Building a Mid-Century Modern-Inspired Hi-Fi Cabinet from Scratch

Taking his inspiration from mid-century hi-fi, where the music player didn’t just sit on top of a shelf or piece of furniture but was the piece of furniture itself, Barry Abrams hacked together some existing speakers and some milled hardwood planks into an original stereo cabinet, customized for his own space.      

Barry says,

I started by cutting out the speaker shapes in a piece of plywood. I took the speakers out of the old enclosures, measured the holes then cut them to size in this piece of plywood.I built a box out of plywood and cut holes for the speakers…I picked up some hardwood pieces from a local supplier. I cut them to size, jointed, planed and laminated them…The darker wood is walnut and the lighter wood is maple. The wood is attached to the frame in such a way that it allows the hardwood to expand and contract with the humidity.

The whole thing runs like a big (!) wireless speaker. We especially like the built-in walnut knob that turns the unit on and allows you to adjust the volume. Hopefully, at some point, Barry might figure out a new solution for the legs. This thing is too beautifully built to sit on those mismatched steel IKEA jobs. Until, it looks and (we presume) sounds great!

Check out the full build process on Barry’s Reddit thread: Mid-Century Modern Hi-Fi Woodworking Project