Archive through October 23, 2004

 

ANGELA
Unregistered guest
which integrated under 2000 euros for totem staff
and nordost red down?
 

New member
Username: Jack_m

Post Number: 1
Registered: 02-2004
My question may be simple. I have an 8 ohm 12" single voice coil Lanzar car audio sub. I want to connect it to an extra home stereo Amp and use it for my home theater subwoofer. My self powered 8" sub just doesnt cut it anymore. This is just an idea as these are just laying around collecting dust. Connecting the AMP to my home stereo reciever is simple. RCA from the LFE channel Split (Y'ed) in to the AMP. I think the speaker should be safe to use as it's 8 ohms, and the AMP is rated for 8 ohm speakers. My question is has anyone had experience with this? I am wondering if using a mono sub on a stereo AMP will cause any trouble? Also is there any way to Bridge the power from the AMP? In other words, instead of connecting it to either the left or right chanel. Is there a way to connect it mono as you would on many car stereo amps? If not, would connecting it to the right channel and having no load on the left cause harm to the AMP? Another option would be to use a JL audio dual voice coil sub. That would solve the unbalanced load problem, simply connect one voice coil to each channel. That would also create another as each voice coil is 6 ohms, and the AMP is rated for 8 ohms. I don't plan to drive the AMP all that hard, no where near it's limit. I'd like to hear some thoughts on this. Please E-mail your thoughts. JMiller7824@hotmail.com
 

Unregistered guest
Hey how is it going? I'm new to this forum and just had one question. I have a pair of Cerwin Vega 12in home speakers (350 watts a piece) I think! My problem is that my onkyo reciever just doesn't push enough watts to make them sound good. Is there anyway that I could use a car amp to push these two speakers. I have a 300,600,&1500 watt amps that I could use. I just have no idea on how to run any of the wires. If it will even work at all! Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!
 

DaveE
Unregistered guest
Does anyone know what kind of wattage goes from any common headunit to the amp via the RCA cable? The output from the headunit may be high level and 60W say, but is it 60W going down the RCA cable or much less? Does low level mean very, very low wattage?
 

readthefriggin,postings!!
Unregistered guest
Before you start asking questions about this, that and the other concerning car-amps to home audio, READ WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN POSTED! Numerous people have explained how to do it safely, and even qualified electricians are offering advice. Plus do yourselves a favour and buy the Loudspeaker Design Cookbook by Vance Dickason, and most questions are explained by a renowned expert (with the exception of car-amp to home audio).
 

Rectify the situation.
Unregistered guest
To all the foolz acting dumb about why people would want to hook car equipment up in the house, the fact is it's just smart shopping. In fact, you can get very high powered car audio equipment in car parts shops for a mere fraction of what the thieving audio retailers would charge and that goes for both home and car audio retailers. Car audio has a different market dynamic than home audio because you can get off-brands for very low prices at non-traditional outlets like car parts stores. Ignoring this or pretending it's a bad idea is just acting the fool. The Emporer has no clothes here.
Now as for power supplies, there's clearly a lack of imagination here. You can hand wind a very high power torroidal transformer like the 300watt job I have sitting next to my foot or you can buy them for about fifty bucks. Then all you need is a rectifier. You can either buy an integrated rectifier for next to nothing or you can even make one out of diodes. You can even use scrap LEDs like you might find in an old modem.
 

Rectify the situation.
Unregistered guest
No, actually, that last bit about LEDs was wrong. I thought it would work, but I realize that was dumb. I was distracted by someone sitting next to me who suggested it at the last minute and I bought it until I realized it was not going to work.
So, I wanted to follow up on that and apologize because you really can make your own DC power supply and bridge rectifiers that can handle hundreds of watts are less than a buck. Check out blackwidow audio for an example. But although that's one way, the better way is to roll your own torroid.
 

Drover
Unregistered guest
what i want to know is i have the ac to dc converter but what do i do to hook it up, i put positive in the positive on the amp same with negative but what about teh remote?
 

Ziggy
Unregistered guest
OK, I have car sub (12" kicker comp VR) that i want to hook up to my computer. It is in a box and has a 600 watt rockford fosgate amp. I already have a headphone jack that splits into RCA inputs from my computer to the amp and the amp is hooked up to the sub. All i need is information on how to get power from the 120V wall converted to 12V for the amp. I need to know how to get the power, ground, and REM wire hooked up to the amp. Anyone that knows how to do this and/or where to get parts for this let me know, thanks.
 

New member
Username: Soundhelp

Falkville, Alabama USA

Post Number: 1
Registered: Mar-04
Byron Simmons: The problem is not that you don't have enough power to run the 4 subs. The problem is that home stereo amps run a output of 8-16 ohm. Car subs are 4 ohms...When you hook two together +to+ -to- that drops down to 2 ohms and so on. If you want to run the 4 subs connect them like this...+ of one to - of the other in a series. Then hook your stereos output to the + on one speaker and the - on the other one...you will be running a higher impedence.Your 4 subs will kick butt and your amp will be happy for a long time to come. Always remember.You can run higher but never lower then the amp says on its impedence level. The lower you go on impedence, the more closer you are to a dead short on your amps chips or output transisters. The same goes for car stereos. Go higher on ohms but never lower. Speaker math,+ to + - to - is divide the impedience + to - + to - is double the impedience.
 

New member
Username: Soundhelp

Falkville, Alabama USA

Post Number: 2
Registered: Mar-04
Nathan...as long as you connect + of one speaker to the - of the other and use to the terminal left...that will take 4 ohm speakers to 8 ohm.
If you take + of one speaker to + of the other and the same for the - side then that lowers the 4 ohms to 2 ohms...thats if both speakers are 4 ohms each. 8 ohm speakers would be 4 ohm or 16 ohm respectfully.
 

