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Car Subwoofers to Home stereo subwoofers?
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wiiguy
Junior Member
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5. June 2009 @ 22:57 |
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How can I do this?
I have 2 12" MTX subwoofers from 1998, and they have been sitting in my garage for about 3-4 years. I want to use them in my garage stereo.
I believe (don't quote me on this) that the amp I used with them was a 300 watt one, or maybe a 100...
Obviously, I need some type of amp that can be plugged into the wall.
Any help would be great. Is there a specific name for this type of amp, or does it even exist? How many watts of an amp would I need? Is there any type of difference from home to car amps? I guess, what would be sufficient. Sorry for all the questions.
Sorry if this is a n00b question.
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chubbyInc
Member
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7. June 2009 @ 16:49 |
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Someone told me before that you can hook up car subs and amps to a home stereo using a car battery, a converter and a couple wires.
I haven't tried any sort of setup. Nor do I recommend it.
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wiiguy
Junior Member
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7. June 2009 @ 23:14 |
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Originally posted by chubbyInc:
Someone told me before that you can hook up car subs and amps to a home stereo using a car battery, a converter and a couple wires.
I haven't tried any sort of setup. Nor do I recommend it.
Yea, That just sounds like a bad idea.
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AfterDawn Addict
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8. June 2009 @ 00:04 |
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hi wiiguy
car amps and home stereo amps are completely different. the first obvious difference is car amps run off 12v DC and home stereo amps run off 120v AC. And you can't just get a 12 volt wall wort (the black power adapters you plug in the wall to run things like a router or printer) because car amplifiers require a lot of amps (current), and small power adapters can't supply enough current to run an amp like that. next difference is the quality. car stereos have a much higher level of THD (total harmonic distortion) than home theater systems.
here's my suggestion. i assume you have the two subs already in a box, yes? go onto ebay or craigslist, and find an old home stereo. just a basic two channel receiver that puts out 50 to 100 watts per channel. then you need a car subwoofer crossover. they are hard to find, since most car amps today have crossovers built in. this would be another good ebay buy. they are small boxes that take RCA in and RCA out, and run on 12v DC. a small converter like this could be powered by a 12v DV wall wort power adapter.
now take line level (RCA red and white) output from your stereo or whatever your audio source is, connect that to the input of your subwoofer crossover, and the output of the crossover to a line level RCA input (such as CD or DVD input) of the stereo receiver. now for the most important part:
car stereo systems run of 2 to 4 ohm impedance. home theater systems run on 8 ohms. if you connect a 4 ohm speaker to a 8 ohm home stereo you will overheat the amp and burn it out. to fix this problem, hook your two 4 ohm 12" subs in series mode. to do this, connect the positive on sub #1 to positive output on the amp. take the negative on sub #1 to the positive on sub #2, then connect the negative on sub #2 to the negative on the amp. by doing this, you have converted your two 4 ohm subwoofer speakers into one 8 ohm load which the home stereo amplifier can handle.
note that your car subs are only going to sound good in a small space like a bedroom. car subs are designed to operate in a small area (like a car, obviously) and they don't sound very good in a large open area.
this seems like a mouthful, but its not that complicated. feel free to post with any questions or problems and i'll help ya out best i can.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 8. June 2009 @ 00:08
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wiiguy
Junior Member
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10. June 2009 @ 23:04 |
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Originally posted by djscoop:
hi wiiguy
car amps and home stereo amps are completely different. the first obvious difference is car amps run off 12v DC and home stereo amps run off 120v AC. And you can't just get a 12 volt wall wort (the black power adapters you plug in the wall to run things like a router or printer) because car amplifiers require a lot of amps (current), and small power adapters can't supply enough current to run an amp like that. next difference is the quality. car stereos have a much higher level of THD (total harmonic distortion) than home theater systems.
here's my suggestion. i assume you have the two subs already in a box, yes? go onto ebay or craigslist, and find an old home stereo. just a basic two channel receiver that puts out 50 to 100 watts per channel. then you need a car subwoofer crossover. they are hard to find, since most car amps today have crossovers built in. this would be another good ebay buy. they are small boxes that take RCA in and RCA out, and run on 12v DC. a small converter like this could be powered by a 12v DV wall wort power adapter.
