between car audio & home audio
02-01-2004, 11:23 AM
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Taiwan (Not China)
Posts: 242
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Car: 1989 Firebird V6
Engine: 2.8
Transmission: auto
between car audio & home audio
Hi guy, I am a Chinese in Taiwan, there is always a question about car audio in my mind......
My home audio sound much better and cheaper than the car audio....I means, in the same cost, car audio sucks, no bass, no punch....why, maybe I am wrong, I saw many people spend a lot of money on the system which they said "Oh, it sounds good....so clean, so detail and.....so much bull****..." I play bass guitar, I know what is punch and bass....my 80W bass amp can blow your interior away, why my 50W*4 Sony sounds so tiny???? I had listened some 200w or 400w sub speaker sounds like s**t..., why ? if I have 400w bass guitar amp, the loudness will be so unbelieveable and you really don't wanna put in your car and play...
I am not saying it is fool to spend money on car audio system, I just wonder why they are so expensive and don't sound like 400w/800w even 1000w, I want to get louder, the stock system is too weak, I think the suggestion from those car audio guys are too expensive ...
My home audio sound much better and cheaper than the car audio....I means, in the same cost, car audio sucks, no bass, no punch....why, maybe I am wrong, I saw many people spend a lot of money on the system which they said "Oh, it sounds good....so clean, so detail and.....so much bull****..." I play bass guitar, I know what is punch and bass....my 80W bass amp can blow your interior away, why my 50W*4 Sony sounds so tiny???? I had listened some 200w or 400w sub speaker sounds like s**t..., why ? if I have 400w bass guitar amp, the loudness will be so unbelieveable and you really don't wanna put in your car and play...
I am not saying it is fool to spend money on car audio system, I just wonder why they are so expensive and don't sound like 400w/800w even 1000w, I want to get louder, the stock system is too weak, I think the suggestion from those car audio guys are too expensive ...
02-01-2004, 11:55 AM
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Nanaimo, BC, Canada. (West Coast)
Posts: 651
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Car: 1988 Camaro IROC
Engine: 350 TPI
Transmission: 700R4
Axle/Gears: 3.27 9 bolt posi (non 1le)
Some of it has to do with Amperage draw. Most Alt's only put out 80 amps. and at idle only about 1/2 that. So 40 amps. roughly speaking you need 10 amps per every 100watts on a sub, so listening to ur stereo loud at a red light, better not draw more than 10 amps, cause ur car needs roughly 30 amps.
On the other hand, there is no road noise, and your floor is a lot more responsive than ur cars plastic interior.
I am buying 1 10" sub, and amp to power. If I were to buy everything over again..
I'd say for about $700 you could buy my entire system, deck, mids, subs, amp, box, wiring. Car stereos are expensive, but you get what you pay for. I'm no audio Guru, But I have listened to the non-comp, non-professional systems, and you can get them sounding good.
Just my 2 cents
On the other hand, there is no road noise, and your floor is a lot more responsive than ur cars plastic interior.
I am buying 1 10" sub, and amp to power. If I were to buy everything over again..
I'd say for about $700 you could buy my entire system, deck, mids, subs, amp, box, wiring. Car stereos are expensive, but you get what you pay for. I'm no audio Guru, But I have listened to the non-comp, non-professional systems, and you can get them sounding good.
Just my 2 cents
02-02-2004, 03:28 PM
#3
Member
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: BC Canada
Posts: 316
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Car: 89 Firebird
Engine: 2.8 MPFI
Transmission: 700r4
Like mentioned above, it is a case of current. Also, it is a case of air space and acoustic room.
Like it or not, a car is not ment to be acoustically accurate. Its ment to take you from A to B.
You may notice most car audio speakers are usually 4ohm while most house speakers are usually 8 or better.
The higher the ohmage, the more current, and eliminating technical math, power they can accept without distortion.
This usually will result in better sound reproduction, better range and so on.
Hope this helps.
Like it or not, a car is not ment to be acoustically accurate. Its ment to take you from A to B.
You may notice most car audio speakers are usually 4ohm while most house speakers are usually 8 or better.
The higher the ohmage, the more current, and eliminating technical math, power they can accept without distortion.
This usually will result in better sound reproduction, better range and so on.
Hope this helps.
02-03-2004, 07:06 AM
#4
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Taiwan (Not China)
Posts: 242
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Car: 1989 Firebird V6
Engine: 2.8
Transmission: auto
how about if I put home system on the car??? there is 12V - 110V switch, is any one try that before??
