Kestad9

I did a search, but results are not satifying.
My question is, would it be feasible to get one of these big home stereo and install it in my car??? I tough of this and I don't have a clue on feasability. I'm no wise men in electronics so don't be too hard on me.

Boomin Boy

it could be made to work but really wouldnt be too economical. you'd need a power inverter and your speakers would need to have greater than an 8 ohm load.

you'll get a lot more power and output from a car amp

Kestad9

I asked because you can get pretty big home audio for like 400 $ and for that money you don't get a big (very little) car audio system

Boomin Boy

for $250 you can get a JBL1200.1 which will give you 1300 watts rms

Kestad9

I was talking about a complete setup: "head unit" speakers and subwoofers.

and I juste checked on the JBL site, the price indicated is 549.99$ and for the price , no speakers no sub, no cd player.

/\/3\/\/l8l3

go to ebay and buy some Poserbahn I mean audiobahn

Boomin Boy

thats the msrp...on ebay those amps are $250ish

NEEDAZ

There's a reason you didn't find allot of info on this..............

Saigon_Bob

iTrader: (2)

yea the reason is that they are big... clunky.... need a power inverter..... and may be difficult to mount


what do you mean poserbahn.. audiobahn has some really good stuff.

Ziggster

audiobahn may not be the best stuff but for the price you cannot beat it i have an 8000t and a 4002t in my truck and i love them.

Boomin Boy

everyone has their own opinion....id definitely disagree with what you just said though

ddn69

Well I cant say it enough. You get what you pay for. If you want subs in your trunk your GONNA spend some money. No doubt about it. Is putting a home stereo possible? Yes. Is it gonna get you laughed at and prolly cost you the same in the long run. Yup....

You should first of all check out ebay. Theyre wicked cheap.

Head unit-dont get anything without a preout for the subs and please dont buy sony or jensen.(dual)---AKA SPend the money on a quality unit. Mine plays mp3s and has triple 4V prepouts...200-250+shipping on ebay. I paid 300 at CC at the time...

normal speakers-your gonna want something more then your paper factory ones. You dont have to get high priced stuff right away here alot of aftermarket stuff should keep you satisified for a little while.

wiring-Its prolly gonna be about 25 for a decent set of wires...Dont go below 4 gage power!!!And please hide it.

Amp-While you can get a 1200.1 JBL amp for 250 on ebay. Id look into cheaper stuff if price is an issue. Just dont buy no name brands such as pyramid.

Sub(s)-match a sub or two up to your amp. Look at RMS. NOT max power.

Box-If your decent at woodworking you can build your own box. Im sure alot of people here actually have the dimensions and drawings. Also make sure to go with a close airspace to the indication on the subwoofers. Sealed is generally for more tight bass and ported/bandpass is more lift your hair booming bass.

In conclusion. Your best bet is prolly classified sites or ebay. Its up to you though. Let us know.

Kestad9

Thanks for the advice. I had this idea and threw it aroud.

I'm not so fond of ebay considering the fact that you can't know for a fact that the stuff your buying is not already kaput ( please tel me if I'm wrong).
As I did with other inquiries, I'm just trying to get the most out of the least money possible so that I can enjoy my car the most possible.

jovial86

I'd disagree with the 4-awg comment. 8-awg is perfectly acceptable when your under 500watts. At least dont do what my firend did and use two 12-awg speaker wires for power

Boomin Boy

power wire depends on the power going through it AAAAAND the length of the wire

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

If you can fit a home audio reciever into your dash, you'll certainly have my undivided attention.

But by the time you cough up the money for a massive power inverter that can supply enough power to the receiver, your finantial investment would certainly have been more than if you just bought an inexpensive head unit and a solid amplifier made for the car.

There are plenty of bargains out there if you look for them.

91wtROH17's

Sh*t, mine too!! Honestly though, if you were looking for a straight answer then NO.

DemonKnightDK

You guys just gave me a hell of an idea.... we've got some cheap (like 60 dollar) home theater systems. 5.1 Surround sound, like a 100 watts (not much but we've got a 150 watt setup in my living room and it shakes our 90 year old brick house...) I'm gonna show guys somthing awsome in the next few months...

Saigon_Bob

iTrader: (2)

well i guess if you dont have to buy anything except the power inverter

ddn69

your decision but car audio is meant for car audio and home theature is exactly that. But be sure to give us pics and a review if you do do it. LOL

Ebay is good for closed box stuff too. Its already "wrapped in plastic" still and alot cheaper. You can go auction style sent from users but as you said you have a chance of it being broken.

As for my power wire comment. 4 gage is just in my opinion a good wire to use if you ever plan on upgrading. If you never plan on adding amps for your stock speakers or your never gonna upgrade your subs then its fine. But power wire is pretty cheap anyway. So to each their own.

Id also like to add that unless your gonna be watching movies you usually dont need surround sound in your car. And the woofers they include in those 100.00 dollar 5.1 systems are laughable.

Just adding my opinion.....

Nate

NEEDAZ

Something, maybe. Awsome, well...............

