Hello everyone and first off thanks for reading this; I'm a real beginner when talking about car audio and I really hope someone around here can help me solving a couple of doubts I have.
CURRENT SITUATION:
I've just purchased a Ford Focus Station wagon and I'd like to install some kind of audio system on it. I already own an amplifier 100RMSx4 (it's a good one ..I was told), a subwoofer (10") and a head unit (a sony mp3 player) that I'd like to keep.
It looks like to me I'm just missing some speakers then; I have some 6.5" installation bays on front doors and thus I was thinking about installing some components there (I can then fit the tweeters easily).
Found the spots, I have to decide what speakers to get ...and here my doubts start to arise...
FRONT-STAGE CHOICHE:
My favourite kind of music is rock, but I often end up listening a bit of everything (but disco), just depending on my mood...
I was thinking about spending around $230 for the front speakers and what I've been able to find for that price around here (I live in Italy BTW ...and I cannot purchase from the US, becouse of our wicked 60% import taxes), is what follows:
1) JBL P650c
2) BOSTON FS60
3) Infinity KAPPA 60.5cs
All of them are 6.5" components, that I've heard in different sites to be very good. Being a beginner, as I've told you, I'd still love if someone could give me some really quick comparative description of these 3 series (or maybe name some other good products at the same price) and possibly give me some suggestion on what to look for here (hence what to choose).
REAR FILL DOUBT:
My other doubt was about rear fill (I have some 6.5" bays on rear doors too),
where I was really unsure about what to do...
I've read pretty much everywhere that the rear could be easily forgotten and have the front stage taking care of everything; I still wanted the passengers on the back to get some decent music (doesn't have to be good ...just decent SMILE)...
Here there are the 4 configurations that popped out into my mind; I'd really appreciate if someone could please suggest me what would be better (I have some other $120 besides the one allocated for the front stage)...
1) No rear at all; front speakers can cover the whole car (and maybe I can spend the $120 for getting better front speakers)
2) Leave original car speakers (even if they suck, to tell the truth) on the back, just lowering their volume, not to interfere w/ the front ...this gotta be sufficient for ppl on the back and wouldn't trouble me on front (again, spending the remaining $120 for getting better front speakers)
3) Get some other good components for the back (using just the mid/low part of them, w/out installing the tweeters ...or do you install tweeters on the back also, BTW?)
4) Get some midranges for the back
5) Get some coaxial for the back, just to improve a bit car original system and save some money.
I then have one last question about points 3, 4 and 5; precisely I was curious to know if it was better to have all speakers of the same brand name (IE JBL components on front & JBL coax on the rear) or if it was ok to "mix up" different brand of speakers...
Well, thanks again for reading, I really hope someone can help me w/ my doubts. SMILE
Steve
Replies (5)
Bigeazy4387 on 10/25/2004 09:50:51
well i would go with config 3,4,or 5 just run the back of the deck so they get less power than the front or are you planning on amping the front speakers? if so that would work nice but if you get only midranges you will need a mid/low cutoff like a crossover as far as mixing brands iv'e heard systems with all different speakers and they sounded great to me and not to some1 else its all in your tastes i would say no now as far as the sub i cant help you till you tell us make model#
Steve14 on 10/25/2004 10:02:53
Yeah, sorry... I forgot to specify this before... I intend to use my 4 channel amplifier to power the front component speakers and the subwoofer also. The brand name of both the subwoofer and the amplifier is dragster, which is a European brand (www.dragster.ch).
The sub worked well on my previous car, so that it's not an issue for me. My only problem now is about speakers...
I don't know what brand kit to get as for the front and what kind of speakers to get for the back.
At any case, thanks for your help so far; I take away solutions 1 & 2 for the rear then... it's a beginning SMILE
swez on 10/25/2004 12:41:02
Boston Acoustics are very expensive in the top line Components as are MB Quartz. They do perform very well but some have complained the metal tweeters are very bright and overpowering. If you can find a quality silk dome tweeter Comp package, that would give a more natural sound to the highs.
One of the better Comps we have available in the States are from CDT Audio and MA Audio. Infinity is not bad either. Whether these are available in Italy or not, cannot say for curtain. Here's a few links for both CDT and MA.
http://www.maaudio.com/productcatalog.cfm?class=615
http://www.cdtaudio.com/monthlyspecials.htm
About rear fill, can go with just Midbass, or full range coaxials, powered off the HU rear amp channels. The stock speakers can be used as is too. If you wish, just add a tweeter and filter to net full range output for the folks in the back seats to enjoy.
