Car audio boffins please

Originally Posted by neillfergie

ovals are a bit out of fashion at the moment but its hard to get better bass for the money and space they take up.

What 6x9's?

They were never in fashion. The wa the speakers are design means the different music notes counter act each other.

I'd say

Comps up front

Largest Mids in the rear you can. This will give crisp high end notes and mid range at the front, with a litle mid range at the rear. High pitch is directional so where and how you position the speakers is vital. Bass is multidirectional though, no matter where it is in the car, the note should be roughly the same.

But the main thing is the amp. Get a budget cheap amp = bad signal = blown X-Overs and eventually speakers.

TBH, i'd get rid of the 2 channel, invest in a good 60-100W RMS (NOTE RMS!!!! NOT PEAK)x4 amp.

Good signal, good constent power, then the speakers only need to be average and it'll sound ok.

But without a subwoofer, its never going to get "that" much better imo.

100% on sound deadening. Not only will it stop your car from sounding like a rattle can bouncing down the street, it'll keep the noise inside the car, and massivly reduce outside noise hence you won't sound like a boyracer coming down the road.

When its right, u'll know it Takes a lot of tweeking of the amp/HU to get the best of the speakers as well.

Plus don't forget, new speakers need running in. Not just turn on and blast them away. They need a good 5-10 hours running in time at a modest volume (like running a new engine in).

you can stick a 8"x8" panel of the stuff on the inside of door skins mate, you dont need to cover every bit to get an improvement. There are cheaper generic brands on the market than dynamat too but it is very good.

seriously though its money well spent as you actually get the full benefit of your new kit if you spend a bit of time.

Bit on the door skins

bit on rear quarter panels

rear tailgate panel too.

2hours work tops.

Roof panel,
Boot panel (ESP if you have a spoiler)

A lot of noise, and a large amount of vibration, comes through the roof (BOOM BOOM).

But seriously, unless your running real high end audio, without a subwoofer, your not going to have to much requirement for sound deadening.

[_Stretchie_]

Whoa boyz, fnk U 4 ure hlp, bt jst 2 clr smethng up. I dnt hv a...



I have a ..



Ha haaa

I don't want people to hear me in the next village and I don't want the hairs on the back of my neck to vibrate. Just want it to sound better than it does. Don't need BIG bass, just some would do.

I have the new Alpine 4" speakers in I found out last night that it actually sounds quite good in the back and even carries a little bass, but those speakers are at head height in the rear pillars, the ones in the front (where I normally sit) are at waist height and just point into the car (i.e. at the gearstick). I have shifted the fade to the rear a bit and it sounds better, so what I'm thinking now after taking into consideration your help and comments is (and tell me what you think of this) just whacking a pair of decent tweeters in the front pointing into the cabin about head height and looking into these (or other) 6.5" bass drivers:
http://www.ice-direct.com/Alpine-606...r-PALP_6062GD/
http://www.m-99.co.uk/Car_Audio/6_In...ubwoofers.html (but for £15, I'm guessing you get £15 worth of sound...)


Only just seen this http://www.incarexpress.co.uk/view_p...?partno=6W3V38 but that's too much ££'s

As 2 off those would fit into the standard enclosure on the rear door (in picture below under the torch). This will keep the interior completley standard, nothing on show, no extra room being taken up. And run these two off the amp.



Cheer guys and sorry for kicking the R's out of this thread.

Originally Posted by Viney

Birch ply(apprently the deadest wood you can get)

I thought it was Natalie............i'll get my coat

[Luckypants]

I won't try to add anything to the technical discussion about big stereos, but let me say as a past owner of several large 4X4's that investing in some decent sound proofing will pay dividends, not just to the sound of your stereo but also general driving pleasure.

There are three types of sound you want to suppress, resonance (vibration), wind and transmitted. Resonance is treated by the use of damping pads that stick to large panels (roof, doors, floor pan etc) to stop them vibrating. These pads are quite small, generally 8" x 10". Transmitted sound is reduced by the use of sound deadening mats (Dynamat, Acoustimat etc) and is fitted over any resonance pads you fit. Sound deadening mats can be fitted in the engine bay to reduce engine noise in the cabin.

Wind noise is much harder to suppress, it is caused by air being sucked out of the cabin past window and door seals. It will be hard to do anything about it on a 10 yo Disco. You can get new door seals, make sure the hinges and latches align to get a good seal. 'Putty' up holes in the body and thats about it.

Acoustikit used to do kits for sound proofing cars, but it now appears they have gone bust.

Originally Posted by Luckypants

I won't try to add anything to the technical discussion about big stereos, but let me say as a past owner of several large 4X4's that investing in some decent sound proofing will pay dividends, not just to the sound of your stereo but also general driving pleasure.

I agree,

leave the big amps for the show cars, that's why i was trying to suggest a simple and sensible setup. the manufacturer chose to put speakers in specific places for good reason so usually they work well too.

Good head unit is a sensible place to spend some money as you can move it to your next car too. spend a bit more on the fronts as they will make a bigger difference to the overall sound the rears just a bit of fill for the rear really.

[_Stretchie_]

Yeah, I normally spend £150-£180 on a head unit and that alone improves the quality 10 fold.

Will keep you guys posted and possibly PM you about this sound deadening (the simple version that is)

[Viney]

You can get a bitchumen spray type affir thats pretty good.

Im still not 100% sold on using a small bit of deadening. My old XR2 had about £500 worth of Dynamat pro in it and it was great. My current car has, as you said, a dynamat square behind each speaker and some mounted on the boot lid, and to be honest, its made NO difference. More is better imho.

A big amp is not neccessary.

But a good quality amp is.

Below was a 4x 65w RMS amp that only cost me £130. This had enough plower, enough settings, didn't cost the earth, but was a good rated amp.



I also knew of that corsa. Didn't like the graphic, but it was actually very well built as it was a demo car of a new bodykit.

In fact it was about before the word "chav" came about as a generalisation of modified car owners.

Next up it'll be that bikers are fat beard swinging gangs who only ride harleys.............