Car audio-Fi

I used the sub from my Klipsh promedia 2.1 in my hyundai tuson.....ran the outupts from my head unit as subwoofer out and powered the sub with a simple dc/ac converter from the dc outlet in the cargo area. I am not cranking this super loud but sounds pretty decent. Took me all of 5 minutes to hook up and ...... "we got bass"

Pioneer DEH-8600MP headunit

Signat ROC4 mkII amp

Signat Onyx 12" sub in sealed enclosure

Toyota factory speakers

Funny thing is, it's all built into my company car :)

I have a 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass Siera S. It's not a great car, but I got it for free and it gets me around.

First thing I did to it: New stereo!

I asked around, and some people recommended Hertz. So I had the following installed in my car:
Kenwood KDC-MP342U

Hertz HCX-690 in the back

Hertz Energy ECX-87

Problem is, even though I'm an audiophile that could care less about bass in IEMs, I'd like bass in my car setup. This setup has almost none, even with bass boost.

The biggest problem is the car though. The road noise on the highway is horrible, because the car has been in an accident (Wasn't me!) and so the whole frame is bent a bit and the doors/windows don't seal right.

RenaultSport Clio with:

Alpine CDA-9886

hifonics zeus zxi6.5c

Hifonics HFI 100.2

Using a 'boss' amp wiring kit. 

Had the CDA for a while. I was gifted the hifonics bits. Not bad, I must say. 

Too bad it's in my little French car = more interior rattle than you could ever imagine. 

Wanted better sound for my car back in 2009. I am not like normal people so I read everything I could and tore down my car.  I never did this before so I learned a lot. Covered everything in lead bitumen. Special alu-bitumen for the inside of the doorpanels and regular for the outside. Cut the doors to fit custom made MDF adapters for large size speakers. Used heavy duty bolts to machine everything to the car's plating. Rocksolid. Covered the finished result in speakercloth and it almost looks stock now, if stock means having huge protruding panels sticking out of your tiny Japanese car's doors.  

Alpine HU, Alpine amp, Rainbow SAX (german car audio brand) woofers (on the photo I used Axton covers for protection) and dashboard tweeters. Rainbow passive filters, Pioneer sub. Kicks like a mule. 

I've been wanting to upgrade the sound system in my car, but have no clue where to start. It seems more difficult choosing speakers than headphones, because you know you won't get the same kind of experience while driving, than you will listening in a showroom, because my car in particular has quite a bit of road/wind noise. =/

As of now, I just have a JVC KW-NT800HDT headunit. I've had it for about a month now, and mainly just got it for the navi, but I love it so far. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by PANGES 

I've been wanting to upgrade the sound system in my car, but have no clue where to start. It seems more difficult choosing speakers than headphones, because you know you won't get the same kind of experience while driving, than you will listening in a showroom, because my car in particular has quite a bit of road/wind noise. =/

 

As of now, I just have a JVC KW-NT800HDT headunit. I've had it for about a month now, and mainly just got it for the navi, but I love it so far. 

I've built my fair share of car audio installs by now and if there's any advice I can give you it's that the install itself is maybe even more important than your choice of speakers. Dampen your doors! It may seem like a bit of a chore but it's easier than it looks and it makes the world of difference. Make sure you attach the speakers with a proper MDF adapter on your door to make sure the vibrations go straight into your car's frame.

If you make sure you get a decent woofer/tweeter/filter set and an amplifier from a well respected car audio manufacturer like Helix, Focal, Polk, Alpine, Rainbow, Audio System, Infinity, HiFonics etc. you can't go really wrong for around $250. Most of them around that budget sound the same-ish. Your install will make the biggest difference. Think of your car as a speaker cabinet. No woofer will sound great in a bad speaker case right? :) 

Choosing a subwoofer can be challenging but there's always active subwoofers to make it easy for you. Pioneer has some pretty decent offerings these days. :) 

www.pioneer.eu › Home › Products pioneer have got some good head units if you fancy putting dvds in the back headrests! I got a mcintosh car stereo put in my girlfriends dodge challenger rt classic and i got a pioneer av put in the top of the dash with sat nav and it plays sirus internet radio, with bose quiet comfort 15 and 2 ipad3's in the back headrests for the kids..it's the avh-8400bh top notch gear from pioneer that i would highly recommend!

