Topic: Car audio

[Iceman]

Is anyone into the car audio scene? I'm looking at getting some speakers and maybe an amp for my car. Fitting the speakers/woofers will be no problem as I'm building a box, I just need to know what to look for and such.

[kmelew]

If you haven't already, pick up a magazine like Car Audio and Electronics.  While you probably won't build such elaborate systems, reading about how they were designed and installed might provide some insight as how to proceed.

What kind of car do you have?

As for myself (living in NJ, the car theft capital of the world), a "stealth" installation is important to me.  Before my current car I had an '85 Nissan 300ZX, a somewhat tricky car to install a decent system.  I had a Pioneer head unit, a pair of Boston Acoustic 3-ways in the front, and a pair of Boston Acoustics 2-ways in the back.  But what I really wanted to have was a subwoofer, but since my Z didn't have a tonneau cover in the back I felt I wouldn't be able to hide a sub.  But then I found a unique Pioneer product (unfortunately not made anymore)--a spare-tire subwoofer!  It was a 6" driver in a special enclosure that mounted on top of the spare tire!  Did it provide thumping bass?  Of course not but it was clean enough for my purposes.  To drive the subwoofer and the other speakers I had an Alpine 5-channel amp installed under the driver seat and a DSP/EQ module installed under the passenger seat.  It sounded really nice, and no one noticed the extra equipment installed!

There was I guy I used to work with who was proud of his system--his subwoofers were flopping around in his trunk without any enclosures and his crossover looked like a wad of duct tape with wires sticking out.  I told him to send a photo to a car stereo magazine as an example of how not to install a car stereo! 

[Iceman]

I have a 1998 Saab 900S turbo.  It's beautiful, I <3 my saab.

See my problem is that I don't understand all the terminology. 3-way? 2-way? I'm lost. I will pick up a mag this week (maybe tomorrow) though. That should help.

I just want something simple to add a little kick to an already outstanding stereo. 

Is replacing the in-dash portion a requirement? I really like how it looks right now, I'd prefer not to change it.

[kmelew]

3-way=woofer, midrange, tweeter
2-way=woofer, tweeter

Checkout www.crutchfield.com and plug in your car's make, model and year and it will show what speaker, head units, etc will fit you car.  You don't have to replace the head unit--replacing the stock speakers can go along way in improving the sound.  The only things extra you may have to buy are adapters to connect the speakers to the stock head unit.  If you're planning to build your own subwoofer enclosure you'll need an amplifier to drive the subwoofers and a crossover so you can set what frequencies get routed to the subwoofers.

Before you start building, check out Crutchfield and see if they have a powered subwoofer enclosure w/crossover (e.g Bazooka Tube) for your car.

[Iceman]

Well, let me describe my Grand Master Plan (Patent Pending) to you.

Basically, right now I have a milk crate with all kinds of things in my trunk. It has a roadside kit (flares, flashlight, things you would need if you break down) a coat, a blanket, an Army first aid kit, and a USO personal hygine kit thing (never know when you'll work up a sweat changing tires).  So basically, I'm going to build a wood 'platform' that fits the trunk exactly. This platform will have an access hatch and allow me to store all of this stuff out of sight. In this platform I am going to build a brace for whatever amp I buy, as well as anything else I choose to add. (subs, woofers, etc, i really don't know.).

I don't think I can replace any of the speakers. Let me check...wow I can. Definitly not the two that are mounted in the trunk though. They have a weird triangular shape. Anyways...

What could I just 'add' to the system to make it a bit better? The speakers in the car are already excellent and can wait a couple years to replace (when they might truly warrent it).

[kmelew]

How many channels (speakers) does your system have?  And would you be willing to possibly give up sound coming out of the rear speakers?  You may have to bridge your two rear channels into one channel and route it to the sub.

Something to consider is ventillation for the amp--the really high power ones can run really hot.  Another thing to consider is the subwoofer drivers themselves--what kind of enclosure works best for them? 

I found this at Crutchfield that should help you out quite a bit.  It will drive four channels plus a subwoofer.  Look at the specs and see if your stock speakers can handle the output.

[Iceman]

I'll look up the specs later, they're unavailable right this moment. But watch this thread, I will get back to you.