car speaker in home audio??

[HCVP]

Hey everyone, i would like to find out if car speakers can by used in a home audio setup.I know they can be, but i don't know all details as to how it can be done correctly.. I'm putting together a system in a computer room, and i've had a listen to a few set's of bookshelf speakers around the $500-700 mark, and i wasn't really impressed, and i think for the money, i can do better..

I have a Denon amp, which say's it can run 2 set's of speakers between 6-16ohm, or 4 set's of speakers at 12-16ohm.. Now i know i can use 2 set's of 4 ohm speakers, in series, and it should be fine for the amp, but the amp has the option of speaker A(2channel), speaker B(2 channel), or A+B. Does this mean it can be bi-wired for speakers?

I'm thinking making my own boxes, and putting 2x AD6 woofers in each box, along with the tweeters. What do you guy's think?

[holdenboy]

I think the "A" and "B" speakers are two sets of speakers wired to the amp. Meaning you can wire two sets and switch between the two, or have both running. I would also imagine it would split the output power in between the two sets.....not sure on what it does with impedance though.

Yeah, car audio speakers have worked fine for people, especially using splits for a set of bookshelf speakers.......although the minimum impedance is a problem, maybe use two sets of splits for each speaker, wired in series

[HCVP]

yeah that's why i was saying 2 set's, so i'd have 2 woofers, and 2 tweeters, to each box. Would give me 8ohm, and i'm still trying to figure out the amp's power output, but i'm farily certain it does 100+rms per channel...

Could i use the crossover's designed for the spits? and would there be any fq issues?

[holdenboy]

Cant see why not, the xover frequencies may change a little because its running at 8 ohm (not sure about this). But anyway.....wait for someone more knowledgeable to come on.

[HCVP]

I connected one AD woofer to the amp just to see what it would sound like,and because i'm impatient lol,and i have to say, one woofer, no, tweeter, and no enclosure, it put out a fair bit of volume!!!I'd love to know how 2 complete set's properly wired up ,with their tweeters,would sound in good enclosure's!

[Joe Bellissimo]

Design your own crossovers. I can supply you with gear that could help you run a 3/4 way depending on what you want to do.

[HCVP]

Well i'm going to find out as much as i can about the amps's sepc's. Joe, let's talk, and make this happen

[Joe Bellissimo]

You wanna stick with AD all round? Come on MSN if you want to go into more detail.

[HCVP]

I'm thinking i could port them aswell. 400 watt RMS ported bookshelf speakers!!!

[BaggedVL]

car splits are designed to be run "infinite" baffle...

they aren't really suited to small sealed, or small ported boxes.

and if you can't get the T/S specs for the drivers, its not really worth even trying to design a proper box.

[bezz]

Design your own crossovers.

Lol a hell of a lot easier said than done if you want to do it the right way!

[Joe Bellissimo]

Thanks for the offer to help bezz. HoldenCommodoreVP will be very happy when you email him the drafts of the crossover

[bezz]

sure, what type and order filter can i prepare for you today?

[holdenboy]

lol........

[Joe Bellissimo]

Second IMHO, make the blending a bit easier for him.

[HCVP]

car splits are designed to be run "infinite" baffle...

they aren't really suited to small sealed, or small ported boxes.

and if you can't get the T/S specs for the drivers, its not really worth even trying to design a proper box.

Wrong, any speaker will perform better in an enclosure. The problem faced with most car audio speakers, is that they can't always be mounted in an enclosure...
What are you emailing me bezz?I've organised with Joe to get another set of AD'6s, so i will have 2 set of them..

[bezz]

lol apparently i've been told to design crossovers for you, I don't see why you can't just use the ones that come with the speakers to be honest...

[HCVP]

Well i was thinking i would use the crossovers they came with, to keep things simple. Could i run 2 woofers, and 2 tweeters into a single crossover, or would i need to use 2 crossovers in each enclosure?

[Joe Bellissimo]

I was only trying to make your life harder bezz

[StoneX]

Wrong, any speaker will perform better in an enclosure. The problem faced with most car audio speakers, is that they can't always be mounted in an enclosure...
What are you emailing me bezz?I've organised with Joe to get another set of AD'6s, so i will have 2 set of them..

They're made to be in a large enclosure, like a door. A bookshelf speaker box is not large enough if you want any low end response from them.

[HCVP]

Hey Stone X, i'm not really after a whole lot of low end response from them, i have a mirage 12, that i will be using aswell. I've tested the sub in the room i plan on using the book shelf's, and the sub is pretty loud. If i could get some decent middbass, and a nice high top end out of them, then i'd be really happy. As far as enclosure size goes, looking at your average car door, being quite shallow, with usually a less than ideal mounting position, i reckon i could build an enclosure fairly close to that size. I think being propely sealed, and perhaps even rear ported, and having the added advantage of being able to mount them basically wherever i like, i'm fairly confident that i can get some good sound out of them.

The enclusres are going to have to be atleast 16 inches tall, and 8 inches wide,to accomodate the 2 woofers (also depending on where i mount the tweeters) i can go go quite deep as far as the length of the enclosure is concerned, possible up to 25 inches.. So they are going to be on the" larger side" of a bookshelf speaker. I may even mount them individual stands, if their too large to be placed anywhere on a desk..

[bezz]

hey VP, have you thought about a kit like this?

Adelaide Speakers - The Firefox Series

Pretty sure most of the kits include peerless/vifa stuff, custom crossovers and dimensions for the enclosures. This guy's setups get awesome reviews from the home audio nutters.

Next year I reckon I'll invest in a nice set of floorstanding speakers from here.

[HCVP]

Hey bezz, i've actually come across their site before. The only problem with setup like those bookshelf's, is outright volume. I don't have the option to add any floor standing speakers, especially if i choose to stand mount the ones i build. I'm after something capable of going pretty loud, and blend in well with the sub i have. I listened to a set of Dali concept 2 books shelf's yesterday, and even with being fed 90 RMS each, they woudn't go anywhere near loud enough, and i lowered the bass on the EQ, and gave them all they had.

I guess being book shelf's, or rear mount, they were never intended to used on their own as the main source of the sound. I guess i should call my design, "small floor standers",(on stands) as i haven't seen many book shelf speakers which use 2x 6.5 drivers each.

[bezz]

Haha how loud do you wanna go mate?

[HCVP]

LOUD!!! i tested one AD6 woofer on it's own, off the amp, just with the speaker sitting on the table, and i was pretty impressed with how it played. I'm pretty sure that 4 of them, would provide some pretty serious volume levels..