DIY Audio forum post
Hey all. I finally purchased my car's new speakers the other day. What's your opinion of my rig?
Car:
1999 Mazda MX-5
Dual head unit, stock everything else
Speakers:
CDT Audio CL-62
CL 62
Amplifier:
Soundstream REF2.640
Soundstream - Reference Amplifier
Head Unit:
Alpine iDA-X305S with Bluetooth
Alpine iDA-X305SBT Package iDA-X305S digital media receiver and Bluetooth adapter at Crutchfield.com
I'm completely new to aftermarket car audio besides that cheap-o Dual head unit I have installed right now. I wanted to check with the experts. Does my set-up look good? I'm no audiophile, but I'd like to have a system that an audiophile could listen to and say "hey, that's not terrible."
My other questions are a little more logistical. I've done a lot of reading about setting up a car stereo system, but I have no hands-on experience myself.
1: do I have enough wire?
I bought 100 feet of 12-gauge copper wire from monoprice.
Product Details
At the time, I didn't know the head unit used RCA preamp outputs. Do I have to hunt for some more RCA cables to purchase - something like this:
Product Details
Or can I just buy the jacks and solder my existing speaker wire to it?
I'm sure this wire would be fine for the amp-to-speaker connections, but wouldn't mind someone confirming that.
I probably need to purchase some sort of electrical wire to power the amp - battery terminal to amp, amp to ground. What kind of wire do I need, and where can I find it?
2: Fuses
From the Crutchfield FAQ, I've read that fuses are important. Am I correct in assuming that the equipment I'm purchasing does not come with such a fuse? If so, where would I go to purchase one? Or is this one of those things that's more of a guideline than a rule? I'd rather be safe than sorry, but I've only read Crutchfield recommending fuses - which they obviously want you to buy.
3: Marine baffles
I've heard concerns about the moisture environment in car doors. I don't know if this is a big issue, but again, rather be safe than sorry. Do I need these?
Plans for the future:
Don't freak! I won't be neglecting a sub! That's why I made sure my head unit has sub pre-amps. Eventually I will be purchasing a class D mono amp, having the sub box custom made, and installing an 8" thumper in the passenger footwell. I'll probably stay with the Soundstream Reference model for the amp, but it's going to be a few months until I can get my hands on the sub so I haven't really decided what I want yet. I'm also still looking into soundproofing such as Dynamat, but I'm not sure it's worth it in a convertible - at least I can take the other components out and use them in future vehicles.
Hey all. I finally purchased my car's new speakers the other day. What's your opinion of my rig?
Car:
1999 Mazda MX-5
Dual head unit, stock everything else
Speakers:
CDT Audio CL-62
CL 62
Amplifier:
Soundstream REF2.640
Soundstream - Reference Amplifier
Head Unit:
Alpine iDA-X305S with Bluetooth
Alpine iDA-X305SBT Package iDA-X305S digital media receiver and Bluetooth adapter at Crutchfield.com
I'm completely new to aftermarket car audio besides that cheap-o Dual head unit I have installed right now. I wanted to check with the experts. Does my set-up look good? I'm no audiophile, but I'd like to have a system that an audiophile could listen to and say "hey, that's not terrible."
My other questions are a little more logistical. I've done a lot of reading about setting up a car stereo system, but I have no hands-on experience myself.
1: do I have enough wire?
I bought 100 feet of 12-gauge copper wire from monoprice.
Product Details
At the time, I didn't know the head unit used RCA preamp outputs. Do I have to hunt for some more RCA cables to purchase - something like this:
Product Details
Or can I just buy the jacks and solder my existing speaker wire to it?
I'm sure this wire would be fine for the amp-to-speaker connections, but wouldn't mind someone confirming that.
I probably need to purchase some sort of electrical wire to power the amp - battery terminal to amp, amp to ground. What kind of wire do I need, and where can I find it?
2: Fuses
From the Crutchfield FAQ, I've read that fuses are important. Am I correct in assuming that the equipment I'm purchasing does not come with such a fuse? If so, where would I go to purchase one? Or is this one of those things that's more of a guideline than a rule? I'd rather be safe than sorry, but I've only read Crutchfield recommending fuses - which they obviously want you to buy.
3: Marine baffles
I've heard concerns about the moisture environment in car doors. I don't know if this is a big issue, but again, rather be safe than sorry. Do I need these?