BTW, which model number 4 channel amp do you have? Is that 10" sub a 4 ohm sub? If yes, you can bridge the 2 rear channels and power the sub that way. Anything under 4 ohms may cause this amp to overheat a lot.
Finally, what other brands are available locally than was mentioned earlier? JBL makes some great gear. The model mentioned is pretty solid. But I would suggest you listen to them at a dealer that sells them to determine if they are what you want. Bring your own CD's and listen to them amped so you can get a good feel for what to expect. In a demo wall, the MB will probably sound full and robust at flat EQ settings, but less so in door mounts.
Swez
Steve14 on 10/25/2004 13:00:49
Thanks for the useful info swez! As for CDT and MA, I haven't actually seen them around, so I guess it wouldn't be easy for me to get'em over here. SAD
As for the rear speakers, ok then, I've almost solved my doubts and I really think I'll head up to some coax. speakers
Talking about the sub is a 4 ohm and worked well on my other car, so I really didn't pay too much attention to it (I'm away from home now, so I cannot give you more precise info - my amplifier should be the DA704 on the www.dragster.ch website).
My only uncertainty at this point remain the front speakers then.. I've heard that listening to them on a shop showcase isn't like having them in your car and I can say I wouldn't disagree with this and that's why I was curious to have someone opinion about which component set could be the best one to get, among the 3 listed above, considering that:
1) they do cost pretty much the same for me (around $220)
2) I'm not too much of a "metallic" sounding tweeter kid and that I like having some clean midranges usually, together w/ some powerful but still "occasional" woofer booms...
Sorry, I know this aint the best explanation I could give...
I mean I like having some clean sound and then some bass hits; just something that comes, strikes and goes, not a constant deep bass atmosphere...
Again, any suggestion is greatly appreciated!
Thank you all,
Steve
Victor on 10/25/2004 15:01:03
check these out..
i installed a few of these lately in some customers cars.. they perform really really nice and i think is good enough to satisfy your staging and imaging needs for the front..
http://www.blaupunkt.co.uk/7606273003_main.asp
and the following speakers are good for the rear fill..
http://www.blaupunkt.co.uk/7606426000_main.asp
or
http://www.blaupunkt.co.uk/7606200080_main.asp
these are real good products and i have had a good personal experience with them..
comments..??
Victor
CURRENT SITUATION:
I've just purchased a Ford Focus Station wagon and I'd like to install some kind of audio system on it. I already own an amplifier 100RMSx4 (it's a good one ..I was told), a subwoofer (10") and a head unit (a sony mp3 player) that I'd like to keep.
It looks like to me I'm just missing some speakers then; I have some 6.5" installation bays on front doors and thus I was thinking about installing some components there (I can then fit the tweeters easily).
Found the spots, I have to decide what speakers to get ...and here my doubts start to arise...
FRONT-STAGE CHOICHE:
My favourite kind of music is rock, but I often end up listening a bit of everything (but disco), just depending on my mood...
I was thinking about spending around $230 for the front speakers and what I've been able to find for that price around here (I live in Italy BTW ...and I cannot purchase from the US, becouse of our wicked 60% import taxes), is what follows:
1) JBL P650c
2) BOSTON FS60
3) Infinity KAPPA 60.5cs
All of them are 6.5" components, that I've heard in different sites to be very good. Being a beginner, as I've told you, I'd still love if someone could give me some really quick comparative description of these 3 series (or maybe name some other good products at the same price) and possibly give me some suggestion on what to look for here (hence what to choose).
REAR FILL DOUBT:
My other doubt was about rear fill (I have some 6.5" bays on rear doors too),
where I was really unsure about what to do...
I've read pretty much everywhere that the rear could be easily forgotten and have the front stage taking care of everything; I still wanted the passengers on the back to get some decent music (doesn't have to be good ...just decent SMILE)...
Here there are the 4 configurations that popped out into my mind; I'd really appreciate if someone could please suggest me what would be better (I have some other $120 besides the one allocated for the front stage)...
1) No rear at all; front speakers can cover the whole car (and maybe I can spend the $120 for getting better front speakers)
2) Leave original car speakers (even if they suck, to tell the truth) on the back, just lowering their volume, not to interfere w/ the front ...this gotta be sufficient for ppl on the back and wouldn't trouble me on front (again, spending the remaining $120 for getting better front speakers)
3) Get some other good components for the back (using just the mid/low part of them, w/out installing the tweeters ...or do you install tweeters on the back also, BTW?)
