Car Audio CD Player - For Home Use

Black_Hawk

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Hello,

I would like to know how to use Car Audio CD players at home. If someone can guide and reply in a little detail on how to go about the process from scratch covering topics like which simple player to try it with, which Power Adapter I will need, which wires to connect, connection of speakers, etc it would be great. I have seen a few posts here on these forums where people have mentioned that they have used Car Audio systems at home and it always interested me thus I'm asking.

Thanks :)
 
Hello,

I would like to know how to use Car Audio CD players at home. If someone can guide and reply in a little detail on how to go about the process from scratch covering topics like which simple player to try it with, which Power Adapter I will need, which wires to connect, connection of speakers, etc it would be great. I have seen a few posts here on these forums where people have mentioned that they have used Car Audio systems at home and it always interested me thus I'm asking.

Thanks :)
Hi,
your post brought a flashback of when I was using a Blaupunkt car stereo (cassette) player with AM/FM radio and a pair of small Sony speakers as my music system. (College days, over two decades ago). I was happy as can be with the sound.
from What I recall you will need to find a power supply unit that converts mains power (230v) to the rated power of the player. (Usually 12v etc) Your local electronics repair person could make one for you or you can buy it online (just get the voltage and amperage correct)
for output: There are specific connectors (lots of coloured wires!) for the players and you can get a car audio installers help to identify two channels to connect to your speakers (they may have two or four channels).
 
I've been tinkering with the idea of using a car CDP in my audio chain. The preouts will go directly to my preamp. Would be cheaper than a dedicated CDP :p
 
I've been tinkering with the idea of using a car CDP in my audio chain. The preouts will go directly to my preamp. Would be cheaper than a dedicated CDP :p
Some high end car audio equipment can be quite expensive with DSP and what not. preowned Car CDPs or DVD and Blu-ray players could work too with limited budgets.
 
A P80RS would do nicely. A Bottlehead would be lovely!! But, these are quite expensive as you rightly said.
 
A P80RS would do nicely. A Bottlehead would be lovely!! But, these are quite expensive as you rightly said.
Modifying and using car audio components makes sense if the budget is limited. Or as a temporary solution.
The high end car audio components are as expensive as many mid fi stereo set ups.
 
Get a Clarion HXD1, Denon R1, A100, If you don't want a DSP.

Get Pioneer P99RS or Clarion HX D2 if you want to go active with DSP.

Power on the players with 12v Battery.

Car audio Amps are also good, lots of options. You can try a class A amp like Adcom GFA 4302 for tweeters and a good class AB 2ch for bass units. It could be good to have a AC to DC converter power supply.
 
Car Audio amps can be used at home with a 12 volt DC line rated at minimum 4 amps. Most high end players have a higher output (6 to 8 volts) that can easily overdrive home audio amps. The caveat will be that you will not get enough steps on the volume control to play with.
However these can work pretty well with pro audio amps, that can normally take in up to 4 volts and will have an onboard gain control to match the input gain.
Some of the vintage car audio CD players from Mcintosh, Clarion, Nakamichi, Denon etc had excellent DACs with very high quality preamp implementation and can compete with some elite models.
 
A P80RS would do nicely. A Bottlehead would be lovely!! But, these are quite expensive as you rightly said.
I always had Panasonic Bottlehead at the back of mind for home audio services. It has tubes and it will glow nicely in the dark.:p

Size is also more perfect for home audio rather than car audio. I guess there is one in the sale section too.
 
Hello,

I would like to know how to use Car Audio CD players at home. If someone can guide and reply in a little detail on how to go about the process from scratch covering topics like which simple player to try it with, which Power Adapter I will need, which wires to connect, connection of speakers, etc it would be great. I have seen a few posts here on these forums where people have mentioned that they have used Car Audio systems at home and it always interested me thus I'm asking.

Thanks :)
I remember my dad's Pioneer KP-66G (car tape) which we used at our home whose bass treble was awesome.

Generally car systems need a 12v power supply with attest 3amps of current to play it easily. My dad had custom made a 12v 5amp transformer which was converted to DC and used as a power source. Remember to buy a power supply with 3amps or above so it will run easily
 
Hi Black_Hawk,

Humble apologies if I'm updating an old thread, just joined a few months back here (this is my first thread :))

I had tried to hook up a 10 year old Pioneer car amp in my home. Since they require a 12V supply rail, I connected it to my Desktop PSU Molex connectors just to see if it's operational. To my luck, I found it perfectly working and it gave some confidence that I can pull it through (although I'm pretty sure this limits it to be used for near field or studio monitors)
I also thought of using the car speakers too, which were oval speakers, so I brought 2 enclosures that almost fit these speakers.
So the entire set, is operational, but I'd say it's ages away from a basic audiophile setup. I currently use it as a simple studio monitor next to my PC.
 
You can either buy an aftermarket CD player and have it fitted to your new car, or you can download your music onto your phone or onto a USB memory stick that can be plugged into a port in the car.You need a 12V power cord to use your car stereo power supply for home use, but you can easily get that from a hardware store. Cut the end of the power cord and connect the black wire with the line of white around the stereo's red and yellow wires. Make sure every wire is completely covered before you plug it in.
There are numerous methods for playing a CD in a newer car with no CD player. The quickest and easiest is to purchase a portable CD player and connect it to your car stereo via bluetooth, aux cable, USB, FM transmitter, or a cassette tape adapter.
 
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