Car Audio...enlighten us!

[El Presidente]

Assuming that we know the importance of sound proofing.

For the car audiophiles

out there right now. Let's break it into 3 categories.

The best of the best.

* What would you spend your coin on. Amps and speakers.

The Sensible Solution

* What get's you 90% there at 60% (guessing) of the cost. Amp and speakers.

Cheapie solution

Drop in Speakers and tweeters only. Replace stock. Were would you go.

Fell free to discuss pro's and cons of options, brands and mix/match. Let us know what you have done to your cars present or past, how you have achieved a great result (tips/shortcuts) or otherwise.

Cheers!

[StingMeadery]

Recently had a quote for the ultimate 5k set up of French speakers, sub woofer and amp for the Landcruiser...

Need to add a new state of the art head deck to that but for a single cab...It's going to be ridiculous !

As for the sensible option, I had a $1500 Alpine speaker/sub woofer custom combo put in the missus Landcruiser which is extremely loud and ultra clear.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Fuzz]

Since you've been having so much trouble figuring out the controls in your new car, I suggest you rip out the head unit and install one of these...

[Fuzz]

And here's a cheap solution for those on a budget...

[Bulldog4]

I ran a simple yet nice setup in the car ran a complete hertz system a nice high quality brand out of italy 1 12"sub component speakers in all stock locations also tweeters simple clean alpine deck cost me about 3000$ total worth every penny

[Sutton]

Best of the best is Focal/JM labs with out a doubt. They actually have 3-4 lines depending on your price point. I have the utopia line in my competition Car & the Kevlar line in my daily driver. They make nice amps too. I run a amp called micro-dimensions but you can't go wrong with the Focal,JL Audio . I have a Nakamichi CD700 head unit, it's plain as plain could be but sounds phenomenal . Denon actually made some nice head units too. But alas I run Clarion in my daily driver.

It all comes down to the shop that can install it and back it up via warranty.

[Hypersomniac]

I ran a simple yet nice setup in the car ran a complete hertz system a nice high quality brand out of italy 1 12"sub component speakers in all stock locations also tweeters simple clean alpine deck cost me about 3000$ total worth every penny

I also run Hertz. Components in all stock locations as well. JL 12w3 subwoofer. Alpine deck.

What speakers do you have? I have the Mille MLK 165.

[REASON]

I run, but currently are not in my car as of right now, JL audio (JL 10w7 I find these hit better then 12") JL500w (could easily handle 1000 though) 4/400w JL powers Focals Mids/Highs these are in the mid to low highs in price but are very worth it. Just the Focals alone would be enough to make a quality decent car audio set up without the lows.

[El Presidente]

In the JK Wrangler I ran 4 x Focal K2P speakers (two front, two in ceiling sound bar), Focal Tweeters, 14 inch Focal Sub and an Alpine 1000 watt Amp.

The unit worked like a dream. The only criticism is that the Tweeters were a touch "metallic/tinny". Overall however, crystal clear at the loudest of volumes.

The only reason I would move away from Focal is to achieve a "warmer" sound.

Thanks for your help. Even you Fuzz

[Hemsworth]

It has been a few years since I was into the scene...but best bang for the buck for me were CDT speakers. Particularly the Eurosport line. I have no idea if they are still of the same quality these days, however. Very nice highs out of the tweets...not too tinny or shrill.

[Sutton]

Dyna audio is what I would look at Rob. Lots of people like there tweeters .

[mash]

I run Focals as well.

If you want to look for an alternative, see if anyone around you sells Morel. They are Israeli, and they are powerful and accurate.

If you want to consider a higher end amp (you only live once), see if you can audition an Audison.

Good luck with your setup.

[galtline]

Focals Are excellent and I run Hifonics amps. Also used MB Quart

http://www.hifonics.com/hifonics_brutus_amplifiers.html

This is an excellent 5 Channel amp. One amp makes life so much easier on the install and it has TONS of Power.

I use http://www.usdaudio.com/products/

USD AP MAT with a single USD 10. Excellent Bass without all of that boomy bass. Very Solid System.

[Fosgate]

So how did I get my handle??

Got rid of my big system years ago. You don't really want to skimp on car audio if your going to have it loud. Distortion emitted by a low end system will thrash your ears and you may suffer from tinnitus or hearing loss in just a few years.

