Why not PC speakers?

**TruckinMP3** · 04-07-2006, 03:50 PM

Several examples of why are in this thread.

You do not like them ? I do understand... you still did not "get" the examples and reasons as explained...

Fine, Go do it! Prove it was a good answer for your needs.

Here is your shot... Take it already!

Fine, Go do it! Prove it was a good answer for your needs.

Yes, several of us have said that before.... and will continue to say it.

Fine, Go do it! Prove it was a good answer for your needs.

Do you have results yet? Why not? You wanted your shot, don't miss it.

**Mandos** · 04-07-2006, 04:03 PM

Home/PC speakers is a mistake quite a few people in car audio made when they were 16 and "just wanted sound" in the car.

Every single person who has done this will tell you they now feel like an idiot for having done it...and it sounds like utter garbage.

Car speakers and home speakers are designed for TOTALLY different environments....if you think a car won't make it sound different than a house, go ahead and do it. There are different types of speakers for a reason...it's not like you go buy a professional PA system for a van just because it's bigger than a civic....

Hopefully, after actually doing it, one day a few years down the road, you can look back on the experience and have a good laugh

**chuyler1** · 04-07-2006, 04:03 PM

I read this entire thread, and everyone wants great quality audio. Anything less than crystal clear to you technical experts is rubbish.

Untrue. I'm positive the comparison between stock car speakers and these PC speakers has come up more than once. Most of us audiophile geniuses will all agree that stock is rubbish...but we also agree that they sound better than sticking a bunch fo 2" full range speakers in your car from a PC speaker set.

My question was not "is this a good idea," my question was, "has anyone tried this yet?" I want to know from actual testing if this idea is worth a shot.

Once upon a time I had 3.5" speakers in my car. They sucked. I installed 6.5" speakers instead. They rocked! There you go. small speakers suck and big speakers rock.

There are two issues with PC solutions.

1) the speakers are small and rely heavily on the subwoofer...which is designed to be mounted close by in an open room. Throwing the sub in the trunk and these tiny speakers around your car is simply not the same as listening to them in your home. You've got road noise that eats up bass and wind noise drowns out treble.

2) Powering these requires a DC to AC converter but then the unit itself probably converts it back to DC. This is highly inefficient.

Perhaps all of us has thought about it in the past...but we went through numbers, and other things that audiophiles do...and determined that the car audio industry has a better grasp on putting speakers in cars than the pc audio industry.

I know its a tough conclusion to comprehend but that is our combined official opinion. You can take it as is...or you can go and install your PC speakers in your car and let us know how it turns out.

**checksum** · 04-07-2006, 04:11 PM

Originally Posted by H4T

@Checksum: Great link, looks like you and I think alike, hah. Just so I am clear on this, the bottom line of that conservation you had was that at normal load (about half or so volume on the speakers), you would only draw about 10W or so, increasing exponentially as you raise the volume? How far would you reckon on the volume scale is too far?

That's true, but this is specific to these promedia 5.1 speakers, it might be different for your speakers, but not that much, check the specs on your speakers.
Have you ever listened to these speakers? These speakers are rated at 470W with a deep rich bass, so I doubt you will ever need to raise the volume past 1/4 in your car, which will draw a little bit less then 2A from the battery.
I have a set of old 5.1 speakers in my house, and I have never raised the volume past 1/2, and since the car is more confined you should get more crispt,loud and clear sound out of your speakers.

Hopefully, after actually doing it, one day a few years down the road, you can look back on the experience and have a good laugh

We will see who will have the last laugh

**Ub312g0d** · 04-07-2006, 04:48 PM

Ok, first off I own Klipsch promedia 4.1's so I know how the sound and I have heard 5.1 ultra's on multiple occasions. These speakers are great for computer use but I would never want them in my car. They most deffinitely need the sub to get any low end at all and to be honest its not even the best bass coming from these things, there is often port noise with any decent volume but overall decent speakers, just not good for the car. Now I have I tried these in my car? No but I cant see them beating even car speakers worth half their cost when in a car. My buddy ran some 5.1 creative speakers in his car for a bit when his headunit broke and while it technically allowed him to play music is was quiet, tinny, and just downright awful sounding. I would only see using computer speakers in a car as an absoulte last resort. You can buy damn cheap car speakers and a cheap HU that would give out better sound than any computer speakers close in the price range, be that range $50 or $300.

**3onDubs** · 04-07-2006, 05:12 PM

Originally Posted by H4T

@TruckinMP3: I don't like it when people say "this is right" or "this is wrong" and then just go, "trust us." I don't trust you. I don't trust him.

When you post a question on a forum, you are essentially asking for two things: advice/opinions from people who are knowledgeable in the field....and insight from those with experience. When you get that advice/insight/opinion you can either like it or not like it....but either way, nobody cares to know.

Originally Posted by H4T

I read this entire thread, and everyone wants great quality audio. Anything less than crystal clear to you technical experts is rubbish.

