Home Drivers in a Car

solacedagony · Post by **solacedagony** » Tue May 16, 2006 8:52 am

Would home audio drivers not stand up to in-car abuse? Because from what I've read on this forum and other ones, home audio drivers are of higher quality and are MUCH cheaper. So are they not used in cars due to the high amount of abuse speakers take in a car or other reasons?
Thanks guys.

Robert Wollenberg · Post by **Robert Wollenberg** » Tue May 16, 2006 9:13 am

From what I've gathered, the biggest reason home audio drivers are not used in a car is mostly because they don't come in sets. You can't get home drivers in a coaxial set up and they don't come with passive crossovers. Also, you have to make sure they're made from materials that will withstand the humidity and dampness than can go along with being in a car vs. house. Otherwise, go for it. Right now, my midranges for my Jeep are house speakers. Once I sell my car and buy a new one, that whole system may very well be house drivers.

The only other obsticle is impedence. A lot of house drivers are 8 ohm. Now a days they are making many in a 4 ohm version.

I like the house drivers. They're less expensive and seem to be of higher quality. I'm getting into the active crossover systems so using raw drivers works out fine for me. However, if your system design uses passive crossovers, it might be easier to get a standard component set instead.

solacedagony · Post by **solacedagony** » Tue May 16, 2006 11:00 am

Thanks for your thoughts.

Post by **GlassWolf** » Tue May 16, 2006 12:12 pm

entirely depends on the driver in question.

Jonathan · Post by **Jonathan** » Tue May 16, 2006 6:44 pm

^^yup.

Soft parts are the main concern.

solacedagony · Post by **solacedagony** » Wed May 17, 2006 3:41 am

Say one of the Seas metal/poly drivers or the Dayton RS aluminum cone drivers? Also, what types of paper would be ok for in-car use?

OnYrMrk · Post by **OnYrMrk** » Wed May 17, 2006 4:48 am

stay away from tissue paper
sorry...too early in the morning

I have a pair of McIntosh 5.25's with treated pressed paper that I used for some experimental kickpanel enclosures...they worked fine.

Robert Wollenberg · Post by **Robert Wollenberg** » Wed May 17, 2006 5:11 am

I think you just need to make sure the paper is treated in some way. To help combat moisture. I remember someone telling me that a while back when I asked a very similar quesion.

solacedagony · Post by **solacedagony** » Wed May 17, 2006 5:55 am

Yea that's what I figured. At least some type of protection for the paper so it just doesn't fall apart from moisture.

kevinberry1 · Post by **kevinberry1** » Wed May 17, 2006 6:44 am

I would think that kick pannels would be better than using the door unless you can seal the driver in the door. The door space tends to accumulate moisture. Cars also get very hot in the sun, upwards of 130 degrees, so I'm not sure how that would affect some drivers.