Cheap n' Light stereo setup for a notch?

[Darkwriter77]

Been trying to think of a reasonable compromise on the notch as far as the stereo goes. I've got a 200-watt Panasonic CD/MP3 player (nothing special, cheap Wal-Mart crap), a couple of so-so Lightning Audio 5"x8" speakers in the rear, and some Pioneer (I think 4") speakers up front. It's clear-sounding enough, but of course there is NO bass whatsoever, and even the mid-range is kind of weak. I don't want to blow a ton of money of stereo stuffs, but I also don't want to go the cheater route and just throw a sub/amp in the trunk and call it done - the trunk is too tiny and cramped enough, as it is, to go adding a sub to it.

I'm thinking some ghetto-cheap sound insulation would help some - someone once mentioned a tar-like material at Home Depot that was cheap/lightweight - but what else could be recommended? A couple of nice 6"x9" speakers in back would help a lot if I could either fit them in the rear deck and put some kind of backing material behind the speakers, or if I could use a couple of those pre-made enclosures and find a method of securing them safely in the back.

Any ideas/suggestions? Again, bear in mind this is a notch and not a hatchback, so I don't have all the groovy extra rear cargo space to play with...

 

[Strype]

I had a cheap Panasonic for years. They make really good radios and TV's

 

[FrankenStang]

You both make me sick.

You and your Notches. Black.... Notches......

 

[JGT]

i bought a pair of infinity reference 6x8/5x7s for my dad for christmas. just under $60 shipped if i remember correctly. having a high sensitivity, they sound amazing for being powered off the factory head unit, and get pretty loud without any distortion. The same size fits in the rear of our cars. for the front i'd ditch the 3.5inch speakers in the dash and just put infinity reference 6.5s in the doors. for bass, there are plenty of self-powered subs you can find. I think best buy carries infinity. you should go listen to them and see if you like them

 

[Darkwriter77]

Well, I can't argue that better speakers in the rear would certainly help as far as clarity and maybe the mid-range goes - these Lightning Audio 5"x8" speakers SUCK. (Hell, even a set of Pioneers would be nice back there ... or Sony Xplodes, if I can get 'em in 5"x8".) But is a swap of speakers really going to do anything for the bottom-end at all?

I'm just curious if anyone has come up with some crafty methods of creating built-in enclosures for the speakers to help give the sound a more solid tone and preserve the bass. I don't listen to any hippity-hoppity yo-yo-yippie-yo rap or techno, mostly just metal stuffs, but it'd be nice to actually hear more than the snare and cymbals or lead guitar in songs, y'know? Unless I'm playing the same CD on my stereo at home, I wouldn't even know that there's a bass guitar or kicker drums involved in any of my tunes.

I remember my Crown Vic and Lincoln both having a sort of carpet-foam enclosure thingy that hung behind the rear speakers to give them a sort of insulating backing that did definitely help out with the bass and mid-levels (I made the mistake of taking them out once when swapping speakers, thinking they were just to protect the back of the speakers from stuff in the trunk, and it sounded like poo). Does anyone know where I can score a set of these kind of half-enclosures that would fit behind a set of 5"x8" speakers? ... or have some other idea for some kind of material or mini-enclosure that maybe I could bolt up there under the rear shelf to help the sound?

I could probably sound-insulate the heck out of my trunk area, but I don't know if that would help at all, aside from maybe blocking out a little bit of exhaust noise...

 

[Turkey Sammich]

i bought a pair of infinity reference 6x8/5x7s for my dad for christmas. just under $60 shipped if i remember correctly. having a high sensitivity, they sound amazing for being powered off the factory head unit, and get pretty loud without any distortion. The same size fits in the rear of our cars. for the front i'd ditch the 3.5inch speakers in the dash and just put infinity reference 6.5s in the doors. for bass, there are plenty of self-powered subs you can find. I think best buy carries infinity. you should go listen to them and see if you like them

+1.
I have Infinity Reference 6x9's in the rear, and they sound amazing. I plan on replacing the front speakers before summer with Infinity's as well. Yes, Best Buy has them.

 

[DEFWISH]

i just said screw it and spent 1000+ on system... now i wish i woulda put it in my motor

 

[JGT]

Well, I can't argue that better speakers in the rear would certainly help as far as clarity and maybe the mid-range goes - these Lightning Audio 5"x8" speakers SUCK. (Hell, even a set of Pioneers would be nice back there ... or Sony Xplodes, if I can get 'em in 5"x8".) But is a swap of speakers really going to do anything for the bottom-end at all?

those infinity speakers will sound a LOT better than what you have. they will also be a lot louder. for bass, you're really not going to find any speakers that can give you what a self-powered sub can get you. they're subs that come with their own box and amp, and are normally pretty small, so you can put them pretty much anywhere.

