Talk to me about car audio...

[headbrace]

Right, so now I have my car, it works and I've even managed to get the doors to lock. So now one (of the many) things that can be done now is to get some music in there.
Being a techie, I have some equipment that will be going in there, namely a powerbook and an iPod, both of which output sound through a mini-jack socket. Now from my reading, amplifiers have RCA inputs, which I imagine to be phono type. Now, can I just get a lead and connect iPod/PowerBook to the amp, and then the speakers into the amp, so there is no headunit required?

Any extra information that you think might be useful, please do tell.

[Howard]

This is what I was wondering also.

Zen straight to an amp, then to some nice speakers.

[Jonny M]

Yer but you want a headunit for the funky muting when your phone rings / radio stuff. As well as an easy volume control instead of diving for the iPod wheel thing.

[Howard]

Yer but you want a headunit for the funky muting when your phone rings / radio stuff.

Don't use either of these. Lol.



Oh and sorry for semi-hijacking your thread Headbrace

[headbrace]

No problem mate, we're after the same thing.
Caged- Don't worry, I've got that all covered, but you don't get to find out about it until its all sorted out- But basically everything will be controlled seperately from any possible headunit, so can I just junk it and go straight through to an amp?

[Rave]

Yeah, there's no reason why this wouldn't work fine. If you can find a police auction, they often have car amps going cheap. I bought an Alpine one for about £20 once, although a friend I rarely speak to any more has it now.

Rich :¬)

[Russ]

i you get a cd head unit with an AUX in, you could connect the aux in to the aux out on you power book and play your songs that way.

[Zak33]

some amps (nicer models) have a variable votage input...so your power book thingy should be ok to drive it...

you need to consider reasonable cable, learning to solder , where the speakers are gonna go, to be invisible AND sound up front, not to go mad on bass, and how you gonna listen to Radio 4 on an Ipod thingumy

[Barakka]

It can definately be done, but there's a lot of things to consider;
1) Are you going to use a line-out (pre-amped) or a headphone output, if you use a headphone output you may lose some SQ, and need to be careful with the amp gains.
2) It will give a stereo (left/right) signal and you need a 4-way if you want front and rear speakers. You could simply use a 3.5mm-->RCA converter and then a pair of RCA splitters to give two sets of RCA's but then you have no front-rear fading control.
3) Amping - you can get a 4 way amp to drive front and rear, but you will be putting the same power through all four speakers, but this may not be appropriate (Howard ) as you may be either overpowering two speakers, or under-powering them, so may need two amps.
4) How will you adjust volume levels, you don't want to be fiddling with tiny controls of an MP3 player while driving, and if you use a line out the volume controls on the player will do nothing ?
5) RCA voltage - not sure what voltage RCA output you will get from the MP3 device - would guess 1.5V but a lot of car stereo units are now running 3V or even 5V RCA's to give a clearer and "easier to amp" signal.
6) Power supply - will you be running on batteries, how long will you get, will this be enough ? Can you get a car charger ? Re-chargable batteries generally have a limited number of charge cycles which you are going to reach a lot quicker, can you replace the battery when this happens ?

The easiest way to do it is as mentioned above, using a head unit with a line in... check here for a list of units...
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/help/ipodfriendly.html

But of course there's the challenge element, I will have a think of some ways to accomplish the fading/volume/amping issues... have some ideas but need time to check

[Moby-Dick]

some amps (nicer models) have a variable votage input...so your power book thingy should be ok to drive it...

you need to consider reasonable cable, learning to solder , where the speakers are gonna go, to be invisible AND sound up front, not to go mad on bass, and how you gonna listen to Radio 4 on an Ipod thingumy

personally I wouldn't bother with rear speakers.

my 200sx has 6.5" components in the front doors and an infinty 10" Sub in the boot. I'm driving the components from the head unit at the moment, but I'm toying with the idea of driving them from a 4x 50w (RMS) Infinity Amp for that extra bit of kick

[unrealrocks]

Yeah - only use two speakers unless its a big car as they will work against each other (unless you put them out of phase, but then you have all sorts of other problems). So I'd just use either 6x9x or components if its a really small car, or shove some good 6.5"ers up the front. I would suggest a 10" or 12" sub, if its a small car use a sealed box as it'll give you much better quality bass rather than quantity .

You can do what you said - although all the problems as said before, most amps can be changed.

An iTrip would be perfect for this application - shame there illegal

[headbrace]

Thanks for the help guys.
The car is pretty small, really only ever gonna be used as a two seater. It already has some cutouts in the inner doorskins that look ideal for speakers, so I will measure them and get back to you. As for subs, well, I hadn't really thought about them, and I'm at a loss as to where to fit one.
Everything will be running from car chargers and the like that will be modified, so will be no problem. I hadn't really thought about the line out/headphone socket problems. Output will be by a headphone socket, so I can adjust the volume, but will it be sufficient for the job? Can I get a pre-amp type thigmy for the job, so I can still control the volume, but get an adequate signal for the job?

Thanks for all the help

[Zak33]

only use two speakers unless its a big car as they will work against each other (unless you put them out of phase, but then you have all sorts of other problems).

err.....I'm not sure about that, big guy If you have speakers out of phase THEN they work against each other. Cos one pushes while the other pulls and the effect in the closed envioronment of a car is neutralised.

All the speakers must pulse the same way (ie out or in) on the same notes, unless the two channels are different at the moment in time.

So you must make sure they are all IN PHASE ....

But none the less, you are still right in saying 2 good speakers are the way to go...depends how mush door space he has and whether he can mount them nicely.

[Zak33]

Output will be by a headphone socket, so I can adjust the volume, but will it be sufficient for the job? Can I get a pre-amp type thigmy for the job, so I can still control the volume, but get an adequate signal for the job?

Thanks for all the help

Dont think you'll need a pre amp...if the amp is a good one, it runs at a set power...and you're input volume makes the changes for ya

[unrealrocks]

err.....I'm not sure about that, big guy If you have speakers out of phase THEN they work against each other. Cos one pushes while the other pulls and the effect in the closed envioronment of a car is neutralised.

All the speakers must pulse the same way (ie out or in) on the same notes, unless the two channels are different at the moment in time.

So you must make sure they are all IN PHASE ....

But none the less, you are still right in saying 2 good speakers are the way to go...depends how mush door space he has and whether he can mount them nicely.

Yes - sorry, I'm still in Rock concert mode where out of phase gives you more power (although thats out phasing the subwoofers).

[Zak33]

I know you knew......just worded a bit wrong...no harm done.. you're a valued member