Car stereo head unit install for 2001 CE. Questions.

[morkys]

Originally Posted by zuzu_

You'd be selling off two of your Kappas then. (But if one is damaged because of the faulty install... sunk cost / lesson learned, I guess.)

I haven't found the third seatbelt to be a problem; it slips out like the other two.

I think the hardest part about if you go forward with the big project of installing a 10" subwoofer in the center of the deck (or slightly off-center because of the third belt) are those two (torsion?) bars underneath in the trunk. They barely leave clearance for 6.5" speakers with any decent sized magnet to begin with. I'm not sure if those bars can be removed or what that would affect with the operation of the car. The third brake light precludes the possibility of positioning the speaker further back towards the rear window.

Well, if the speakers are damaged because of faulty install, I'd be going back to Future Shop to have them replace them, as it was their fault. I would at least exhaust that option before leaving those speakers out of the equation. I won't know until I examine it some more. Swapping with the front speakers makes sense for testing, trouble-shooting.

If I wanted to use those speakers you linked to, I could use a crossover and tweeter, but, I like the sound of the infinity speakers I have. I also like their effeciency. I figure as long as they aren't blown, perhaps an amp would do them better. Either using these 75 watt speakers, or a set of the Infinity component speakers with 95 watts power handling, I could get an amp like the Alpine MRP-F600 with 100 watts x 4 RMS < 1% THD and maybe that will bring me the bass I need. As long as I don't pump up the bass too much, 100 watts into a 75 watt speaker can work. At least if volume and bass boost is kept low, you have enough power to avoid clipping the amp, and that is something that blows a speaker more than too much power. Most speakers can handle more than their rated power as long as it's clean and un-distorted.

The third seat-belt is physically in the way on the rear deck. I'd have to remove/eliminate it. I don't want to do that. I could install a single 8 inch subwoofer with an amp, but, would it provide more bass than two 6.5" woofers if I had 100 watts to each of those? How would that compare ...or could I run 100 watts to each rear speakers AND run an amplified 8" subwoofer on the rear deck? How would they work together? Low frequencies don't always play well together when from different sources/drivers. Lot's of different ways to go. I guess I need to figure out what the system needs most and go from there.

I have a feeling that if I used as big a subwoofer I could put in the rear deck with a nice strong clean amp, I'd probably have a good chance of getting the sound I want. I could experiment with using the HP filter @ 50 or 63 hz in the head unit and/or get a smaller amp and run all the other speakers full range, using the amp to simply make sure I didn't run the deck into clipping. I guess I'd need to try it and test, and then I could tell what it's like each way. I suppose using the 50, 63 or 80 hz HP filter could work as it takes the load off the deck, increasing power available for the mids and highs, and reducing the chance for clipping. As long as the subwoofer blended well and played nice deep bass, perhaps that could be the least expensive option.

It's hard to be happy when you're an 'audiophile' with music. My home system has two tall towers with three 6.5" woofers in each tower and 30 hz -3 dB anechoic response. Into 6 ohms my receiver has no trouble putting out 175 watts RMS into each speaker at <0.05 THD. In room I get close to 20 Hz, although it's not thumping. For that I rely on the Mirage BPS400. Impossible to get this sound in a car without spending similar money. I'm just not willing to drop that much into my car stereo. I don't want bandpass standingwave noise in my car. I want low bass response from music. I want to hear musical notes as low as they can go without spending a fortune. Not an easy task. I am impressed with the midrange and treble in my system so far. If only I can improve the low bass to match, or at least come close :p

Thanks for all the feedback. It's definitely helpful.

[morkys]

Actually, a nice amp is the Alpine PDX5. 75 watts RMS x 4 @ <1% THD and 300 watts x 1 for the subwoofer (? @ 2 ohms. Guess you need two subwoofers or a dual-voice coil subwoofer to get the 300 watts?). A class D amp. Would be interesting to try that with a 6.5", 8" or 10" subwoofer on the rear deck.

For another $100 these have higher power handling and higher efficiency:

http://www.woofersetc.com/p4848/M6--...ss-Drivers.htm

Oddly, they have higher power handling and higher efficiency, but they have a smaller voice coil and lower xmax. weird. I suppose a really simple way to go would be to use a 4 channel amp, a pair of either of these woofers, and a pair of tweeters. Could also add a third 6.5" woofer off to the side running as a subwoofer on the 5th channel of that alpine PDX5 or another amp. Using 3 of the same driver across the back would probably result in fairly uniform and well matched sound in the bass.

I like the 95 dB efficiency of the Infinity speakers I have, but, I suppose that is only for their overall full frequency range, and that is perhaps why they are more efficient. The inifinity component speakers are also very efficient. I wonder if I could cram 2 of the 6.5" mid-woofers on the back deck along with the 6.5" two-way infinity speakers I have already. Not much room.

[morkys]

I am looking at what free-air woofers I have to chose from out there. I think there are some free-air woofers out there in most sizes. One size I found that may be useful is a 9" size. Also, another option is that I may be able to squeeze two 6 x 9 free-air subwoofers. May not be as good as their round counterparts though.

[morkys]

With all the reading and research I have done, I literally have to re-think my whole install and start from scratch.

Bass and subwoofers.

Rear. Do I use free-air subwoofers on the rear deck? Do I use subwoofers on the rear deck and build an enclosure in the trunk for those rear deck woofers, with the enclosure fitting up below the deck? Do I give in and use a box in the trunk? (not likely, I don't want to give up trunk space below.) Do I use a pair of 6.5" mid-woofer/subwoofers on the rear deck alone or with an 8, 9 or 10" subwoofer or two, whatever I can squeeze in there? Do I use midrange 6.5" and crossover to a subwoofer?

Front. Do I use 6.5" mid-woofer/subwoofers in the doors? Do I cross to midrange and tweeter on kick panels? What about super-tweeters up above? I want more sound from my midrange/tweeter up front but I've realized that it's not advisable to mount the tweeters up top and cross them with the mid/woofer down below. Best to keep the tweeter close to the midrange.

I have learned that tweeters on the rear deck aren't necessarily a good thing in most cases. Free-air subwoofers aren't the best, but can be used if your trunk is sealed well. How hard is that? And mounting tweeters up front should be done so they get sound up and out, but it's not good to mount them higher up and far away from the midrange.

Building a kick panel looks like hard work. I suppose it's possible to alter the installation of the 6.5" woofer such that it is pointing more directly up, and/or mount a component tweeter close, but aiming much more at an upward angle, rather than only the few degrees some coax allow. Perhaps above the 6.5" pointing up (towards the other side of course, not pointing directly straight up). Or mount a separate 4" to 5-1/4" midrange and tweeter in a kick panel, more work.

I think I may need to start another thread. I am ok with my Pioneer head unit, but have so many other things to figure out about speakers and where to mount them, amps etc...