Author Topic: School me on car audio stuff  (Read 16605 times)

0 Members and 6 Guests are viewing this topic.

Plekto

  • Offline 4WD Legend
  • *****
  • Turtle Points: 27
  • Male Posts: 863
  • Member since Aug '07
    • View Profile
Re: School me on car audio stuff
« Reply #60 on: Jan 02, 2009, 07:07:03 PM »
Beat me to it on the doors.  They will bounce and vibrate like a drum head if you don't put something to dampen them a bit inside them.  Of course, the best option is to make a speaker enclosure inside the door itself.

My suggestion:
Your current head unit will work fine for any four basic speakers up to hearing damage levels.  I would toss the small fronts and go with a pair of 6-7 inch 3 way Kenwoods.  these seem to be the biggest bang for the buck.  they make two main lines - get the more expensive set.  Last time I checked, the difference was only like $20 between the two.  Round speakers sound cleaner and more accurate than oval ones, and 6.5 inch is plenty large.

Get a set of 1 inch riser rings.   Then make a plastic or metal box for the back side of the door/inside. Rears need a large cabinet of some kind.

As for the sub - ignore it.(see below)

http://www.kenwoodusa.com/Car_Entertainment/Speakers/7''_Speakers/KFC-C1739ie
4 of these would make a sub not required.  30hz is as low as most subs go outside of movie sound effects and the like.(It's basically one note, give or take a bit, above the last note on a piano)

But, honestly, even 4x 6.5s of high quality will nearly make you deaf.  The trick is the DIY cabinets for each speaker - they need to be as close to air tight as possible to keep the things from sounding tinny.  In fact, with most speakers, the cabinet usually makes a larger impact than the actual drivers. 

4.0 always sounds better than 4.1, but it requires large main speakers and a good amp.  Subs have always been a method to cheat a bit. In home theater, especially, a sub is good, because people don't have speakers the size of a small fridge.  But in a car, there's tons of space in the doors and rear behind the seats to make the speaker boxes.  A big cabinet like what was posted would give you enough room to get pretty good low frequencies.  A 7 inch woofer will go as low as you need for any rock or jazz or hip-hop or...  Larger speakers generally waste space and only offer more air movement(which is annoying IMO in a small enclosed space like a car).  You want good bass and not one tone "thump thump thump".

This is why it's better musically to have a small stack of 8 inchers if you play bass as opposed to a chuffy 12-15 inch single driver - the bottom note on a 4 string bass isn't even 40hz!(41.204 hz).  A 5 string is 30.868hz, which is as low bass notes go with rock and pop and so on. 

If you get 6.5s, which I found fine in my last car as well, get these:
http://www.kenwoodusa.com/Car_Entertainment/Speakers/6.5''_Oversized_n_6.5''_Speakers/KFC-1682ie
35hz vs 30hz isn't a huge compromise.  Possibly use these for the front if space is tight.

..and *NOT* these (cheaper ones you normally find):
http://www.kenwoodusa.com/Car_Entertainment/Speakers/6.5''_Oversized_n_6.5''_Speakers/KFC-1661S
Big difference in the clarity(not good) and just not worth saving $15-20.

I mention these because they would still sound good and don't require totally custom fitting and cutting in many cases(riser rings, covers, cabinets, etc - all normally come with 5-6.5s in mind)

But those 7s are beautiful... 4 of them would only set you back $140, tops. 
« Last Edit: Jan 02, 2009, 07:23:09 PM by Plekto »

 
 
 
 
 

Related Topics

19 Replies
4489 Views
Last post Jan 29, 2006, 02:30:40 PM
by DTB
50 Replies
6561 Views
Last post Dec 04, 2006, 02:20:29 PM
by Rainer
17 Replies
3328 Views
Last post Dec 11, 2007, 04:56:05 PM
by toyotaboy
15 Replies
2825 Views
Last post May 02, 2008, 11:54:16 AM
by 89toy
14 Replies
3376 Views
Last post Mar 08, 2011, 07:18:43 AM
by 86turboyota