Audio advice.... what can I do with my car?

[Count Knobula]

So a few months back I got a new main unit installed. A nice Kenwood kdc-x590.

However the mid and high ranges are fine but the bass is practically non-existent. Even if you ramp it up with the EQ.

I'm guessing it's to do with old father time. The car is an 89 turbo. Or is there another reason? Bad install?

So I plan on replacing all the speakers. I want to go to the big store nearby (brandsmart) where I got the main unit. I'm not interested in enormous sub woofers, I just want to replace all the existing speakers.

What information do I need and what recommendations can you guys make?

Such as makes to go for, wattages etc.

I'm not looking to blow doors off or annoy people, I just want some decent quality sound.

Thanks

 

[speed]

Yea, you won't get decent bass out of the stock stereo. Your big limitation are the speakers. i think 89's came with 4" up front? For better bass without a subwoofer, look to fit 6.5"s in there. There are a few writeups on making brackets to get them to fit.


A few generic tips: If you buy cheap gear, it'll sound like poop. 30$ speakers aren't going to sound good. Make your wattage decisions based off RMS ratings. You'll need to check your headunit to see how many watts RMS it puts out at 4ohm. Then, match your speakers to that (its okay to put 30w speakers on 15w power, but not the other way around.)

If you want to go bigger, look into external amplifiers.

 

[Count Knobula]

OK so if I DID put a sub in, the other speakers can be smaller as the power is spread out more evenly?

 

[speed]

Yes, but keep in consideration the frequency range of the speakers as well as the sub. Subs are very low frequency units. Asking one to play up high will sound piss poor and eventually lead to breaking the woofer. Similarly, asking a small, midrange speaker to go too low will leave a big void in your range. I hear a lot of cars with no midbass because people skip that frequency range.

Make sure to do research on the exact model of speaker you get before you buy, search on the web, post on some audio forums.. figure out if it'll cover the range you want, if its a sharp sound, or a smoother sound, all those sorts of things.

 

[Anth505]

let's back track a bit here. In order to lead you in the right direction, it would help if you could answer these questions...

First, what is your budget?
Can you do any of the work yourself?
How picky are you when it comes to sound?
How much of your car's space are you willing to give up?
How loud do you like to listen to your music?
What kind of music do you listen to?
On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your knowledge of car audio systems and 12volt systems in general?

After we have that info, we can start figuring out what will work best for your particular situation.

 

[Count Knobula]

First, what is your budget? a few hundred
Can you do any of the work yourself? no not really
How picky are you when it comes to sound? just dont want any static, want my guitar riffs to sound clear
How much of your car's space are you willing to give up? i have a targa top, so none (in terms of trunk)
How loud do you like to listen to your music? not very, no vibrating windows
What kind of music do you listen to? rock, metal etc (pink floyd, zeppelin, hendrix, iron maiden, nine inch nails etc etc)
On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your knowledge of car audio systems and 12volt systems in general? minus zero, I work in computers

Went to circuit city (hold your burning crosses) and they gave me a guesstimate of 2 pairs of hundred dollar speakers would give me very good sound and installation of roughly $70. A total of about 280, I'm willing to pay that. I reckon I'll get a slightly better deal at brandsmart.

I didn't get any numbers, all I want is clear sound. I care very little about big booming bass, I just want to be able tell it is there!

In truth I just want to cover what my wife's car can put out (maybe a little better) which is a 06 saturn ion!

 

[Anth505]

Ok. Well, as mentioned before, 6" in the doors will work but they would have to be sealed to get good bass out of them. This is not easy to do and can get expensive if someone else is doing the work.

I will suggest two options......

First, an 8" sub in a sealed enclosure and an external amp. This will be fairly cheap and will give you the bass you want. It will take up a minimal amount of room in the car's hatch but it shouldn't be too hard to find a set up that fits under the targa roof when stored.

Second, and this is what I would highly recommend for you, is one of these..... http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?g=51000&i=204BTA6100&c=3&tp=114

Again it will have to go in the hatch but it should fit under the stored targa. Measure first. The amp is built in and they should be able to install it fairly cheaply. It will probably come out to around your original quote of $280.00

Buy it wherever you like, but find a reputable car audio specialty shop to do the installation. I've heard (and seen) horror stories of Big Box stores screwing up people's cars.

 

[Dan_Gyoba]

You CAN do anyting that you want, and can afford.

Bass is a problem in an A70 chassis. Even the 6.5" speakers from a '91+ model aren't that great, given the poor excuse of an enclosure that they got.

I personally found that there was a "hole" between about 100Hz to 300Hz in the bass response with the stock-sized speakers and subwoofers. Since this is where the attack on the drums and bass guitar sits, it's annoying to say the least.

I put 6.5" speakers in their own boxes, which did an excellent job at filling that hole, though the boxes that I used were somewhat cumbersome. I replaced the map pockets in the doors.

I've since got rid of these, since they stuck into the leg area a bit, but it was a piece of cake to put the map pockets back on, so no harm done. I sold them to a fellow in BC.

My next project will be 6.5" speakers in the factory location, in an enclosure. Lots of fibreglass work to do, but the result should be satisfactory. My intention at this time is to make the parts so that I can produce more of them, which I would like to sell to recoup my costs.