[Bedphones]

I think car audio all depends on the vehicle, tbh. I have the upgraded sound package in my 2011 Mini Cooper, and the speakers are H/K. They sound legit, better than any standard sound system, and most likely, better than any post-manufacturing upgrades I could install myself. Then again, I doubt my Mini would require nearly as much audio capability as a bigger vehicle, an SUV for example. The upgraded H/K system sounds great in a mini, but might not sound as good in a bigger vehicle. 

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bedphones /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I think car audio all depends on the vehicle, tbh. I have the upgraded sound package in my 2011 Mini Cooper, and the speakers are H/K. They sound legit, better than any standard sound system, and most likely, better than any post-manufacturing upgrades I could install myself. Then again, I doubt my Mini would require nearly as much audio capability as a bigger vehicle, an SUV for example. The upgraded H/K system sounds great in a mini, but might not sound as good in a bigger vehicle. 

 

They won't because that system likely comes with its own DSP unit that is customized to work in only the Mini. Custom systems have the advantage of not being restrained by manufacturer specs like aesthetics, where even a properly done fiberglass tweeter pod isn't desirable if it doesn't maintain the flatness of the A-pillars for example, which is almost always the case since you have to introduce a toe-in angle to  the tweeters such that you minimize reflections off the windshield but without making the driver's side tweeter too direct to the driver that it pulls the soundstage to that side anyway. At worst, if you're competing in EMMA or IASCA, you will have to take into account certain parameters, like making sure the tweeter pod is not going to extend beyond the front of the A-pillar (see below) nor get in the way of the mirrors. Other paremeters can be how manufacturers save on cost or weight and make the door mounts even less ideal as speaker enclosures, on top of cancellations if the front and rear sides of the cone aren't isolated, and then  to round it all up (or, without passive crossovers, to even get it all working properly in the first place) you'll need a DSP with the right crossover and time alignment features.

 

This is something you shouldn't do if your goal is to not lose points here and there.

 

 

 

At the same time if you're upgrading a system you really have to know enough of what you're doing. You can't just replace speakers, you have to mount them properly, otherwise you'll just have more expensive speakers dealing with the same kinds of acoustic issues. And then it's necessary to know how to work a DSP so you can really set it up to simulate sitting at home smack between two speakers.

 

 

[Noviet]

No a single company will make the best car speakers because we all look for our version of "next level" sound. Whats your goals? 

 

[jodgey4]

  I've got a big ol' SUV ('99 Mistubishi Montero) so ya I gotta make some decisions on that front. Something to think about . I'm gonna do Dynamat in the doors first, and replace the front 6.5" speakers as the left one is blown out. They sound freaking amazing already... no clue why, haha.

My big guy has some serious work that needs to be done so I'm looking at a new car now... hatchback like a ~2010 Mazda 3 or VW Golf/GTI... I hope the sound system in there is alright

. I came back to check out this thread again just *** and to try and remember how everything works, and wanted to thank y'all for the great insight. Who knows, I might be back asking more questions soon . The idea of adding dampening and maybe some more changes down the line are still appealing. I'm willing to do the electrical work, though fiberglass etc. sounds outside of what I can handle. Anyways. Y'all are cool.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jodgey4 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

My big guy has some serious work that needs to be done so I'm looking at a new car now... hatchback like a ~2010 Mazda 3 or VW Golf/GTI... I hope the sound system in there is alright

. I came back to check out this thread again just *** and to try and remember how everything works, and wanted to thank y'all for the great insight. Who knows, I might be back asking more questions soon . The idea of adding dampening and maybe some more changes down the line are still appealing. I'm willing to do the electrical work, though fiberglass etc. sounds outside of what I can handle. Anyways. Y'all are cool.

 

The Mazda 3 needs a lot of work on the speaker mounting. At minimum, you'll need a converter if you get new speakers, because AFAIK the stock speakers are oval. Second, they're mounted on the plastic interior panel, instead of a metal frame that's part of the actual door. On one hand that means less cancellation as the grill is really mounted like a grill should be, but the downside is that this plastic panel is the opposite of a stable baffle.

 

That said, if you're buying a used car, that won't be a problem since you're going to have less apprehensions about modifying it. Also, depending on where you are, you can probably pick up a new panel from a scrapyard, as long as it doesn't smell funny, and then practice on that and use it if you don't mess it up. Turn it over, then mount a wood baffle (angle it out and upwards and just use the speaker grill that comes with the speakers if you want), and then layer on fiberglass throughout the entire panel, just make sure that you don't do so in such a way that they don't interfere with how they mount back onto the door. After that put on a layer of Dynamat to help reinforce it, and then another layer of Dynamat on the inside of the door, mounted on to the sheet metal of the door.  

 

[jodgey4]

Awesome info. I'm going to look at a '12 tomorrow, actually. I think it has the 9? speaker Bose system, which might make things more complicated, but who knows. Sadly I don't have the luxury of choosing a car for its audio system. I'm looking at the hatchback btw. I might shoot ya a PM as I think any questions I'd like to ask you would detract from this thread, if that's okay .

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  Awesome info. I'm going to look at a '12 tomorrow, actually. I think it has the 9? speaker Bose system, which might make things more complicated, but who knows. 