150 watt JBL Amplifier and 8" Eclipse Subwoofer I got for $40 finally installed...

Hard to believe the amp wiring kit was almost as expensive >_< ($25 Walmart kit)

I'm pretty new to the world of sub-woofers, amps, and car audio. I have some basic understanding of subwoofer sizes and wattage. However, I'm looking at getting two Pyle 15 inch 3600 watt DVC sub-woofers with an impedance of dual 4 ohm. To power them, I'm looking at getting a Pyle PLA2988 2 Channel 6000 Watts Bridgeable Mosfet Amplifier, as well as a Boss Audio Cap20 20 Farad Power Capacitor. What I am asking is if this configuration will work well, or do I need a different amp or a different capacitor? Or have I completely fouled this up and need to go back and relearn?
I got some criticism on other forums for choosing Pyle, and I know they aren't the best. However, I have to look at cost because I live in Hawaii, and shipping gets bloody expensive fast. Can anyone help?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000U7LH78/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002RU92XW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001TBO3OS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=A1WRTEG7T8P2CK

Vifa BC25-TG* in my old Mazda 323 (Protege in N.America), Focal 165V2 mids in the doors, run full active from a Pioneer Premier DEH-860MP into a Digital Designs C4 amplifier. No sub. No expansion plans, need to get a new car after I'm done with grad school. For a lot of reasons I'm probably getting a small crossover, but I'm sorely tempted to get a Toyota Vios (Yaris sedan) just for the central-mount instrument cluster. Heard a couple of systems in those and the stage depth was insane for a car, not to mention easy as heck to get spot-on center imaging.

If I get a crossover/small SUV with Nav though I'd try to look for one with a map pocket, and that's where I'll mount a Pioneer 80PRS (I think there's a way to have an audio input from the Nav receiver). This way I can keep the factory NAV unit and still get my car audio right.

*I cold be wrong about the serial number

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProtegeManiac 

 

Vifa BC25-TG* in my old Mazda 323 (Protege in N.America), Focal 165V2 mids in the doors, run full active from a Pioneer Premier DEH-860MP into a Digital Designs C4 amplifier. No sub. No expansion plans, need to get a new car after I'm done with grad school. For a lot of reasons I'm probably getting a small crossover, but I'm sorely tempted to get a Toyota Vios (Yaris sedan) just for the central-mount instrument cluster. Heard a couple of systems in those and the stage depth was insane for a car, not to mention easy as heck to get spot-on center imaging.

 

If I get a crossover/small SUV with Nav though I'd try to look for one with a map pocket, and that's where I'll mount a Pioneer 80PRS (I think there's a way to have an audio input from the Nav receiver). This way I can keep the factory NAV unit and still get my car audio right.

 

*I cold be wrong about the serial number

Did you make and angle those custom tweeter mounts yourself? I have no idea what they are called in English, we call em "A-styles" overhere. I once tried making my own but it was really hard to do right. Did you angle them by ear or with a calibration system?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Negakinu 

 

Did you make and angle those custom tweeter mounts yourself? I have no idea what they are called in English, we call em "A-styles" overhere. I once tried making my own but it was really hard to do right. Did you angle them by ear or with a calibration system?

Experimented with the angles using cheaper, smaller Dayton tweets fro a few weeks, then the Vifas for a few days - the cabin was more important than dispersion or their dispersion wasn't too different - ended up liking the same angle as with the Daytons. Then I had a local shop do the fiberglass tweeter pods - they marked then disassembled my pillars, was done in three days and I cam by after work. Shops here can do it on the cheap but much of the time and labour have to do with them finding the proper angle which can drive the price up if you have to leave your car in their garage (which can be inconvenient if you need your car).

We just call them tweeter pods here BTW.