Here is my review of the Sony WX-900BT. It is clearly and easily the best head unit I've ever heard so far.
I paid only $145 AUD for it (with ebay coupons) and with a simple adjustment to my head position in the menu controls I had an excellent soundstage wrapping around my head and providing excellent crystal clear definition of all frequencies. I didn't touch any other menu functions. (I haven't even turned on DSO or Dynamic Stage Organizer yet)
And this was on the local ABC Classic FM stereo radio station. Other radio stations sounded much worse but that isn't because of the head unit rather its because of the other radio stations not feeding the transmitter such high quality audio as ABC Classic FM does.
The fm signal is extremely good and quiet with a low noise floor as well. Provided you have good reception in the first place. if you do then expect CD-level quiet noise levels with no audible hiss at all.
It is strongly recommended that if you want a double din head unit for a budget audiophile installation with a DSP to go and find one of these for sale. It is the easiest and the cheapest way you will get DSP into your car. The only other option is using a miniDSP which costs twice as much.
I paid only $145 AUD for it (with ebay coupons) and with a simple adjustment to my head position in the menu controls I had an excellent soundstage wrapping around my head and providing excellent crystal clear definition of all frequencies. I didn't touch any other menu functions. (I haven't even turned on DSO or Dynamic Stage Organizer yet)
And this was on the local ABC Classic FM stereo radio station. Other radio stations sounded much worse but that isn't because of the head unit rather its because of the other radio stations not feeding the transmitter such high quality audio as ABC Classic FM does.
The fm signal is extremely good and quiet with a low noise floor as well. Provided you have good reception in the first place. if you do then expect CD-level quiet noise levels with no audible hiss at all.
It is strongly recommended that if you want a double din head unit for a budget audiophile installation with a DSP to go and find one of these for sale. It is the easiest and the cheapest way you will get DSP into your car. The only other option is using a miniDSP which costs twice as much.
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Got a bunch of neat stuff in for my daily driver 73 Super Beetle yesterday, it's used as a commuter car so gets a lot of use, sometimes 120-150 miles daily, six days a week.
Seat padding on the driver's side front seat is shot, got in New TMI padding. Very nice looking, should be pretty comfy.
New CSP stainless steel, made in Germany linkage for my dual carburetors. The 40+ year old linkage on my Kadrons is worn out and sloppy. A tad expensive, but worth every penny from what I hear.
New door handles, the driver's side was stripped where it slips over the stub from the mechanism inside the door.
New trim for the heater vent on the floor. The existing one has a broken flap, thanks to a careless guy at the tire shop.
Need to pull the driver's side valve cover and see why the gasket isn't doing it's job.
On my next real day off I have a new uprated front sway, a rear sway bar, and stiffer rear shocks to install. Already swapped to lowering struts and stiffer cartridges up front (as well as disc brakes) last summer. Once it's all done it should handle like a slot car on the curves 😎
Next big project is the sound system... currently running a Pioneer deh-6700bt with cheap muddy sounding pioneer 6.5" speakers, and I'm not very happy with them at all. Two up front in kickpanels under the dash, which in my opinion are a terrible location... Two more behind the back seat on a special panel sold for mounting speakers. I've got a cheap-but-acceptable single 8" powered sub (JBL? I'm not sure) under the shelf. The plan is to make a new rear shelf to house a pair of actually good speakers, and possibly incorporate the subwoofer box into the design, so that the whole setup can be installed as a unit and bolted down all at once. Front speakers are in a bit of a compromise of a location, so I'm not sure how to tackle that issue. Maybe a shelf directly under the dash, facing towards the driver/passenger? As it currently stands you have to crank the volume up a ton on the fronts to even hear them, so I definitely need to think of how to do them over.
Pic for reference of front speaker location, my dash is different (not my car) but you get the idea-
And the rear, pretty typical location for most cars, really (again, not mine)-
As it is now, I'm thinking of going for a pair each front rear of something different, but in a similar size... smaller up front and directly under the dash is what I'm thinking so far, in a small wide rectangular shape enclosure should work and not be too intrusive, especially if covered with carpet material. The rear I'm thinking of doing something similar to what I already have, just out of better material. The current stuff is very thin (3/16" ?) Luaun or plywood, simply covered with vinyl. 1/2" plywood with carpet material should be a good start.
Seat padding on the driver's side front seat is shot, got in New TMI padding. Very nice looking, should be pretty comfy.
New CSP stainless steel, made in Germany linkage for my dual carburetors. The 40+ year old linkage on my Kadrons is worn out and sloppy. A tad expensive, but worth every penny from what I hear.