now take line level (RCA red and white) output from your stereo or whatever your audio source is, connect that to the input of your subwoofer crossover, and the output of the crossover to a line level RCA input (such as CD or DVD input) of the stereo receiver. now for the most important part:
car stereo systems run of 2 to 4 ohm impedance. home theater systems run on 8 ohms. if you connect a 4 ohm speaker to a 8 ohm home stereo you will overheat the amp and burn it out. to fix this problem, hook your two 4 ohm 12" subs in series mode. to do this, connect the positive on sub #1 to positive output on the amp. take the negative on sub #1 to the positive on sub #2, then connect the negative on sub #2 to the negative on the amp. by doing this, you have converted your two 4 ohm subwoofer speakers into one 8 ohm load which the home stereo amplifier can handle.
note that your car subs are only going to sound good in a small space like a bedroom. car subs are designed to operate in a small area (like a car, obviously) and they don't sound very good in a large open area.
this seems like a mouthful, but its not that complicated. feel free to post with any questions or problems and i'll help ya out best i can.
Sounds complicated. I'll get on getting those pieces. Thanks a bunch.
Would something like this work?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Cerwin-Vega-SubWoofe...93%3A1|294%3A50
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AfterDawn Addict
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11. June 2009 @ 00:22 |
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yeah thats great actually because that combines the three items you need (amp, crossover, and power supply for crossover) into one. kinda pricey though. you're paying a lot of money just for the cerwin vega name (which has been out of business for over 5 years now.) that's exactly what you need, but try finding a used one or another brand perhaps.
don't forget to wire your subs in series to make them 8 ohms!!!
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wiiguy
Junior Member
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13. June 2009 @ 16:31 |
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Originally posted by djscoop:
yeah thats great actually because that combines the three items you need (amp, crossover, and power supply for crossover) into one. kinda pricey though. you're paying a lot of money just for the cerwin vega name (which has been out of business for over 5 years now.) that's exactly what you need, but try finding a used one or another brand perhaps.
don't forget to wire your subs in series to make them 8 ohms!!!
No, I wasn't anticipating that much. I have been watching them the last few days, and some have gone for under $50 used. Is there any specific specifications that I would need? I did check the car amp, and it ran @ 300 watts.
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AfterDawn Addict
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14. June 2009 @ 03:08 |
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well like i said before a car amp is not practical in a home stereo system because it would require a MASSIVE power supply to run it. you are better off buying a used subwoofer amp like that cerwin vega one you found on ebay. as far as specs go anything similar to the one you found should work. 100 to 200 watts is plenty for a subwoofer.
if you can find a used home theater sub amp like the cerwin vega one that will be the cheapest way to go since you have all the components you need in one unit.
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Bnuts
Newbie
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5. September 2009 @ 13:02 |
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Im trying to do the same thing and I have 2 12" Rockford fausgate 300w subs. (I bought them years ago and dont recall the rms, 150rms almost sound familiar)This all makes sense to me but I would need a bigger amp than 100-200 watt amp correct? If the RMS is indeed 150 then I would need a 300w amp correct? And since I would wire them in series I would only need a single channel amp right? My other question is, is it worth it? Ive had a few people tell me car subs sound terrible in a home theater setting. Is it really terrible or just not as good as one designed for home theater?
Thanks
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AfterDawn Addict
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6. September 2009 @ 02:37 |
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i wouldn't say its horrible, but it is far from ideal. you have to remember that car subwoofers are designed to perform in a small environment, not a large room like home theatre systems. if you plan on using your 2 12 inch car subs them you should use a home stereo amplifier. a car amp is not practical because you would need a very large 12v transformer to power the amp. my suggestion is to go on ebay and get yourself an older stereo amplifier. wire your subs in series ( connect positive from sub one to negative on sub two, then connect negative to negative output on stereo and positive on sub two to positive output on stereo.) you will need a crossover, and you can get those online for about $20.
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Bnuts
Newbie
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6. September 2009 @ 03:57 |
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So something like this would be powerful enough to push my subs?
http://cgi.ebay.com/SUBWOOFER-AMPLIFIER-...id=p3286.c0.m14
Also, it says "Power output (RMS): 300W @ 4ohm, 200W @ 8ohm " in the specifications. So If I ran it in 4ohm mode I wouldn't need to run the speakers in series?