New member
Username: Soundhelp

Falkville, Alabama USA

Post Number: 3
Registered: Mar-04
As for all of you wondering about lowering 110 volt to the power to run your car amps indoors. Goto your local store pick up a battery charger that puts out the amps you need, say 50 amp. But please make sure you connect a 15 Volt 4700Uf "microfared" capictor accross the output supply...This will stop any hum from the ac current leaking threw the power supplies dc side. You can get the cap at your local Radio Shack Store. Make sure you hook it up proper. the neg side of the cap is marked -neg..connect it to the neg side of the power supply." IF HOOKED WRONG THEY CAN EXPLODE!!" and if you turn off the power Please make sure that you short the power supply output leads to drain the cap as it will give a nasty shock if you try to disconnect the amp before doing so.
 

New member
Username: Soundhelp

Falkville, Alabama USA

Post Number: 4
Registered: Mar-04
For all who would like to run car amps in there house for subs is fine.But here is a note to take notice of...
A home stereo amp that is rated at lets say 50 watts per a channel. Putting out a true 50 watts even when the volume is set at zero. Where as a car stereo amp rated at the same power will not put out that kind of continuous power. It may only give a momentary spike of 50 watts. The reason being is that a home stereo amp has a power supply that gives the amp +20 to +60 volts and -20 to -60 volts at say around 20 to 40 amps. thats a total of 40 to 120 volts dc power at 20 to 40 amps. Your not going to get that from any small box that you can stick in your trunk with the amp built into it that is ran from a 12 volt car battery. Most car stereos are rated at 25 watts of power per channel right out of them without a power amp added...The relistic true power output of the same stereo is only about 8 to 10 watts of continous power at 4 ohms. My advise is to save up the money and buy a amp that is designed for home use. A 50 to 100 watt home amp will impress you more then a larger car amp because it is a true power from 0 to full volume. Not just a moment of peak power.
 

Unregistered guest
i have a computer power supply how do i hook it up to my amp where do i put the remote power. thanks please help me
 

New member
Username: Soundhelp

Falkville, Alabama USA

Post Number: 5
Registered: Mar-04
froilan...A computer power supply is no wheres near enough power to run a truck amp. The output on a computer power supply is only -5 volt and + 13 volt dc at a very low current or amp rating.
Goto walmart or some other store and get a battery charger with a 50 or so amp output. and put a 15 Volt 4700uF "microfared" cap that you can get at Radio Shack accross the power supply output.This will filter the ac ripple that comes out and causes a hum. As for the remote wire...You can just put a on and off switch on it and connect it to the main power wire. What happens on the remote wire is...when you turn on your car stereo it sends 12 volts at about 5 amps or less to that lead to cause the amp to turn on. If you don't want to put a switch on it just run it straight to the main + lead of the amp and it will be on as long as the power to the amp is on.
 

Anarki1980
Unregistered guest
Hi People.... To answer this age old question I have came up with a solution based on an experiment. It worked for me:

I had an old portable car jump starter (It is essentially a car battery inside and it is rechargable via house socket. I pluged the positive to the car amp positive and negative to car amp ground. Short the Remote with the positive feed. Used my Home Stereo Subwoofer out to the amps RCA in and presto. BASSSSSS baby. Remember to keep the Portable Jump Started turned on and recharging or you may run out of juice. Peace...
 

Unregistered guest
ok I bridged the connection from the car amp to the REM spot and it worked fine for a while, but now the light on the amp turns off after a second or two. What's up???? Any suggestions?
 

New member
Username: Soundhelp

Falkville, Alabama USA

Post Number: 6
Registered: Mar-04
Andrew109..what are you using for a power supply? Just a car battery. That will work but it will drop in voltage if its not kept charged and some amps will take it as a internal problem and shut down for protection. I had that same problem in my car when i turn the motor off.
It was because the battery was going below 11 volts after playing the stereo for a while.
I changed the battery and tightened the alt belt and not had that problem again. When it comes to doing it at home you will need a supply that will not drop in voltage. Read my other postings for advise on hooking them up at home.
Take care and good luck!!!
 

New member
Username: Eightball

Post Number: 1
Registered: Apr-04
i just got an amp from a friend for my car but its a real old pioneer amp and has no remote wire hook ups unlike all newer amps there it doesnt even look like it was manufactured wite a remote wire hook up and i just cant get it to work how do i go about hookin up an amp like such?
 

Unregistered guest
HI,
ALL OF YOUR DOUBTS WILL BE SOLVED JUST
E-MAIL MY FRIEND AND HE CAN HELP YOU OUT
ANYTHING ABOUT POWER SUPPLY UNITS FOR CAR
AMPS TO BE USE AT HOME AUDIO

rode@sound.au.com
 

Unregistered guest
hi all,ive bin tryin to wire up my amp to ma home stereo its only a small amp wiv a 2x1501 output just to boost my stereo which is 2x180,i need help on how to get the amp to turn on.im pretty new to all this so id be very grateful if someone could help me,email me if you can,thx adam
 

adam preece
Unregistered guest
2X150 NOT 2X1501
 

Jacob Dean
Unregistered guest
Vishal, I need to know how to hook a car amp to a home stereo, any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
 

someone
Unregistered guest
what exactly does an amp do?
 

Anonymous
 
i have a Directed 1100d AMP http://www.directed.com/audio/amps/amp_classd.asp
and 4 Polk Audio DX10-4 10" http://www.polkaudio.com/car/product.php?name=dx10-4 .. what would i need to hook this up into my room ?
 

Anonymous
 
hey i was wondering how to hook up a car amp and 2 12'' car subs to my home theatre systeM???? plz wb asap thx
 

Unregistered guest
i am looking to buy a home theater reciever with great suround sound that also sounds good just jamming out.my budget is around 650-700 bucks.options i am looking at onkyo,harmon/kardon,yamaha. wheres the best reciever for the money!
 

