hooking up a peavey 410 cab... to a car?

glowinghamster4 · #1 07-29-2010, 02:01 PM

ok so basically, I got a 02 grand prix a few months back, 113,000 miles on it for only 1900$. it had its issues but I have since put another grand or so into it and now all the essentials have been fixed, so im into the cosmetic or 'optional' fixups

So at the top of the list of non-essential fixes was a new sound system, new stereo, speakers the whole bit. Went into bestbuy just to price things out and apparently in order to get a new stereo with all the features I wanted including all the necessary adapters and such to get it installed and working would run me just over 400$

and thats NOT counting the speakers. being a poor college student I was quickly put off to the idea for quite some time, not helped by 1 or 2 mild cases of GAS. However I am slowly reaching the point of having disposable income once again, so I started looking, when I got an interesting idea...

While I was in best buy they also had all kinds of pre amps that you could get, with all kinds of signs plastered around them saying things like "BOOST YOUR SOUND! GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR STEREO!" I had pretty much ignored them at the time, I just want a nice sounding system it doesnt need to be all that loud. However, it recently occurred to me that i have a 410 Cab that basically lives in the back seat of said car (It ends up going to someone elses house 2-3 times a week, I quickly got tired of hauling a giant block that weighs almost as much as me back into the house after every practice session.)

So basically question to all people that are knowledgeable in car/general electronics, if I were to include a preamp in my new setup, would it be possible to somehow connect that to the peavey? Im thinking getting some stereo with a dedicated subwoofer out and linking it in that way, or maybe just splicing some other audio cable somewhere. I mean come on the thing sits there taking up 2 1/2 peoples seats, I might as well get some use out of it. And come on how AWESOME would it be to have that gigantor thing as a sub?

agomes · #2 07-29-2010, 02:23 PM

i had a 4x10 cab running off of a 400w bridgable jenson power amp. I just cut one end of the speaker cable off and stuck it in the speaker outs on the amp.
the amp was set to run a pair of tens, but like you said, i was carryin the 4x10 any way.
my amp was full range, but had an eq to mess with so it sounded decent...
Especially at a party as it was full range its loud.

- it can be done

Abog77 · #3 07-29-2010, 02:52 PM

The main problem would be that a 400 watt cabinet wouldn't give you near the sound you would want in your car...you would want your box in a trunk and you would want a decent ported box if you wanted any decent bass..it would probably be loud, but not quite what i would be looking for in a sound system...also you would want to pay attention to the ohms of the cabinet and make sure you have your speaks wired right, otherwise you may end up popping those 4 10's as soon as you hook them up....then you would still have to upgrade your 3 1/2's or 6x9's or whatever your car has for decent clarity and definition otherwise it might end up sounding like a record player hooked up through a house stereo...you might want to do it piece by piece if you have the extra cash...get a good head unit, then upgrade your mids and highs with a decent 400 watt amp, then get your subs and another decent mono or 2 channel amp to run those, then you'll have a decent sound system in it.... also don't buy stereo equipment from best buy, you'll over pay...check out http://www.sonicelectronix.com they have great brand name gear at low prices...and who knows, maybe you can sell the peavey and use the cash towards what you would want...or maybe not...hope this helped

BurningSkies · #4 07-29-2010, 03:05 PM

If you order your car stereo through a place like crutchfield, they include the wiring harnesses and mounting kit and you save a bunch. Then you just need to find someone locally who can do the installation.

megadan · #5 07-29-2010, 05:46 PM

I did my own install and it was a piece of cake. Didn't need all the stupid adaptors like the antenna adaptor they tried to sell me. Everything fit standard. If it's a late model car with standard size stereo mounts it should be pretty easy. Can you solder? Only took me 5 minutes to get the wires right in the wiring harness and plug it into the old stereos speaker wires.

rbonner · #6 07-29-2010, 06:01 PM

Bass Cab does not equal subwoofer.

Bass cab plus accident equals dead bodies everywhere.

Car stereo means stuff bolted down.

