CarPC Speaker hookup

PotzUK · 09-20-2004, 04:42 AM

Hi all,

Been reading through the various posts, it appears I need an amp. My headunit is a Sony CDX-4180R (Which I'll be keeping).

Can anyone recommend a UK available cheap amp I can use? (I'm not a sound freak, being 80% deaf etc)

Presumably I plug the PC into the amp, them splice the amp outputs onto the speaker wires?

Nic · 09-20-2004, 06:53 AM

you dont want to run the speakers off a headunit and an amp, use one or the other, work out if your headunit has aux input or can be moded for it. You could run the headunit and the computer to an amp, and just find some sort of switching unit so you can select which source you want

PotzUK · 09-20-2004, 07:18 AM

Thanks for the reply,

I should have mentioned, my headunit doesn't have an aux-in/out

Why don't I want to run the speakers off both? Wouldn't I just get sound from both coming through the speakers? The good thing there is that I can hear the traffic announcements from the headunit over anything the PC does...

ppgt94 · 09-20-2004, 09:55 AM

How many speakers do you have in your car? If four, then you'll need a four channel amplifier. Most any 35-55 (RMS) watts x 4 channel amp will do. Make sure you know where the wire leads (or wire harness) to your speakers run. You'll need to either tap into those to your amp or run new wires to all your speakers. If you have space in your dash I would recommend buying a new headunit with auxiluary inputs. It's about the same amount of money but typically easier. Also, if you're not at all worried about sound quality you could just use a FM modulater.

Jailer · 09-20-2004, 09:59 AM

You can use an FM Modulator to get sound into the head unit, I however lost a bit of reception when I did this. Before the Modulator went in I got stations out of Albany (50mi or so away), after I put the modulator in I lost the Albany stations except for the really powerful ones. Don't know if they'll all give you the same problem, but it's one solution. P.S. Modulator will be cheaper than the amplifier.

The reason you don't want to run both the Head Unit and Amplifier to the speaker is that you'll probably burn the outputs on one or both units. Better to feed both units to the amplifier with an RCA Y cable or feed the PC sound to the head unit and then to the amp from there if you want an amplifier.

PotzUK · 09-22-2004, 02:37 AM

Does anyone know how much current the EPIA MII 10000's sound chip can take? I hooked up one of the speakers to the PC and it worked fine (35dbA output). I can easily hook all four speakers up, but I'm not sure if the EPIA can take the additional current demand

Nic · 09-22-2004, 06:35 AM

are you kidding? you shouldnt connect your epia directly to the speakers