Anonymous
 
hey guys, i just bought a 2 channel, 600 watt car amp and i just wanted to know if there was a way to get 12volts to power it besides from a car battery because my 800 watt pioneer subwoofer is in my room. i have a 2 channel 100 watt reciever with a set or RCA inputs in the back. would it be possible to get power to the amp from and outlet in a wall? you can email me at project777@hotmail.com with any help or info that you can give me. thanks
 

Unregistered guest
CAN YOU HOOKUP A DVD PLAYER TO AN AMP WITH 300 WATT SUBS?
 

Unregistered guest
I have 2 Sony Xplod 10' Subwoofers, and I wanted to know if I can hook up a amp to my home stereo? It is a RCA 300 watt Home Theater System. I don't see anything for a preamp output or anything. But there is a plug-in for a additional subwoofer. When I hook them up to the system, the reciever blinks. I guess the subwoofer is taking a lot of jucice out of it. So I wanted to know if there is anyway I can hook up a amp to my system to get better performance out of the subwoofers, and also stop the reciever from blinking. If so, tell me what I should do. Thanks.
 

koa95
Unregistered guest
Hey, I have the best way to hook up a car amplifier to a alternating current (ac) house outlet. All you have to get is a old computer power supply (hewlett rand) or some piece of crap. Make sure there is a switch on the end of it, newer atx power supplier dont have a switch.
Cut two yellow (12v wires) Attach to power and remote.
Cut one black (12v ground) Attach to the ground.
It might be a little confusing, each plug has four wires comming out of it.
1)yellow 12v
2)black 12v ground
3)black 12v ground
4)red 5v
 

Unregistered guest
Hi. I'm a retired electronics tech (34 yrs. in the US Army corps of Engineers) and have some input, if anyone is interested....?

I have done what you all are trying to do and here's how I did it (there are many ways to accomplish most things):

1. I purchased 2 really nice Rockford Fosgate RFD2215 (Punch HX2) 15" subs at a local sale for way cheap about a year ago. These speakers are beautiful to look at and handle, besides being very powerful - 600W RMS (1200W Max...which means absolutely "NOTHING"...what the hell IS "Max/Music Power" anyway? Well, it's kinda like "how much power can the speaker take before the cone blows out". Just divide "Music Power" or "Max" ratings by 2 or 3. This approximates RMS (Root Mean Squared - a mathmatical averaging method for measuring something that changes rapidly). The RMS power handling capability of a loud speaker will tell you how much amplifier power in watts the speaker can handle without distorting. Honestly, I think if you put 600 watts of power into these Rockfords, your ears would start to bleed! Most people listen to music in the 20-50 watt area, esp. in the house, where you have little ambient noise (like road noise) to deal with.

One person correctly stated that car speakers are made in such a way that they can take a lot of power and so they are. These 2 Rockfords can each support over 150 lbs. of weight on the cone assembly but they are also "compliant" and have a very long "throw". These are the 2 important factors when trying to match an amplifier to a speaker: how easily can the cone be moved back and forth and how far can the cone move (what needs to happen before you will hear sound). But I digress.

I studied these subs and thought about how to do what you guys are doing for a long, long time. Way too long, according to my very patient wife. Finally, I made a move: Familian Northwest, a local PVC & ABS (plastic) pipe supplier had a 20 foot section of 18" diameter pipe in their stock yard that I had been eyeballing for a while. I managed to talk them down from $400 to $200 for it and then cut it up into 5 four foot pieces, hauled it home and made 1 speaker cabinet. (4 to go.) That may sound like a lot of $ but it boils down to $40 for each cabinet, which is way less than you would spend on nice wood for the same volume. And they are a very nice (?) pink color...for which I take a lot of heat. These will eventually be covered with leather, I think. Also have a shorter (2 ft tall...about coffee table size) version on the drawing board.

2. Next, I needed an amp that could power one of these beasts. The PAWN SHOP. I found several for cheap. Hey guys: Don't try to use a car amp for the house system! The combined cost of the amp plus the required power supply will far exceed the cost of a pawn shop amp. First of all, a car amp runs on 12 volts, clean DC. To produce 100 watts of power at 12 volts requires 8.33 amps + approx. 1.5 amps of overhead. That's 10 amps per 100 watts. To make 1000 watts at 12 volts would require a 100 watt power supply! NOT PRACTCAL! AND...most power supplies at that rating have a lot of AC ripple -or what makes the 60HZ hummmmmmmmm you will hear.

Also, a computer power supply of the vintage and type mentioned in one of the current posts is limited to approx. 8-10 amps at 12V, which yields 96-120 watts. Not very much. The amp will clip (cut out) at anything pleasing. You could connect a bunch up in parallel and get there but.....I'd rather not.

I found the perfect amp. It's a Kenwood KA-7100. This bad-boy is rated at 80 watts per channel but actually puts out in excess of 100, for a total of 200 watts RMS. This is admittedly, not driving the speaker to even near its limit but at approx. 40% amp volume, it's so loud I can't think, stuff is starting to fall of the shelves and my wife is threatening to divorce me...(at last, I have a weapon that's legal!) Now for the GOOD part: I paid $35 for the amp. Since then, I've seen them on ebay for $50-100...still a good price. No power supplies, no big caps and a minimal of wiring and connections. Almost any pawn-shop amp that weighs in at over 40 lbs. qualifies. The weight tells a lot about the amp...mostly how big is the power transformer, which then mostly determines how much power it can muster up.

Be sure to have the pawn shop guy test it for you. A lot of these guys are DOA. Even if he says "Oh, it works", have him test it so you can hear it work. Remember: never power an amp up that does not have speakers connected. This will kill the output stage...the cause of most amp deaths.

TERM: Equalization - refered to as "EQ". This is just a fancy name for "tone control" and is basically meant to confuse those not in the hi-fi industry. EQ has become slightly different from tone control, in that the audio EQ'd spectrum is split into several parts, instead of just "bass" and "treble".

