2026 Kitchen HiFi3
Modding, Stereo
⏱️Overview
This is a continuation of (a long and probably boring, yet few times already coming back topic of) my modifications to an old HiFi. Which we use in kitchen, for showing clock (my weather station) and listening to music. Now I put both player and clock inside, between speakers. I also got rid of my old power supply and made it use less power and lighter too.
📜History
It all started a very long time ago in 1997, in a different age when cassettes📼 were roaming the Earth🦒. Back then I got this Panasonic RX-FT530 Dual Cassette Player/Recorder (original pictures).
Not long after I started modifying it with what I could, to suit my needs and make it more usable (e.g. LED lights, faster spooling etc).
This is covered in detail in first project. On that page still, I did a major thing in 2020, by throwing out not used cassette decks, and mounting (or should I say butchering🪓) a digital radio (without its speakers) inside here, just between this HiFi’s speakers. Then connecting it and making a nice source switch between radio and player, using MCU and relays, with buttons and LEDs. Also added another source later from my PC, through ceiling and long cable.
Later in 2023 second project I got rid of all original PCBs, amplifier and power supply. I made my own (still from a transformer) with 2 voltages and +-16 V voltage regulators. Back then I still was convinced that’s the way (OP275 op amp pdf says it makes less noise so). And it was how I did it earlier too in my guitar distortion effect. Unfortunately these regulators give heat and waste too much power. So it was going to be an issue for me later.
✍️Motivation
For a while this digital radio was okay and used.
I recently bought a tiny TEA5767 FM Radio Module (e.g. here). So the radio could likely be just that small. And could replace the whole digital radio here. Which isn’t really used today by us now.
There was no space for my music player (Sansa Fuze+ with RockBox), so I mounted in on this HiFi.
Later when I made the weather station, I also mounted it on this HiFi. The picture here, shows both.
Sure it was usable and needed, but it doesn’t look great, rather crowded and separated.
Another reason was the high power use of this HiFi (about 3 to 5W), due to my old transformer based power supply with too many voltage regulators.
Both finally made me rework this thing once again.
📊Features
For now I got rid of the radio. It’s a further thing to do. Possibly not needed at all.
I also got rid of that MCU and source switch. It’s only the music player here.
It now uses an impulse 12V power supply, which is not even inside, but near power outlet, like so many devices nowadays.
There rest stayed nearly the same,
⌛Conclusions
It does use less power. Now 2.4 W when playing not 5W.
The audio amplifier section is only 0.3W (or less) now. Looks like my Esp32 clock needs 1.5W (way too much for me) and that player 0.9W or so.
It is lighter too. Weighs less mainly because there is no old, metal transformer anymore here for power supply.
It’s even smaller. Because those needed extensions from top of HiFi got moved inside.
It was done probably too quick, still it took 2 days to finish. As always there is a rush with this thing, as I need to listen to music in kitchen and not have this HiFi being under rework.
Another thing as always, it needs an extra step of cleaning. This thing (after years) always gathers dust. Since it has holes, it also gets inside, even natural stuff from outside as window gets opened during spring.
So I had to postpone the thing I actually wanted to do most since a while: using this clock’s ESP32 with display to also feature radio and audio player in one device. It’d be best to do it first on other ESP32 as it’d be slower to develop, while kitchen HiFi is used few times daily.
BTW of doing my ESP32 project, I also saw this great radio project (with many users made devices).
Well with this project as with my keyboards too it’s usually my history of learning how to do things and making few working (but not best) things along the way (years apart due to other projects). Looking back at those previous, even ridiculous versions I could say those were not needed or a waste of time. But that’s just how I learned that. Usually I need a working thing faster, not first spending a week on developing the best possible version.
Lastly it is nearing its 30 year anniversary, even if just case and speakers are left from its 1997 original. So it got a long life, instead of ending in garbage like so many such products, renewed and produced yearly or so.
📷Gallery
Just a few pictures. Much got removed, nothing new added.