Back in 1976 I was driving from Huron, SD to Minneapolis with one of my buddies, infront of us was a guy in a mustang swerving around. I go to buddy, hey look at this guy. He makes a left and all of a sudden BOOM straight into the guard rail and a big flash.

I go we better check on this guy.

We get there, here he is in his satin shirt, blood everywhere, totally out of it whining about his girlfriend... Suzi where are you....

A pair of 3 foot tall home stereo speakers disarrayed in the back seat; wires heading to the dash. The corner of one speaker matching the hole in the back of his head...

Made me want to set them speakers in my buddy's T-Bird right then before the cops got there.

BOB

toobalicious · #7 07-29-2010, 09:31 PM

lol... sure, you could do it... easiest way would be to make a cable with an appropriate (most likely, a 1/4" plug) connector on one end, and bare wire on the other. screw it into the amp, plug it into the cab, and go upset some adults. it will be much louder than car subs ever thought about being--- sensitivity of 95+dB compared to 85-90dB. dont expect the super-low sub bass though--- i doubt you will find much going on below 40-45Hz. but hey, why not? you certainly wont hurt anything unless you crash (see above).

glowinghamster4 · #8 07-30-2010, 02:02 PM

so wait... i DON'T need all those adapters they were trying to add on? I had a suspicion, it being best buy and all but it seemed legit... The stereo itself was about 120$ I think, and there was one other thing i MIGHT get if I feel i can justify dropping 100$ on something thats completely unecessary, which is an adapter so my steering wheel controls will work with it too

The other cash was the antennae adapter, case for it to fit into (which I guess is pretty necessary), and Im sure 1 or 2 other things I just cant think of. And to the car crash thing, it sits more on the passenger side, as that back door had the most marks on it already. So if im unlucky enough to be in a major accident, hopefully ill at least be lucky enough that it will only crush my right arm. in which case ill just have to learn drums a la def leppard

BassmanPaul · #9 07-30-2010, 02:38 PM

While on holiday in Orlando I saw this little car parked outside the store we were walking to. To say it was rusty would be an understatement! Dude walks out of the store, opens the drivers door with a huge creak, gets in and starts the engine. The stereo came on bOOM BOOM BOOM. With every thud a little dusting of rust fell off the car and you could hear the bodywork squeaking. It was so funny! Fifty buck car with a thousand dollar stereo.

Paul

gastric · #10 07-30-2010, 03:27 PM

Note a Peavey 410 is going to add 100lbs to your trunk. Just saying.

glowinghamster4 · #11 07-30-2010, 04:14 PM

eh the whole point of this idea is to find some use for it other than making my gas mileage suffer. Its lived and will continue living in my backseat for some time. Honestly I dont think my trunk is even big enough for the thing...

Bassmec · #12 07-30-2010, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glowinghamster4

eh the whole point of this idea is to find some use for it other than making my gas mileage suffer. Its lived and will continue living in my backseat for some time. Honestly I dont think my trunk is even big enough for the thing...

My old lead vocalist was killed by being crushed in a car accident by a cab, be careful don't become a statistic.
You leave it in the car and nobody bothers to steal it?.

Seems Peavey has got some work to do on its reputation.

James Simonson · #13 07-30-2010, 05:03 PM

Splice some wires to a right angle 1/4 jack. Have fun. I used to run it that way in my old hatch back. Sounded huge. Be sure to swap + and - to hear the better phase. Would be best in the trunk but you might as well plug it in if it's just sitting there.

glowinghamster4 · #14 07-30-2010, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bassmec

My old lead vocalist was killed by being crushed in a car accident by a cab, be careful don't become a statistic.
You leave it in the car and nobody bothers to steal it?.

Seems Peavey has got some work to do on its reputation.

So im gathering that apparently flying equipment is the second biggest killers right behind airplanes. I will be driving more carefully in the future.