Plans for the future:
Don't freak! I won't be neglecting a sub! That's why I made sure my head unit has sub pre-amps. Eventually I will be purchasing a class D mono amp, having the sub box custom made, and installing an 8" thumper in the passenger footwell. I'll probably stay with the Soundstream Reference model for the amp, but it's going to be a few months until I can get my hands on the sub so I haven't really decided what I want yet. I'm also still looking into soundproofing such as Dynamat, but I'm not sure it's worth it in a convertible - at least I can take the other components out and use them in future vehicles.
Not heard them myself, but the CDT products do get good reviews, should be man enough for the job and look well spec'd
Again, not heard personally, but should be more than adequate.
Very nice stereo, for much better "hi-fi" buy the add on PXA-H100 processor, excellent results have been had (by myself) using some very mediocre speakers.
Looks good. Installation is where 80% of the results will come from-screw that up and you might as well have bought flea market gear!
Yup, more than enough-did you forget your car wasn't a limo?
Yes, buy some RCA cables, didn't look at the link, triple screened is best, nothing more needed than that so ignore Monster cables with time alignment (FFS!!!)
No, bad idea, you'll likely pick up loads of noise
Yup, the speaker cable is more than enough
Get some 4gauge, OFC not CCA
10000000% necessary, 4g cable will weld-if you crashed and severed the cable it could start a fire with you trapped in the car. Fuse should go as close as possible to the battery. AGU fuses come rated up to 80a, will be fine for your install (battery in boot?)
Yes, not only will they not rot they also give you a better mount for the speaker-recall the 80% install figure, this is where it comes in. Also invest in dynamat or similar to stop panel resonance, cloased cell foam for rear wave and seal all holes in the door between the front and rear of speaker to prevent the rear wave canceling the front. The more effort you put in here the better your mids will sound. If you wish to protect the rear of your drivers without affecting the sound invest in some phonocar rain guard (open cell foam) to cover their rears-if you MX5 is the same as the ones I work on you'll need it!
As said the dynamat or equiv is 100% needed for your doors, rest of the car it will largely be wasted on-the hood will let in loads of noise anyway. Sub is a must too IMO - though your plan for that makes good sense
You should end up with a decent system, you're not going to wow any audiophiles-you've got the wrong car for that-but you should be able to enjoy your system and get a great sound from it.
No problem, good luck with install, any Qs just ask, pm if you like.
I was refering to the length-100Ft of cable for a 3ft cabin-overkill!!
3 ft cabin? vast overestimation =P
No I got 100ft so I could have a little (a lot?) to spare after I finish; I'm planning on setting up some home theater systems in the future as well.
Would you recommend picking up one of Crutchfield's amp wiring kits? They're a little expensive, but at least you know you're getting decent quality and I wouldn't rip apart my car only to find I neglected to order some essential wire.
As for the RCA cables, is there a good way of ballparking what length you'll need? I don't want to order a 9' cable when 6' would have been sufficient and have a big zip tie of cable flopping around in my trunk.
No I got 100ft so I could have a little (a lot?) to spare after I finish; I'm planning on setting up some home theater systems in the future as well.
Would you recommend picking up one of Crutchfield's amp wiring kits? They're a little expensive, but at least you know you're getting decent quality and I wouldn't rip apart my car only to find I neglected to order some essential wire.
As for the RCA cables, is there a good way of ballparking what length you'll need? I don't want to order a 9' cable when 6' would have been sufficient and have a big zip tie of cable flopping around in my trunk.
Sounds like you've got things in good order.....for the "top half" of your system. The sub-woofer will be the wild-card..........
Most all (99%) of car systems I've heard really sound like crap on the bottom end..........It's the way car sub-woofers are designed & the "market" that drives the designs. I'm assuming your not the Hip-hop, Bonk, bonk, bonk. type.
You need to make some careful measurements of how much volume of space you have available for your sub-woofer. Car sub-woofers are designed for small enclosures, but sacrifice much in this endeavor. True Audiophile sub-woofers take up lots of space......but can be incredibly accurate. Perhaps one could find a multi-band sub-woofer equalizer to fine tune your sub.
Case in point ....my brother-in-laws "subwoofer" in his Renault. I ran the math for an enclosure but it was of the "car type"...small enclosure, & guess what?? It sounds like crap.....it has a "hot-spot" at one frequency.....the frequency that most Hip-hop music uses.
Just saying.........
Do it right!
________________________________________________________Rick.....
Most all (99%) of car systems I've heard really sound like crap on the bottom end..........It's the way car sub-woofers are designed & the "market" that drives the designs. I'm assuming your not the Hip-hop, Bonk, bonk, bonk. type.