New door handles, the driver's side was stripped where it slips over the stub from the mechanism inside the door.
New trim for the heater vent on the floor. The existing one has a broken flap, thanks to a careless guy at the tire shop.
Need to pull the driver's side valve cover and see why the gasket isn't doing it's job.
On my next real day off I have a new uprated front sway, a rear sway bar, and stiffer rear shocks to install. Already swapped to lowering struts and stiffer cartridges up front (as well as disc brakes) last summer. Once it's all done it should handle like a slot car on the curves 😎
Next big project is the sound system... currently running a Pioneer deh-6700bt with cheap muddy sounding pioneer 6.5" speakers, and I'm not very happy with them at all. Two up front in kickpanels under the dash, which in my opinion are a terrible location... Two more behind the back seat on a special panel sold for mounting speakers. I've got a cheap-but-acceptable single 8" powered sub (JBL? I'm not sure) under the shelf. The plan is to make a new rear shelf to house a pair of actually good speakers, and possibly incorporate the subwoofer box into the design, so that the whole setup can be installed as a unit and bolted down all at once. Front speakers are in a bit of a compromise of a location, so I'm not sure how to tackle that issue. Maybe a shelf directly under the dash, facing towards the driver/passenger? As it currently stands you have to crank the volume up a ton on the fronts to even hear them, so I definitely need to think of how to do them over.
Pic for reference of front speaker location, my dash is different (not my car) but you get the idea-
And the rear, pretty typical location for most cars, really (again, not mine)-
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
As it is now, I'm thinking of going for a pair each front rear of something different, but in a similar size... smaller up front and directly under the dash is what I'm thinking so far, in a small wide rectangular shape enclosure should work and not be too intrusive, especially if covered with carpet material. The rear I'm thinking of doing something similar to what I already have, just out of better material. The current stuff is very thin (3/16" ?) Luaun or plywood, simply covered with vinyl. 1/2" plywood with carpet material should be a good start.
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My plan:
Try and get speakers with paper cones instead of plastic ones. That will get rid of the muddy sound a bit but it will still be there until you manage to get a DSP into the chain.
First things first get the measuremens of the maximum depth that you can fit into your car without conflicting with any metalwork. Then go online and have a look at the top common speaker manufacturers like Seas or Vifa and get one with a paper cone.
If you can't find one with the depth that you require then keep searching but go with some inventive methods like what I'm doing which is relegating Pioneer drivers as subwoofers (even the two 6.5" components in my front doors are now relegated to midbass/bass work) and adding a few Vistaton midrange paper cone speakers for midrange/vocals.
Soundlabs Group: Soundlabs Group SL 713 - 4 Ohm
I chose the SL713 drivers for midrange support. They haven't arrived yet.
As for an amplifier seeing as your car is a small one I would recomend the Clarion XC2410, the reason for this is because its a Class-AB amplifier. I have no experience in using it so you are on your own in regards to how it turns out: Clarion XC2410 MICRO SIZE 4/3/2 CHANNEL CLASS D AMPLIFIER Clarion | eBay
The only way to make plastic coned speakers sound good in a car is with a DSP head unit. That is why I'm sticking with paper cones.
6x9 speakers sound amazing in a car, they are large enough to act as subwoofers in my small sedan but not many cars can fit them especially in the front.
Try and get speakers with paper cones instead of plastic ones. That will get rid of the muddy sound a bit but it will still be there until you manage to get a DSP into the chain.
First things first get the measuremens of the maximum depth that you can fit into your car without conflicting with any metalwork. Then go online and have a look at the top common speaker manufacturers like Seas or Vifa and get one with a paper cone.
If you can't find one with the depth that you require then keep searching but go with some inventive methods like what I'm doing which is relegating Pioneer drivers as subwoofers (even the two 6.5" components in my front doors are now relegated to midbass/bass work) and adding a few Vistaton midrange paper cone speakers for midrange/vocals.
Soundlabs Group: Soundlabs Group SL 713 - 4 Ohm
I chose the SL713 drivers for midrange support. They haven't arrived yet.
As for an amplifier seeing as your car is a small one I would recomend the Clarion XC2410, the reason for this is because its a Class-AB amplifier. I have no experience in using it so you are on your own in regards to how it turns out: Clarion XC2410 MICRO SIZE 4/3/2 CHANNEL CLASS D AMPLIFIER Clarion | eBay
The only way to make plastic coned speakers sound good in a car is with a DSP head unit. That is why I'm sticking with paper cones.
