Car audio Junkies advice.

[pokertramp]

Few questions for the pros....

#1. I have debated this many times. Some people say to put tweeters up on the dash, pillar or upper door panel and put the speaker in the lower part of the door.

I always say, and others have said also that the tweeter should be no more than a foot from the component speaker for proper imaging.

What is your thought on this?

#2. When installing subs in a G-body, what is the best way to mount the Subs? Looking for both ported and sealed enclosure ideas. I see some face the trunk with ports going up through the package tray as well as facing the back of the seat. Base is non-directional, correct?


#3. When it comes to an ultimate sound system, rear speakers are really not needed unless you are doing a DVD 5.1 surround sound setup.

So If I buy a pair or Focal components for $600 and get a cheaper pair of coaxial speakers for the rear, set the fade to mostly to the front with just a little rear fill, everything would be OK????????


Just getting ideas together and planing out a system for when I have the money.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Well, I can only speak from what I plan on doing. My rear speakers will be nothing fancy, just some 4x10's or 6x9's in a coaxial configuration in the stock location. Up front, I plan on 5.25 in mids in the doors (stock location for a Regal with Concert Sound II) and tweeters in the stock location. Is this ideal? Probably not, but it lets me hide things behind stock grilles. Unfortunately, there are a lot of thieves out there and if your car stands out too much it will get hit. If you do notice a difference, there are processors out there that let you do time delays for individual components to help fix the location woes. I have always heard that you needed to keep the distance from the listener with each component the same, not a magical distance from each component. It may be that putting the mids down low and the tweeters up high is more ideal because the distance from the listener's ear is more equalized that way, depending on how the actual car is set up of course. Don't forget to phase the tweeter 180 degrees out if you put it in the dash as the sound will be off as it is reflected off the windshield. For my subs, they will be a pair of 10's in a sealed box facing the back of the trunk. Conventional thinking is that this makes them louder because you get more sound by reflecting it off another surface. I am not hugely into bass, so I just tend to want something with a presence that does not take up too much space or overwhelm the other components. Usually, I'd rather cheap out on the subs rather than component speakers and head unit. Then again, I don't compete with my cars in anything and instead just design my systems based on cost and sound quality for my own enjoyment. Also remember that reducing ambient noise will have a greater effect on sound quality than the difference between a really good set of speakers and an exceptional set. It may make a difference in competition, but on the road it is harder to tell the difference.

As for my system, I have 3 Alpine amps that combined (adjusted for load) will put out around 975 watts. I am running a set of Alpine Type S DVC subs (that I have left over from my Sentra) in a sealed box, and plan on buying MB Quart Seprates off E-Bay for around $150 for the front. For the back, I have not decided, but it will be based on cost as it is just rear fill.

 

[pokertramp]

Thanks man, great advice. I think I will use the pioneer 4 x 10's and get a high end set of components for the front. For bass I will probably go with 4 8" subs. I usually only listen to Death metal, metal, rock and classical,,,,,,,.

It is hard to find speakers that are accurate for that type of music, I had top of the line Alpines in my other car and they sounded like sh*t with Metal, everything clashed in the components. I had infinity kappa perfects 6.5 and they where good but I didn't have an amp for them.

I thought about going crazy but probably am better off going stealth, a lot of jealous people around here.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Thanks man, great advice. I think I will use the pioneer 4 x 10's and get a high end set of components for the front. For bass I will probably go with 4 8" subs. I usually only listen to Death metal, metal, rock and classical,,,,,,,.

It is hard to find speakers that are accurate for that type of music, I had top of the line Alpines in my other car and they sounded like sh*t with Metal, everything clashed in the components. I had infinity kappa perfects 6.5 and they where good but I didn't have an amp for them.

I thought about going crazy but probably am better off going stealth, a lot of jealous people around here.

Sorry.. I just had to laugh when you said "everything clashed" when talking about metal....

Anyhow, you know how people are. If you have anything nice someone will try to steal it rather than work for it. There is an amazing number of scumbags in the world, and sometimes the only way to keep them away is to not let them know you have something nice.

 

[pokertramp]

LOL that was good when you look at it....

My neighbor had his car keyed and I would hate to see if someone did that to his challenger when he puts it on the road... :evil: He would probably kill them.

 

[2000.malibu.ls]

my personal preference is 2 12's, 2 6x9's, 2 6.5's and a set of tweeters. i just need to use an amp for my door speakers on my next system so that its clearer when the volume is lower. Shop ebay and you can find a kick *ss full system for about 500 bucks new if you shop smartly

 

[pokertramp]

One question I had. Would it be better to mount the front components lower in the door panel or should I put them up higher?

 

[streetworkxs]

don't do 6x9's in the rear package tray. do 6.5'' in the rear quarter panels under the opera windows. Remove the speakers from the rear package tray to allow bass into the car more freely. also 6.5''s sound better than 6x9s. (don't distort as much). also this way you can have a custom box on the trunk shelf for your subs, and not hit the magnets from the 6x9's if there were any back there. That is my strategy. I will be mounting them flush against the back seat sealed off from the trunk, so i don't have to deal with annoying trunk rattle.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

LOL that was good when you look at it....

My neighbor had his car keyed and I would hate to see if someone did that to his challenger when he puts it on the road... :evil: He would probably kill them.

I feel the same way about my Cutlass! I refuse to ever take it to work again, because the last time I did, someone sat on my perfect header panel and cracked it. It took me 4 months to find another one I considered acceptable. Yeah, OK it was a ratty looking old car at the time, but why compound the problem by wrecking it further? I just don't get people sometimes. Leave other people's sh*t alone. I am now paranoid about actually taking it anywhere because I am afraid of what might happen to it.

 

[gbodyaddict]

don't do 6x9's in the rear package tray. do 6.5'' in the rear quarter panels under the opera windows. Remove the speakers from the rear package tray to allow bass into the car more freely. also 6.5''s sound better than 6x9s. (don't distort as much). also this way you can have a custom box on the trunk shelf for your subs, and not hit the magnets from the 6x9's if there were any back there. That is my strategy. I will be mounting them flush against the back seat sealed off from the trunk, so i don't have to deal with annoying trunk rattle.

i agree.....rear package tray speakers will drown out by the subs and you really cant listen to speakers that are behind you anyway.