You need to make some careful measurements of how much volume of space you have available for your sub-woofer. Car sub-woofers are designed for small enclosures, but sacrifice much in this endeavor. True Audiophile sub-woofers take up lots of space......but can be incredibly accurate. Perhaps one could find a multi-band sub-woofer equalizer to fine tune your sub.
Case in point ....my brother-in-laws "subwoofer" in his Renault. I ran the math for an enclosure but it was of the "car type"...small enclosure, & guess what?? It sounds like crap.....it has a "hot-spot" at one frequency.....the frequency that most Hip-hop music uses.
Just saying.........
Do it right!
________________________________________________________Rick.....
Attachments
lol, it's always good to have some lying around
I've never used them so couldn't comment. Stinger, Kicker, Knu all do decent kits
Buy 5m with removeable ends, and then shorten to fit-or buy off the roll and make your own-no one round here will pay for that so we only stock 1m or 5m!!
To be fair, that ain't the gretest woofer you've pictured-about £50 worth of teenage boomer. There are numerous reasons that car subs work out of very small boxes-key one is cabin gain, my sub's enclosure has an F3 of around 74Hz and the sub only plays from 63Hz and down-but then I designed my sub around the cabin gain of the vehicle.
Other than cabin gain on our side, we don't have much space-so small encloures are a real bonus-most car subs have heavy cones and big motors-recall Kicker's 1st Solo-Barics? These are what started the ball rolling, basically an isobaric sub but without the 2nd driver, to say you can't get SQ out a small subwoofer enclosure is narrow minded-my enclosure is 0.126cf for a 10" and it is very articluate, handling everything I throw at it with aplomb!
The majority of the boost tends to be centred around 40Hz, so that's why poorly designed systems sound boomy. There are a few "correct" ways of building a sub for a car IMO:
Small sealed: use the cabin gain to your advantage
Large ported: Tune VERY low, EQ out the cabin gain
IB: Again good EQ needed, most natural sound if possible in your car
BP:Either tuned very low-but then you have bandwidth issues, or tuned high to use cabin gain
Horn: Not generally worth it for the size, I'd follow ported procedure if space allowed
MX5 won't really get any cabin gain, so more careful consideration is necessary. I have seen plans online for a double 8" enclosure on the shelf behind the seats and have seen fibre glass boxes in the foot well-see what the guys on MX5 forums are up to.
In an MX-5 (I own one) you need to think about how you drive the car. Do you run top-down all or most of the time? Do you have the hardtop installed and keep it installed? Stock or modified engine?
If it's a nice daily driver, air, automatic, mostly used around town, maybe a sub might be worthwhile. There is space in the trunk, if you never use the trunk, for a small sub behind the passenger seat. Most of the area there is taken up with fuel lines, etc and what's left is not much more than 1 cu ft so you won't be able to go too crazy, but it will work. You can also try the drivers side fender to install a similar sized sub unit.
There will be cabin gain with the top up, none with it down. So, really you are going to have two very distinct listening environments and two distinct frequency response curves. Were it me I'd forget about tuning for the cabin gain, that way you can drive with the back window zipped out or the side windows down, and get at least one consistent frequency balance out of it.
If it's top down, manual trans with modified engine, forget about the sub. Buy some shakers for under the seats instead. In fact, even if you do install a sub and it's a "nice" car, consider the shakers. Will help the experience with an open car and lots of potential wind noise.
Mazda offered in-seat speakers in Miatas and as far as I know they all have the foam moulded to accept them. Most guys make up their own kit but there is an aftermarket one available. Two smallish speakers fit inside each seatback headrest, close to each ear in the driver and passenger seats. Helps a lot when the top is down and you're at speed.
Be careful you don't try to overcome wind noise with the door speakers and the amp by cranking it top-down at speed; you could be blowing speakers that way. Find a sound level that's loud and clean when at rest, and don't turn it beyond that when underway.
To be honest, this is not a car where the ultimate HiFi experience is likely. Mine is the only vehicle I own that has no stereo at all; I like it that way. But a decent sounding system can be had; do the fundamentals right, get it so it sounds "nice" and don't worry beyond that.
There is a bit of a mismatch in the gear you've selected, although not one I'd panic over. The Pandora radio isn't going to be the best sounding source; the Soundstream amp is capable of very good sound quality. Put at least a few uncompressed songs on your iPod/iPhone and listen to them to get an idea of the system's true capability.