6x9 speakers sound amazing in a car, they are large enough to act as subwoofers in my small sedan but not many cars can fit them especially in the front.
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Nice bug, the linkage will be worth it I’m sure, nothing worse than when those carbs are out of synch...
I like the middle of the road JBL 6.5” speakers for car use, mine sound great in the doors with about 75 watts. The tweeters that they come with can be disconnected easily, use something else up where the pillars meet the dash.
I like the middle of the road JBL 6.5” speakers for car use, mine sound great in the doors with about 75 watts. The tweeters that they come with can be disconnected easily, use something else up where the pillars meet the dash.
It just so happens that I have two Vifa TC9FD-18-08 sitting on my kitchen table right now, and two more that I can pull from a pair of speakers I'm not currently using. Two per side might do just nicely, especially with a pair of tweeters up on the dash in the corners...
Attached are pics of the under dash area, looks like two 3" vifas per side should be an easy enough thing to do. Ideally I would remove the kickpanel mounts entirely and just carpet over that location, I really don't like them down there. I think the vifas pointing upwards to follow the curve of the dash should work pretty well, especially with tweeters up higher in the corners of the dash like suggested.
The rear speakers are easy, plenty of room, and the way the car curves at the rear window makes it all work pretty well, even with cheap speakers. I still want to swap them to something nicer.
Attachments
Correction:
BOSS AUDIO R1004 RIOT SERIES 4 CHANNEL CH 400W CLASS AB CAR AMPLIFIER AMP | eBay
I meant the Boss R1004 which is the Class-AB amplifier I intended to recommend.
I must've dreamt that the clarion was a class-ab unit.
Road noise,wind and engine noise, plus the need to concentrate on the road hardly makes for an audio experience, unless a vehicle is your primary address.
Here is a paper cone 6.5" driver for you Lingwendil:
Soundlabs Group 6.5in. - 4 Ohm - Ferrite - WF166TU02
A cheaper alternative would be the Boss audio BP6.4 Pro pair which is $89.95 each here in aus.
Soundlabs Group 6.5in. - 4 Ohm - Ferrite - WF166TU02
A cheaper alternative would be the Boss audio BP6.4 Pro pair which is $89.95 each here in aus.
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Odd comment, considering what site we are on.
I spend several hours a day in my car, on average, often in stop-and-go commuter traffic. Without music I find it hard to concentrate, or even stay awake at times. Higher quality sound is a nice thing when you spend that much time in the car, and can make the experience much more comfortable. Not everyone finds music distracting. It can also mask road and engine noise, making for a less fatiguing drive, especially in a older car with less insulation/sound deadening.
Here is a paper cone replacement suitable for replacing front speakers with a whizzer cone (excellent for up front speakers): Soundlabs Group FR 6.5 - 8 Ohm
Its short depth (57mm), paper cones (lets you hear the detail in vocals), and whizzer tweeter (very non-directional) makes it ideal for front speaker replacement. Should replace the stock toyota speakers with exact specifications as the old ones with maybe a slight bump in power output.
Should also work well in your vw beetle if you decided to keep the front 6.5" speakers.
In fact I might buy two to replace the Pioneer TS-D1602R speakers that I installed in my front doors.
Its short depth (57mm), paper cones (lets you hear the detail in vocals), and whizzer tweeter (very non-directional) makes it ideal for front speaker replacement. Should replace the stock toyota speakers with exact specifications as the old ones with maybe a slight bump in power output.
Should also work well in your vw beetle if you decided to keep the front 6.5" speakers.
In fact I might buy two to replace the Pioneer TS-D1602R speakers that I installed in my front doors.
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Hey, that looks pretty good, and only $17.59USD too at mouser-
FR 6,5" - 8 Ohm Visaton | Mouser
It has a bit of a dip around 13-15khz, but might be pretty good if you cross it around 7-10khz to run tweeters up top.
I'll have to think about grabbing a pair. Either way they would be better than the cheap pioneers I'm running now.
I just remembered that I also bought a pair of these cheap but silly things, might be neat to try a pair for low end, crossed with a pair of something else in the 3-5" range on the rear shelf-
Titan 10" Coated Paper Cone Red Surround Woofer 4 Ohm
FR 6,5" - 8 Ohm Visaton | Mouser
It has a bit of a dip around 13-15khz, but might be pretty good if you cross it around 7-10khz to run tweeters up top.
I'll have to think about grabbing a pair. Either way they would be better than the cheap pioneers I'm running now.