Thanks for your help its greatly appreciated.
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AfterDawn Addict
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6. September 2009 @ 04:06 |
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yeah dude thats perfect. but you will still need to run your speakers in series, and this is why: since this sub amp has only one channel, if you hook the speakers in parallel (pos to pos and neg to neg on both speakers, then pos to pos on amp output and neg to neg on output.) the reason why this WON'T work is because by connecting two 4 ohm speakers in parallel, you are basically creating one speaker load of 2 ohms, which this amp cannot handle. but by connecting the speakers in series like i described earlier, you are creating one load of 8 ohms. you will still need to hook the speakers up in series and have an 8 ohm load to the amp...doing a parallel 2 ohm hook up will short out the amp and fry the components, because this amp is not desinged for 2 ohm loads, only 4 and 8. but don't worry dude, 200 watts RMS at 8 ohms should still be plenty of power to run the subs. i hope that makes since, if it doesn't let me know and i'll go into further detail.
the other reason this is a good fit is that since it is an amp designed for a home theatre sub is that it has a built in crossover so you don't need to get a separate one.
so this amp will work perfectly for you!
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 6. September 2009 @ 04:12
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Bnuts
Newbie
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9. September 2009 @ 22:33 |
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Awesome! That all makes sense. Thanks a ton for your help!
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AfterDawn Addict
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10. September 2009 @ 04:07 |
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no problem. only other suggestion i have is to search around ebay a little more...i have seen other used ones for much cheaper. good luck
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IClark8
Newbie
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6. October 2009 @ 11:39 |
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Hey I was gonna put 2 12" subwoofers with 3200 watts in my room. Im not the best at all this and i was wondering how i should do it. I was thinking about hookin the amp up to a car battery for power. if you see something bad bout to happen please let me know. (the only reason its goin in my room is so when i get a car i have a nice sound system to put in it) Please respond ASAP. Thanks!
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SDMFer
Member
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16. October 2009 @ 21:10 |
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I know this post is a little older, but what I strongly suggest you should do is sell your car stuff that you dont use, and buy a proper hometheater sub...I recently bought an SVS pc12-nsd and its f'in awesome. Shakes the house!
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IClark8
Newbie
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17. October 2009 @ 22:29 |
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Yeah, I considered that. However, I wanted to put car subs in there so I could put them in my car once I got one. This would also shake the house ( 2 12" with 3200 watts).
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brettus
Newbie
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22. October 2009 @ 20:44 |
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You will need a sub amp for mains power, its not possible to use a power supply or battery for use all the time as there is just to much current draw.
My best bet would be to buy an amp from Jaycar Electronics, they sell the 600wrms subwoofer amps for $169US [url=http://www.jaycar.com/productView.asp?ID=AA0509&CATID=15&form=CAT&SUBCATID=443][/url].
600wrms is at a 4ohm load though so if you have two 4ohm subs with single voice coils it wont be the best as in parralel the load is 2ohms and in series its 8ohm and although 8ohm's is ok for the amp you wont get most from the amp itself (maybe 300wrms).
If your subwoofers are dual 4ohm voice coils them wire them in series/parallel to get the 4ohm load to the amp which is perfect!
A subwoofer is a subwoofer, its the box that decides what it's purpose is for and yours will do just fine with a cubic foot each box.
I am running my Earthquake 12in magma off one coil (3.2ohm's each)in a 1.2cu/ft box with a passive radiator and the amp handles it fine with reference levels.
Long story short, buy a dedicated home theatre sub amp, they are cheap and for what you need put out enough power.
Hope this helps
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AfterDawn Addict
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23. October 2009 @ 01:26 |
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a car subwoofer and amp setup is impractical for home use for several reasons.
first, car subs are designed to work efficiently in a small closed space (i.e. a car's interior, not a large room.) second, the power supply required to run a car sub amp would be enormous. you can't use a car battery...it would go dead in a few hours. if you run it off a power supply, it would require one that outputs a TON of wattage, it would be cheaper just to purchase a home theatre amp. third, home theatre systems generally run on 8 ohms. car systems run on 2 to 4 ohms, so it would be difficult to integrate car stereo parts with home stereo parts. don't run a 4 or 2 ohm sub on a home stereo amp that is designed for 8 ohms loads...thats a great way to fry the amp.
in the long run, just save your car stereo system for a CAR. you can purchase home stereo subs for pretty cheap these days.
