Difference between Car Audio and Home Audio?

Question

I was searching in future shop for sub woofers to put in my new basement... but they all of the home sub woofers start at a price of 250$ to a 1000$!!! but the car sub woofers are like 100$ to 150$ and their wattage is much higher than the home ones...

So I'm asking what is the diffrence between these speakers or it's just that people don't buy car sub-woofers so the price isn't that high...

Answer 1

The big difference is the bottom half octave. In a car due to the sound of the motor and being on the road they can go easy on the lowest notes because they won't be heard anyway. That is why the speakers are less expensive.

In the home environment since it is so quiet that bottom half octave becomes really important. You have to have a more powerful motor in the speaker to support those extra low frequencies. It costs more to build a speaker that will perform to that level.

Amps run on DC, and sound is AC. That is the fact of the matter. All amps both car and home have power supplies. The difference is the input, not the output. In a car the DC coming in has to be stepped up. At home the AC has to be turned into DC and stepped up.

Cars partly adjust for this by using very low ohm speakers, usually 2 ohms. This makes it easier to pull enough current in a 12 volt system to generate the power required. In a home system it is easier to make the high power needed even with 4 or 8 ohm speakers which are easier on the amps.

Also since home sub woofers are self powered the amp is built into them. Car subs are not powered and need external power amps to function so that cost has to be added in. If you go with car speakers you need the amps too which add a great deal to the cost.

You will spend more on a car sub and a separate power amp than you will on a home sub woofer for the same power output.

I hope this answers your questions.

Answer 2

I am not sure about the speaker/subwoofer itself, but the tuner/amp are made to run from a DC power source (car battery), there may be a difference between the output of a car amp and a home amp

And most home subs are self powered, while car subs are powered by the amp

You may be able to use a car sub, but you will need a sub amp to connect to to a home system