Custom Hi-Fi Systems/Car Subwoofers for PC Speakers

[imperialreign]

Originally Posted by Wile E

Actually, the face of the driver is supposed to face the rear of the car. Optimally, you want to point it into the rear corner of your trunk. Sounds better, and is louder. Try it for yourself.

Ideally, yes . . . but a car's truck is not an ideal setup in the first place. If you happen to have a trunk without loose panels, with good dampening material (most newer cars are equipped from the factory with such), a solid trunk latch that will prevent the trunk from rattling . . .

That's pretty much what it boils down to, facing the sub towards the rear causes excessive vibratory noise from the car's paneling . . .

On the other hand, if you face it towards the front, as close to the rear seat as possible, you still get the "channeling" effect - provided via the rear shaping of the vehicle. The waves that eminate from the rear of the driver will reflect back via the trunk, and those headed forwards will be channeled by the rear window. As well, the rear seats will absorb a good amount of excessive vibration . . . one needn't worry to much about such low frequencies being "absorbed" by materials, the waves will still pass right through and be quite strong in such close quarters.

One aspect of all drivers many tend to overlook is that waves are traveling away from the driver in both directions. Sure, those headed rear-ward aren't as strong as those being directed by the cone, but they're still there . . . and in an enclosed space (like a car trunk) they've got to go somewhere. It also reduces the possibilities of noise cancellations (as loose panels, sheet metal, junk in the trunk, etc.) can start to produce their own vibrations as they're being vibrated by the waves.

One could help things out a bit with a proper EQ adjust and properly adjusting the gain, but most seem to overlook such routes. Ideally as well, matching the size of the subs to the system is a good move too.

I've never subscribed to the theory of over-loud subs. They should compliment the audio, not drown it out or be excessively noticeable.

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by imperialreign

Ideally, yes . . . but a car's truck is not an ideal setup in the first place. If you happen to have a trunk without loose panels, with good dampening material (most newer cars are equipped from the factory with such), a solid trunk latch that will prevent the trunk from rattling . . .

That's pretty much what it boils down to, facing the sub towards the rear causes excessive vibratory noise from the car's paneling . . .

On the other hand, if you face it towards the front, as close to the rear seat as possible, you still get the "channeling" effect - provided via the rear shaping of the vehicle. The waves that eminate from the rear of the driver will reflect back via the trunk, and those headed forwards will be channeled by the rear window. As well, the rear seats will absorb a good amount of excessive vibration . . . one needn't worry to much about such low frequencies being "absorbed" by materials, the waves will still pass right through and be quite strong in such close quarters.

One aspect of all drivers many tend to overlook is that waves are traveling away from the driver in both directions. Sure, those headed rear-ward aren't as strong as those being directed by the cone, but they're still there . . . and in an enclosed space (like a car trunk) they've got to go somewhere. It also reduces the possibilities of noise cancellations (as loose panels, sheet metal, junk in the trunk, etc.) can start to produce their own vibrations as they're being vibrated by the waves.

One could help things out a bit with a proper EQ adjust and properly adjusting the gain, but most seem to overlook such routes. Ideally as well, matching the size of the subs to the system is a good move too.

I've never subscribed to the theory of over-loud subs. They should compliment the audio, not drown it out or be excessively noticeable.

Actually, facing it frontwards causes more rattles. You really do have this completely backwards Imperial. More sound comes from the back of the cone, not the front.

I wasn't arguing any other point, btw. I don't believe in 1000w of sub amp on a factory head unit.

[TIGR]

Was running Infinity Kappas all around with a Basslink in my Sunfire ... then I tore the entire thing apart to begin [extensive] sound deadening and decided I'm going to keep the stereo system out entirely, build a car PC, and use a headphone splitter/amp out to multiple earbuds with good sound isolation. Had planned on a setup with the Kappas along with dual Resonant Engineering XXX SE 12" subs, but I want to hear my music [accurately] more than I want the guy next to me to hear it, and more than I want to feel it. Note that one can't legally listen to earbuds while driving and I am not claiming I do or would though I would argue that blasting a high-end stereo is no less distracting than listening to music in good sound-isolating earbuds. With neither are you going to hear the police siren behind you if you're being an idiot.

Anyway, with earbuds: lower cost, more accurate sound, better noise isolation, lower power draw, much less space taken up, lower weight (which is good considering the weight of the sound deadening I'm adding), etc. But it's also not the way most people want to listen to music in the car, particularly with passengers. This way though, others can listen to music while I enjoy silence.

