Will car subs work in a budget PA?

[AsianVoodoo]

So my friend and I are doing a live dubstep thing and we're trying to make a PA out of old speakers. Its going to consist of some old 80's and 90's surround sound and misc speakers (Mostly around 12"s) that were used for my old surround sound. This part has been tested and works. The problem is we need something to pump the uber low end. My question is can we use subs from car speaker systems for our shows? They have a frequency cut-off so they just pump low-end but I'm wondering if anyone knows the technical possibility of this?

[smoothdave]

Hm. I do have a bunch of old car speakers lying around......

[Travisx2112]

I can't see why it wouldn't work, a speaker is a speaker no matter what you do with it.

[Stinsok]

I saw a band using truck speaker boxes in their PA.

[modulusman]

Only if you plan on just playing in your car.

[AsianVoodoo]

Ok well the questions is if I can find loud hi-fi speaker subs on craigslist for around $100 why aren't more ppl using them??

[AsianVoodoo]

Originally Posted by Stinsok

I saw a band using truck speaker boxes in their PA.

How did it sound?

[Stinsok]

It was less than stellar!

[GregShadoan]

It will if you use 6"X9" mid high packs.

[JimmyM]

it will work great if you only play in vans. it it worked great elsewhere, pro bands would do it. bad idea...waste of money...won't work except in the most limited of ways.

[KeithAlanK]

Sound will come out, but you won't sound like a band.
Car speakers have great published specs, but are tested with heavily compressed recordings, not live instruments.
They can get loud in a car, but in a room?
Not so loud at all.

Waste of time and money.
Do it right or don't do it at all--that's my view.

[T-Bird]

Hi.

Another vote for waste of money.

The low sensitivity of car subs and means You need about 10 times the power to reach the same SPL as with more wfficient (PA, MI) speakers.

If the speakers are free, by all means go ahead and try. Just don't pump a lot of ( any) money into the subs unless You can use 'em in your car.

Regards
Sam

[WayneP]

What T-Bird said:

The low sensitivity of car subs and means You need about 10 times the power to reach the same SPL as with more wfficient (PA, MI) speakers.

On top of that, car subs are designed to take advantage of the cabin gain you get in a small environment that nets a substantial “free” low-end boost. That allows car subs to get massive bass with a small enclosure. Take that car sub to a large room and that low end is lost. It’s going to sound weak and anemic, and probably won’t get much better low end than your typical PA cab on a pole with a single 15” speaker.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt



Pedulla Club #45
Administrator, Tobias Club
My Rig: Stage and FOH Friendly

[andruca]

A car woofer is WAY less efficient than a PA speaker. Normally you'd need 4 or maybe 8 times the power to produce the same volume. The rule is: low, small, loud, pick any 2. In the case of car-audo it's small and low. So, for it to be loud people use zillion watt power amps in cars. In PA systems the choice is low and loud. For this to be achieved, cabinet must be big. Thus the radically different approaches at designing loudspeakers for both applications. A PA speaker won't work in a car (maybe loud but not low enough). The same way a car speaker's design is not ment to work in a PA enclosure (maybe low but not loud enough).

[JohnMCA72]

They can help hold the door open while you load in the real gear.

[JackANSI]

Originally Posted by JohnMCA72

They can help hold the door open while you load in the real gear.

I can't believe no one asked WHERE you plan on using this hodgepodge collection of consumer hi-fi gear.

If its for your own personally enjoyment, go for it. Otherwise hire out the PA duty to someone who can do it right. Consumer hi-fi gear will sound ok for about 6 to 12 feet in front of the speakers, then its going to be all tinny sounding.