And its pretty safe really... I live in the suburbs, lock the doors, and really who sees that thing and thinks they can run off with it on their own? or even wants to? I can barely move the thing by myself, i usually make some bandmember help me load it up

3506string · #15 07-30-2010, 08:02 PM

Have you been to a walmart or target or kmart or other department stores. I was just talking to a guy about how cheap car audio has gotten. You can probably get an entire component system for under $200. It won't be a bose, but it will be a whole lot better than a bass cab stuck in the back seat

toobalicious · #16 07-31-2010, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3506string

It won't be a bose

i dunno, i would say he will probably get plenty of that bose-esqe 80Hz fake-bass muddd....

i was with you until you uttered the B word, lol.

glowinghamster4 · #17 07-31-2010, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3506string

Have you been to a walmart or target or kmart or other department stores. I was just talking to a guy about how cheap car audio has gotten. You can probably get an entire component system for under $200. It won't be a bose, but it will be a whole lot better than a bass cab stuck in the back seat

you are underestimating how little of a budget i am currently on. 200$ is cash that I currently dont have and dont plan on having for a while yet. hence my use whats already there mentality. And I have seen basic components for fairly cheap... but whatever I get I wanna make sure its something I can live with, I consider myself a pretty big audiophile, something that brings never-ending annoyances from my current budget driven equipment

pnut166 · #18 07-31-2010, 08:57 PM

Isn`t there an ohm difference in cabs and car stereos ?

glowinghamster4 · #19 08-02-2010, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pnut166

Isn`t there an ohm difference in cabs and car stereos ?

That I would have to check... off the top of my head no idea. Also one other thing I though of, so Im guessing that I DONT want to wire it in as a sub? but if I wired it as just another speaker it seems like it would be really unbalanced. Im sure I could semi fix that with the stereo eq but seems like a pain... would it be simpler to add in some simple controls in the line between it and the stereo? like a volume pot, eqs...

will33 · #20 08-02-2010, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassmanPaul

While on holiday in Orlando I saw this little car parked outside the store we were walking to. To say it was rusty would be an understatement! Dude walks out of the store, opens the drivers door with a huge creak, gets in and starts the engine. The stereo came on bOOM BOOM BOOM. With every thud a little dusting of rust fell off the car and you could hear the bodywork squeaking. It was so funny! Fifty buck car with a thousand dollar stereo.

Paul

I see this around town a little too often. I use the term $300 car with a $3000 stereo but your comparison may be even a little more accurate.

I'm a fixit-myself guy pretty much all the way around, I think I've seen a mechanic twice in my life and the shape some of these cars are in they almost don't justify having a car. Definately if you don't know how to take it down to nuts-n-bolts and put humpty-dumpty back together again. Then to go spend that kind of money on trying to make an impression.

Rims are the other thing, ever see $2000 worth of shiny rims and low-profile tires on a beat up '86 Oldsmobile? With the vibrating trunk? You can hear the bolts coming loose.

You're going to make a real impression when you're piece of crap that cost you out the a$$ breaks down and you have to leave it somewhere and walk your $600 shoes, pants, shirt, socks and underwear onto the bus back to your apartment with the rats, broken windows, stolen stereos and leaky toilets.

OK, that was fun, back OT. To the OP, you can do this if you want, shouldn't hurt anything. If you do, at least put the seatbelt around it and do like any other car sub. Run the lows to it and play with the crossover until it sounds good. Just understand it is a 410 bass cab, not a sub. It will at least sound loud if not good in the lows sort of but getting a bunch of power and cranking things made for a real subwoofer loud enough to be heard for blocks around could still do damage.

I also notice you're asking a lot of questions but haven't really tried anything that I know of. Hook the damn thing up somehow, start at low volumes and gradually increase. Then come back here and say "well here's what I did, I like this but I don't like that" or whatever and some folks will probably have a suggestion or two on how to do it better.

It shouldn't kill it to hook the things up to your car amp as if it were a sub and see what happens at low volumes first. Keep your eyes out for speaker cones moving a lot and keep your ears out for distortion in the lows. Take the high end of the crossover down and listen to it by itself for any farting, etc.......................................and strap it in for God's sake.