What brand and model is the amp and speakers? Also what ohm are the subs? What make model and year is the car this is going into. Reason I ask is I have seen people on more than one occasion go buy nice stuff that is already in the car (Bose, Pioneer, Alpine etc). On one occasion on gal bought a pair of Pioneer premier 6x9's for her Ford Ranger with the Edge package...The truck already had those identical speakers. Agreed with the 6x9's but at least they are not as horrible as they were pre-1990's and if you were building a car audio system the first things to go were the 6x9's and just had to go with subs, mid range and individual tweets.

What I am thinking is depending on your amp on how many channels it has and what your car already has is this for a cheap setup. If your car already has a decent set of speakers in it you could simply tap into one of the rear speakers for your subs like so.


http://www.rx8club.com/series-i-interior-audio-electronics-24/help-tapping-into-rear-speakers-167367/


http://www.amazon.com/PAC-SNI35-Adjustable-2-Channel-Converter/dp/B001EAWS3W

This way you avoid having to run power cable down one side of your car and the wiring from the deck down the other side to avoid interference from the power running right next to it.

Next if your subs are 4ohm speakers and your amp is rated to be able to run at a 2ohm load you can bridge the amp mono to use all the power of the amp. Be warned though, make sure your amp is located someplace that it can shed the heat and maybe even consider splicing a little PC fan into the power to keep air circulating over the fins of the amp. If your subs are 4 ohm, hopefully your amp is rated to run 1ohm mono safely. Reason being is when you bridge 2, 4 ohm speakers you reduce the resistance to a 2ohm load. Even if your amp is rated for 2 ohms this is bad because your amp sees only half of the resistance so it you would have a 1 ohm circuit. Not that your amp would not drive it it would probably overheat very easily and either shut off or fry internal resistors of the amplifier. So in the event your subs are 8 ohm you would be able to bridge them mono to a 4 ohm load and your amp would see 2ohms. This makes a huge difference in sound if your trying to stay in budget when you cant afford a big amp or run smaller individual amps per speaker. Also important to port the box, I always like making my box 1inch larger than what Rockford Fosgate put on their chart and then tune it by installing a port. If you don't have the space for a large box you can also use angel hair (pillow stuffing) and stuff your box with the stuff. This slows down the air flow and the speaker reacts by acting like it is in a larger enclosure. Still have to port it though to get the tight snap rather than muddy base. Also having an angle so you can experiment with which way to put the speakers is a plus. Hatchbacks were always tough in competition because of how the subs direct the noise off the glass to the driver seemed to amplify. In some cars rather than pushing straight through the back seats it will wound better bouncing the signal off the trunk lid or of the back end of the car. Any case it takes some experimenting before building your final box. I think I usually built at least 3 boxes out of cheap 1/2inch particle board before I would settle on one. Final box I always chose to make out of high density MDF preferably in 3/4 inch or 1/2inch thick lexan.
Instead of doing this.

Wire like this for mono. If you notice the diagram shows this is a mono amp. If you have a multiple channel amp you can bridge the channels at the amp in the diagram above for example, by connecting the inside positive and negative leads together and use the outside positive and negative to link to the speakers.


Power wire to the amp is important that you use very heavy wire and that you have a fuse within a foot of the battery. This will help protect your car's electronics. run it down one side in to a power distribution block in the back to step down the cable size for your amp power input and provide another fuse to protect your system and your car. May not need a huge block but it does provide expansion power. Some guys will run a large capacitor between the front fuse and the back fuse. This helps maintain constant power to the amplifier. Guys may notice the stereo is not at loud as when they first turn it one, heat of the voice coils is one reason but the car not being able to put out enough power is another. Usually you can tell this is an issue if you notice your headlights or interior lights fade when you crank the radio. The capacitor is a cheap solution rather than running a second battery or high output alternator (Which may be necessary anyway. http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_9847_Rockford-Fosgate-RFC2D.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=productads&device=c&network=g&matchtype=&gclid=CPnTrPL5_LYCFUPc4AoddwcAEg




