boost converter to arrive. Also looked into finding a suitable carry case to hold it all. I'll leave you with a photo of what I am considering :)

Wildgame 6v external Hunting game camera external battery pack. Aluminium wound protection cover on the 3 meter (10 foot) power cable. The internal size will perfectly fit the 2 x 12v 9800mAh Li-ion batteries and the boost converter! Nifty case too. This shows you how much smaller the Li-ion batteries are, the Sealed lead acids in there are only 6v 4.5AH giving a total 6v 9amps. With the li-ions I can have either 24v 9.8Amps (in parallel) or 12v 19.6Amps (in series).

Cheers! I'll catch you on the flip side.

http://twitter.com/downunderaudio