Home Audio Vs. Car Audio... A discussion

[IDSkoT 5,000+ posts]

I've been Googling it, and reading up on it. So far, I've assessed that the biggest difference is the T/S parameters. Most subwoofers aimed toward home audio are aimed to excel in much lower frequencies, and they have a lower nominal RMS range due to their larger enclosures. Please, correct me if I'm wrong.

Now, I understand that's for the subwoofers, however, the nominal watts for mid-range / tweeters are much different as well, and I can't imagine it's because of a different frequency range. And much unlike the subwoofers, the speakers in home audio are normally in small enclosures, where as car audio speakers are normally in huge sealed doors, which in theory would lower the power handling. However, there are usually gaps in the power handling. My current speakers for my computer are each 32 watts, and they get louder than my car... (well, let me say that I've never maxed the volume because there's been no need. But they get extremely loud, but awkwardly harsh.) However, most speakers I see for home audio are between the ranges of 5-WRMS to 50-WRMS, while most car audio speakers are 100-200-WRMS. Now, I know most people will say, "THAT'S CAUSE IT HAS TO SHARE IT WITH THE TWEETER!" But, that's not true. The speaker and tweeter are rated at 100 RMS each, and after the cross over, they get 100 RMS each even with 100 RMS in.

Now my rebuttals... well, rebuttal... I read that home audio subwoofers have a much lower nominal RMS rating due to the fact that they're meant for large enclosures... except most of the Home Audio subs I've seen have all been in relatively small enclosures. I think the biggest enclosure I've seen was at my Dad's house, it was a 15", and the enclosure was probably 18"x18"x18". The rest are relatively small in comparison with the driver... and I've built HUGE enclosures for 12's, much bigger than what was for that 15.

Now, correct me and / or discuss. Let's do what forums are supposed to be for and exchange information.

Click to read more...

 

[Cameron_B 10+ year member]

Its has a lot to do with the accoustic environment.

It a room you have square/rectangular shape.

In a car you have a askldjalksdjal shape.

Normally you sit directly in phase with the speakers in a home environment. In a car they are off axis.

Test this by putting those computer speakers in your car.

 

[TNTR70 10+ year member]

unless your driving your house down the road, your home theater doesn't have to account for road noise, there for you don't need the higher power that car audio requires.

 

[bryce-man 10+ year member]

most home audio mids and tweets are 8 ohm

and car audio speakers are almost always 4 ohm

50 watts into an 8 ohm mid is the same as 100 wats into a 4 ohm mid

it enables the amps to run more efficient and cooler

i even compared my new 8 ohm aurum cantus mids to my old home theater mids (8ohm/4ohm)

and the new ones were reasonably louder in the same enclosure/volume

theres definitly more on this subject but my battery has like 1% left haha

 

[Pl8er 5,000+ posts]

Its has a lot to do with the accoustic environment.
It a room you have square/rectangular shape.

In a car you have a askldjalksdjal shape.

Normally you sit directly in phase with the speakers in a home environment. In a car they are off axis.

Test this by putting those computer speakers in your car.

This is true, but I still lol'd from the askldjalksdjal shape

 

[Pl8er 5,000+ posts]

most home audio mids and tweets are 8 ohmand car audio speakers are almost always 4 ohm

50 watts into an 8 ohm mid is the same as 100 wats into a 4 ohm mid

it enables the amps to run more efficient and cooler

i even compared my new 8 ohm aurum cantus mids to my old home theater mids (8ohm/4ohm)

and the new ones were reasonably louder in the same enclosure/volume

theres definitly more on this subject but my battery has like 1% left haha

Hrm..I can't really say I totally agree here. Car amps are designed to run at 4 ohm.

It's more likely that your old Cantus are less efficient than your new ones.

 

[IDSkoT 5,000+ posts]

Its has a lot to do with the accoustic environment.
It a room you have square/rectangular shape.

In a car you have a askldjalksdjal shape.

Normally you sit directly in phase with the speakers in a home environment. In a car they are off axis.

Test this by putting those computer speakers in your car.

I mean, technically, I think a concave sub-enclosure (I.E. Your cab) would have a gain effect due to refraction.

 

[bamaboy 5,000+ posts]

dont know why youve seen small enclosures for HT, for a lot of DIY HT subs, you use a large enclosure, if you talking about store bought subs, they try to do as small a box as possible while keeping a decent sound

my box for my 1 12 is close to 4cuft net, the guy i work with has 4 15s, 2 per box and each box is ~35cuft tuned to 8 or 10hz, its sick

 

[IDSkoT 5,000+ posts]

most home audio mids and tweets are 8 ohmand car audio speakers are almost always 4 ohm

50 watts into an 8 ohm mid is the same as 100 wats into a 4 ohm mid

it enables the amps to run more efficient and cooler

i even compared my new 8 ohm aurum cantus mids to my old home theater mids (8ohm/4ohm)

and the new ones were reasonably louder in the same enclosure/volume

theres definitly more on this subject but my battery has like 1% left haha

50 watts is 50 watts, regardless of resistance.

1K watts at 1 ohm is the same power as 1K watts at 4 ohms. But it's more efficient.

 

[Corey69 10+ year member]

unless your driving your house down the road, your home theater doesn't have to account for road noise, there for you don't need the higher power that car audio requires.

Then what about when the car is not moving?

 

[Cravingbass123]

............................................................................

 

[shadowfactory 10+ year member]

1K watts at 1 ohm is the same power as 1K watts at 4 ohms. But it's more efficient.

but it sure as hell isn't the same to the amplifier, ie runs less efficiently, higher THD, lower damping factor

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

You're thinking too much into it.

Drivers that do well at home can work just as well in a vehicle.

Anything else is just a blanket generalization that doesn't hold up.

 

[SSS 18734 5,000+ posts]

Not all home audio speakers are low-powered. My Athena AS-F2's are rated at 200 wRMS, and my Paradigm center channel at around 120 wRMS.

High powered home subwoofers using thousands of watts of energy are somewhat impractical, since they'll be used in quiet environments aimed at SQ. Not to mention plate amplifiers are expensive. And most people don't like huge boxes, so manufacturers make them as small as possible.

Also, there are lots of drivers that work just as well in the car as they do at home.

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

Please don't.

Yeah.

nG