felix_suwarno

newbie questions

hi guys.

how many speakers do you have in your car? 2 speakers ( left and right ) plus 1 subwoofer?

do you need a receiver? or amp?

i am used to hearing boston vrm-50 + svs pb1 at home, so is there a way to make the sound system in my car to match the sound quality oh my home theater? i hate boomy bass.

how much is it to get a decent sound system in the car? installation + hardware ?

thanks

Dave Bennett

Felix,
In my car, I'm currently running 4 speakers. Two 6.5" Coaxials in the front doors and two 4" coaxials in the rear doors. I'm not using a seperate amp, as the power draw from these speakers is well within the range of my JVC LH-2000 MP3/CD headunit. As for a woofer, I just recently ordered a Kenwood woox compact powered woofer(should fit underneath my front seat). It's definately not going to provide as much bass as the 10" woofer I had in my old car, but I'm really just looking for a little bit of fill at the low end, and not a window/rearview mirror rattler.
In terms of bass quaility, if you get a deep sealed box and a 10" woofer with adequate power you can get very clear, clean, tight bass. In terms of cost, it really depends on what you're looking for. What I've got in my car isn't as good as what I have in my HT, but for some reason I'm just not as demanding anymore in terms of car audio. To put it in perspective, for aftermarket speakers, a decent MP3 headunit, and my compact sub, my system will have cost me $530. The speakers and headunit were only 310 shipped from crutchfield as they had a promo where they knocked off $50 if you bought a headunit and two pairs of speakers on the same order. I think they're running a similar promo now but it's only $25 off.
In terms of the quality you can get, if you buy some nice components(I know Boston Acoustics makes very nice component car speakers), a nice 5 channel amp(or a 4 channel amp and a seperate sub amp), a good headunit, and a quality sub, you can spend upwards of $1000-2000 easily. It really depends on what you're looking for and how much you're looking to spend.
Installation costs vary, but I usually try to do my own work. Installing my speakers was a pain,but I eventually figured it out and got them in there. Installing amps is trickier(well installing them cleanly I should say) but if you take your time you can do it. I usually buy my stuff from crutchfield as they provide excellent value(all the install items you'll need in most cases, great directions for installing items in YOUR specific make/model of car, and a great return policy).
Let us know your budget, what kind of car, what you're looking to have in terms of sources(mp3s, satellite radio perhaps?)and what kind of music you listen to and I'm sure you'll get tons of great suggestions.

Regards,
Dave

brentl

Hey Felix;

First thinG I'd consider is to NOT replace the rear speakers unless you feel the need to spend money. Remember that rear speakers in the car are for ambiance only.

In my Civic(still stock execpt HU) the rears are probably 12Db down compared to my fronts.

I always ask people(if they wonder why my soundstage is all up front) which way they look when they watch a concert?? Do they turn their backs to the concert??

My first suggestion is to not get a flashy HU. Besides the fact that people love to steal your car(same with me) you pay for pretty!

I use Sony, and although some people say "stear clear" I've never had any problems!

Within reason I'd get anything you like with the features you like ..... WMV, CD-RW, MP-3 ???? I WOULD stick with the bigger names because they are that much easier to find service.

Pioneer(faceplates are to busy for me), Alpine(pay for the name), and Jvc, Sony, Clarion are all good.

Eclipse WAS a good name, not to sure anymore.

Some like this
Seems solid. I like the fact that it includes a parametric EQ, and 3 sets of preouts ...... NO need for and outboard crossover

As for amps, I'd stick with a four channel, use 2 for the fronts and bridge 2 for the sub, use the HU to power the rears.

I'd look at something like this . Seems like a heck of a deal!!

As for speakers, you have 2 tweeter upstairs right?? So go for a component set. Although that makes the multiple crossovers redundant that cool

Something like;

low end this

mid price this

or high end this

These are just ideas taken from 1 web site ... Although I do think the Xtant deal is great!

The real question is how much room do you want to take up with a sub???

I'd look at something like this
if you want something that's easy to remove.

something like this is also an interesing option. I've never had a problem with my Pioneer 12" in a 2 cube sealed enclosure ..... and it's cheap and !!

For sub, I'd get a nice 12" in a small sealed enclosure, it'll go low and loud .... nice to have a hatch for that reason

On the lowend

I've also heard a lot about Audiobahn, but I know nothing since they weren't around when I was really into car audio, but I think you'd be looking for something that doesn't fill up your hatch!

WooHoo
Brent

felix_suwarno

i am actually not planning on putting a sound system in my car anytime soon, but i want to learn. i did the same thing a few years ago when planning on having a hometheater at home...i asked lots of newbie questions a year before actually buying speakers and stuff.

anyway, my car is a small honda city. budget is about 1000 dollar, and i prefer mp3. i listen too many kind of music, so it is hard to tell. sound characteristic i like is smooth and airy highs and tight controlled bass. i actually thinking to have one 8 inch subwoofer in the car, because i think 10 inch in such a small space is a waste. i simply dont feel the need to tell people in the other car that i have a loud sound system in my car.

i also dont have any problem listening for a "source on my back". i am not trying to have a concert hall in my car. i just want to listen to my music collection, and i want it to sound good, thats all. i dont need fancy features.

so, are 2 speakers and one subwoofer enough? i also saw a pair of "all range" speakers, with 3 cone woofers on top of each other (subwoofer, woofer and tweeter ). should i get these to conserve space and money? do they sound good? what about polk audio's?

btw, does boston acoustics have a decent set of car audio speakers? their vr-m series are outstanding, but i have no idea about their car audio line.

thanks for the replies

brentl

3 speakers should be perfect in a small car.

I'd suggest using a component speaker, That way you can bring the imaging up high. Sure it's not as "proper" as having the mid and tweet side by side but it help the soundstage alot.

I'm sure you can get good Co-axial speakers(I used a set 10 years ago) but I'm not too sure where to begin.

I'll look around.

I remember in the olden day, 13-14 years ago, Mb Quart made some very nice Co-ax speakers but I'm not sure anymore.

Brent