Hey all,
I'm trying to adapt a car subwoofer for home use and I could really use some help and recommendations. I'm not looking to do anything really fancy as I am on a tight student budget. I also have next to zero experience in audio, so any help is appreciated!
So I'm using the Kicker 10C124 Comp 12-Inch Subwoofer 4ohm SVC and was thinking about using the Pyle PLMPA35 2-Channel 300-Watt Mini Amplifier. With it. Also, to power it, I've heard of many people either using a 12v dc battery that is always docked on a charger or a computer power supply.
Thanks again!
I'm trying to adapt a car subwoofer for home use and I could really use some help and recommendations. I'm not looking to do anything really fancy as I am on a tight student budget. I also have next to zero experience in audio, so any help is appreciated!
So I'm using the Kicker 10C124 Comp 12-Inch Subwoofer 4ohm SVC and was thinking about using the Pyle PLMPA35 2-Channel 300-Watt Mini Amplifier. With it. Also, to power it, I've heard of many people either using a 12v dc battery that is always docked on a charger or a computer power supply.
Thanks again!
By and large Car drivers don't work too well for home use as they use "Cabin gain" to even things out.
Most car subwoofers don't publish specific specifications...These do!
From the bare minimum specs I found, ran it thru the simulation program to see what I got.
The EBP (Efficiency bandwidth product) is right at that breakpoint that could go either way ported or sealed. Ran the numbers. It seemed this will work best as ported.
Sealed, 158.7 Liters INTERNAL volume, -3Db@ 38 Hertz.
Ported, 279.3 Liters INTERNAL volume, -3.12 Db@ 18.78 Hertz, !02mm internal diameter by 112mm Long Port.
The ported goes deeper...what you want for home use...I'd bet this driver has a big big magnet for good electrical control. & a way heavy cone assembly.
_________________________________________________Rick........
Most car subwoofers don't publish specific specifications...These do!
From the bare minimum specs I found, ran it thru the simulation program to see what I got.
The EBP (Efficiency bandwidth product) is right at that breakpoint that could go either way ported or sealed. Ran the numbers. It seemed this will work best as ported.
Sealed, 158.7 Liters INTERNAL volume, -3Db@ 38 Hertz.
Ported, 279.3 Liters INTERNAL volume, -3.12 Db@ 18.78 Hertz, !02mm internal diameter by 112mm Long Port.
The ported goes deeper...what you want for home use...I'd bet this driver has a big big magnet for good electrical control. & a way heavy cone assembly.
_________________________________________________Rick........
Hi Shorts'
Looks like you've got a very good sub to start out with! May I suggest though, going the more 'traditional' route (120V AC / 20A min brkr) wrt driving your sub. Subwoofers, unlike bass/midbass drivers, consume an audible ton of power/current to cycle their heavy cones, drag a mass of air back and forth and create a solid, low frequency wavefront in the room. As a consequence, their amplifier's power supply needs to be particularly ridged **especially when digging deep and a sizable amount of Xmax is required! That said, perhaps consider getting a conventional "monoblock" (a single channel amplifier e.g., 250/1) that's built for subwoofer duty.
Rgds!
Hey rigtec!
So instead of using a car amplifier, I can instead use a home AC amplifier to power the car sub and then plug that into a 120v outlet with a >=20a breaker?
Thanks!
You're not gonna need a 20A breaker with that driver.
OP, do you have a datasheet for your driver?
It'll have Thiele-Small parameters on there, which let you calculate some cabinets for these drivers.
Do you have a budget for the amplifier? IIRC you can get Behringer EP4000 amps used pretty cheap, and one of those will easily get this driver boogying. You could put a 2nd driver on the 2nd channel for +6dB output.
Its also worth considering a Behringer iNuke amp. Some of those have DSP built-in, which gives you processing for crossovers and any EQ needed.
Chris
OP, do you have a datasheet for your driver?
It'll have Thiele-Small parameters on there, which let you calculate some cabinets for these drivers.
Do you have a budget for the amplifier? IIRC you can get Behringer EP4000 amps used pretty cheap, and one of those will easily get this driver boogying. You could put a 2nd driver on the 2nd channel for +6dB output.
Its also worth considering a Behringer iNuke amp. Some of those have DSP built-in, which gives you processing for crossovers and any EQ needed.
Chris
Resonant Frequency (Fs)30 Hz
DC Resistance (Re)3.65 ohms
Mechanical Q (Qms)10.22
Electromagnetic Q (Qes)0.59
Total Q (Qts)0.56
Compliance Equivalent Volume (Vas)3.36 ft.³
Maximum Linear Excursion (Xmax)9.6 mm
And my budget is under $250, so it's very difficult to work with, that's why I'm trying to go the route of adapting a car amp for AC power. The amp I'm now looking at is the Boss R1100M Riot.
DC Resistance (Re)3.65 ohms
Mechanical Q (Qms)10.22
Electromagnetic Q (Qes)0.59
Total Q (Qts)0.56
Compliance Equivalent Volume (Vas)3.36 ft.³
Maximum Linear Excursion (Xmax)9.6 mm
And my budget is under $250, so it's very difficult to work with, that's why I'm trying to go the route of adapting a car amp for AC power. The amp I'm now looking at is the Boss R1100M Riot.