3. Before the raw audio signal is correctly useable by the sub amp, you need to setup some "Low-Pass" filtering - this eliminates the highs, so the sub amp sees only low freq. in the range of 20-400 HZ.

I came to this solution by accident. My brother-in-law had purchased a car EQ that he didn't have room to mount in his truck, so I bought it from him for $50. I think he paid $40 + S&H for it, on line. It's a "Pyle PLE520p" Pre-Amp Equalizer with subwoofer output that has an 18db boost. You could also use the much cheaper (and less controlable) Legacy LXR1 at $14.95 online at WWW.JUSTAMPS.COM or the Pyramid CR-66 at $19.95. All of these units simply get rid of the upper freqs. that the sub can't work with. They all come with standard RCA jacks for signal in/out, which makes connection a snap.

You will need a 12VDC "Wall-Wart" at approx 500MA
(that's 6 watts) to power the EQ. Plug it in to an extension cord (that will also power the sub amp) and plug the extension cord into the "switched" AC outlet socket in the back of your home stereo amp. This way when you turn your stereo on or off, all the other equip. follows. If your amp doesn't have this AC switched outlet, then you'll just be walking back-n-forth a lot.

These all come with a handy installation aids sheet or pamhlet that explains exactly how to connect it and what the "REM" terminal is for. (Cummon you guys...you really can't figure out what "REM" stands for? Wow! Too much pot, I think.) If you can't understand the instructions for this part of the project, then you have no business doing the rest of it. Find someone that understands how to do it; you watch, ask lots of questions and take notes.

4. The signal source: Where the sound will come from depends on what you are doing. Home Theater, regular 2 channel home stereo, PC Sound Card, whatever, they all work the same. The regular 2 channel home stereo is what I'm using. I have a TEAC amp, nothing fancy but it has, as do most home stereo amps, "TAPE OUT" RCA jacks (L&R) in the back, where, in the "old" days you would connect your tape deck and record anything that your amp could amplify. Well, you can also use this TAPE OUT jack to feed a signal to the Equalizer (low-pass filter). Just connect the TAPE OUT from the "home stereo amp" to the input of the EQ.

Next, connect the output from the EQ to the input of the "sub-amp".

Next, connect the "speaker out" terminals on the "sub-amp" to the subwoofer's terminals.

Next, crank it up!
-----------------------------------------------
If anyone has "pointed" questions (the ones that get right to the meat of their problem), feel free to email me and I'll help if I can. Don't expect me to "hand-hold" you through an entire project. I'm way too busy being retired! HAH! HAH!

I Love the Internet! What a cool, fast way to exchange ideas and information.

Charles Fradenburg
CDF computers & Electronics Co.
16465 NE 180th Place
Woodinville, WA 98072
cjfradenburg@comcast.net
 

Unregistered guest
You people sound pretty intelligent when it comes to audio, so I have question you may be able to help me with. I have an old Alpine Car Cd player that is about 12 years old, and I have an old 10" subwoofer with two 6.5" Bostwick coaxle speakers. I also have a 200 watt amp and a 140 watt Fosgate amp to push them. I want to hook this up as a system in my house. I think it would look cool mounted in the wall. Any ideas on how to convert this Cd player to Ac power?
 

Anonymous
 
i have a seven inch auto dvd movie player it volume hurts with headphones okay is their a small amp.you could run off the phone jack to speakers
 

drake
Unregistered guest
i have a 10 inch sub i got from my brothers wrecked car and was wondering how you get power to it is there cord you buy that you can plig it into the wall
 

Unregistered guest
is there anyway i can hook up my old car radio in my truck...cuz i don't have a deck yet...to an amp...??
 

Chris P
Unregistered guest
Hello all

Surfing for some other stuff and stumbled across this site. thought i'd try and shed some light on all your issues...

1.) As far as hooking car subs up to a home amp.... forget it. it'll damage the subs and sound dreadful. The impedance of the car subs is too low for home equipment ( 2 or 4 ohms not 8 or 16) The efficency is also to low so u need a VERY powerful amp to get a decent volume from them. Your home amp probably doesnt have a low pass filter either so the full audio range will be fed to the sub (Bad news, will sound bad and do damage.)

2.) If you dont have car gear already DONT go out and buy it with the view of setting it up in your home. It's just not designed for it... go to a proper home hi-fi shop and get a little active amp. Will be a LOT cheaper in the end, sound better and be a lot easier to wire up.

3.) If you MUST hook up car gear in your house, you need the following...
i) The subs you want to power (in a box of roughly the correct volume, do a google search for the subs manual to find that)
ii) An amp that has roughly the same total output power as the total of the subs u want to run
iii) A power supply to run it all (car amps will operate between 11V-15V, 15V is better as the amp will draw less current). To be certain it is man enough for the job check that the fuse in the power supply is higher than the fuse in the amp.

Use google to search for the manual for your amp, this will tell you how to connect the subs to the amp as there's too many combinations to list here.

Connect the negative or earth from the supply to the GND or - terminal on the amp and the positive to the POS, BATT or + termianl on the amp. Then connect the RCA cables from the receiver, other amp whatever your using to the RCA input on the amp (sometimes labelled low level input) You then just need to supply the remote terminal with rougly 12V to turn the amp on. This can be a simple switch from the positive supply. Make sure the amp is set to low pass (around 100Hz will be fine for most subs if it has a variable crossover) Set the gain (or level) about half way and power it up then tweek it by ear to your taste. Away you go...

Almost!!! One last thing due to the amps design they will draw power all the time when its powered up even when theres no music, this will cost money on electricity and mean the amp gets very hot. When the amp is turned on or off it must be done via the remote terminal NOT the power supply as this will damage the sub.

Hope this helps or puts off most of you good luck!!!

