Car Stereo Speaker Projects Illustrated

cream · 10th February 2005, 20:46

hi muni,

my advice to you on your project - you typically cannot use a car sub as a home audio subwoofer - to understand why, read below.

there are 3 basic differences between a home audio environment and a car audio environment.

1) the room area in a typically house is typically 15-20 times more than the listening room area in a car.

2) the environment in a car is all very well damped and compact.

3) because of 1&2, when playing bass in a car, the subwoofer couples with the car and resonates along with it, lowering the resonance of the sound and increasing efficiency - improving sound quality.

these 3 differences has a cascading effect on requirements for home audio and car audio i.e.

you need to power home audio systems at least 5-10 times more than you need to power a system in a car to get the same sound.

bass (frequency below 100Hz) is boosted by 10-12dB in a car - in home audio, if you are unlucky, bass can actually cancel itself (if you have placed the sub wrongly or incorrectly aligned phase), thus the difference in bass can be to the tune of 15dB - from the same woofer-enclosure.

so here's what happens. because 90% of speakers work so efficiently in a car (due to the above factors) - car subs are designed accordingly - with very high resonance and low efficiency. this invariably makes them cheap.

but when the resonance of a car sub is in the vicinity of 50-60Hz and eff in the range of <85dB, this will virtually give you no usable home theatre bass sound in your room - irrespective of the enclosure that you make.

Beyond that, it doesn’t matter what the impedance of your sub is, because you are going to use the .1 channel (sub out) of your amp, this is line level – and impedance free. Impedance settings only have an effect on speakers connected to the speaker terminals.

Every sub can only perform effectively in predefined enclosures. You cannot get more bass from a bigger enclosure – and stuff like that.

If you still are interested, you can tell me the specs of some of the subs that you are looking at, I can tell you if it is even worth trying to use them for home theatre bass!

Hope this helps – keep those q&a’s flying.

muni · 11th February 2005, 11:02

Thanks Cream, for the valuable advice..and agree that a car sub's characteristics suits small enclosures.. was trying to c if anyone has actually tried it and wanted a sort of technical feedback for any limitations..

had high hopes that it would work well for HT setup :-(

Am considering dropping the car sub idea for a HT setup but still want to try other alternatives..

Can you suggest a HT sub woofer kits that i can assemble or some brands which give the best
value for money.I know for sure that a lot of brands have insane profit margins.

My requirements again would be

1)12 inch sub with a gud low freq response and that which is reliable.
2) sub amp with a remote operation of the features( volume level/ cutoff level) would be useful..although the reciever does have level control.
3) Decent enclosure appropriately tuned for the sub woofer's charecteristics.
Though the low woofer level can be controlled in the AV reciever.

Am not for a 10 inch/8 inch subs as i know for sure that they cannot significantly improve
over my tower left/right speakers..

MAny a times i have seen that my sub bottoms out on a lot of scenes in bass intensive DVDs.

Appreciate ur help in this regard..

Insane Devil · 3rd March 2005, 16:20

hi Milind, can u please send me the file too.. me a bit car audio enthusiast!
mail to : rishann@gmail.com

greenh0rn · 3rd March 2005, 20:44

hi milind..please send it to sethrishi[at] gmail dotcom...

ScarySkulls · 6th March 2005, 13:45

to_bunnie@yahoo.com please.....!!

Vivekphadnis · 5th July 2005, 19:28

Hi Milind, Could you send me a copy to cqd@rediffmail.com please. Thanks.
Vivek

ThE_DoN · 5th July 2005, 23:14

Hi milind,
Thanx for the effort...
Can i have one sent to bhavesh507@hotmail.com
THANKS...

zzzehar · 22nd August 2005, 08:38

hi MILINDBAJEKAL please send the book to me as well in the .pdf format at sukhamrit_Singh@dell.com, thank you.

sgiridharan · 23rd August 2005, 20:09

Hi, Could you sent to my email= sgiridharan2000@yahoo.com.

Thank you in advance.

swapnilb75 · 25th August 2005, 12:40

Hi,

Could i have it at swapnil.bhonsle@gmail.com

Thanks

Swap

rsjaurr · 13th September 2005, 02:21

Hi
Plz mail me at rsjaurr@gmail.com the car stereo setup
thanx

mclaren1885 · 13th September 2005, 07:33

could u pls mail me it to me too at rrk_1885@yahoo.co.in

SoundManiac · 13th September 2005, 14:06

I would want a copy. My ID is xxx-----------ashishnaredi@rediffmail.com------------xxxx
Obviously those xxx's and the --------have tobe left out. Done this coz some one tells me that most spammers get there email id's by auto scanning forums....

Thanks

shuvc · 13th September 2005, 14:17

@milind .. please send me a copy too ..

shuvc@hotmail.com

@SoundManiac . thats a nice ploy .. thought of using it .. but then , going by the junk I receive, I guess most of the worlds spammers already have this id of mine