If it's a nice daily driver, air, automatic, mostly used around town, maybe a sub might be worthwhile. There is space in the trunk, if you never use the trunk, for a small sub behind the passenger seat. Most of the area there is taken up with fuel lines, etc and what's left is not much more than 1 cu ft so you won't be able to go too crazy, but it will work. You can also try the drivers side fender to install a similar sized sub unit.
There will be cabin gain with the top up, none with it down. So, really you are going to have two very distinct listening environments and two distinct frequency response curves. Were it me I'd forget about tuning for the cabin gain, that way you can drive with the back window zipped out or the side windows down, and get at least one consistent frequency balance out of it.
If it's top down, manual trans with modified engine, forget about the sub. Buy some shakers for under the seats instead. In fact, even if you do install a sub and it's a "nice" car, consider the shakers. Will help the experience with an open car and lots of potential wind noise.
Mazda offered in-seat speakers in Miatas and as far as I know they all have the foam moulded to accept them. Most guys make up their own kit but there is an aftermarket one available. Two smallish speakers fit inside each seatback headrest, close to each ear in the driver and passenger seats. Helps a lot when the top is down and you're at speed.
Be careful you don't try to overcome wind noise with the door speakers and the amp by cranking it top-down at speed; you could be blowing speakers that way. Find a sound level that's loud and clean when at rest, and don't turn it beyond that when underway.
To be honest, this is not a car where the ultimate HiFi experience is likely. Mine is the only vehicle I own that has no stereo at all; I like it that way. But a decent sounding system can be had; do the fundamentals right, get it so it sounds "nice" and don't worry beyond that.
There is a bit of a mismatch in the gear you've selected, although not one I'd panic over. The Pandora radio isn't going to be the best sounding source; the Soundstream amp is capable of very good sound quality. Put at least a few uncompressed songs on your iPod/iPhone and listen to them to get an idea of the system's true capability.
Last edited:
An F3 of 74 Hz?? My home subs really don't get started till then.....I understand cabin gain & how one could use it to an advantage....but I'd bet the Db gain and F vary from car to car....trying to dial that in must be really trying.
________________________________________________________Rick..........
________________________________________________________Rick..........
The only bits I'd disagree with here is what I've highlighted in red-those speakers/mods are bloody awful and perhaps the worst "investment" anyone could make. Yes, they give you a source of sound right by your ears, but at the expense of quality, image, stage, tonality-just about everything goes out the window with those, may as well stick a boom box behind the headrests, at least you'd get some "bass" from it!
The IDAX305S is a great unit, yup Pandora won't be as good as ipod/USB, but I'm sure the OP would know not to compress the crap out of his music
I have seen a Honda S2000 with 3x 12" IB, for an SQ+ system, you could do similar-depends on your goals.
I was lucky enough to find a HK graph of my cabin gain, but it's really easy to work out with a smart phone and pocket RTA. Measure a sub outside the car, remeasure inside and the difference is your gain. My car is a mini, so has a tiny cabin and thus a huge gain-ever noticed why SPL guys go for Honda CRX? Cause there's nothing to it! Smaller the car, higher the SPL.
The only bits I'd disagree with here is what I've highlighted in red-those speakers/mods are bloody awful and perhaps the worst "investment" anyone could make. Yes, they give you a source of sound right by your ears, but at the expense of quality, image, stage, tonality-just about everything goes out the window with those, may as well stick a boom box behind the headrests, at least you'd get some "bass" from it!
The IDAX305S is a great unit, yup Pandora won't be as good as ipod/USB, but I'm sure the OP would know not to compress the crap out of his music
I have seen a Honda S2000 with 3x 12" IB, for an SQ+ system, you could do similar-depends on your goals.
I was lucky enough to find a HK graph of my cabin gain, but it's really easy to work out with a smart phone and pocket RTA. Measure a sub outside the car, remeasure inside and the difference is your gain. My car is a mini, so has a tiny cabin and thus a huge gain-ever noticed why SPL guys go for Honda CRX? Cause there's nothing to it! Smaller the car, higher the SPL.
I was referring to listening top-down at speed. Sound quality won't be an issue ... there is none when noise is at 85dB. I did not suggest he use these in place of the door speakers, or in place of the doors + sub, which will be great around town. Not that there will be much in the way of image or stage with the Miata's far forward and low stock door locations in the first place, but that doesn't mean the door speakers can't do a decent job under the conditions the car will actually find itself being used at. Compromise is no idle word when speaking of this particular car, it's typical use, and car stereo.
