I had an entry level system in the back of my wagon for a while- 300W rms Rockford Fosgate amp w/ two 12" 150w P1 subs. They wouldn't have won me a dB contest but they would nearly shake my rear view right of the windshield. I sold them after about one year of their release for $250. It's been a different ride in my subie for the last two months without my subs but I recently borrowed a small inverter from a friend and hooked up a dusty pair of pc speakers that have been sitting in my attic for a long time. 35W 2.1 Logitech Z-340. Granted the sub couldn't be bigger than 8" and will never push as much air as two 12" drivers at 10 times the wattage and half the impedance, they sound great- really. I won't say that I'm disappointed with this temporary arrangement until I've got enough money to buy new subs.
I have a set of Creative speakers. You know, left, right, sub-- and I'm telling you that I don't think they sound crapy at all. I think the sound is crisp and plenty loud enough and the thump is firm. I think if you're looking to create a cheap system for ****s and giggles, PC speakers aren't a bad fit.
Why would anyone take out thier car speakers in the first place? What would prompt some1 to do so. My truck came with factory speakers that sounded great, and when i added the CarPC, it sounded better then my home theater surround sound. Why, because the speakers were made for that enviroment. I also dont like tackiness and putting PC speakers in a car is wayyyyyy tacky. I have to admit, I did try it, but only with one speaker..... the center speaker. i bought a ok set of USB speakers, connected it, and was horrified..... quickly took it off and realized my 4.1 setup was ok as it was. I thought that having the center would help with movies, but it turns out that the SB live USB automatically sends the center speaker to the front left and right speakers to simulate it...... Also you tell anyone thats into car audio you have that in your car, its over. Can you imagine, going to a car show, and telling people, well I spent over 3,000.00 dollars on the PC its self, but used PC speakers for the audio. You would not only look stupid, but would be the laughing stock for most of the night.
HiJackX1 UAMCB w/ The Tobiathin Core Android/Win 7 hybrid system!
4x 10inch Tablet
1x Win 7 / Rear Entertainment PC
ft/ Web Server Streaming
If you wanna run computer speakers in your car, all you gotta do is buy an aftermarket cigarette lighter plug with a DC-DC converter that matches the voltage and polarity of the computer speakers. However, computer speakers without a standard DC input aren't recommended since an inverter is required for those kind.
i use my trucks 4 factory speakers with logitech x540 sub and center speaker powered by old 400watt inverter using sarbent 8.1 ext usb sound box, i am very happy with the quality of the sound and having the volume remote from the x540 is a bonus. will make a recording of sound when time permits SNO
Alas this was an old post...
But one of the points made earlier was that inverters are noisy...
Except that they needn't be, and dc-dc converters can be just as noisy (they both involve ac conversion - except maybe for dc-down converters).
Besides, many PC speakers despite being AC powered are lower DC voltage devices - often 12V or less making them suitable for car audio.
The power output per channel should indicate is they use more than 12V... eg:
16 Ohm speakers = 9W
8 Ohm speakers = 18W
4 Ohm speakers = 36W
2 Ohm speakers = 72W
1 Ohm speakers = 144W
.... maximum output (RMS) for 12V.
(Add 32% or 44% to each for 13.8V & 14.4V limits.)
Anything above those powers requires dc-dc conversion (in the amplifier).
And since even 1-Ohm outputs exceed ~150W per channel and hence need dc-dc conversion, why don't they use 8 Ohm etc and hence 1/8th the output current - hence fewer losses and less heat....? Or 16 Ohm....?
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