# Considering jumping into the Car PC realm. A few questions.



## feeshta (Oct 2, 2011)

Hello folks. I'm a long term car audio enthusiast who is considering going with a car pc setup for the first time. Being new to this world, I have a few questions, and would like to double check my thinking and make sure it is logical. 

Here is my rough plan of action. The car is a 2000 BMW 540i. I already have amplification and speakers I wish to use. It's a 6.5 inch component set and a 12" DVC woofer. They will be run by 2 amplifiers, a US Amps TU-4360 bi-amped on the front stage, and a TU-600 on the sub. In the past I used an Eclipse HU with internal crossovers and time alignment to manage it all, but that is not a viable solution with my new car, as the single DIN HU would look silly in my car due to the factory radio's configuration. I have not chosen which processor I want to go with yet, but the Audison Bit 10D and Audiocontrol are the two contenders. I plan on removing the factory Radio, installing a touch screen in a double DIN adaptor kit, and feeding the processor with the optical out of the car PC. The processor would have a remote volume knob that would be mounted in the front of the car. 

Here is where I get into some questions. I am thinking windows 8 would be a good solution for a car PC, as it is optimized for touchscreen interface. Is my thinking correct there?

Would I need a capacitive screen rather than resistive to take advantage of the touch controls for Windows 8? 

What are some good sources for quality parts in this field?

Any other general advice would be greatly appreciated as well. 

Thanks in advance guys.


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## sonyvgncr33 (Oct 15, 2012)

Good idea, I want to have a good way to have the on-board computer


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## Ultimateherts (Nov 13, 2006)

feeshta said:


> Here is where I get into some questions. I am thinking windows 8 would be a good solution for a car PC, as it is optimized for touchscreen interface. Is my thinking correct there?
> 
> Would I need a capacitive screen rather than resistive to take advantage of the touch controls for Windows 8?
> 
> ...


The driver support on Windows 8 is not there yet... Pro audio interfaces are the best value (many outputs). No real need for the Audison with the amount of plugins for PC. Do you want a Tablet or mini pc with touch screen?

Some sites for buying parts:

B&H photo for an audio interface

Newegg

Tigerdirect


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## feeshta (Oct 2, 2011)

Ultimateherts said:


> The driver support on Windows 8 is not there yet... Pro audio interfaces are the best value (many outputs). No real need for the Audison with the amount of plugins for PC. Do you want a Tablet or mini pc with touch screen?
> 
> Some sites for buying parts:
> 
> ...


What would I need drivers for that windows 8 would not support? 

I would prefer mini pc with a touch screen to a tablet. I would like to have a digital audio output. 

What type of pro audio interface are you refering to? I need something with a complete crossover network because the amplifiers have 0 built-in processing, and I prefer to have time-alignment capability as well.


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## Ultimateherts (Nov 13, 2006)

feeshta said:


> What would I need drivers for that windows 8 would not support?
> 
> I would prefer mini pc with a touch screen to a tablet. I would like to have a digital audio output.
> 
> What type of pro audio interface are you refering to? I need something with a complete crossover network because the amplifiers have 0 built-in processing, and I prefer to have time-alignment capability as well.


All of those features are built into the software. Different media players support a variety of add on or even have great built in features. You want something that is future proof. You mentioned digital, but the reality is most amps connect via good old rca cables. You going to need a minimum of (6) outputs for (2) way + a subwoofer or (8) outputs for (3) way + a subwoofer.

They come in (3) flavors PCI/PCI-E (which are internall), USB (which is external), and FIREWIRE (which is external). Number of outputs usually determines the price. 

Some might argue that the voltage is too low on most pro audio interfaces, but I have used them with great results.