I'm just curious if anyone has come up with some crafty methods of creating built-in enclosures for the speakers to help give the sound a more solid tone and preserve the bass. I don't listen to any hippity-hoppity yo-yo-yippie-yo rap or techno, mostly just metal stuffs, but it'd be nice to actually hear more than the snare and cymbals or lead guitar in songs, y'know? Unless I'm playing the same CD on my stereo at home, I wouldn't even know that there's a bass guitar or kicker drums involved in any of my tunes.

I remember my Crown Vic and Lincoln both having a sort of carpet-foam enclosure thingy that hung behind the rear speakers to give them a sort of insulating backing that did definitely help out with the bass and mid-levels (I made the mistake of taking them out once when swapping speakers, thinking they were just to protect the back of the speakers from stuff in the trunk, and it sounded like poo). Does anyone know where I can score a set of these kind of half-enclosures that would fit behind a set of 5"x8" speakers? ... or have some other idea for some kind of material or mini-enclosure that maybe I could bolt up there under the rear shelf to help the sound?

I could probably sound-insulate the heck out of my trunk area, but I don't know if that would help at all, aside from maybe blocking out a little bit of exhaust noise...

thats one reason i like my exhaust so much . it's a low hum until i get on it. i helped a friend put dynamat in his doors and trunk. that stuff is going to add weight, and is probably only going to help you if you are a true audiophile and spend $2k on stereo equipment. otherwise it's a waste imo. it took out all of the road noise, but slowed him down. i'm planning on spending about $1.5k on a new stereo this summer. with that, i wont ever have to redo the stereo again.

 

[backfocus]

I used to compete in sound competitions back in high school and college, which helped me learn alot while getting my degree in electronics, so I think I can at least push you in the right direction.

You are not going to get crystal clear audio from a high powered head unit. External amps paired with a quality low to no power head unit will be much better sounding. But with that being said you can still get your stuff to sound better. The best thing you could do is upgrade those speakers. A 6x8 in the deck with a foam backer would be a great improvement. And not being sure if the speakers for front are in the door, dash or both I also gave you some options there.

I would spend a little extra on the speakers and go with the Polks or the Infinity's, but the JBL and Alpine are ok as well. If after you do this you still want the thumping bass I would go with a compact pre-made tube or small box. I have hear some tubes that sound really good, but I would upgrade the small speakers first you might be surprised.

I would recomend one of these for the back deck.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-SvLuUqKZAnM/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=400&I=500SPS57C2

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-SvLuUqKZAnM/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=400&I=109GTO8627

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-SvLuUqKZAnM/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=400&I=1086827CF

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-SvLuUqKZAnM/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=400&I=107DB570


Buy these for the Back
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-AJKe7tl0Yf3/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=762&I=237XT68




These for the Front
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-SvLuUqKZAnM/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=400&I=1083022C

For the Door
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-AJKe7tl0Yf3/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=400&I=108527I


http://www.crutchfield.com/S-SvLuUqKZAnM/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=400&I=107DB650

There are better speaker out there but for a budget these will work.

 

[JGT]

some of those speakers you picked are going to sound worse for his setup. for instance, the infinity reference series will sound MUCH better than the kappas running off a head-unit, as they are made to run better with low power.

 

[backfocus]

Yes I know that the Reference series will sound better than the Kappa speakers. One I gave those speakers as choices, not buy this or else. Two, you are very limited on speaker choices for the 3 1/2" or 4 inch (depending on manufacture fit) unless you go with a component set, but he mentioned he was on a budget. Besides a 200 Watt radio is stated that as Peak Wattage which is the complete max, so 200 Watts Peak/4 is 50 Watts peak per channel. Reference series is 2-25 RMS and 75 Watts peak. His radio, being a Panasonic will put out a RMS of 25 -30 RMS.

What I didn't state though that I should of is that I would put caps on those Reference if that is the was I went, but personally I would look into a more expensive component setup, I know Polk used to make a speaker that would fit in the foxes as part of a component.

Finally I put the Kappas in there because they are a know and trusted brand and model that have been around for years, personally I prefer Polk, but that is just my taste. Plus the Kappas will help give a deeper feel, they are in the back and not meant to be there for the highs.

 

[JGT]

if he has door speakers i wouldn't bother with the dash speakers. i had the kappas in the rear cause some jackass at best buy said they would sound great. they definitely sound worse than the reference speakers in my dad's truck.

do those foam baffles actually do anything? i've never held one. do they flex at all?

 

[backfocus]

The foam baffles do flex and are very similar to ones that newer cars have in them and many cars have had for years. The theory is that they work similar to a box, by keep a more compact, consistant air force behind the speaker. They do help a little, but in the end it is just acoustic foam, so yes they work but only help a little, but mostly they cover the bottom side of the speaker and keep things from hitting the speaker when you cram too much stuff trunk.