Chris P

PS this is basically the same for hooking up any car kit in the house. CD players, GPS, portable DVD players etc
 

Unregistered guest
How many watts can a 35 amp DC converter Handle?

I want to hook up a 1400 watt system to it but I am not sure if the converter will handle it.

Thank You
 

Unregistered guest
How many watts can a 35 amp DC converter Handle?

I want to hook up a 1400 watt system to it but I am not sure if the converter will handle it.

Thank You
 

got a ques
Unregistered guest
i got a question i got 2 15 volfenhags 1600w subs a kenwood exceleron head unit 1600w volfenhag amp and a 600w pioneer amp powering my pioner 350w coaxials i got in an acident and totaled the car i want to put my head unit in the wall and and every thing but neways i have a 3farad capacitor and im wondering if i needd that with the power converter and if i dont use it will i ruin the power supply like u would with a altenator? If ne 1 can help me with this problem that would be great
 

Unregistered guest
okay.. i have a 1200 WATT amp and chevrolet factory stereo in my computer... I have it all hooked to the computer's power source.. except for the memory to the radio.. that's on its own 12 vold seperate supply I rigged. the question I have is.. while the radio is spliced into my motherboard through the AUX port.. I get a fuz when the amp is on..why does it do that? It just recently started to do it.. and I checked my wiring and speakers.. all good.. anyone know how to help? any help would be really kool if u emailed it to me.. thanks
 

Unregistered guest
everyone trying to hook a car amp/sub to a home audio system...check out this sit:

http://www.eio.com/public/psupply/0459.html

It will tell you how to "modify" your amp to accept 120v ac....instead of converting 120v ac to 12v dc.

I did not write it, nor have I tried it. Use at your own risk. I do understand the principle though and it makes sence.

Basically your car amp (internally) cant work at the 12-15v that your car supplies so "jumps" up the voltage with a coil (to ~50v). Well instead of using a ac/dc inverter/converter; just remove the coil and put a step-down transformer in its place (to step from 120v to about 50v).

Read the site to learn how to do it.
I think this would be the cheapest way for those that have some knowledge of electronics.

http://www.eio.com/public/psupply/0459.html
 

Unregistered guest
im not very experienced with speakres n dat yet but i got some car spaekers that i would like to hook up at home. i got two blaupunkt 6x9s. they have a 4 way quadraxial set up. they're 150w max. i also got two 6.25 splits which are 100w max. they are pretty standard speakers from what i know. now, untli i get a car, i was planning on hookin them up to my stereo at home. which is a budget heap of shizzit pretty much.. im not all that fussed on the "perfect sound" but i dont want them to sound like poor. what would be the best way to hook them up. ive asked around a few places and ive got a few different answrs.
the main prollem is i dont want to fry them, and was planning on settting them up in two boxes with one of each speaker in each box. if i hook them up in a series then i can get the ohms to match up... if that matters??? and i dint want to spend heaps of money on it..
wat would be the best way to set them up???
it would be a big help if anyone could help me..
anyone who can, please write back to schittz@hotmail.com
cheers
 

Unregistered guest
hey any one have any questions about all that stuff just e-mail me and i can tell u how to hook up any thing to ur home stereo like ur car amp i am good at that stuff ladaz.
bigT1989@hotmail.com
 

Unregistered guest
i want to put a subwoofer which has an in built amp in my house running off of my stereo. will it work and wot will i need to convert the high voltage from my amp to my 12 volts mains supply. please eail me back on jitd_007@hotmail.com
 

jasper200
Unregistered guest

Listen!!!! The stores that display car audio equiptment use large power supplies. Astron
is a company that makes most of the supplies they buy. Make sure that you read you user manuals
to find out the current draw of the particular
Amp(s) add them together and you have a minimum
amp rating. A 50a to 100a is what you should look into. These supplies are very expensive.
Another alternative is to buy a charger and car battery. Car batteries can deliver massive amounts of current. I am unsure if you can charge and run you car audio equiptment at the same time. Good luck!
 

Spoon
Unregistered guest
Well Yeah, im 14 yrs old, live in South Africa. Stuff is expensive here and especially for a kid. I have hooked up a car system in my home - 1800w Amp (4 channel) - 2 500W Subs and 2 & 7" X 10"s.
Check this page for full specs - I know my stuff is lower range but it sounds gr8 so Im happy.
My whole system (excluding battery + charger) cost R2700 in SA which in US is about $450. It is lower range stuff though, sansui etc

http://12inchsubs.cjb.net/
 

Anonymous
 
Dude, you should get computer powersupplys, old 200W AT supplys usually put out 8AMPs at 12V, much more then your charger! they are so cheap I used 6 and connected the all together for a 48 amp (max) powersupply that I run my amp (with 2x 20amp fuses). --good job tho!--
 

brenton ross 317
Unregistered guest
hey see i have a car stereo i want to know how to hook it up inside my room can anyone help please
 

Bronze Member
Username: Fryguy

Barrington Passage, Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 12
Registered: Jun-04
here you guys need some help, read this document I made.
application/mswordUpload
Using an ATX computer power supply to make a scalable multipurpose power supply.doc (51.2 k)
I originaly made this power supply as a cheep alternative to a expensive fixed power supply. I have used it for years for testing large amps and other 12 volt gear. This will help you on what you are all trying to do.
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 1125
Registered: Dec-03
Nice one JF
 

Ralph
Unregistered guest
oh cool document, good help, does it matter if i have a battery hooked up to my amp or can i jsut have a charger hooked staright to the amp?




man these wops in here like rum a bum bum,
Stop that, drop that, give me that mic
Rough me, cuff me, read me my rights
No work higher, born and bred, black boots, billy clubs on my head
Fuc you, fuc me, fuc that shig
Legalize freedom celebrate gods gift

It's the illusion of ownership, It's take what you can get
The banks are the loan sharks and everyone's in debt
And if you get ahead how quickly you forget
You're hanging from a burning rope without a safety net
They tax you when you sell
They tax you when you buy
They take half when you live
Then they take half when you die
These are the lies that they are stating as facts
I can see the wires of the levitating act
kottonmouth kings fer ever, www.bagek.tk www.thebottlebuddy.com
 

Unregistered guest
I've got a 95 Explorer, Eddie Bauer with the JBL factory audio system with the amp and sub. Recently, the amp (and maybe the sub too) went out leaving me with no real bass in the truck. What would be my best option on a vehicle like that and can I use the wiring that is already wired to the existing amp to run the new amp. Also, will the factory head unit (with the 6 disc in the console) work with today's amps/subs or would it be better to get a new one? THANKS.

