Small Car, budget complete setup advice

Scouse Monkey · 12-02-2004, 05:46 PM

As you can see from my pic and signature i am driving a 306 and i am looking for advice on my audio set up as i have never done any car audio before.

At the moment my car is completely stock with a Clarion hea dunit, door speakers and parcel shelf speakers and to be hones is not a bad sounding setup.

Things i would like (in no particular order):

1. replace the door speakers (eventually) with better but same size units (4 or 5 inch i think)

2. add some tweeters to the door (where the mirror trim plate is fitted as i am fitting electric mirrors so will lose the adjusters) - these gonna help much??

3. replace the parcel shelf with a thicker one to house my laptop and some better speakers (so size is not an issue here)

4. am amp! losing my headunit and using the stereo laptop output initially and possibly working up to a USB2 soundcard later. Amp needs to be compact (slim better than anything)

5. I would obviously like something that sounds ok but i am not too bothered about ultimate volume. I never have my current stereo above 20 (goes up to 33 which i know doesnt mean anything but its just to give you an idea) not only because my speakers start to sound nasty but i can't hear anything else.

5. I would like to get some decentish bass as i do think that it really makes your music sound good. I dont have the room for a large sub enclosue so wondered
a) what the smallest home built enclosure would be to get an ok result (would i be best getting a separate amp for this or just get a 4+1 amp)
b) what those compact self active subs were like
c) if it is likely that large parcel shelf speakers will surfice for my modest
needs

As I say i am complete noob when i comes to car audio (but I aint stupid) but would like to know additional things like how to wire tweaters up to the system (do i use a cross-over linked to the front door speakers?)

So if anyone could take the time to give me a little bit advice it would be much appreciated. Things i am looking for are some general advice on what setup will be a good option for price v's space v's quality, sizes and types of speakers to go for, recommended power handling of speakers and amp outputs and finally some reccomended brands (bearing in mind i will be sourcing all this stuff in the UK)

Oh one more thing, i really have to try and maintain most of my boot space. I very rarely take the parcel shelf out but frequently flatted the seats so i figured i would mount my PC in the parcel shelf or alternatively i have the usual small areas behind the rear wheel arches which i can use. I would rather not mount anything to the backs of my seats although i might end up doing this and making a cover to protect the stuff when i slide stuff in.

Bit of a long post but thanks in advance for your help and i am sure it will benefit other people looking for an entry level setup.

Andy

Cris · 12-02-2004, 08:07 PM

Hey Andy,

1) if you want a cheaper solution, get Mac audio. If you are willing to spend more, like twice, get MB Quartz (incredible). but then you'd have to sound proof your doors for the best results.

2) tweeters: major improvement on the sound quality. The speakers I mentioned before are in most cases component speakers (the ones I recommend). This means you have the woofer (along with a crossover) and the tweeter (of course with its crossover too). As for the tweeters, try and place then as precesi as possible to your ears' level.

3) You could make one out of MDF, and cover it with some vinyll or something...

4) for an amp, I always recommend Hifonics, but they are a bit pricey. You could go with an Alpine or Magnat amp.

5) don't worry, theese amps don;t go very high on volume, but they do reproduce a clear sound.

5.a I've seen enclosures smaller than what the manufacturer recommende, and they sounded pretty good. But, I'd say, stick to the calculations in terms of building an enclosure. You could mount it in the spare tire well, or on one of the sides of the trunk. As for the diameter of the sub, it actually depens on what type of music you're listening to.
5.b do you mean, free air subs?
5.c You could mount the sub on the parcel, but I can't guarantee you'd get the best results, especially if it's a 3 door car (too much air loosing around), so not quite recommended.

Scouse Monkey · 12-03-2004, 05:17 PM

Cheers Cris, i was waiting for a response from you

1 & 2. so i get a plan 4/5" and a tweeter (will be mounted as close to ear level as possible where I am putting it. What are these coaxial speakers? tweeter and mid? I take it these are instead of the above combo but as usual seaprate entities are better?

3. Yeah i got no probs with the shelf - i am a structures and materials man - gonna use carpet on the shelf though - no shiny vinyl.

4. Alpine and magnat where what i was looking at. 4 channel with between 45 and 65 RMS per channel 4ohm ok? Did see a Kicker xi4..(or summit) and Sony one on ebay - these any good?

5. thats good, but am i best getting a separate amp for the sub (5 channel seem hard to find)- thinking maybe i get a 4 now with new fronts, rears and tweeters and upgrade to a sub later.

5.a will look at some sizes. music i listen to is very varied from Counting crows to Chili peppers to Linkin Park......

5b. nope i mean those all in one thingys you see by people like pioneer that sometimes come as a cube or a tube with amp built in etc (like the sub i got with out KEF house sytem - new egg series - pretty good for watching films in my dads medium living room hooked up to a nice Yamaha amp)

5.c. What i meant was i basically if i use large parcel shelf speakers will these be sufficient for most peoples bass needs. I have no idea what rear shelves i am looking for either. I see all these ones with little speakers mounted in them etc or shall i just get some plain ones - what size would you recommend. Car is a 5dr by the way.

Thanks again.

Do you happen to reccomend a few shops in particular? Or at least someone with a good range i can look at.

Cris · 12-03-2004, 07:09 PM