What audio systems are you using?
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Joined: Mar 2006
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From: Boston/Bahrain
What audio systems are you using? Seems that no matter how loud the system is, when the top is down, its never loud enough!
i had a sony headunit and 4x200w speakers in my z28... definately not loud enough... so i decided to drop a sub and amp in the trunk... still not tha loud!
sure its loud when the top is up, but soon as it goes down and the sound disperses into the atmosphere... uh...
any specific setup you guys are working with?
i had a sony headunit and 4x200w speakers in my z28... definately not loud enough... so i decided to drop a sub and amp in the trunk... still not tha loud!
sure its loud when the top is up, but soon as it goes down and the sound disperses into the atmosphere... uh...
any specific setup you guys are working with?
For bass, remove the back seats and install subs there, be sure to design the box to produce bass without the help of cabin gain, and you should be happy... well until you lose your hearing anyway. 
You can take the same approach for mids and highs too.
You can take the same approach for mids and highs too. Thread Starter
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From: Boston/Bahrain
actually i just had this installed in my trunk...
but in reality i think my speakers cabin speakers are crap... they were supposedly good sony 200watt speakers but i dunno...
how about you guys, is it just me or do all tiny speakers sound crap when theyre pumped up ?
but in reality i think my speakers cabin speakers are crap... they were supposedly good sony 200watt speakers but i dunno...
how about you guys, is it just me or do all tiny speakers sound crap when theyre pumped up ?
i didnt take out my back seats... i just ran another wire from my amp to the back seatish area and put my sub in the back seat when the top is down... takes me 10 min to do it...
i put it back into the trunk for now since it is hot as a mo and i keep the top up for th A/C
i put it back into the trunk for now since it is hot as a mo and i keep the top up for th A/C
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From: The beautiful Kingdom of Bahrain
Did you get that done in Tubli? I feel your pain. I hate the way my set sounds now. I have a Alpine 6xxx, MB quarts fronts, Kicker or RF (I forget) in the rear and Pioneer tweeters. My plan is to go with components in the front, A upper line Pioneer, a 4 channel amp for the cabin speakers, and a custom 12 or 15 inch easly removable box for the rear with nothing less than a 600w rms setup with a 800W rms Mono amp to power it. That should be enough.
Thread Starter
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From: Boston/Bahrain
yeah this was in tubli (the place near mcdonalds and popeyes on the corner). they do a pretty good job but their work prices are a bit heavy
anyway, i think theres something about the design of the speaker location for our cars... does everyone have the same thing, where they distort if they get too loud?
anyway, i think theres something about the design of the speaker location for our cars... does everyone have the same thing, where they distort if they get too loud?
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Those Sony's are way out of thier league with that sub. You need to get some more capable 6.5"s in there. There are about a 1000 choices, but most people would agree that Sony is in the bottom 20%, they don't make good speakers.
Get yourself a solid set of 6.5"s up front, dynamat the doors, and feed them with a dedicated amp, at least 75-100 watts rms. No head unit amp is going to feed 6.5's well enough to keep up with that sub. The seperate amp will also let you high pass them to pull out very low bass, which will make them sound better, and play much louder before distorting.
Get yourself a solid set of 6.5"s up front, dynamat the doors, and feed them with a dedicated amp, at least 75-100 watts rms. No head unit amp is going to feed 6.5's well enough to keep up with that sub. The seperate amp will also let you high pass them to pull out very low bass, which will make them sound better, and play much louder before distorting.
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On The Tree
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 189
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From: Austin, TX
are you running those Sonys off the head unit? if so, that's your problem. you will end up with WAY better sound by running cheap or even stock speakers off of a decent amp, than you will with great speakers running off of even a good "high power" HU. the built in amps in HU's are generally a joke.
I am doing something similar to you. I have decent speakers in all locations with a 300W max amp powering the front speakers. The head unit powers the rear speakers. I made my own trunk enclosure for a sub. With the roof down and on the highway I can still hear some decent bass, enough to fill in the music nicely, not to blow away neighbouring cars.
Well, I am learning over time that unless you are willing to do some pretty hardcore stuff in the cabin, most of the midbass content you actually hear with the top down is going to come from your front door speakers.