Only mentioning it because you highlighted in red:
You paraphrased what I wrote. Also, I see no mention by the OP of what formats or associated devices he intends to use with the system. I think it's unwise to assume there won't be mp3s on portable music devices; I know "audiophiles" who don't even know every iPod (any generation) or iPhone can store and play uncompressed CD rips and lossless compressed CD rips.
Last edited:
Wow, a lot of great responses! Glad this sparked some conversation while I was away =)
Would you mind educating me on what "shakers" are? Googling only gave me a bunch of results related to trains.
It actually looks pretty ugly right now, but I'm thinking about repurposing those foam speaker baffles I bought. Everything I've ever heard about the foam says you need to use it more as an umbrella than a shield, or it'll sound like crap - which means I'm going to have a bunch of foam left over from where I cut out the bottoms. Maybe I can line the ashtray compartment with this foam and run the USB cable through that.
Back on track: What do you mean by mismatched? I still don't know a whole lot about speakers and the way they work; basically my criteria was to get good brands suggested to me, then try to find an amp and speakers that had the same RMS values - both of these are at 190. Is there something else I should have worried about?
My HU came in before the other components, and when I installed that, it was so quick that I had some extra time, so I ripped up the interior a little to figure out where to route the cords. Turns out I need 10' (3m), almost exactly.
Questions about wiring:
Bear with me while I try to explain my wiring plan. If you rip out the carpet in the trunk, the MX-5 has a little tunnel running from the trunk to the cabin, about 6"x6" (rough guess). I plan to mount the amplifier in there - plenty of room for it to dissipate heat, and it's right next to the battery - my power leads are going to be less than a foot each! Less chance of interference between the power cables and the speaker wires.
There are two wires I need to run from my HU to my amp - the turn-on lead, and the RCA cables. The easiest way I can see for doing this is to run them under the center console, through the back shelf, and to the amp in the tunnel. However, from what I've read, putting power next to audio will cause interference. I wanted to double check and make sure the turn-on lead won't cause any unwanted noise. I mean, it's not going to have power running through it except when turning on and off, right? Or should I find some other place to put this lead that's not near any audio cables?
Subwoofer
Adding the sub is unfortunately a little out of my budget right now, it's going to have to wait a bit. However, if you'd like to know what my plans for the future are, here's what I'm going to do.
There's a guy on the Miata forums that will make custom enclosures for subs (I seem to have misplaced the link, sorry). With shipping it'll be around $125. I figure that's not too bad, and better than me deciding on something when I have no idea what I'm doing. A lot of the enclosures I've seen are way more expensive than that. He builds it so it fits right in the passenger footwell, which suits my needs perfectly - the floor mat covers it right up, so my car still looks stock and less prone to thefts. I also do not want to give up trunk space. I do grocery shopping in this thing, after all =P
It's small, but it'll get the job done - I'm not looking for something that will shatter people's rearview mirrors, just give me that extra thump for the music I listen to.
Equally important to me as SQ is a nice stealth install - I don't run this in too risky of an area, but my salary (around $20k/yr) is not big enough that I can afford to have my gear stolen. I've even gotten into the habit of tucking my HU's faceplate into its little baggie and keeping it with me - I want to make it so if you didn't look at the HU too closely, you wouldn't even know this car wasn't 100% stock.
Hahaha! No, not as such. This is the type of music I typically listen to.
That's me! This is my only car, and I have about an hour commute every day - there and back. Without traffic. So I'm in this car 10 hours a week, minimum, which is why I'm focusing on this guy's audio system instead of my home system first; my car is the only place I'll be able to really blast the hell out of it. I know I'll never get the kind of epic sound quality you can get in something with a top, or at home, but that's not what I'm looking for - I'm just looking for a way to combat road noise with the top down at highway speed.
Would you mind educating me on what "shakers" are? Googling only gave me a bunch of results related to trains.
Good thought, but a couple problems - first off, my car is a 1999 model, which was the first year Mazda made the NB. Only the NAs had headrest speakers. That doesn't bother me overmuch, as everything I've ever heard about the headrest speakers has been negative - just see BaronGroog's comments.
I'm more of a software geek than a hardware geek. I know quite a bit about compressions and what they can do for songs; you don't have to worry about that as far as I'm concerned. Honestly, my taste in music is eclectic enough that the Pandora aspect is going to be completely worthless to me. I'll never use it. I'll occasionally use Bluetooth, but only when I want to kill my phone's battery; most of the time I'm going to have it USB'd in. I managed to route it under the center console and up through the (missing) ashtray.