[WOG-BOY]

i got no car so i dont have to worry about rattling

@imperialreign it also depends on the person... some ppl like crazy amounts of rattling just to show off to there friends and others like to look at the front of the sub insted if having it facing the seats

for me its half half i like to look at the sub but dont like rattling

[TIGR]

If there is rattling in my car, I consider there to be insufficient sound dampening.

[BazookaJoe]

Originally Posted by Wile E

Actually, the face of the driver is supposed to face the rear of the car...

++ AGREE - My Car Box sounds 10X better facing backwards.


My old setup from quite some time ago :

[WOG-BOY]

Originally Posted by BazookaJoe

++ AGREE - My Car Box sounds 10X better facing backwards.


My old setup from quite some time ago :

http://img.techpowerup.org/100308/to...ubs pwnage.jpg

did u ever have problems with blowing up PSU's with ur amp? i have gone through like 4 PSU's rated above the amp's needs
maybe the PSU needs more amperage?

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by WOG-BOY

did u ever have problems with blowing up PSU's with ur amp? i have gone through like 4 PSU's rated above the amp's needs
maybe the PSU needs more amperage?

A PC PSU? Yeah, it would need a lot of overhead. It isn't designed to handle the severe peaks amps can draw. You could try wiring in a cap to take some load off of it.

[WOG-BOY]

@Wile E yea i got 1 now that has lasted the longest its 1200W 25A and has 3 fans in it and stay pretty cool. but yea i get masive voltage drops from like 12.6 to 9.4 and then the amp shuts down and starts up again. what size cap would i need and how much would 1 cost (AUD)?

[Wile E]

I'd say 1/2 farad would be more than enough. A top brand 1/2 Farad with a digital readout goes for $50 US, or around $30 for non-digital. Not sure what that would be like in AUD tho.

[BazookaJoe]

Nope - I put a motorbike / car battery between the amp and the PSU as a form of super-capacitor

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by BazookaJoe

Nope - I put a motorbike / car battery between the amp and the PSU as a form of super-capacitor

Yeah, but does it not lose it's charge over time?

[BazookaJoe]

Nope - Just leave the PSU running 24/7 - It chardes when yer not thumping, and when you need to pull big bass, it steps in when the PSU cant take the load.

Give me a few minutes to post a picture of my own new invention that I'm using now days that replaces the PC-PSU altogether, uses less power and runs silently (I HATE fan noise).

[WOG-BOY]

Originally Posted by BazookaJoe

Nope - Just leave the PSU running 24/7 - It chardes when yer not thumping, and when you need to pull big bass, it steps in when the PSU cant take the load.

wouldent the battery overcharge or get hot at night when not using it?

[SabreWulf69]

Using battery as a capacitor can be very dangerous, as well as the fact of having a vehicle battery in your bedroom, as the amperage is enough to weld a spanner across the terminals. Low frequency wavelengths are longer and slower which is why the bass travels further and sounds louder bouncing of the back of your car boot. As far as car audio is concerned (deadening aside) technical accuracy of bass would be alot better having the sub face towards you, or at least having a more direct, accurate and sound friendly route of the subwoofer's bass as in the Bowers & Wilkins system going toward the front.

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by SabreWulf69

Using battery as a capacitor can be very dangerous, as well as the fact of having a vehicle battery in your bedroom, as the amperage is enough to weld a spanner across the terminals. Low frequency wavelengths are longer and slower which is why the bass travels further and sounds louder bouncing of the back of your car boot. As far as car audio is concerned (deadening aside) technical accuracy of bass would be alot better having the sub face towards you, or at least having a more direct, accurate and sound friendly route of the subwoofer's bass as in the Bowers & Wilkins system going toward the front.

Except in the context of a car trunk, where true fidelity is pretty much non-existent to begin with.

In an open back car, it does sound better, but not as loud.

(Lets face it, car audio and true fidelity are an exercise in futility and frustration. lol)

[BazookaJoe]

Originally Posted by SabreWulf69

Using battery as a capacitor can be very dangerous, as well as the fact of having a vehicle battery in your bedroom, as the amperage is enough to weld a spanner across the terminals. Low frequency wavelengths are longer and slower which is why the bass travels further and sounds louder bouncing of the back of your car boot. As far as car audio is concerned (deadening aside) technical accuracy of bass would be alot better having the sub face towards you, or at least having a more direct, accurate and sound friendly route of the subwoofer's bass as in the Bowers & Wilkins system going toward the front.

I've been using car batteries for over 12 years as well as just about everyone I know - they are perfectly harmless as long as you yourself have a little common sense.

Just like ANY other electrical component / device on earth...

ANYTHING can be dangerous if handled by an idiot :P heck even a spoon can be lethal if you try and swallow it, but use it as intended, and you'll be just fine.

