Thread: HOW TO: Get sound from PC to Car Stereo / Amp

Originally Posted by LESLIEx317537

The guy at Car Toys must have been in awe when he saw the CarPC and not to mention the idea.
How I'd love to see him try to tell me that my setup is hooked up wrong, I'd say what did the five fingers say to the face (slap) ahhaha.

Silver Wing -
Get a headphone and plug it into the back of your PC soundcard and listen to see if it's outputting a audio signal. If so, then your soundcard is fine.
Next to test the amps....
I suggest you get a mp3player, cd player, or old walkman, and plug the 1/8th jack into it that goes out into RCAs to your amp and see if it amplifies your mp3player or what you test it with. If it amplifies, then your amps are fine, if not, then your input on the amps is screwed up or something.

Let me know how your testing goes... After that you should be a ok.

Thank you for the response.I had already found the problem. Your troubleshooting tips are exactly what I had done. I meant to post earlier. I re-tested everything and did find that my sound card had gone out. Bought a usb audigy nx. All works perfectly.

Glad to hear that Silver Wing.
I also use the NX and like the results.

I have a question. I have a new HU in an old car - no AUX IN. Now I had to buy an adapter cable so the new HU can plug in the old cables.

Kind of like this:

(OLD CABLES)======(my solder job)====(New Cables into HU)

I saw an article caying if you make your own Y-splitter adding a 10k resistor on each input line will eliminate the feedback-problem. can I do something like this?

(OLD CABLES)======/\/\/\/\/\============(HU)
\\==/\/\/\/\/\/\====(Amp)===(Carputer)

Or did I miss something?

Also one more question - we use shielded cable going from the pc to the amp - but regular wire when goig from amp to speaker. Should I use regular wire when going into the nest of cables behind my HU, or shielded? Why don't we uses shielded all around?

you could run shielded cables for the speaker.. but why bother.. the power running through the speaker wires is generally a pretty high voltage which rejects noise pretty good.

can someone give me a quick answer?

I am setting up my audio setup using the 5.1 guide on this thread.
Question is.... I have an Alpine HU that has Aux-in. now how can i use that to control volume?
I have 1 mono channel amp for my subs, a 4 channel for the speakers.
I really want to use the HU for volume control. possible?

How do you plan on getting 5.1 sound if you run it through your headunit?

i just wanted the headunit to control the volume.
is it not possible?

You can have the HU control volume if you run the Sound Cards main audio output to the Headunit via Auxilary in , or a FM Synth to go over 87.5FM or something.

But if you want 5.1 sound or similiar you will need to hookup the soundcards 3 outputs to get that, if you don't the sound from rear and stuff won't come out. So you can't use the HeadUnit if you want 5.1 sound.

My soundcard has 3 outputs being used now, 1 to the front left and right, 1 to the rear left and right, and 1 to the subwoofer and center channel (But I dont have cc, so i put the slider down so it doesnt output.)

So basically yes, you can run the soundcards green 1/8th somehow into your Headunit, but you wont't have 5.1 sound, just stereo. In the car 5.1 isnt that great, actaully not good for music, just DVD movies and stuff which I never watch in my ar. I always listen to music, so I set my Sound Blaster CMSS setting on Stereo x's 2. Where it changes it from 5.1 mode to a regular type of stereo mode.

thanks leslie,

let me recap..... i don't care too much for 5.1 so i will.......
aux in on headunit to green 1/8th on sound card. Then hook up the amps to the headunit just like any amp install on a car. right?