# Looking on tips to setup a audio oriented carputer



## riahc3 (Oct 31, 2008)

Hey. Just joined and hoping Im staying here a long time 


The topic at hand: A audio oriented carputer. My sound system would be controled (audio files, software equalizer, etc) thru the carputer, which would include GPS, Bluetooth hands-free, etc (Im not sure if this forum is oriented towards carputers so Ill leave that out of the topic for now)

What brands/systems/etc should I look for? If my preference of music helps out, it would be hip-hop.


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

riahc3 said:


> Hey. Just joined and hoping Im staying here a long time
> 
> 
> The topic at hand: A audio oriented carputer. My sound system would be controled (audio files, software equalizer, etc) thru the carputer, which would include GPS, Bluetooth hands-free, etc (Im not sure if this forum is oriented towards carputers so Ill leave that out of the topic for now)
> ...


Your topic seems to be inherently related to CarPC's in general, so I would check this site out as well.

mp3car.com


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## RedGTiVR6 (Jun 26, 2007)

A) brands don't matter so much in the CarPC world...as it's the computer world.

B) Mp3Car is a good source for information, but most of the users over there aren't oriented towards quality audio

C) I'm absolutely willing to answer any questions you have, HOWEVER, I don't spoon feed...

D) Since you don't know much about CarPCs (or so it seems), I would recomend getting a prebuilt system. 

E) Once you have a prebuilt system, you will need to read up about doing all of the audio processing on the computer. It's not for the faint of heart, so if you don't feel comfortable with computers, you might want to get comfortable.

F) Post up any questions.


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## RajunCajun (Jul 27, 2008)

as red said above brands in the computer world don't really make that big of difference. Its all pretty much made in china anyway.

Just look for something that gives you enough power to handle what you will throw at it, and leave yourself a little room for expansion. You never know when that carpc will become your navigation, headunit, music library, AND H/VAC controls like some people have done.

and im with red on this one Post some questions if you have any.


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## 14642 (May 19, 2008)

If you're going to do all the signal processing in the PC, your choice of soundcard and connection type are important. Go for simplicity and reliability and don't get too hung up on a bunch of nonsense about D/As, A/Ds, etc. 

You'll want the PC to hibernate when you shut off the car and that wreaks havos with some sound card drivers.

Definitely check out mp3car.com


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## riahc3 (Oct 31, 2008)

t3sn4f2 said:


> Your topic seems to be inherently related to CarPC's in general, so I would check this site out as well.
> 
> mp3car.com


I joined  But it sucks that the admin has to approve your post for you to make a new thread; As of now the thread I posted isnt on 



RedGTiVR6 said:


> A) brands don't matter so much in the CarPC world...as it's the computer world.
> 
> B) Mp3Car is a good source for information, but most of the users over there aren't oriented towards quality audio
> 
> ...


A) Im more of a computer orientated guy so I know my brands in the PC world; I was talking about speaker/audio world (JBL, Boss, etc)

B) Like I said in my first post, I joined  But it sucks that the admin has to approve your post for you to make a new thread; As of now the thread I posted isnt on 

C) My only question right now would be what brand of speakers I should get and how many exactly; On a side note, is there any site that says the max audio levels for each country? My goal would be something that reaches that.

D) About CarPC no, about PCs yes (Is there a difference? (besides obviously one being orientaded towards cars))

E) Expand on this a little bit or some links that talk about it please 

F) Thats it. Thanks alot!


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## RedGTiVR6 (Jun 26, 2007)

Andy Wehmeyer said:


> You'll want the PC to hibernate when you shut off the car and that wreaks havos with some sound card drivers


This isn't always true. It's completely dependent on the individual and their needs.


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## RedGTiVR6 (Jun 26, 2007)

riahc3 said:


> I joined  But it sucks that the admin has to approve your post for you to make a new thread; As of now the thread I posted isnt on


Give it a few, it will be approved. It's not just admins that can approve the threads, it's moderators as well.

I found your post in moderation and I can tell you right now it's not going to go over well. You're essentially asking for people to tell you what to do and what to buy. This hobby isn't like many others. The people who are involved in this hobby aren't spoon feeders. They are computer people. They expect for others who are interested to do teh research and learn about what they are getting into. They expect for you to make the educated decision.

There's sound reasoning behind this: you have to know why you chose what you did when it comes time to troubleshooting. You have to understand your system.



> C) My only question right now would be what brand of speakers I should get and how many exactly; On a side note, is there any site that says the max audio levels for each country? My goal would be something that reaches that.


It sounds to me like you're BRAND new into this whole world. Perhaps you should do some reading first to learn about what you're wanting to do.



> D) About CarPC no, about PCs yes (Is there a difference? (besides obviously one being orientaded towards cars))


Yes. There are certain environmental factors that you have to take into account. Temperature, usability, vibrations, etc.