This. I'd stick to using small, sealed enclosures for these drivers (the specs suggest large sealed or vented, but the resulting power-handling looks awful and who really wants to put a 10" driver in a 6+ cu.ft. box anyway?) and then use the DSP on the iNuke, specifically the "dynamic EQ" component, to boost the performance at lower frequencies. Alternatively, go for a small vented alignment (say off the top of my head Vb=1.5 cu.ft., Fb=30 Hz), and use the iNuke's DSP to address any of the peaks in the resulting response curve.
The iNuke 3000DSP is currently available from Amazon for $280. Suggestion - make sure you get the correct connectors to use with the amp and your sub. Speakon-type connectors are preferred.
Before you buy an inuke amp make sure that you have enough drive voltage available from your stereo equipment.
The inuke's typically take 3/4 of a volt (750 mV) to drive to full power and typical home stereo equipment will usually only output 316 millivolts.
.
I bought a pro crown amp that takes 1.4 volts to drive, which is pretty standard on pro amps, and it wouldn't work well
before I bought a $75 adapter to match the drive voltages.
.
Also, I have had excellent results using some car subs, specifically the Infinity 1260 12" 4 ohm sub in 70 liter sealed boxes.
.
I used to drive a pair of 15" subs using a 300 watt car amp and a car battery, until the battery exploded spewing acid all over my living room.
.
Then I used the same 6 amp battery charger that I had on the battery with a 1 Farad capacitor instead of a battery and amazingly it worked just fine on the intermittent power draw from a sub playing music.
I doubt it would work this way with EDM or other very sub intensive sound.
Dave
The inuke's typically take 3/4 of a volt (750 mV) to drive to full power and typical home stereo equipment will usually only output 316 millivolts.
.
I bought a pro crown amp that takes 1.4 volts to drive, which is pretty standard on pro amps, and it wouldn't work well
before I bought a $75 adapter to match the drive voltages.
.
Also, I have had excellent results using some car subs, specifically the Infinity 1260 12" 4 ohm sub in 70 liter sealed boxes.
.
I used to drive a pair of 15" subs using a 300 watt car amp and a car battery, until the battery exploded spewing acid all over my living room.
.
Then I used the same 6 amp battery charger that I had on the battery with a 1 Farad capacitor instead of a battery and amazingly it worked just fine on the intermittent power draw from a sub playing music.
I doubt it would work this way with EDM or other very sub intensive sound.
Dave
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Under the x-over settings you can boost the output by something like 9dB if I remember correctly. This suggests you can use input drive voltages at low as 100mV with the amp.
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If that's a problem, apply a crap-tonne of low-Q boost in the EQ section. That'll just provide broad-band gain. 15dB is easy. 30dB is possible if you layer up the EQs, though you're using up some DSP there.
I'd honestly forget trying to get a 12v amp working. They need 12v at very very high currents, and then they boost the voltage anyway. It'd be easier, quicker, and guaranteed to work if you just got a 2nd-hand pro amp. You'll probably even get more power.
Just IMHO of course. If you want to do a load of extra project work, potentially with increased cost, go right ahead. If you want something to plug in and go, get an iNuke DSP. Bear in mind that most car amps won't come with a decent crossover and EQ options, so those will need to be done seperately. Plenty of info for those online, of course.
Chris
I'd honestly forget trying to get a 12v amp working. They need 12v at very very high currents, and then they boost the voltage anyway. It'd be easier, quicker, and guaranteed to work if you just got a 2nd-hand pro amp. You'll probably even get more power.
Just IMHO of course. If you want to do a load of extra project work, potentially with increased cost, go right ahead. If you want something to plug in and go, get an iNuke DSP. Bear in mind that most car amps won't come with a decent crossover and EQ options, so those will need to be done seperately. Plenty of info for those online, of course.
Chris
Given the quoted t/s params are correct, and you go with the suggested box size and tuning, these may work well at starting settings for the DSP:
EQ1 = 25 Hz, HP Q=0.7
EQ2 = 32 Hz, Q=3.0, gain=9dB
EQ3 = 60 Hz, Q=0.7, gain=-3dB
Adjust to taste, of course.
This should give a response down to 30 Hz with decent power handling. Use a big vent.
Don't use car batteries inside!
And, by the time you find a decent 120v to 12v power supply that'll do 10A or so to power the car amp, you're probably better off buying a 120v power amp...
And, by the time you find a decent 120v to 12v power supply that'll do 10A or so to power the car amp, you're probably better off buying a 120v power amp...
Hi Shorts,
Absolutely, the sub won't know the difference! Note: The reason I recommended that the amp be on a 120V, 20A brkr is because I don't know what shorts amp will be, and most (un-designated) domestic branch circuits are 20A; nothing smaller... 'nothing to do w/ his sub'.
Cheers!
No DSP with that baby unfortunately. The poster would be stuck with having to use a big box for a smooth response, or not a particularly nice-looking response in a small box.
Some people have run car amps from a computer ATX power supply. Those are basically free, and can do 10's of amperes at 12V.
You may overestimate how much power you'll need for a sub. I started out using a 400 wpc Carver, but lately I've been using a 40 wpc DIY amp, and have not missed those extra 720 watts. That's with two subs, and the sub levels set using an SPL meter - it's easy to set a sub 10 dB too loud when doing it by ear.
You may overestimate how much power you'll need for a sub. I started out using a 400 wpc Carver, but lately I've been using a 40 wpc DIY amp, and have not missed those extra 720 watts. That's with two subs, and the sub levels set using an SPL meter - it's easy to set a sub 10 dB too loud when doing it by ear.
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