 

Bronze Member
Username: Fryguy

Barrington Passage, Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 44
Registered: Jun-04
Harbour, as long as the deck still works any new amp (Thats the right size for the sub) to replace the old one will work. Also harbour, for a new question not relating to the thread topic "Will a car amp work on a home stereo?" you may want to start your own thread if you can find on that relates to your question.
 

Unregistered guest
I have a question I have a compact stereo in my house it is a JVC MX-GT88 it has a total of 460 watts. Is there any way to set that up in a car? Or anyway to get power from the battery to the plug on the stereo? Please email me with any help at travis@mcwatters.org Thanx
 

Bronze Member
Username: Fryguy

Barrington Passage, Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 60
Registered: Jun-04
yah its called a power inverter.
 

Unregistered guest
i have got power to my car amplifier but can not figure out how or where to hook up the RCAs on the home stereo, i know where to hook them up on the car amp but not the stereo. if ANYBODY can help me with this i would be greatly appreciative. please contact me ASAP!!!!!!! at jlbrock07@sbcglobal.net
 

Silver Member
Username: Fryguy

Barrington Passage, Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 101
Registered: Jun-04
Use the speaker level inputs to feed the audio to the amp then when you rurn up the volume on one stereo it will turn the amp up also. or you need a RCA spliter "Y" and then a volume line level control (like a dual ganged volume potentiometer) gets a bit more complicated. and i assume that you want both to turn up and down at the same time anyway.
 

Silver Member
Username: Fryguy

Barrington Passage, Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 102
Registered: Jun-04
no one will respond via e-mail and its a good way to get spam to your personal e-mail account. Just to warning you of the possibility of a spam bot getting your e-mail.
 

Joshua Brock
Unregistered guest
what are speaker level inputs? i probably know just not thinking. thank you for your help Jonathan Fry
 

Silver Member
Username: Fryguy

Barrington Passage, Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 105
Registered: Jun-04
All amps have RCA inputs for the audio and most amps have speaker level inputs. Speaker level inputs is a way of hooking the amp up to a factory deck that dont have RCA audio out plugs. This is what you want to use to hook on your house stereo. You'll have to look up the specs on your amp.
 

Joshua Brock
Unregistered guest
so you hook up the RCA inputs on the amp to what on the stereo? i appreciate your help. i am just trying to figure out this stuff because know one here my age can figure out how. well i got power to my amp but that is it. that is why i need help with the RCA stuff.
 

Silver Member
Username: Fryguy

Barrington Passage, Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 113
Registered: Jun-04
just use the speaker level inputs on your amp. whats the brand/model of your amp i'll look it up.
 

Joshua Brock
Unregistered guest
logic 280w Al-280 4 channel power amplifier, so you plug the speaker to the speaker level inputs on the amp? that is where the speaker is normally plugged up right?
 

Silver Member
Username: Fryguy

Barrington Passage, Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 133
Registered: Jun-04
yes, the speaker output on the house amp goes to the inputs on the car amp.
 

Anonymous
 
anybody wanna get laid?
 

Silver Member
Username: Fryguy

Barrington Passage, Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 139
Registered: Jun-04
WTF! ????
 

Mongoose
Unregistered guest
For heaven's sake people!

Radio Shack has a 12 Volt power supply just for the purpose of Bench Testing Car Stereos, Cellular
Phone Car Chargers, and anything else that requires 13.8 Volts or 'car voltage', (not 12 volts!!, pleaze), They have a 1.75 amp, a 3 amp and a 10 amp for those of you who need power for a 10 thousand people Stadium. $29.99, $39.99, and
$99.99 respectively.

Car Speakers are always 4 OHMS, not 6, not 8, not 16. FOUR, CUATRO, IV. HELLO?

AMPS, OHMS, WATTS, VOLTS, did I forget any?

Class A Amplifiers (High Fidelity Home Stereo).
Class B Amplifiers (Medium Fidelity Car Stereo).
Class C Amplifiers (Zero Fidelity Guitar Amps,
just raw power, although a company called Mesa Boogie experimented with Class A amps for guitars in the pre-amp section, powering the enchilada with a Class C for the actual power). Too expensive, not enough difference.

Mongo has spoken.

 

Silver Member
Username: Fryguy

Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 168
Registered: Jun-04
Tell us something we don't know!
 

Unregistered guest
I am kindof approaching this thing backwards, but oh well.

I have been using 2 floor standing Cerwin-Vega LS-12s rated at 300W at 8 Ohms. A friend gave me a Pyramid 900Watt 4 channel amplifier. I am wondering if i can use this amp to push my home audio speakers. Would there be any possible way for me to damage them using the amp? (I know enough not to hook them up with the amp in bridged mode.) Power for the amp is not a problem, as i have aquired several LARGE power supplys from old computers and servers (30amp on the 12+ side!).

Thank you to anyone who responds, please send me an email if you would be so kind.
 

Silver Member
Username: Fryguy

Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 170
Registered: Jun-04
your fine just hook it all up.
 

Unregistered guest
How do you hook up a car stereo 2002 escort to an outlet? and/or regular speaker?
 