 
Unless it's something more like the B&W system in Jaguars, I would always prefer building my own system into a car. Some stock systems use acceptable speakers otherwise but apart from very expensive cars there's no time alignment DSP, which is the most important feature of a car since you have to synchronize the arrival of soundwaves coming from speakers that are not mounted in such a way that they are equidistant to you.
 
If anything, if that Bose system is like the one on the Nissan Rogue, that means the subwoofer is mounted on the dash. That means less acoustic issues with the bass since in some cases as much as TA DSP can sync the sub in the back, reflections are still there to mess up the perceptin of where the bass is coming from. If it's in the front, then it'll be easier to hear the bass coming from the front, even without time alignment, which in such a scenario will jsut make the bass have a more solid "thump" when your ears hear the output from the midwoofers and that sub with virtually no effective phase issue.
 
Oh and I don't really use rear speakers - those just mess up the soundstage, and none of my rear passengers ever complained about how they can't hear the music, if I even have any rear passengers.
 

  I might shoot ya a PM as I think any questions I'd like to ask you would detract from this thread, if that's okay .

 
No problem 

 

[Letmebefrank]

The factory Boston 8 speaker system in my 300c probably sounded great to your average person but to me it just wasn't enough. The first thing I did was replace the 3x 3.5" speakers in the dash and the 2 6x9"s in the rear deck with 2ohm infinity speakers. This allowed me to keep the factory amplifier which is somewhere around 400watts RMS. The factory speakers had no tweets so just getting 5 tweeters in the car was like a ray of heaven. The car also has 6x9s in the front doors and an 8" sub in the rear deck. Since the doors don't get frequencies below 300hz I didn't replace those, and the factory sub only plays under 80hz. Once I replaced the head unit with a pioneer and put in a harness to keep the factory amp/steering wheel controls it sounds really nice in there. Since it's a C it has really good noise dampening from the factory and all the speakers are baffled. When my friends ride in my car they are blown away, my one buddy has a BW system in his car and he says it sounds much better than that, and all I did was essentially replace the speakers.

 

[jodgey4]

How did you add tweeters? I ended up with a 2016 Mazda 3 (stock audio), and it could really use some help with the treble. Mids get pretty cloudy, and the bass boost is in that bloated range down low so I'm playing with my Android Noozy DSP to dial that all in but you can't fix tweeters not existing.

 

[Letmebefrank]

  How did you add tweeters? I ended up with a 2016 Mazda 3 (stock audio), and it could really use some help with the treble. Mids get pretty cloudy, and the bass boost is in that bloated range down low so I'm playing with my Android Noozy DSP to dial that all in but you can't fix tweeters not existing.

The stock speakers didnt have any tweeters, they had the weird double cone woofer. The second cone sticks up from the first one and resonates the high frequencies. The new Infinity's are 2-way and they have actual 1" tweeters in the middle.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  How did you add tweeters? I ended up with a 2016 Mazda 3 (stock audio), and it could really use some help with the treble. Mids get pretty cloudy, and the bass boost is in that bloated range down low so I'm playing with my Android Noozy DSP to dial that all in but you can't fix tweeters not existing.

 

First, it's not going to be simple - not just simply adding the tweeter so you don't blow them, but so the changes to the entire system actually works rather than just adding more high frequencies and have a different kind of problem with the treble.

 

Easiest route is to buy a new component system, that way it comes with a passive crossover, tweeter, and midwoofer. You need to install them properly - that means dampening in the doors and the mounting point for the midwoofer, and then for the tweeter, you need to figure out where to install them first, and use a temporary install method just to figure out how to aim them properly so that the soundstage isn't pulled down, the vocals are as centered as possible (as much as you can without an active system DSP that has individual time alignment profiles for each tweeter and midwoofer to sync with each other and the sub), but without getting too many reflections off the windshield or the dashboard (the more centered it is, the less reflections). Then comes the harder part: fabrication. Buy spare panels, like the interior A-pillar panel, from a junkyard, mark how the tweets will be mounted in terms of location and angle, then you drill it for the mounting and also to run the cable. You then make a fiberglass mounting point for the tweeters.

 

More info here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMJ0YZmc1Bc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42bHOMjhJaA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFJl3pHAUx0

http://honda-tech.com/audio-security-video-27/diy-custom-speaker-pods-tweeter-mounts-my-sr6500-components-2341790/

http://www.caraudiocentral.net/forums/fabrication-/12715-diy-build-fiberglass-kick-pods.html

 

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

  PIONEER, JBL, POLK, KICKER and ROCKFORD FOSGATE are the best car speaker manufacturers in the market today. 

​What? No Focal, DLS, Hertz, Dynaudio?

 

[Muinarc]

 
​What? No Focal, DLS, Hertz, Dynaudio?

 
Pretty sure Pyle makes the best automotive and marine speakers.

 

[WhiteKnite]

   
Pretty sure Pyle makes the best automotive and marine speakers.

Nope, raw drivers are by far the best, but take some know-how to install.  I built a Logic 7 based automotive system using SB Satori drivers and a Morel Ultimo sub. Sounds absolutely amazing.  Normally not a fan of using center channels and Logic 7 from something like my MS8 for processing but it is the best, easiest solution for the confines of car-fi unfortunately.

 

[saloona]

JBL GTO. This is what you can get if you’re willing to shell out a few extra bucks.It’s one of the highest quality set of speakers you can buy.