It actually looks pretty ugly right now, but I'm thinking about repurposing those foam speaker baffles I bought. Everything I've ever heard about the foam says you need to use it more as an umbrella than a shield, or it'll sound like crap - which means I'm going to have a bunch of foam left over from where I cut out the bottoms. Maybe I can line the ashtray compartment with this foam and run the USB cable through that.
Back on track: What do you mean by mismatched? I still don't know a whole lot about speakers and the way they work; basically my criteria was to get good brands suggested to me, then try to find an amp and speakers that had the same RMS values - both of these are at 190. Is there something else I should have worried about?
My HU came in before the other components, and when I installed that, it was so quick that I had some extra time, so I ripped up the interior a little to figure out where to route the cords. Turns out I need 10' (3m), almost exactly.
Questions about wiring:
Bear with me while I try to explain my wiring plan. If you rip out the carpet in the trunk, the MX-5 has a little tunnel running from the trunk to the cabin, about 6"x6" (rough guess). I plan to mount the amplifier in there - plenty of room for it to dissipate heat, and it's right next to the battery - my power leads are going to be less than a foot each! Less chance of interference between the power cables and the speaker wires.
There are two wires I need to run from my HU to my amp - the turn-on lead, and the RCA cables. The easiest way I can see for doing this is to run them under the center console, through the back shelf, and to the amp in the tunnel. However, from what I've read, putting power next to audio will cause interference. I wanted to double check and make sure the turn-on lead won't cause any unwanted noise. I mean, it's not going to have power running through it except when turning on and off, right? Or should I find some other place to put this lead that's not near any audio cables?
Subwoofer
Adding the sub is unfortunately a little out of my budget right now, it's going to have to wait a bit. However, if you'd like to know what my plans for the future are, here's what I'm going to do.
There's a guy on the Miata forums that will make custom enclosures for subs (I seem to have misplaced the link, sorry). With shipping it'll be around $125. I figure that's not too bad, and better than me deciding on something when I have no idea what I'm doing. A lot of the enclosures I've seen are way more expensive than that. He builds it so it fits right in the passenger footwell, which suits my needs perfectly - the floor mat covers it right up, so my car still looks stock and less prone to thefts. I also do not want to give up trunk space. I do grocery shopping in this thing, after all =P
It's small, but it'll get the job done - I'm not looking for something that will shatter people's rearview mirrors, just give me that extra thump for the music I listen to.
Equally important to me as SQ is a nice stealth install - I don't run this in too risky of an area, but my salary (around $20k/yr) is not big enough that I can afford to have my gear stolen. I've even gotten into the habit of tucking my HU's faceplate into its little baggie and keeping it with me - I want to make it so if you didn't look at the HU too closely, you wouldn't even know this car wasn't 100% stock.
You can get a good image from there-depends on your processing, I've a 2003 Mini Cooper S, mids in stock locations (roughly the same as the MX5) and tweeters on axis in pods on the dash-images pretty darn well, still a few tweaks to do when I get time. Dynaudio comps, Genesis amps, DEH-P88RS stereo (880RS in the US) and Aliante 10si for sub duty. If the OP added the Imprint to the 305s he will get a very good image from what he has-I've had a £30 set of 10cm co-axes and cheapo underseat sub sound bloomin awsome with that processor, a genuine turd polisher!
My ex had an S2000, drivers in similar locations and another rorty soft top. She had 0 budget for audio but as I sometimes drove the car I cobbled a system together from cheap bits. Had a mid range Pioneer tuner, factory mids some Diamond tweeters and an Alpine underseat subwoofer. Ran the tweets off the front ch and used a passive with them (plus the active HPF as high as it would go, circa 120Hz), factory mids off the HU with HPF @ circa 100Hz and the sub covering 80Hz and down. For what it was it sounded great, never had the potential of the OPs system, but was easily audible at high speed with the hood down on 50w x 4 + 100w sub (max figures)
Aura AST-2B-4 Pro Bass Shaker 299-028
Yup, cut the bottoms off them or get the Phonocar moisture guards I mentioned-I've held those over a tweeter and myself and my fitter noticed no attenuation.
Good location for the amp, only potential issue is if your boot when opened dumps water where the amp is. We tend to mount behind the front seats-though mount a board behind the carpet and use short screws or you'll be buying a new gas tank.
No problem with running the remote with the RCA/speaker wires. It has power the whole time your stereo is on.
Sounds like a good prospect, $125 for a well built box (presuming it is) is very cheap, equiv in the UK would be close to $300. Find out the volume of it and then find subs to fit.
Last edited:
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.