CaysE

Jensen and Dual are competitors, not the same company. Still, don't buy either of them (or Sony).

Never underestimate the cynicism of experience. Nobody will find it awesome, because it's going to sound horrible. Do yourself a favor and don't waste your time. A 5.1 speaker setup requires the proper equipment to use it, which is a home reciever. Somehow I get the feeling this will only fuel your desire to prove us non-believers wrong, but hopefully you take everyone's thoughts into consideration about this.

feasible adj. capable of being done with means at hand and circumstances as they are

No. If you are not a wise man in electronics, don't try to attempt this. There's a difference between saving money and being cheap. Car audio equipment is more expensive because headunits require that all the hardware be built into an enclosure small enough to fit in your dash and withstand vehicle vibrations, amps are built with the same rigors in mind, and speakers are designed to withstand extreme temperature and humidity changes daily. Forget trying to play a CD in a home audio CD player in a car... home audio equipment doesn't need nearly the amount of shock and skip protection that car CD players do.

ddn69

good point.

DemonKnightDK

I'm not gonna do it to prove any one wrong, I'm gonna do it cause I can, and to be different. if dose end up sound horible, I'll save my recits and get my money back I like doing weird things.

ddn69

apparently.. LOL

CaysE

ScrapMaker

strange indeed.... I wouldn't even buy a 5 channel car amplifier, because its cheaper to buy two 4-channels instead...

they make 5,6, and 7 channel amps for cars if you look hard enough.


Just think about this... a Power Inverter that can TRUELY power your little "home theatre"--for $150?? I assume from Wal-Mart or RadioShack, would cost MORE than your home theatre system!!!

Since a quality 700watt (PEAK) inverter (squarewave, no less,) costs close to $100... thats 100 bucks you could have bought an entire 4-channel amp for, NEW off ebay.

Try and hide this home theater in your car, and watch the amp cringe with your low-impedance car speakers running on it... (many of those CHEAP theaters use 8ohm+ woofers) -- not saying that good systems (in homes,) don't use high-impedance too, I'm simply pointing out that your car woofers are usually not as high.


The only thing that's impressed me out of the home theater area are bookshelf speakers. I put two Sony 3-ways with 6" bass woofers in 'em, and they sound much better than 10" subs in the rear, plus they can get friggin' loud with low distortion... these speakers are from the early 90's if that clears up anything....

DemonKnightDK

No no, I'm talking about the ultra cheap home theater systems in box we have at wal-mart (I work there so I also get 10% off) the amp is built into the reciver, and the whole system is only about 130 watts peak. For like 39 bucks. Seriously its a really cheap system but for the money sounds very nice. (in a home setup, so I'm thinking in the car it should be decent.)

And who said I was going to hide any thing:lala:

ScrapMaker

they sound good in a home because you have bigger speakers, and bigger rooms... in a car you have to compensate with more power, and better speakers... because you have less distance between the speakers and your ears... which also makes it harder for your speakers to create good bass (in a car)

DemonKnightDK

The speakers that come in the home theater are little 3 inch things.

Saigon_Bob

iTrader: (2)

my dads sub is 8in in a ported box

ddn69

forget it. Let this kid do as he wants. I mean he obviously isnt gonna see you get what you pay for....Walmart no less. Itll prolly break in 2 months not to mention its going to be in your CAR where its not supposed to be.....

Nate

CaysE

You still need a power inverter. Are you seriously going to spend ~$200 when you could get a decent headunit or good speakers in the car for the same amount of money?

And don't try cheaping out on the power inverter, too. Or the wiring supplies you'll need. You can kiss your car goodbye from the resulting electrical fire.

Saigon_Bob

iTrader: (2)

if you decide to go this way anyhows get good pics of teh fire while and after it happens

ddn69

**shakes head**Im not even gonna comment anymore...But good luck with it....I guess.

ScrapMaker

oh yeah... what I meant by bigger speakers... is that the BOXES are huge... you're right, the actual woofers are tiny, and will sound like crud in a car.

but I agree, if he does this, I'd be interested in seeing some pictures..

maybe if you find a power invertor for free, and already have a home theatre amplifier laying around, it would make more sense.

CamaroManMike

For no more than $400 on ebay can you buy a decent HU and 4 speakers...correct me if im wrong im not super familiar with ebay but you can have a loud good sounding system for not too much and then another 400 for an amp n subs n a box....once again correct me if im wrong

Saigon_Bob

iTrader: (2)

id rather have a good sounding system than one thatll make small animals die and my ears bleed

ScrapMaker

in combination with ebay and walmart... you could:

1. get a 1500 watt hifonics amp for your subs - $239
2. get a nice 4channel hifonics amp - $180
3. get a cheap wiring setup from Walmart or build it yourself - $40
4. for another $300 you can get a VERY nice set of 12-15" subs
5. find a local shop or build a box yourself--- $20-$100
6. Find a headunit off ebay... my 8600 is $259
7. purchase various hq comps/coaxials... $300

total for a killer system = $1338-$1418 of ebay... if you got it from a car audio store... more like $7,000

that hifonics amp sells at my local shop for $1200!!! yeah right