Coffee table: sound and light in one piece of furniture

Two functions in the same volume

A light source and a sound source housed in the same piece of furniture share the frame, the supply and the ventilation. The assembly is feasible, but it obliges you to decide which of the two governs the internal layout.

Light decides the geometry

A badly distributed light source shows immediately. Its position is therefore fixed first, and the sound assembly is organised around it, in the volume left available under the top.

The heat from the LEDs

A light source dissipates heat, however little, and audio electronics do not like closed volumes that rise in temperature. That point is dealt with by clearance and air circulation, provided for at assembly.

Vibration and connectors

A vibrating surface transmits its movement to everything fixed to it. Connections are made mechanically secure rather than simply plugged in, failing which an intermittent contact appears after a few weeks of use.

The shared supply

It simplifies the wiring and imposes one precaution: a shared supply must be sized for the sum of the two functions and protected accordingly. That is an electrician's point, not a cabinetmaker's.

The order of tests

Light alone, sound alone, then both together. It is the only way to attribute a fault to the right function, and that order applies before any final closing of the piece. A hum appearing only with both functions running points to the shared supply, and that information is worth an hour of dismantling.

The sound principle is developed on the Magic Speaker page, and ceiling sound on the dedicated page.