Doors would be the better option to replace since they are bigger, but the best option would be all of them. Darkwritter didn't state that he had door speakers, I know some foxes didn't have them because of a cheaper audio package from the factory, that is what my reference book say anyway.

 

[JGT]

backfocus i was thinking about getting jl 6.5xrcs, jl 450/4 (2 front for the speakers, and bridge the back for the), and a 12w3v3. i need a half inch mounting depth in the doors. any ideas without cutting anything?

 

[backfocus]

I looked on JL's website and it says that those 6.5s need 2 1/8" mounting depth. I don't have my reference manual in front of me to see what the max mounting depth is, but I looked on crutchfield ( always a good reference site) and saw these.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-2BNoDGTWcua/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=400&I=023GTX652

Crutchfield says they will fit and they have the same mounting depth, you might call them and confrim the fit, as that was the only one I saw that deep. As a last resort it is not that difficult to make a custom fiberglass encloser to get the exact space, just do a google search on how to make them.

If you do get those JLs, you will like them, one of my favorite speakers!

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

For cheap and light, i would go with a nice high wattage head unit, some decent tweeters up front, and some really nice 3 ways in the back (my car has 6x9s, i'm not sure what the newer coupes have, like 7x5s or whatever). That way a good 6x9 for me will actually put out some decent bass since i listen to mostly metal. If you want more bass i would opt for an all-in-one sub/amp combo, no bigger than 10 inches on the sub (for weight savings). I saw an Infinity setup like this that couldn't have weighted 20lbs but it was a 400w combo and would pound pretty hard in a coupe.

 

[niklid05]

remove all of your stereo from your car and buy an mp3 player and head phones.

 

[JGT]

maybe we're looking at different things? these are what i'm looking at.

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_components.php?comp_id=120
Woofer Mounting Depth (G) 2.81 in.

 

[backfocus]

No, we were looking at the same thing, for some reason I switched it to 2.18" in my head, my bad!

So 2.81" does creat a problem, there will not be a way to push that speaker out more and still retain the stock style speak grill. Looks like if you really want to run those you will have to look into buying or fabbing up so speaker pods. I remeber somone one here has some really nice ones that looked great, I think he has both a white and blue stang, can't remember the name though.

Sorry about the switch of the numbers.

 

[Darkwriter77]

Good suggestions. Those are exactly the things I was referring to - speaker baffles - I just couldn't remember the terminology. I thought they'd be more expensive than that. Would there be any advantage to, say, making a couple of my own baffles out of a more stout, solid material? Maybe some sheet metal baffles lined inside with some high-density foam or some tar-like sound insulating-type of material?

I forgot to mention that I do have door speakers. I was under the assumption that most of the 87+ Foxes had them as standard fare, but maybe they were optional along with some other details (power windows and such). I've got a nice set of small JBL speakers that've been sitting in the closet forever, but they're too small for the doors and too big for the dash ... but what the heck, maybe they'd be an improvement over what's currently in the doors, in spite of their smaller size?

I was kind of thinking of replacing the dash speakers (which are OEM and pretty much garbage) with some of those cheap micro-tweeters, since that's about all those tiny spots are good for, anyhow - maybe mount them hidden behind the dash speaker grilles, or just stick them in the far corners of the dash.

I would love to bolt up a set of 6"x9" speakers in the back, but what's killing me is the fitment. I've tried in the past to cram my old Sony Xplodes back there - they were cheap, but hey, they sound mighty nice for what they are. But I just can't figure a way to fit 'em, short of using a Dremel and carving out a new opening on each side for 'em, or rigging up some weird sort of hanger arrangement (or worse yet, going the ultra-ghetto route and just hacking giant holes in the rear deck and using the included speaker grilles to cover them, instead of hiding them under the OEM shelf carpeting). I mean, I could just drill a couple of holes and hang 'em with bolts, sure, but from past experience, having them sit on an uneven surface like that is just going to make them buzz, rattle, and sound like crap no matter what. I know OEM-sized speakers would make the fitment issue a lot less of a headache, but there's a heckuva lot more variety and availability (not to mention much better sound) for 6"x9" pairs than for the 6"x8" or 5"x7" options.

Did older Foxes have 6"x9" rear speakers available, or did you just force them to fit in there?

One of those cheesy little pre-loaded baby-sub boxes from Wal-Mart and a similarly cheap 200-watt amp would almost be tempting if I could slide it under the rear deck. I had just that kind of a setup in my prior '89 notch and it sounded pretty decent for my purposes, but it took up half of the trunk. Gotta have room for beer n' groceries...