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brettus
Newbie
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23. October 2009 @ 03:03 |
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Originally posted by djscoop:
a car subwoofer and amp setup is impractical for home use for several reasons.
first, car subs are designed to work efficiently in a small closed space (i.e. a car's interior, not a large room.) second, the power supply required to run a car sub amp would be enormous. you can't use a car battery...it would go dead in a few hours. if you run it off a power supply, it would require one that outputs a TON of wattage, it would be cheaper just to purchase a home theatre amp. third, home theatre systems generally run on 8 ohms. car systems run on 2 to 4 ohms, so it would be difficult to integrate car stereo parts with home stereo parts. don't run a 4 or 2 ohm sub on a home stereo amp that is designed for 8 ohms loads...thats a great way to fry the amp.
in the long run, just save your car stereo system for a CAR. you can purchase home stereo subs for pretty cheap these days.
Where do you get that a subwoofer that they sell for cars is only designed for cars alone? I think you have been severley missinformed or dont understand speaker design!
I dont know where you get your 8ohm thing for HT from but check the specs on most floor standing speaker towers and there either 6ohm or being of the more exotic brands 4ohm.
Also if you read the first line in my post that I did say he would need a mains powered sub amp
"You will need a sub amp for mains power, its not possible to use a power supply or battery for use all the time as there is just to much current draw."
Sorry if the first bit confused you but posting a link to the amp itself you would have realised this is a sub amp!
The sub amp is 4ohm stable so what drugs are you on champ???
I think you are the noob to anything stereo so be gone and stop quoting crap you dont understand...
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AfterDawn Addict
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24. October 2009 @ 07:20 |
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Wow, where to start with you.
I am a noob, huh? Well lets see, I live in LA, have a AA in audio production, a BA in Broadcasting, and a BS in electrical engineering. I worked for 5 years as an on set sound recorder (until we had to give up our Nagras for digital), 3 years as a sound engineer for a recording studio (mainly using ProTools), and the past few I have been employed by harmon/kardon in their R&D (research and development) department testing specs for new products. And then there's the thousands of posts I've done here at aD the past six years to help properly inform people seeking help and diverting them from people like you who are brand new to forums such as this and think that they know everything. I've never bothered to post my educational and professional background because in the end it really doesn't matter what background you have, but rather how well you can help others seeking help.
First let me address the topic of subwoofers.
Quote:
A subwoofer is a subwoofer, its the box that decides what it's purpose is for and yours will do just fine with a cubic foot each box.
I don't know how much simpler to put it then this: car subs are designed to cars, and home subs are designed for homes. There is an incredible amount of engineering put into them based on their end application. They are more complicated than a frame, voice coil, magnet, and cone. I could sit here and post the physics and mathematics behind it, but you're probably too stupid and young to understand anything above basic arithmetic. Subwoofers, along with all other speakers are only efficient in the cubic footprint they are designed for. They're more complicated than just moving air to create sound waves. Different systems are designed to have to reproduce sound waves at a certain distance. Some are only efficient at a few feet (such as car subs.) Others are designed to have sound waves carry for much further. Home theater speakers, especially subs, are designed to be efficient (accurately reproduce various frequencies) for dozens of cubic feet. If you have a car sub and a home theater sub with the same size and specs side by side, they sound completely different. It is really a basic concept, and if you know as much about subs as you claim, I'm surprised you can't realize this. Here's a nice simple question for you: If the sub doesn't matter, and car and home subs are the same, and only the enclosure matters, then why would manufacturers such as JL Audio, Sony, Infinity, and many more BOTHER to make both home and car subwoofers. If what you say is true, why not have one line of subs and use them in both applications? Hmmm...are you starting to see my point?
Now about ohms and amps. 90 percent of home amps and speakers run on an 8 ohm system. Higher end systems run between 6 and 18 ohms. My Electrovoice Sentry 100A studio monitors run on 6. But generally speaking most systems are 8 ohms. The reason why I mentioned ohms is so that he didn't fry a home stereo by connecting a sub with a lower load ohm than it could support. The types of amplifier circuits (broken into different classes) are also different from home systems to car systems. Car systems have generally lower quality chips that have a higher THD (total harmonic distortion) but a high output volume. That way they run more efficiently on a 12 volt direct current system. You also can't integrate car and home systems because their signal levels are different. Line level for home stereos is around 1 volt. Car systems run on up to 4 volts because the amps can accept a much higher signal level because they don't have preamp circuits to process signals.