[BazookaJoe]

FFK - gotta go to work - Will post some more pics & PSU's when I get back later

[WOG-BOY]

Originally Posted by SabreWulf69

as the amperage is enough to weld a spanner across the terminals.

what do u mean by that?

[imperialreign]

Originally Posted by Wile E

Actually, facing it frontwards causes more rattles. You really do have this completely backwards Imperial. More sound comes from the back of the cone, not the front.

I understand what you're trying to say, but applied theory is telling me otherwise . . .

If nothing else, there's a ton of other variables that I don't think either of us were taking into consideration . . . design of the enclosure, materials used for the enclosure, materials used for any trunk lining, thickness of the car's sheet metal panels, whether the car's body is steel or plastic cladded . . .

. . . and a big variable - the shape and design of the rear of the car. That will have the biggest impact on how the audio is channeled inside the vehicle. A sub facing backwards might sound better in car x, but might sound better facing forwards in car y.

(Lets face it, car audio and true fidelity are an exercise in futility and frustration. lol)

No argument from me here

[BazookaJoe]

Originally Posted by WOG-BOY

what do u mean by that?

Well - if you short out the terminals of a fully charged car battery it will cause the release of an insane amount of current - usually sufficient to boil the lead contacts of the battery almost instantly, causing a reaction that could very easily be mistaken for an explosion, and potentially be very dangerous.

The idea is however to already understand the basic principals of NOT blowing yourself up BEFORE you work with these sorts of things.

I do occasionally make the mistake of assuming that since this is a technical forum, the average person here DOES have some actual electrical understanding in this regard, one tends to forget that even girls can use the internet now... Who knows who's reading forums these days

[BazookaJoe]

Another set I built for a buddy a while ago :

EDIT : The flames are actually soft squishy foam, partially for Decor, and partially to help reduce noise on the box by acting as dampers - this was my first semi-serious attempt at a system, and worked out pretty damn well - Sounds GREAT.





Also powered by a Car Battery, using a little power supply I make myself, a 1A 12V (True 1A - non stop, not 1A Peak) charger basically, with the battery "In-Line" with the amp.

During normal daily usage at volumes the rest of the house can actually tolerate, it runs off the power supply itself, and when you call for extra BOOM, then it uses the battery.

YES, it wont be able to run forever, but if I tried to make enough noise to kill the battery, I'd probably get arrested for public disturbance, and the Speaker set pictured above has been used for house parties before and managed to run all night at party suitable volumes with no hassle.

This Power Supply pictured has been running 24/7 for almost 8 years now (As well as that battery) and still works just fine.

I DO think the battery could use replacing by now, but it still works - so why bother.

[WOG-BOY]

Originally Posted by BazookaJoe

Another set I built for a buddy a while ago :

EDIT : The flames are actually soft squishy foam, partially for Decor, and partially to help reduce noise on the box by acting as dampers - this was my first semi-serious attempt at a system, and worked out pretty damn well - Sounds GREAT.

http://img.techpowerup.org/100409/DS1.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/100409/DS2.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/100409/DSPU.jpg

Also powered by a Car Battery, using a little power supply I make myself, a 1A 12V (True 1A - non stop, not 1A Peak) charger basically, with the battery "In-Line" with the amp.

During normal daily usage at volumes the rest of the house can actually tolerate, it runs off the power supply itself, and when you call for extra BOOM, then it uses the battery.

YES, it wont be able to run forever, but if I tried to make enough noise to kill the battery, I'd probably get arrested for public disturbance, and the Speaker set pictured above has been used for house parties before and managed to run all night at party suitable volumes with no hassle.

This Power Supply pictured has been running 24/7 for almost 8 years now (As well as that battery) and still works just fine.

I DO think the battery could use replacing by now, but it still works - so why bother.

looks awsome!!!!

i would run a battery if i was alowed.... PSU's run fine for me atm

[SabreWulf69]

Yay, back to TAFE tomorrow, just had a week off, going for an assessment rigging up some decent sized mixers to a PA amp with speakers. Should be fun, I get to play with some nice Crown amps, they hammer and the quality is surprisingly unbelievably good :-)

[WOG-BOY]

Originally Posted by SabreWulf69

Yay, back to TAFE tomorrow, just had a week off, going for an assessment rigging up some decent sized mixers to a PA amp with speakers. Should be fun, I get to play with some nice Crown amps, they hammer and the quality is surprisingly unbelievably good :-)

haha lucky

what do think of the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium PCIe Fatal1ty Pro Series?

http://www.austin.net.au/ProductList...4/Default.aspx

i just need something better then onboard and has 4 3.5mm aux-out and mic-in