4) Get some midranges for the back
5) Get some coaxial for the back, just to improve a bit car original system and save some money.
I then have one last question about points 3, 4 and 5; precisely I was curious to know if it was better to have all speakers of the same brand name (IE JBL components on front & JBL coax on the rear) or if it was ok to "mix up" different brand of speakers...
Well, thanks again for reading, I really hope someone can help me w/ my doubts. SMILE
Steve
Replies (5)
Bigeazy4387 on 10/25/2004 09:50:51
well i would go with config 3,4,or 5 just run the back of the deck so they get less power than the front or are you planning on amping the front speakers? if so that would work nice but if you get only midranges you will need a mid/low cutoff like a crossover as far as mixing brands iv'e heard systems with all different speakers and they sounded great to me and not to some1 else its all in your tastes i would say no now as far as the sub i cant help you till you tell us make model#
Steve14 on 10/25/2004 10:02:53
Yeah, sorry... I forgot to specify this before... I intend to use my 4 channel amplifier to power the front component speakers and the subwoofer also. The brand name of both the subwoofer and the amplifier is dragster, which is a European brand (www.dragster.ch).
The sub worked well on my previous car, so that it's not an issue for me. My only problem now is about speakers...
I don't know what brand kit to get as for the front and what kind of speakers to get for the back.
At any case, thanks for your help so far; I take away solutions 1 & 2 for the rear then... it's a beginning SMILE
swez on 10/25/2004 12:41:02
Boston Acoustics are very expensive in the top line Components as are MB Quartz. They do perform very well but some have complained the metal tweeters are very bright and overpowering. If you can find a quality silk dome tweeter Comp package, that would give a more natural sound to the highs.
One of the better Comps we have available in the States are from CDT Audio and MA Audio. Infinity is not bad either. Whether these are available in Italy or not, cannot say for curtain. Here's a few links for both CDT and MA.
http://www.maaudio.com/productcatalog.cfm?class=615
http://www.cdtaudio.com/monthlyspecials.htm
About rear fill, can go with just Midbass, or full range coaxials, powered off the HU rear amp channels. The stock speakers can be used as is too. If you wish, just add a tweeter and filter to net full range output for the folks in the back seats to enjoy.
BTW, which model number 4 channel amp do you have? Is that 10" sub a 4 ohm sub? If yes, you can bridge the 2 rear channels and power the sub that way. Anything under 4 ohms may cause this amp to overheat a lot.
Finally, what other brands are available locally than was mentioned earlier? JBL makes some great gear. The model mentioned is pretty solid. But I would suggest you listen to them at a dealer that sells them to determine if they are what you want. Bring your own CD's and listen to them amped so you can get a good feel for what to expect. In a demo wall, the MB will probably sound full and robust at flat EQ settings, but less so in door mounts.
Swez
Steve14 on 10/25/2004 13:00:49
Thanks for the useful info swez! As for CDT and MA, I haven't actually seen them around, so I guess it wouldn't be easy for me to get'em over here. SAD
As for the rear speakers, ok then, I've almost solved my doubts and I really think I'll head up to some coax. speakers
Talking about the sub is a 4 ohm and worked well on my other car, so I really didn't pay too much attention to it (I'm away from home now, so I cannot give you more precise info - my amplifier should be the DA704 on the www.dragster.ch website).
My only uncertainty at this point remain the front speakers then.. I've heard that listening to them on a shop showcase isn't like having them in your car and I can say I wouldn't disagree with this and that's why I was curious to have someone opinion about which component set could be the best one to get, among the 3 listed above, considering that:
1) they do cost pretty much the same for me (around $220)
2) I'm not too much of a "metallic" sounding tweeter kid and that I like having some clean midranges usually, together w/ some powerful but still "occasional" woofer booms...
Sorry, I know this aint the best explanation I could give...
I mean I like having some clean sound and then some bass hits; just something that comes, strikes and goes, not a constant deep bass atmosphere...
Again, any suggestion is greatly appreciated!
Thank you all,
Steve
Victor on 10/25/2004 15:01:03
check these out..
i installed a few of these lately in some customers cars.. they perform really really nice and i think is good enough to satisfy your staging and imaging needs for the front..
http://www.blaupunkt.co.uk/7606273003_main.asp
and the following speakers are good for the rear fill..
http://www.blaupunkt.co.uk/7606426000_main.asp
or
http://www.blaupunkt.co.uk/7606200080_main.asp
these are real good products and i have had a good personal experience with them..
comments..??
Victor
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