Advise me on my next car audio system?

[SVOboy]

Okay, I am not looking to be ridiculous about it and don't want to spend a lot of money, first off.

Here are my requirements:
- 4 round speakers (I forget the crx size offhand but that shouldnt be a problem)
- ipod-liking head unit
- Less than a fortune

Cpnsiderations:
- the car is kind of loud for road noise since it is mainly on the highway
- I like bass

Suggestions? I suck with car stereo! Thanks!

[Christ]

MB quartz mid-bass drivers all around. You'll need to adapt your door buckets to accept 6" component speakers, though. (You have 5.25" all around).

If you want decent bass, you can sub the rear speakers for 6x9's, and no one will notice. It's a pretty easy swap, but I don't have a writeup for it.. you can see how it works just by looking at the speaker mounting bucket, though.

If you don't mind pulling up your carpet and adding some weight, consider laying down felt paper on the floor of the car, under the carpet. It will help with road noise. (Yes, rolled-roofing).

When you mod the door speaker buckets, put a shield on the top of them, so that water can't contact them dripping through the window channel. (Do this even if you don't mod them, some have "vents" on them that allow water in.)

If you only intend to use the iPod, no radio or CD's, you don't need a head unit at all.

What you'll do in this case is get a 4 channel amplifier, run all your speakers through it, and get a headphone cable that splits into RCA inputs. (You can get them just about anywhere.) Run your iPod into your amplifier, and use the equalizer in the iPod to control sound quality. Tune the amp as necessary, but try to keep it from filtering lows.

If you can't get an amp that doesn't filter lows, you can run 2 amps, and use the line-out to chain them (iPod to front speaker amp, line-out from amp1 to amp2 (rear speakers) and set the front to highs, and the rear to lows. Set the volumes according to your tastes.

Benefit - no head unit to get stolen, less wiring, less current draw, easier to hide amps/iPod in small spaces that are normally unused, can use the old DIN slot for a cup holder mod from a Taurus (PM me, I'll send you one for the cost of shipping.)

EDIT - You can replace the MBQuart speakers with Sony Xplod series speakers from Wally World... that will save you some money, and in all honesty, they're not that bad... We have them in my wife's car. They're definitely not audiophile speakers, but they'll get you through a rough ride, and they have a decent sound. (My wife's 6x9's will make enough bass to hear it about 200 feet away, with the windows up.)

[SVOboy]

I have two xplods up front but they are broken by the previous owner and I might go with them.

Actually, 6x9 in the back would be easy. My car didnt come with rear speakers so when I put them in, instead of adding brackets I just suspended the speakers with zip ties.

I will probably get a head unit since sometimes I car pool with people or whatever that have cds and the controls are more natural than the ipod.

Thanks for the advice.

[Christ]

Oh, geez, you have so many options for rear speakers then... especially if your cargo panel is already messed up. You could easily make a 6 speaker setup with highs, drivers, and 6x9's if you don't mind replacing the top panel of the cargo thingy and cutting two holes in it. (They're getting pretty hard to find, so unless it's already curved or otherwise damaged, I wouldn't.)

NP for the info tho.

[SVOboy]

Now now, complicated and expensive I want it not to be

I need to be able to do it in a few hours between returning from japan and driving to wisconsin :P

[Christ]

Fine - Just install a copy of the OEM speakers with 6x9's in the back instead of 6's. :P

Use 5.25" if you can get them in the front, that will give you a high reference in your music.

[DifferentPointofView]

You want MY Setup? LOL



Ok one things first... I am an Audiophile, and can wire stuff up. So if you need help..

This is what I would do. (not what's above lol) Get a CD player with atleast an electronic crossover, and AUX input. Those are cheap and not hard to find.

Actually. What do you think as CHEAP? $80-100 for a CD player? cause that's probably what your lookin at.

I, myself, would do this setup.