I have a a JB slim box with 400 rms going to 4 RF stage 1 subs and with the top down I can still get some bass - but a good portion of it overall is coming from the front doors.
The Sony's would probably be ok in a coupe where you can rely 100% your sub for bass, but in a convertible you're well served by hefty door speakers getting good power.
And since you'll be using them for bass and feeding them power, ideally, dynamat or similar sound deadener on the door will solidify the door, this will tighten up the bass response from the drivers and keep the doors from vibrating themselves to death and rattling you to annoyance.
So I think the advice varies alot depending upon how your car is used. Mine is a 2nd car, and pretty much if I'm driving it, the top is down. So if I could go back and re-do everything I think I would have focused on getting as much into the front door and kick panel areas as possible rather than going with a sub box approach.
I'm thinking I would have been more happy with a set of q-forms in the kick panels with a solid as hell 6.5" sub, in conjunction with good quality door speakers. Top down, I think this would probably have provided about the same kick (if not more) without all the wieght and amp cost of the trunk box.
I have a a JB slim box with 400 rms going to 4 RF stage 1 subs and with the top down I can still get some bass - but a good portion of it overall is coming from the front doors.
The Sony's would probably be ok in a coupe where you can rely 100% your sub for bass, but in a convertible you're well served by hefty door speakers getting good power.
And since you'll be using them for bass and feeding them power, ideally, dynamat or similar sound deadener on the door will solidify the door, this will tighten up the bass response from the drivers and keep the doors from vibrating themselves to death and rattling you to annoyance.
So I think the advice varies alot depending upon how your car is used. Mine is a 2nd car, and pretty much if I'm driving it, the top is down. So if I could go back and re-do everything I think I would have focused on getting as much into the front door and kick panel areas as possible rather than going with a sub box approach.
I'm thinking I would have been more happy with a set of q-forms in the kick panels with a solid as hell 6.5" sub, in conjunction with good quality door speakers. Top down, I think this would probably have provided about the same kick (if not more) without all the wieght and amp cost of the trunk box.
Q-forms won't support a 6.5" speaker, let alone get any midbass out of it. It would take some serious bracing to make it put out midbass. If you want midbass, put a good driver in your door and sound deaden it, and make sure you seal off the inner door panel from the outer as well as you can.
I've got an Infiniti Kappa 50.2 component set in the kicks/a-pillars, Adire Koda's in the doors, and an Infiniti Perfect 10 in my car. An Alpine 5-channel runs it all.
I've got an Infiniti Kappa 50.2 component set in the kicks/a-pillars, Adire Koda's in the doors, and an Infiniti Perfect 10 in my car. An Alpine 5-channel runs it all.
I've seen installs on the web with people referencing using 6.5"s in Q-forms in camaros. Maybe metrics fit?
I guess I figured if you were willing to work on them (bracing, sealing, etc.) that it would work well enough, least as good as the door. I dunno.
I guess I figured if you were willing to work on them (bracing, sealing, etc.) that it would work well enough, least as good as the door. I dunno.
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From: Boston/Bahrain
with my amp and sub in the trunk, anything i play sounds mean... until i put the top down blocking the trunk; then i have to make do with the regular speakers for sound which just doesnt do it for me...
i just finished desigining my own custom box for the rear seat a few days ago, and took the design to be made, should flow with the lines of the body... should be ready today... i hope it comes out right!
you basically fold down the back seat and it goes on top.. that way you dont have to delete the rear seats and if you ever do need them back just unplug the box and remove it...
if i get it ready today ill post pix...
i just finished desigining my own custom box for the rear seat a few days ago, and took the design to be made, should flow with the lines of the body... should be ready today... i hope it comes out right!
you basically fold down the back seat and it goes on top.. that way you dont have to delete the rear seats and if you ever do need them back just unplug the box and remove it...
if i get it ready today ill post pix...
Staging Lane
Joined: May 2006
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i run pollk 6 1/2 3ways in car off of a memphis 500w and i run a solo X 15" (square) with 2 kicker zx2500.1(2500w @ 2 ohms each). i have a ton of sound with top up, or down. only real way to do it is to do it right, and the sony stuff just isnt going to do it.