I just remembered that I also bought a pair of these cheap but silly things, might be neat to try a pair for low end, crossed with a pair of something else in the 3-5" range on the rear shelf-
Titan 10" Coated Paper Cone Red Surround Woofer 4 Ohm
Actually, this visaton is 6db more sensitive, and looks like it may be a better choice, at a dollar more-
Visaton BG17-8 6.5" Full-Range Speaker with Whizzer Cone 8 Ohm
Dip at 15khz, otherwise a bit flatter FR, but much more sensitive.
Or, for flatter still, this guy in a 5" may be a good choice for the rear shelf-
Visaton BG13P 5" Full Range Speaker 8 Ohm
Cheaper, and would still be plenty of improvement over what i run now.
Visaton BG17-8 6.5" Full-Range Speaker with Whizzer Cone 8 Ohm
Dip at 15khz, otherwise a bit flatter FR, but much more sensitive.
Or, for flatter still, this guy in a 5" may be a good choice for the rear shelf-
Visaton BG13P 5" Full Range Speaker 8 Ohm
Cheaper, and would still be plenty of improvement over what i run now.
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Perfect. You will need a hefty Class-AB amp though to get 40 watts into 8 ohms. Maybe something rated for 80-100w at 4 ohms. You don't want to push a 40 watt amp at its maximum output, too much distortion.
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I can get plenty loud with my head unit as output, at the stated "50W x4" (supposedly 14WRMS continuous, but who knows without measuring) to my current innefficient speakers. I think a 50W per channel should do well with the more efficient speakers, and provide adequate headroom. I'm not one to listen at terribly high volumes.
Its not necesserially about that. I'll give you an example. The Pioneer GM-A6704 is rated for a THD of <0.05% at 1kHz but only for 10 watts of output per channel. This is a large amplifier.
https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/Amplifiers/GM+Series/GM-A6704#specs
Now if you are going to be using a "52wx4" amp which actually puts out 14 watt RMS (CEA-2006 certified amps actually output 22 watts RMS, I would find one of them) that THD will increase to 1%. Very audible.
You are also going to need to get it louder than the road noise (even if its really quiet and doesn't bother you much you will still need headroom) which means driving it with 5 watts or less isn't going to cut it even with a 92dB driver. So you will need at least 10 watts of output from an amp with low distortion figures for a comfortable listening level.
But you could try it, but I would find one that is CEA-2006 certified so you will get at least 22 watt RMS rated outputs.
Car audio is a minefield of twisted terminologies and deceptive behavior. Be careful.
https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/Amplifiers/GM+Series/GM-A6704#specs
Now if you are going to be using a "52wx4" amp which actually puts out 14 watt RMS (CEA-2006 certified amps actually output 22 watts RMS, I would find one of them) that THD will increase to 1%. Very audible.
You are also going to need to get it louder than the road noise (even if its really quiet and doesn't bother you much you will still need headroom) which means driving it with 5 watts or less isn't going to cut it even with a 92dB driver. So you will need at least 10 watts of output from an amp with low distortion figures for a comfortable listening level.
But you could try it, but I would find one that is CEA-2006 certified so you will get at least 22 watt RMS rated outputs.
Car audio is a minefield of twisted terminologies and deceptive behavior. Be careful.
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Oh yeah. Sickeningly so.
This project is pretty fun so far, but being a die-hard tube guy, I've begun thinking naughty, vacuum-filled thoughts... I would build up a four channel tube amp for it if I could decide on a good tube that could hold up to the mechanical abuse that would occasionally happen (potholes, poor roads, jarring from road debris, etc) so I've stalled out on it.
I used to have a 15W x4 EL84 amplifier in my 71 beetle, and it did very well, but I didn't drive that car anywhere near as much as this one, so I'm not sure I could get good life out of one in this car without some serious work to prevent damage.
Maybe 4x 12AV5GA in a screen-drive configuration? Low idle dissipation, great peak current reserve, cheap tubes. 25-50 real watts at low distortion (rivalling many "good" car audio rigs at average listening power) would probably do well. Mount the sockets in some sort of shock-proof manner, and then the whole enclosure too.
Maybe even go to "loktal' type tubes.
Hmmmm.
The Clarion XC2410 is CEA-2006 certified for 50w RMS/Ch at a THD of 1%. So at 10 watts the THD will be very low 🙂
Clarion Australia | XC2410
Which I believe was my original suggestion 😀 Full circle!
Clarion Australia | XC2410
Which I believe was my original suggestion 😀 Full circle!