Anonymous
 
i would like to buy new one , which is best
 

Silver Member
Username: Fryguy

Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 174
Registered: Jun-04
andyghgfhghg, read all the above.
 

Silver Member
Username: Fryguy

Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 175
Registered: Jun-04
"I would like to buy new one , which is best"
Buy what?
 

Unregistered guest
you can use a decent car amp advised lowist wot is
about 300x1 for a nice sound and for a booming sound use multiples of 2 chanle 700 wot amps for optmum quality since you canot draw much more from the car battery outher wise its more or less useing the stored energy out of the capassitors and that carnt last long
and you need a charger that cuts out when charged.
 

rarch @ uk stafford
Unregistered guest
by the way dose aney 1 know how 2 split water to hydrogen and oxigen useing ultra sonics eg sound waves frquancy ect h2o - h and o and what this requiers
 

Silver Member
Username: Fryguy

Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 185
Registered: Jun-04
rarch @ uk stafford

Thats easy, pass an electric current through the water. have the electrodes into beakers that are submirsed then inverted upsidedown then lift untill the beaker isnt touching the bottom and support it some how. Apply DC current (keep the voltage low and depending on the purity of the water you cauld have current run away because of the concetration of minerals as it seperates, so it can be a good idea to insert a 100 watt light bulb in series as a current limiter, 12,24 volts DC should be fine, higher voltage will speed it up but tyo be safe keep the voltage below 60 volts)(NOTE: AC CURRENT WILL NOT WORK). Then you can guess what gas goes where. Hydrogen will make a sharp poof when you hold a match to the mouth of the beaker.
 

Unregistered guest
OK, this is going to sound wierd, but this is what I need to do.

I am setting up a Haunted Hayride wagon to play music directly on the wagon. The Wagon holds about 50 people so you can guess the dimensions are pretty large (12' by 40'...roughly)

The speakers will be mounted on poles above the people sitting down and they will be exposed to the elements during the season.

I am looking to use a car sterio system and mount 6 speakers to pump out the sound. (Mounted at the four corners and halfway down each side)
The Base does not have to be super, but I want to avoid it sounding like an old victrola. it also has to compete with the sound from the tractor pulling the wagon.

Price is an issue, I have 2 wagons to wire and I want to stay around 300-400 each.

so...

#1 - is this possible? (Don't think of it as me being cheap, but rather think of it as a challenge tro keep within budget.)

#2 Am I going down the wrong path? (Should I convert the power to house current and use a sterio to push the sound?)

any advice is most appreciatted.

Etombs
 

Silver Member
Username: Fryguy

Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 192
Registered: Jun-04
6x9's are a good trade-off and not to big, just get 12 from your local car salvage yard (I know the Pontiac have decent 6x9's delco electronics i think, either way they sound good and can handle 60-70 watts RMS) powering 6 speakers can be a bit odd you will need a amp that can go down to 1 ohm or you'll have to hook then in series to get 12 ohm and then it wont load the amp and be wasting your money on a amp. so get a 1 ohm stable amp (most are now but be sure) and with 3 speakers per channel you can use a 360-500 watt 2 channel amp the 500 watts should push the 6x9's at roughly the max. but a 500 watt (250 watt/channel or approx 80-95 peak watts/45-60 watts RMS not to shabby) will be the happy area, and work fine. So as you see (without getting to much in the exact math) a 500 watt 2 channel amp that can go down to a 1 ohm load will get you the most for your money. the boxes can be made from 1/2" medium density fibre board or plywood hang the box so the speaker points down and be sure to have about a at least a 1" lip around the bottom edge where the speaker is so water cant run across the face of the speaker (you can extend the sides and have the speaker panel inset inside the box so you have no seams on the lip) paint the box wire up and your good to go.
 

New member
Username: Skipstaa

Pembroek Pines, FL US

Post Number: 1
Registered: Sep-04
HERE IS A QUICK WAY TO HOOK UP A SYSTEM IN YOUR HOUSE/ROOM.. BUY A CAR BATTERY AT THE STORE AS WELL AS A BATTERY CHARGER HOOK THE SYSTEM UP AS YOU WOULD ANY OTHER AND US THE BATTERY CHARGER TO MAINTAIN THE BATTERIES POWER. NEVER TRIED IM GOING TO BUT IF YOU FIND A REASON THIS WONT WORK LET ME KNOW SO I DON'T WASTE MY TIME.


SkipStaa@aol.com
You Know You Want ME Girl
 

Silver Member
Username: Fryguy

Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 214
Registered: Jun-04
That's not that simple, you're throwing more parts into the solution. Now you need a battery and a charger, neither one is cheep and who wants a heavy battery in their house?

The gas given off by a charging battery is dangerous and it smells of sulphur (Hence the electrolytes name 'sulphuric acid'). Using a battery and charger just complicates the matter even more and is very in-efficient. You charge the battery, that converting the 120 volts AC to 12-14 volts dc, then run the amp from the power storage in the battery. The charger can't keep up with the demand of the amp and eventually it will cut-out because of low voltage.

A Switching DC converter is more then 85% efficient at the least and less then 1/4 the weight also about half the cost. It directly converts the AC to usable DC that can supply the full load demand indefinitely.

The battery charger is a simple linear power supply its efficiency is under 80% then add the storage loss of battery charging due to chemical changes (hence why a battery that is charging gets warm). Now your efficiency is down to 60-70% that's the best case scenario.

This project of making your own power supply isn't for everyone, its only intended for someone that wants to save a few bucks and learn something about power supplies. The majority of people should go and get a house receiver and not bother thinking of using a car amp in the house. If you don't have any 'want' to learn or have any basic knowledge of electricity this project isn't for you either.

It would be better for you to save your cash up, or go cry to you mama for some money. Then buy yourself a proper house stereo system. Now you tell me what makes more sense!
 