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## feeshta (Oct 2, 2011)

Ultimateherts said:


> All of those features are built into the software. Different media players support a variety of add on or even have great built in features. You want something that is future proof. You mentioned digital, but the reality is most amps connect via good old rca cables. You going to need a minimum of (6) outputs for (2) way + a subwoofer or (8) outputs for (3) way + a subwoofer.
> 
> They come in (3) flavors PCI/PCI-E (which are internall), USB (which is external), and FIREWIRE (which is external). Number of outputs usually determines the price.
> 
> Some might argue that the voltage is too low on most pro audio interfaces, but I have used them with great results.


I prefer digital audio outputs because the signal processor will be working in the digital realm, and I don't want the system to be doing any more conversions than required. Ideally it stays in the digital format until it is converted for output to the amplifiers after processing, meaning only one D/A conversion instead of D>A>D>A. Also convenient is the fact that the Audisons are primarily controlled through a PC interface, which would be quite easy in this case, making system tuning a cinch. 

I do need a piece of equipment with as high of an output voltage as possible. 5V is about minimum, as the amps I am using are notoriously finicky about low voltage input signals. Being tube amps, they can have a tendency to pick up ambient emi if they are fed to low of a signal and you can get some hum. The Audisons would be pretty close to ideal here as well, as I could keep the gains turned way down on the amps, where they like to be. 

An Audison Bit 10D would work, as I only need 5 outputs technically. Tweeters, Mids, and a sub out. I do absolutely need band-pass capability for the mids. I looked on B&H's site, but didn't see anything that would suit my needs for filtering and time alignment. I've had time alignment on the past 3 or 4 systems I built, and I am not prepared to go back to lackluster sound-staging without it.


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## Ultimateherts (Nov 13, 2006)

feeshta said:


> I prefer digital audio outputs because the signal processor will be working in the digital realm, and I don't want the system to be doing any more conversions than required. Ideally it stays in the digital format until it is converted for output to the amplifiers after processing, meaning only one D/A conversion instead of D>A>D>A. Also convenient is the fact that the Audisons are primarily controlled through a PC interface, which would be quite easy in this case, making system tuning a cinch.
> 
> I do need a piece of equipment with as high of an output voltage as possible. 5V is about minimum, as the amps I am using are notoriously finicky about low voltage input signals. Being tube amps, they can have a tendency to pick up ambient emi if they are fed to low of a signal and you can get some hum. The Audisons would be pretty close to ideal here as well, as I could keep the gains turned way down on the amps, where they like to be.
> 
> An Audison Bit 10D would work, as I only need 5 outputs technically. Tweeters, Mids, and a sub out. I do absolutely need band-pass capability for the mids. I looked on B&H's site, but didn't see anything that would suit my needs for filtering and time alignment. I've had time alignment on the past 3 or 4 systems I built, and I am not prepared to go back to lackluster sound-staging without it.


I think my point was ditch the Audison because the PC will do all of that. The plugins are where time alignment, crossovers, eq ect. are located. The audio interfaces are just pieces of physical hardware. They only come with basic software such as: drivers and watered down versions of music producing software. 

If you research VST plugins you can get a better idea... on here and on something like wikipedia.


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## feeshta (Oct 2, 2011)

Ok, after looking around for a while I did find some things that look interesting. The minidsp 2x8 with the add-on digi-FP for toslink input looks like it might fit the bill. 

miniDSP 2x8 kit | miniDSP

DIGI-FP | miniDSP

Saves a bit of money from the Audison, and adds some functionality as well. I have an ideal place to hide it as well, so the looks are not a concern. Then I can add a physical volume knob in the front of the vehicle, as well as using the steering wheel mounted controls through the Car PC. Looks like a plan is coming together, now I just need to get through Christmas.


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## Ultimateherts (Nov 13, 2006)

feeshta said:


> Ok, after looking around for a while I did find some things that look interesting. The minidsp 2x8 with the add-on digi-FP for toslink input looks like it might fit the bill.
> 
> miniDSP 2x8 kit | miniDSP
> 
> ...


The problewm is I cannot comment on the DAC they use in it! As far as functionality goes the software looks as good as one can get...


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