Thats great that you said he needs a 110 volt powered amp to run his sub. I never questioned that. Would you like a cookie or something for actually saying something correct? Read all the posts I posted way earlier when the original person started this thread...I said that same thing along time ago. Try reading the whole thread you moron.
I have posted so much useful and correct information about car vs home systems, ohm loads, and sub amps from the very beginning of this thread (and many others), so why don't you start by reading this whole thread from the beginning. You come at the end and add your pointless and redundant comments to this thread, AND THEN have the balls to call me a noob and that I don't know what I'm talking about? Let me take a guess here. You are 16 years old, probably live in a town of 200 people in the middle of nowhere, famous for making moonshine and growing corn. You have just gotten your first car, and have spent all your money working at McDonalds on your car stereo, and now you magically think you know everything about audio.
If you want to gain ANY respect around here, have people actually take your advice, and not get banned for disrespecting long time members, you seriously need to adjust your attitude.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 24. October 2009 @ 07:45
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Mez
AfterDawn Addict
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24. October 2009 @ 10:10 |
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Mind if I drop in?
brettus, you have djscoop way wrong. He teaches college level digital audio and one of the top AD audio experts. What he says is correct. Yes, you are a bit correct as well. You can use car speakers in the home but why would you do that????
Do yourself a favor, check out the stats before you come on talking like an expert. Base responce is ALL about power. Battery driven devices are pitful matched against AC. I am talking wattage and base responce. If your speaker does not advertise the base responce or wattage that is because they do not want you to know how poor they are. The lower the base notes the more power it takes. I am not talking a little power. How is a car battery to deliver 200-400 watts? It is well known you pay a small fraction of the cost of a powerful car sterio for an equivelent house sterio. Subwoofers are ALL about base responce. I have a book shelf that delivers 4 Hz. That will pull over 1,000 watts at half volume if a low note is played. It is fused with a 1,400 watt fast blow which blows if I play some pieces over half volume. Even at less than half volume the low note will vibrate you and the room. You you really claim your car battery can deliver power like that? !!!
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 24. October 2009 @ 10:29
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ddp
Moderator
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24. October 2009 @ 13:15 |
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brettus, watch it because when you pick on 1 member of this site you now pick on the whole site. until you get some letters behind your name by degrees or reach senior member or addict status on this site then watch what you say because we will shoot you down if you are wrong. car stero systems & parts are designed for cars & trucks wereas home stero systems & parts are for homes unless you are being cheap with the pocket book.
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Mez
AfterDawn Addict
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25. October 2009 @ 20:17 |
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Great survival advice ddp!
brettus, I over reacted with you. I reacted more to your rudeness then what you stated. I reread your posts. A good deal what you stated was valid. I will credit you as being a car stereo expert.
All speakers are DC so they can be used in the car or home. The speakers I talked about are 4 Ohm not 8ohm. You need serious amps to power anything under 8. They are easier to do in the home not harder.
Which brings us back to the original question... wiiguy, all you need to do is find a powerful amp. Without reading this whole thread I would recomend a preamp and 2 power amps. The one that drives your woofer run it in mono. Although one big amp will do it 2 smaller one will be way cheaper.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 25. October 2009 @ 21:01
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brettus
Newbie
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25. October 2009 @ 22:31 |
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Thanks Mez I have been doing this a little while :)
Let me now apologise to djscoop, the noob remark was way out of line so again I am apologise.
I do still disagree with some of the things djscoop is saying but will not get into an argument anymore.
Alternatively for a sub amp you can use a Pro Amp such as the Behringer Europower EP2500-[url=http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/EP2500.aspx][/url]
This amp is 2ohm stable also.
This amp will requires the use of a bump or clean box- [url=http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1699][/url] to convert a unbalanced signal(RCA) into a Balanced signal (XLR).
For more explanation have a look here-[url=http://www.subwoofer-builder.com/cleanbox/cleanbox.htm][/url].
Good Luck with whatever path you go and again sorry to all that I have offended.
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