Unregistered guest
hi people who want car amps in thair house i reccoment a pc power cupply about 330/500 watts i run 4 off 2 500 power supplys about £18 each from local computer fair or if your pc dont take much power buy a 550 watt power supply for your pc and wire in to a spair power port plese say things what you think about this idear as im interested
 

Silver Member
Username: Fryguy

Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 220
Registered: Jun-04
I have a document above on how its done. thanks grant for letting me know that I'm not the only person that uses ATX power supplies for testing/enjoyment purposes.
 

mikersdx
Unregistered guest
If I hock a kupil 1000 wate ampe to 4 1200 wate subes and to 4 110 wate spekers will it wherk or will it blow the spekers. thanks for eney tips.
 

mikersdx
Unregistered guest
If I hock a kupil 1000 wate ampe to 4 1200 wate subes and to 4 110 wate spekers will it wherk or will it blow the spekers. thanks for eney tips.
 

Unregistered guest
Yes, a car amp will work but you need a transformer that goes from 120V to 12V. You don't need a car battery or the charger, if you have that
 

Silver Member
Username: Fryguy

Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 221
Registered: Jun-04
Phil baker, Transformers in linear power supplies are heavy, very expensive, and inefficient. That's why in this discussion I recommended that you use a switching power supply not a linear power supply with a heavy transformer.
 

Silver Member
Username: Fryguy

Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 222
Registered: Jun-04
mikersdx, your question is like asking me how much gas in car and how far can you go with half a tank. I need to know if the amp is 2 or 4 channel (bridged mono or still 4 channel stereo, how you plan to configure the setup) and the impedance of the speakers (2,4 or 8 ohm?) then I can answer for sure. Ex double the impedance then half the power goes to the speakers.
 

Unregistered guest
hi there im prem ive have a Vibe VP2 amp giving 2 x 200 watts - 1 x 600 watts along with that a 15 inch kicker comp i would like to know in detail how to conect the amp to my mini hifi. i conected the subwoofer but the hifi cant hack the bass so it goes into protection mode anyone hu can solve my dilemma please help thankz!
 

Silver Member
Username: Fryguy

Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 236
Registered: Jun-04
Simple, use the PSU i mention in my document to power the amp. Then use the speaker level inputs on the amp and the speaker wires from the mini system to get the audio into the amp. Hook up the speakers to the amp as you had before. Then rock on with your tunez!
 

c-40
Unregistered guest
for those peole that think stiffening capacitors are garbage fry a couple of altenators then you wont be saying that they are garbage. they also help your altenator breath if you dont have one the car will not have enogh spark to make the engine run properly. also they make your sounds hit at a constant bass and your car system is not maxing out constantly only during hard bass lines thats what the capacitor is for and if one dont work try two if two dont work get a optima battery.this is just for those people that dont know nothing about car systems and dont buy cheap stuff because thats what you will get.and for the guy who wants to hook up his car sounds to his home stereo its possible but i wouldnt do it because i have before and your car sounds need way too much power to hit properly but if you want to do it buy a power supply at your local radio shack thats pretty much all you need .
 

c40
Unregistered guest
also if you give your speakers to little power they will eventually blow out because they will be getting the wrong type of power so dont mess your speakers up just to have good sounds in your house leave them in your car and buy some nice home speakers
 

Silver Member
Username: Fryguy

Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 294
Registered: Jun-04
Quote "also if you give your speakers too little power they will eventually blow out because they will be getting the wrong type of power"

What are you talking about?
Under powering speakers won't blow them, it just means that they wont be pushing as much as they could. If under powering was going to do that then never turn down your volume. When you turn down the volume that's decreasing the power to the speaker isn't it?

(Note: I posted as questions to you, rather then jumping at you. I'm not going to start another argument on this forum.)
 

Unregistered guest
hi all,
i am trying to power up a car cd tuner Sony CDx2000 can ne body help me with the wiring which wire goes where?
 

Unregistered guest
i was just wondering if anyone could tell me how to hook up my car amp(sony 1200w amp) to my stereo i have all the outputs on my reciever and the ac dc adapter but it seems to not give out constint power....it sounds goos qiet but at a certain level it will get choppy and sound like crap and cut out....does any one have any answers....any will help...thanx
 

Unregistered guest
Hi, i just got a free 10 inch Alpine Type S sub and now i'm wondering how i can power it when playing it through my computer. i'm super broke right now so i can't shell out for a car amp or a home amp so i started searching google for how to make a home amp.. i found this link. http://home.eunet.cz/rysanek/cheapamps_en.html would this be practical or expensive? any advice would be great. thanks in advance
 

Silver Member
Username: Fryguy

Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 305
Registered: Jun-04
Forget building your own amp, it will cost you more to build it then you can buy a second hand one for and you won't get the power the 10" needs for decent volume using a simple IC amp or Op Amp IC's.
 

Silver Member
Username: Fryguy

Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 306
Registered: Jun-04
delaney, what did i tell you already in your personal message to me?
 

awolfeman
Unregistered guest
Ok, heres the deal...

A friend gave me a Pyramid 900 watt 4 channel amp AND 2 generic 12 inch subs out of his truck. I have a Kenwood VR-307 home audio reciever that has a single RCA style Subwoofer Pre-out on the back. I'm pretty sure i have sufficient power to the amp by using old computer power supplies in parallel, something like 50 amps. I've tried using an RCA splitter to feed the 2 bridged channels on the amp with signal out of the Kenwood. I get about 2 seconds of sound and then the amp's protection light goes on.

Same story regardless of whether or not the crossover is pushed in, or what frequency its on, or what the gain is set at.

Then i tried just running the signal directly from the computer, same deal: protection light.

Is there something im not seeing with the audio signal? Is the headphone lineout to powerful?

Im about ready to just give all this stuff back.

Thanks for any input.
« Previous Thread Next Thread »



Main Forums

Today's Posts

Forum Help

Follow Us