Why not PC speakers?

checksum · 03-03-2006, 04:09 PM

Why not use PC speakers?

Those of you who have a CARPC, why not use decent computer speakers? Most of them are 5:1.
Their sound is great, very clear and most of them come with a sub. They are also very cheap nowadays.

numbers · 03-03-2006, 04:15 PM

I suppose because the speakers which can be mounted properly in your car work well and are better suited for car audio to begin with.

checksum · 03-03-2006, 04:20 PM

But you save a lot of money, you don't have to worry about buying any amps.
If you can build a carpc, i am sure you can take apart your computer speakers and make them fit somehow in there, and nowadays they are small. I know I can.
Just 2 amps 1 sub and 4 decent speakers can easily run you for around 500.00 or more, with 200.00 you can have a nice set of 5:1.
Am I missing something here???
Just imagine putting these in your car, it would sound as good as any car speakers setup out there

Wiredwrx · 03-03-2006, 04:24 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by checksum

But you save a lot of money, you don't have to worry about buying any amps.
If you can build a carpc, i am sure you can take apart your computer speakers and make them fit somehow in there, and nowadays they are small. I know I can.
Just 2 amps 1 sub and 4 decent speakers can easily run you for around 500.00 or more, with 200.00 you can have a nice set of 5:1.
Am I missing something here???

For the same reason that people don't take apart good house stereo speakers and install them in thier cars, or vice versa.

Michael

checksum · 03-03-2006, 04:27 PM

well, that is more of a space issue there, house stereo are too big. But computer speakers are as small as car speakers, just take them out of their enclosure and you have a set of nice speakers.

Wiredwrx · 03-03-2006, 04:34 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by checksum

well, that is more of a space issue there, house stereo are too big. But computer speakers are as small as car speakers, just take them out of their enclosure and you have a set of nice speakers.

That is not 100 percent correct.

First of all, the housing is designed to hold a speaker, and is designed ina certain way to make the speaker sound good. Changing the housing by installing the speakers in the door, where there is no speace behind the speaker, will change how the speaker sounds. Additionally, what might sound good and lous in your quiet house (well, there is no road or engine noise) may not be able to overcome the inherent noise of your car. Also, the speakers in your house may not be as resistant to RFI as speakers made for the high RFI environment of your car. And of course, the position of speakers in relation to your head has a dramatic impact on the sound quality. In your home, you can place the speakers almost anywhere, to achieve the perfect setup. In a car, the speaker location is less then ideal. Car speakers take this into account, while your PC speakers do not.

Does this mean that THERE IS NO WAY IT WILL WORK IN YOUR CAR, nope. Is it likely it will work in your car, nope.

Try it, and let us know.

Michael

nkotch · 03-03-2006, 04:42 PM

To get it to look nice it would be a big job to fabricate housings and to "build in" those computer speakers into a car....by the time you put effort into that it'd be easier just to put in a regular car audio amp and replace the speakers in the stock locations.

Those computer speakers you listed above are pretty good but that sub (and any of the subs I've seen with computer speaker systems) aren't going to give you nearly the response of a typical car sub w/ dedicated amp, plus you'd put in a lot of effort to integrate the speakers into your car, make it look good, hide the wires, and deal with the electronics (volume controls, etc..) on those systems.

chuyler1 · 03-03-2006, 04:43 PM

1) Most PC speaker systems run off A/C and would not work very well in a car. You could use an inverter but amplifiers designed for an A/C powersupply rarely sound good hooked up to 12v.

2) Most PC satelite speakers are engineered around their enclosures. Some may use ported and/or bandpass designs to get the most out of a small driver. Taking them out of the enclosure will only make them sound worse. Leaving them in the enclosure means you might run into depth problems (ie you can't roll down your window if they are mounted in the door)

3) The satelite speakers have absolutely no bass and rarely match up with the subwoofer's audio. If you throw the subwoofer in the trunk there will be a huge gap in sound between 400Hz and 80Hz.

4) The satelite speakers (as well as most home audio speakers) are designed to be listened to on-axis, or facing directly towards you. Car audio speakers are designed for optimum performance at off-axis mounting positions such as your door. Car audio speakers are also designed for optimum performance in an infinite-baffle or free-air enclosure (i.e your door).

5) PC subwoofers are designed to produce optimal bass in a large area such as your office whereas car audio subwoofers are desgined to produce a smooth bass curve in a small area such as your car. They are also designed to handle more power and greater excursion. It is very difficult to get a response below 35-40Hz in your home so most PC systems don't even try to go below that. It is very possible to get down to 20Hz in a car and car audio subwoofers take advangage of that.

3onDubs · 03-03-2006, 04:48 PM

Because then cars 4 lanes over on the freeway wouldn't be able to feel the bass or hear the highs....duh...

Wiredwrx · 03-03-2006, 04:49 PM

RIGHT

EricE · 03-03-2006, 04:53 PM

I spent ~$700 for my car speakers. Meaning I want extremely high quality sound. I am not going to get that from computer speakers. Besides the many other reasons people have listed.

3onDubs · 03-03-2006, 05:10 PM

I think stock car speakers would sound better than computer speakers put into a car......wtf would you want to do that anyway? You can get pretty good, used aftermarket speakers for dirt cheap.....and you'll actually be able to hear music with the windows open.

Genesisfactor · 03-03-2006, 05:33 PM

seriously, if you shop around, you should be able to get some wicked deals dirt cheap. I know i did. You can't use home theatre (or computer) equipment in the car because they're tuned for different environments. A house has a decently consistent sturcture (in terms of materials) and a nice, neat architecture (usually a rectnagular one) that is predictable and can be fixed. The speakers in a home theatre are 8 ohm (usually). Cars are different. You have variable materials, a complex, road and wind noise, yoru engine, a confuined space with a complex interior structure, and you're not exactly in the best of seating situatirions in your car. Because of that, they usually need a hell of alot more power, are 2-4 ohm, and are engineeered to try and overcome most of these problems. Beyond htat, they're made to acutally work with a car.

My dad used computer speakers in his car once when the stocks rotted. I've heard better sounds come out of a pair of earbuds on a 50% sale at the dollar store. To put it in persoective, there were really good stereo speakers back in the day when they were on a desk.

There are bose speakers with built in amps, but built in amps aren't everything. Just use the equipment that's meant to be used in the case of speakers and car audio. It doesn't matter where the sound sources from, in terms of head unit or computer, but it does matter from what the sound emits from. Its as simple as that.

Mandos · 03-03-2006, 06:42 PM

For the most part, speakers in cabinets aren't remotely expensive speakers. It's the design that goes into the cabinet that costs $$$.

Most speakers made for cars are of much higher quality than a computer speaker in an enclosure. And if you're looking at things equally priced, the car speaker properly installed in a car should blow the computer speaker out of the water.

checksum · 03-12-2006, 08:48 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Mandos

For the most part, speakers in cabinets aren't remotely expensive speakers. It's the design that goes into the cabinet that costs $$$.

Most speakers made for cars are of much higher quality than a computer speaker in an enclosure. And if you're looking at things equally priced, the car speaker properly installed in a car should blow the computer speaker out of the water.

That is not true

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