Crystal clear is good...and i wouldn't accept anything less for myself, but the advice that was given in this thread was not pertaining to what would be good enough for optimal listening, but rather, if these speakers would meet the minimum requirements to hit audible frequencies.

Originally Posted by H4T

My question was not "is this a good idea," my question was, "has anyone tried this yet?" I want to know from actual testing if this idea is worth a shot. You guys just tell me to not even try, then bash me for being an idiot and a n00b, but you don't tell me anything useful. Yes, I know this system will not be as good as a real car audio setup, but thats not what I was asking.

Why does it matter if ur just going to tape them behind ur headrests and u just want sound? Do you want to know if sound will come out? Yes, sound will come out and ull hear it....that's all u wanted, right? I mean, if u plug it in and the inverter is powered, it'll work...why wouldn't it?

What's the minimum requirement for it to be worth it? Would sub-stock speaker standard be worth it? If sound quality is not an issue, then what is?

Originally Posted by H4T

I respect you for your knowledge and insight, but you don't care to understand the situation. I don't care if my setup is less than perfect, as long as its better than a setup of two tiny speakers in the back of the car that crackle when I turn my volume up or down.

It might be a slight improvement.

Originally Posted by H4T

Thanks for posting, but in all due respect, just let us give it a shot and we'll tell you how it goes, alright?

We?

**3onDubs** · 04-07-2006, 05:17 PM

You ask if it's worth it....and we don't have a copy of your "worth-it scale" on hand, so the best we can do is tell u if it would be worth it on our own "worth-it scale". When you get no as an answer and then get mad because it didn't match up with ur "worth-it scale", that makes it seem as if you are not posting a question, but rather, arguing a point.

**pyros** · 04-07-2006, 07:05 PM

When I first setup my car pc I blew the amp I had bought to run the stock speakers. The car came with factory amps, but at the time no harness was available for it so I thought I'd wait.

Well after a few days, I was dying without any music. So, I took my 5.1 audio system and popped it in the car. I ran it off an inverter for power.

Bottom line, it sounded like ****. Sure it sounds good in my room, but in the car, it sucked. No where to mount anything, everything was bouncing around, and it looked, well, ******* retarded. Put the windows down and you can't hear ****, even if it was loud as hell. The wind just drowned out the sound completely. The sound was way off, everything sounded watered down, the bass was crap.... not worth the hassle.

It was plugged into my SB Audigy NX soundcard, so the source wasn't the problem. The acoustics in the car just aren't meant for a 5.1 computer audio system.

Save yourself a headache and just do it properly. Computer speakers aren't designed for an automotive environment and most likely can't withstand the changes in environment, bumps, etc. I'm sure the **** isn't reinfoced the way car stereo stuff is... one hard enough bump and I'm sure something will break.

**mbuchman** · 04-07-2006, 07:32 PM

I have to apologize for putting a link to this thread, I didn't expect it to blow up again like this.

I read over that thread that checksum linked... Let me do some 'splanin about amperage and all that.

Your outlets in your room are fused at 15A... (or in some cases only 10A). So if those speakers took 39A worth of current, your breaker would instantly fuse, and you would have to reset it any time you turned them on.

So lets do the math here...

470W/12VDC=39A, fair enough, but that is at 12VDC.

470W/120VAC=3.9A (100% efficiency here, but who cares, close enough)

Realisticailly, you will use nowhere near that much power, because 470 watts is mose likely a maximum number, so divide that by 2 to get RMS (this is a bad practice, with no accuracy, but it is not uncommon for max to be double RMS)
235/120VAC = under 2 amps.

And as far as decibles, 62dB is nothing. I will tell you what I will do. Tonight, when I go out, I will bring my decible meter, and tell you how much road noise I get in my car. I drive a 1996 Buick Park Avenue at the moment (Buick = quiet, thats they are known for), so unless you drive a luxury vheicle, your car will be much louder. I will also see how loud I have my radio set, just for you.

-Matt

**checksum** · 04-07-2006, 10:02 PM

I beleive that's 470W RMS @mbuchman, which you only reach at MAXIMUM power. And even at high volume level, you would only draw less than 5A.
Have you ever listen to these speakers? or any other 5.1 equivalent? Just go to BEST BUY, they carry the same set of speakers and play with the volume and see how loud they can get, I know what I am talking about, road noise or engine noise would mean nothing to these little babies.

People talk about road noise, wind noise, ac noise atc... as a major factor for the sound quality, but whether you use car speakers or computer speakers, thoses noises are still present.
Environment you said?? Well I own a set of old 5.1 speakers, I have never taken the volume past 1/2 before the windows start shaking and the neighbors start complaining. 1/2 for me is more than enough loud music if you are that close to the speakers, unless you want to go deaf. Now if I place these speakers inside the car, I am sitting even more closer to the speakers, also the car is more confined than my apartment, so less space for the sound to surround you, I mean each speaker is only a couple feet away from you, so why sould I beleive that the sound quality would be so bad.
Even with the windows opened, driving at 60mph with my AC at max, I beleive I can get decent loud and clear music from these speakers to my satisfaction.