Hari · 13th September 2005, 14:30

please send a copy to hari20@rediffmail.com

10th February 2005, 20:46	#31
cream BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: mumbai Posts: 159 Thanked: 3 Times	hi muni, my advice to you on your project - you typically cannot use a car sub as a home audio subwoofer - to understand why, read below. there are 3 basic differences between a home audio environment and a car audio environment. 1) the room area in a typically house is typically 15-20 times more than the listening room area in a car. 2) the environment in a car is all very well damped and compact. 3) because of 1&2, when playing bass in a car, the subwoofer couples with the car and resonates along with it, lowering the resonance of the sound and increasing efficiency - improving sound quality. these 3 differences has a cascading effect on requirements for home audio and car audio i.e. you need to power home audio systems at least 5-10 times more than you need to power a system in a car to get the same sound. bass (frequency below 100Hz) is boosted by 10-12dB in a car - in home audio, if you are unlucky, bass can actually cancel itself (if you have placed the sub wrongly or incorrectly aligned phase), thus the difference in bass can be to the tune of 15dB - from the same woofer-enclosure. so here's what happens. because 90% of speakers work so efficiently in a car (due to the above factors) - car subs are designed accordingly - with very high resonance and low efficiency. this invariably makes them cheap. but when the resonance of a car sub is in the vicinity of 50-60Hz and eff in the range of <85dB, this will virtually give you no usable home theatre bass sound in your room - irrespective of the enclosure that you make. Beyond that, it doesn’t matter what the impedance of your sub is, because you are going to use the .1 channel (sub out) of your amp, this is line level – and impedance free. Impedance settings only have an effect on speakers connected to the speaker terminals. Every sub can only perform effectively in predefined enclosures. You cannot get more bass from a bigger enclosure – and stuff like that. If you still are interested, you can tell me the specs of some of the subs that you are looking at, I can tell you if it is even worth trying to use them for home theatre bass! Hope this helps – keep those q&a’s flying.
	() Thanks

11th February 2005, 11:02	#32
muni BHPian Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 607 Thanked: 214 Times View My Garage	It aint suitable eh! Thanks Cream, for the valuable advice..and agree that a car sub's characteristics suits small enclosures.. was trying to c if anyone has actually tried it and wanted a sort of technical feedback for any limitations.. had high hopes that it would work well for HT setup :-( Am considering dropping the car sub idea for a HT setup but still want to try other alternatives.. Can you suggest a HT sub woofer kits that i can assemble or some brands which give the best value for money.I know for sure that a lot of brands have insane profit margins. My requirements again would be 1)12 inch sub with a gud low freq response and that which is reliable. 2) sub amp with a remote operation of the features( volume level/ cutoff level) would be useful..although the reciever does have level control. 3) Decent enclosure appropriately tuned for the sub woofer's charecteristics. Though the low woofer level can be controlled in the AV reciever. Am not for a 10 inch/8 inch subs as i know for sure that they cannot significantly improve over my tower left/right speakers.. MAny a times i have seen that my sub bottoms out on a lot of scenes in bass intensive DVDs. Appreciate ur help in this regard.. Last edited by muni : 11th February 2005 at 11:04.
	() Thanks

3rd March 2005, 16:20	#33
Insane Devil BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 987 Thanked: 173 Times View My Garage	hi Milind, can u please send me the file too.. me a bit car audio enthusiast! mail to : rishann@gmail.com
	() Thanks

3rd March 2005, 20:44	#34
greenh0rn BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: New Delhi Posts: 427 Thanked: 149 Times	hi milind..please send it to sethrishi[at] gmail dotcom...
	() Thanks

6th March 2005, 13:45	#35
ScarySkulls BHPian Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Halifax, N.S. Posts: 623 Thanked: 34 Times	to_bunnie@yahoo.com please.....!!
	() Thanks

5th July 2005, 19:28	#36
Vivekphadnis BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 690 Thanked: 2 Times	Hi Milind, Could you send me a copy to cqd@rediffmail.com please. Thanks. Vivek
	() Thanks

5th July 2005, 23:14	#37
ThE_DoN BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 121 Thanked: Once	Hi milind, Thanx for the effort... Can i have one sent to bhavesh507@hotmail.com THANKS...
	() Thanks

22nd August 2005, 08:38	#38
zzzehar BHPian Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Gurugram Posts: 277 Thanked: 73 Times	hi MILINDBAJEKAL please send the book to me as well in the .pdf format at sukhamrit_Singh@dell.com, thank you.
	() Thanks

23rd August 2005, 20:09	#39
sgiridharan Newbie Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chennai Posts: 7 Thanked: 0 Times	Hi, Could you sent to my email= sgiridharan2000@yahoo.com. Thank you in advance.
	() Thanks

25th August 2005, 12:40	#40
swapnilb75 Newbie Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: mUMBAI Posts: 6 Thanked: 0 Times	Hi, Could i have it at swapnil.bhonsle@gmail.com Thanks Swap
	() Thanks

13th September 2005, 02:21	#41
rsjaurr BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Batala Posts: 777 Thanked: 28 Times	plz mail me also Hi Plz mail me at rsjaurr@gmail.com the car stereo setup thanx
	() Thanks

13th September 2005, 07:33	#42
mclaren1885 BANNED Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bangalore (the city of modded cars) !! Posts: 4,820 Thanked: 45 Times View My Garage Infractions: 0/1 (10)	could u pls mail me it to me too at rrk_1885@yahoo.co.in
	() Thanks

13th September 2005, 14:06	#43
SoundManiac BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 171 Thanked: 79 Times	I would want a copy. My ID is xxx-----------ashishnaredi@rediffmail.com------------xxxx Obviously those xxx's and the --------have tobe left out. Done this coz some one tells me that most spammers get there email id's by auto scanning forums.... Thanks
	() Thanks

13th September 2005, 14:17	#44
shuvc Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2005 Location: Kolkata Posts: 2,913 Thanked: 352 Times View My Garage	@milind .. please send me a copy too .. shuvc@hotmail.com @SoundManiac . thats a nice ploy .. thought of using it .. but then , going by the junk I receive, I guess most of the worlds spammers already have this id of mine
	() Thanks

13th September 2005, 14:30	#45
Hari Newbie Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: TVM Posts: 10 Thanked: 2 Times	please send a copy to hari20@rediffmail.com
	() Thanks