5.25's in the front doors.
6x9's in 6x9 Enclosures in the back. You will get SOO much more bass if they are in 6x9 enclosures. And, they are cheap. (you can probably get them for $20 a piece ($40 for pair). but I think if your going for cheap and not the highest quality, I've seen (gulp) wal-mart have 6x9 enclosures you can put together yourself, in which I'm skeptical, cause you want it to be sealed with silicone or something...)



Then, when it's all hooked to the stereo, I would use the crossover to limit the low bass to the 6x9's (meaning taking out the low bass in the front, letting the 6x9's push the bass), so you don't blow out the ones in front. Make the cutoff at around 80-100 hz for the front, and leave an pass-through on the rear.

Now if you want to control the Ipod from the Stereo itself, your talkin atleast a $170 stereo, with the $30-50 Ipod Adapter. If I were you.. I'd go with the AUX. Or you could go with my stereo.. it's got an AUX and USB port, so you could charge the Ipod when it's low.

Also, if you are going to want a lot of bass, you are going to want speakers that require a low RMS rating to be powered by the Head Unit (CD player). Usual RMS ratings for aftermarket CD players are anywhere between 18-22 RMS, so look for something that runs there. Otherwise, you will get either crazy clipping from trying to pull more power than your HU's amp has, or just not enough bass.

Then you will be getting into amplifiers, which will be even more costly.

We'll figure it out once you've said how much your willing to spend

[SVOboy]

There are actually some Honda OEM bass tube enclosures for the back made especially to fit in gap the CRX has behind the rear speakers...

I would need to use round speakers but do you think they would do a good job?

[NiHaoMike]

Build your own amplifier based on TI's hybrid digital technology for the greatest efficiency.
Amanda Harris: the Prius of home audio - EcoRenovator
Just take that design and replace the power supply with one designed for 12v input. (Unless you're using it in an EV with a pack voltage range within 100-370v, in which case the design can be used as-is. The power supply will need to be derated at voltages below 170v but that should not be an issue as it is oversized already.) You can also eliminate the relay and its control circuit to save costs and Vcc can go as high as 30v for more power. Double up on the chipsets and drive the speakers individually. (The phase splitters can be shared for stereo, but they don't cost much and using separate ones will make your amp ready for surround.)

BTW, it doesn't take much power to get plenty of sound. I once used a homemade boombox (also based on TI hybrid digital, but only one chipset) with a total power rating of 20w and it worked just fine playing music in the car. (At some point, I'll install a USB audio input in my car radio so I don't have to use a boombox.)

[DifferentPointofView]

Originally Posted by SVOboy

There are actually some Honda OEM bass tube enclosures for the back made especially to fit in gap the CRX has behind the rear speakers...

I would need to use round speakers but do you think they would do a good job?

Depends on what it's made of on the inside. MDF? probably. just plastic? Not hardly.

Round speakers aren't bad at all if they are at least 6". We're gonna have a problem though if they aren't as far as bass production goes. 5" speakers that aren't only woofers aren't gonna make the deep lows you want.

seriously, if you are looking for good bass. atleast 6" speakers. 6 1/2's are the most common round speakers, then it's 6 3/4", followed by 6" as for ovals, most common are probably 6x9's, followed by 6x8's.

once again. How much do you want to spend? Your cheap and my cheap are at different levels, because even a simple car audio system can be pricey to first timer's.

Actually, If you don't mind getting laughed at by your friends, or any person into car audio, You could go to wal-mart and pick up some form of Roadmaster Megasound speakers. I knew someone who had them, and while I laughed at them all the while, I couldn't help but give the speakers props for being $20 and putting out enough bass to punch you in the back.

And since Wal-mart is discontinuing the roadmaster brand, most of the stuff is on clearance! The speakers, for their price, aren't really bad at all actually. Compared to any Alpine, Kenwood, JL audio, or Kicker speakers they're nothing, but you can't pick up a pair of any of those brands for $20. The speakers below are $20, and you get both speakers! haha. They, I find it hard to say, put out a decent amount of bass, and match perfectly to almost every aftermarket HU (each enclosure is rated at 20wRMS).


I myself would not buy them, but I have a high standard for audio. I can't lie though, for $20 they are good for experimenting!