I use to compete in IASCA in the late 80's and up until about 98 when I was simply tired of having my car targeted by thieves repeatedly. After that I just went with cheap setups as I suggested to get decent sound but keep it concealed and unoticable until 2005 when cars started having decent stereo options with hidden subs. Though they cant hold a torch to some of the stuff I had in the past.
My first setup was four M&M Godfather 12's mounted across the back deck of a 1972 Nova run by a Rockford Fosgate Mosfet 300 Power amp. Don't remember anything else in the setup.
Next was a 1980 Datsun 280ZX with the same Mosfet 300 amp running a pair of Rockford Fosgate Punch 15's then Pro 15's and a set of Rockford Fosgate 8' subs and boston acoustics up front.
Finally I had an 89 Camaro and 90 Camaro that I got into the world Finals in 95 and 96. I tried Lanzar and JL audio subs be went backt to 4 Rockford Fosgate Pro Series 10's off of one of their old Power 200 Watt amps (400watts mono) and then swapped for an old Fosgate Mosfet 650watt amps bridged mono and used a pair of 200's to run the front. They did not last long and swapped my amps for Xtant one year at the finals and the following year I swapped amps again and went with all McIntosh stuff except the head unit, Rockford Fosgate PA1 and Rockford Power Subs. (Phenomenal Amps at the time and not a hard decision to go to when they approach you to use their stuff for huge discounts and other free stuff.).


The last setup was well over $10 grand at the time with all the lexan and custom formed fiberglass combined with all the equipment. I cleaned my car one night and parked it outside so my girlfriend at the time could park her new car in the garage at my apartment. Someone ripped the door lock out, destroyed my dash ripping the deck out, got two of the four subs out and two of the four amps I had and pretty much destroyed all the box surfaces, lexan etc prying amps and speakers out and destroyed the two remaining subs because they tired prying them out and bent the crap out of the frames on them. Think in all it was over $1000 in damage to the interior and the body of the car alone and $4k to the stereo system. Insurance covered it with a fight and I reinstalled everything but a couple months later It got broke into when I was at a movie theater and just the head unit was stolen but I had enough at that time. Noise laws came into effect and I was constantly getting pulled over I was done. I always like Rockfords stuff (Thus my nickname) but when they started making a cheap series 1 and then renamed that series Punch it left a bad taste in my mouth as well as others because the brand really suffered. Only thing decent they had was the Power series and they got really expensive quick when there are other competitors out there for the same or less. I should try to dig up some pictures of the old setups. But anyway, the equipment has changed I'm sure as to what is the ti ts thing to have these days but the concepts are pretty much the same. Hope this helps and if you have any questions don't hesitate to PM me.

When Dynamat came out it was a godsend but was only available in sheets and was hard to apply. It was awesome when the spray came out. We would pull the door panels out and all the interior and line it with the stuff. Coat the back of license plates etc to get rid of all the rattles like rigging a submarine to run silent. Spendy though.

Lot of people first think that the amps and speakers are spendy but it can easily cost way more if you go for a slick show quality piece when you get into adding liquid cooling systems, power control, audio control equipment, add the installation and tuning of creating boxes, adding, lexan, fiberglass work, LED's, Neons, cutting into body work for stealth installs etc. My last install I had easily twice as much into the interior work before adding Ricarro seats etc. Had a ton of money poured into that car and in the end I had probably as much as the car cost in it. If I remember right the second Camaro was $18k new and with all the mods for show was pretty close to that and maybe more. Not one of my smartest investments by all means.

So now onto some of my comp pics.

[Fosgate]

few pics of the 1994-95 IASCA World Car Audio Finals in Dallas TX I was in. Though I'm missing probably 50+ pics including the ones of my setup in the blue camaro. You can see another one of my friends setup in a black Camaro (sort of). All kinds of neat ideas before cities cracked down on their noise ordinances.

[Fosgate]

This was the Cerwin Vega Stroker Van

[Fosgate]

[Fosgate]

This was a super slick install as the owner utilized the space in the fender walls of a 93 Camaro for his speakers and ran a liquid cooling system to the magnets. When he had the covers on everything it looked like the standard car interior and would never know he had 4 subs installed in it.

[Fosgate]

This was in a Camaro from California and the guy had smoked a coyote on his way through Arizona. He did a minimal install of the subs by using liquid to measure the space he needed in the bottom trunk well. He then created a platform with poly and was able to then seal up the enclosure and install speakers. The amps were standard black amps that he used aircraft stripper and then wet sanded and polished them each by hand.

[Fosgate]

[Fosgate]

[Fosgate]

[Fosgate]

[Fosgate]

[Fosgate]

Expensive ride with expensive gold plated gear.