> E) Expand on this a little bit or some links that talk about it please


Search on Mp3Car:

http://www.mp3car.com/wiki/index.php/Audio_Tuning_via_Software

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/high-end-solutions/88359-software-options-tuning.html

As I stated, I don't spoon feed, and what you're asking for is to be spoon fed. I'll sit in the background on this one until you have specific questions.

Good luck!


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## riahc3 (Oct 31, 2008)

RedGTiVR6 said:


> It sounds to me like you're BRAND new into this whole world. Perhaps you should do some reading first to learn about what you're wanting to do.


Alright what I want to do is have a sound system that is correct for my type of music. Quality then loudness is the most important areas for me.

What reading should I do to learn about this?


Thank you for those links (Ill look at them now)


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## 14642 (May 19, 2008)

RedGTiVR6 said:


> This isn't always true. It's completely dependent on the individual and their needs.


You may be right, Jan. I can tell you that waiting the 30 seconds for mine to finally come out of hibernation is aggrivating enough. If I had to wait a minute and a half, that would make me nuts. 

I sure would like you to hear mine, but you're in TX and my car is in NY. Will you be at SBN?


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## RedGTiVR6 (Jun 26, 2007)

not all computers take a minute and a half to boot up from cold. 

I've actually found that on my most recent computer, it takes about the same amount of time to come out of hibernation as it does to boot from a cold start.

it's all about setting up the OS properly, stripping out unneeded items, etc. I've NEVER had a CarPC take over a minute to boot.

Some guys are getting hibernate to work in under 15 seconds....but they're also cutting their memory down to the bare minimum.

We'll see if we can make it to SBN. I need a job first. Companies that go into contracts with other companies, then decide not to pay aren't exactly on my happy list right now.


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

Wanna have your PC up and running by the time you are done cranking the starter? Wire the PC to turn on with a pulse from the the same signal that unlocks your doors. All you would have to do then is remember to trigger it well before you reach the car, say when you step out of your house or are near the car when you are out. It should be just enough to take away most if not all of the waiting time. 

I haven't really looked into the specifics of this so you might have to get creative in order for the pulse to only work one time and not turn off the PC if you happen to press the button accidentally right after the first trigger press.

I think most power supplies have an on switch deactivation circuit so that this does not occur but I'm not sure if it initiate it immediately right after the turn on trigger or if the power supply needs time before it activates the on switch deactivation circuit.

You can also increase the distance of you remote by holding it up to your throat when pressing the button.


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## riahc3 (Oct 31, 2008)

This hibernation issue; Why is it so important?


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

riahc3 said:


> This hibernation issue; Why is it so important?


Because if the software, device, or device drivers do not reinitialize properly, your sound and computer functionality will suffer or not even play at all.


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## bretti_kivi (Dec 3, 2007)

... which means you end up wasting time restarting a machine instead of listening to music.

Work out how much space you have, what motherboard format you can fit and then start thinking about the location and size of your screen. How are you going to control your sound? PCI or USB soundcard?
physical issues will limit first. Then think about the processing you want to get done on the PC and what will be done on your amps etc.

There's a ****load of info and thought you need to put into this.

Bret


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

riahc3 said:


> Alright what I want to do is have a sound system that is correct for my type of music. Quality then loudness is the most important areas for me.
> 
> What reading should I do to learn about this?
> 
> ...


Basically anything and everything about the hobby. Start anywhere on this site and mp3car.com. You'll see more and more things you need to learn as you go along, it pretty much doesn't stop until you've done a test rig and used it till you don't run into any bugs. 

This is a full time hobby that is very in dept and in which you can only start from the bottom in order to know how to put 2 and 2 together later on when you run into a problem. I'm sure you know this from the PC world, you can't program if you don't know how to use windows and do you really wnat to go around asking how to use windows?


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## riahc3 (Oct 31, 2008)

t3sn4f2 said:


> I'm sure you know this from the PC world, you can't program if you don't know how to use windows and do you really wnat to go around asking how to use windows?


Worst example ever  I program for OS X and I havent touched a mac for more than 5 minutes.


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## ashman5 (Aug 30, 2009)

riahc3 said:


> Worst example ever  I program for OS X and I havent touched a mac for more than 5 minutes.



Take that, 5 years ago!

:laugh:


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## chad1376 (Dec 27, 2012)

ashman5 said:


> Take that, 5 years ago!
> 
> :laugh:



I was almost excited that there was some activity in this forum - then I saw the original dates


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

Subscribe.........my response is coming up in 2018.


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## Ultimateherts (Nov 13, 2006)

Will we be flying in our car by then???


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## riahc3 (Oct 31, 2008)

I apoligize. I was looking thru this topic (audio systems again) now that I have a car and this popped up and I did not even notice when I made the topic.

I am sorry.


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## OlSkool (Mar 10, 2013)

So five years later what did you end up doing?

Carputer for sound? Or did you go more traditional audio?
What is in your car?


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## [email protected] (Nov 7, 2010)

How about now?


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## butterMilk (Jan 27, 2014)

luls^^^

and now?


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