02-03-2004, 08:27 AM
#5
I tried it. I used an inverter hooked up to the battery directly and put some of my mobile DJ setup in the car, two 12 inch Peavy PA speakers and a PA amp hooked up to the receiver's RCA's. It worked... all that stuff weighs a ton though, took up all the backseat room, and I did this with the car sitting in the driveway, didn't drive it or anything.
Would that have been too huge of a power drain? Could I have gotten away with cruising around like that?
Would that have been too huge of a power drain? Could I have gotten away with cruising around like that?
Last edited by DJsyclone; 02-03-2004 at 08:30 AM.
02-03-2004, 12:33 PM
#6
Member
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: BC Canada
Posts: 316
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Car: 89 Firebird
Engine: 2.8 MPFI
Transmission: 700r4
It would probably work. BUT, why would you want to?
The idea behind car audio is to have similar sound to a larger system in a more portable mannor which takes less space than a home system.
You cannot compare a home stereo system to a car stereo system. There are so many differences. Air space, current, heck, even the basis of design is different. Built on an assumed value of voltage and current.
Its almost as bad as comparing a 1000$ desktop computer to a 1000$ Laptop. There is no comparison. Same reasons.
Hope this clears things up a little.
The idea behind car audio is to have similar sound to a larger system in a more portable mannor which takes less space than a home system.
You cannot compare a home stereo system to a car stereo system. There are so many differences. Air space, current, heck, even the basis of design is different. Built on an assumed value of voltage and current.
Its almost as bad as comparing a 1000$ desktop computer to a 1000$ Laptop. There is no comparison. Same reasons.
Hope this clears things up a little.
02-03-2004, 02:03 PM
#7
Car audio stuff is expensive because it's all ridiculously high powered. There are bargain amplifiers out there, especially if you are willing to settle for lower powered stuff. 40x2 JBL amps for under a hundred bucks for instance.
If you're listening to car audio with no bass, the trend in Taiwan must be VERY VERY different than here. Around here everybody has 130+dB systems... most of them just don't sound very good.
The reason that your 50x4 Sony sounds so bad is because it's not making anywhere NEAR 50 watts per channel. Head unit power ratings are all pure garbage. That deck MIGHT be putting out 17 watts RMS per channel, although with sony I'd say that's still a stretch.
A 40 watt aftermarket amp from a GOOD company will make a world of difference, and if you want bass, you can have as much of it as you want. Class D subwoofer amps are cheap now, and don't have the massive current draw that class AB amps do.
There are many bargains to be had, you just need to know where to look. Since you're in Taiwan, you may want to see if you can get some inexpensive Tangband 8" woofers. Their W8-740C woofers are generating a lot of talk lately. In the US, the only place to get them is neura-acoustic.ca, but since Tangband is a taiwanese company, you might be able to get them very cheap where you're at. Hell... they aren't even expensive here!
I don't know how affordable american brands are in Taiwan, if they are available at all, but speaker brands like Peerless, MB Quart, and other quality european brands should be available there. When it comes to electronics (amps), I'm sure you won't have trouble finding japenese brands like Pioneer, Eclipse, etc.
If you're listening to car audio with no bass, the trend in Taiwan must be VERY VERY different than here. Around here everybody has 130+dB systems... most of them just don't sound very good.
The reason that your 50x4 Sony sounds so bad is because it's not making anywhere NEAR 50 watts per channel. Head unit power ratings are all pure garbage. That deck MIGHT be putting out 17 watts RMS per channel, although with sony I'd say that's still a stretch.
A 40 watt aftermarket amp from a GOOD company will make a world of difference, and if you want bass, you can have as much of it as you want. Class D subwoofer amps are cheap now, and don't have the massive current draw that class AB amps do.
There are many bargains to be had, you just need to know where to look. Since you're in Taiwan, you may want to see if you can get some inexpensive Tangband 8" woofers. Their W8-740C woofers are generating a lot of talk lately. In the US, the only place to get them is neura-acoustic.ca, but since Tangband is a taiwanese company, you might be able to get them very cheap where you're at. Hell... they aren't even expensive here!
I don't know how affordable american brands are in Taiwan, if they are available at all, but speaker brands like Peerless, MB Quart, and other quality european brands should be available there. When it comes to electronics (amps), I'm sure you won't have trouble finding japenese brands like Pioneer, Eclipse, etc.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post