"The Sound of Music" - Speaker Placement

[anthony7777]

keoke thats what i asked him, thats a very important question, when i approach a stop light with my radio on people turn around and think its a "low riddah" i have so much base from my "marine speekahs" placement baby placement. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/iagree.gif

 

[Ed_K]

I wound up with four speakers, two of which are 3 inch marine speakers which I mounted into the top of the dash through the dash pad ( BJ8 ). Cutting holes through the top of the dash is not for the purists or the faint hearted ! They turned out very good and they look like they belong there. Between those and the two infinity reference speakers that I mounted into home made boxes onto the front of the hot air plenum, I can actually hear the music over my very loud glass pack mufflers and side exit exhaust. I mounted an modern Alpine head unit through the console after enlarging the opening to fit it. The display on the alpine is subdued in appearance but this was the compromise that I chose to make in order to get to hear tunes. The passenger side pedal box looks like a good place to put a sub woofer ? Have not got around to that yet.

 

[BrandonBJ8]

Just curious, has anyone thought about using outdoor speakers?

Something like this...
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?...d=1077626749846

 

[GregW]

Hi Brandon,
Generally speaking, home audio is 8Ω, Car audio runs mostly at 4Ω. I think those Yamaha’s are 8Ω, but they don’t mention it anywhere I could find. They will work in a car, but they wouldn’t be as loud. Unless you used a bigger amp.

 

[Keoke]

Yeah Greg, none of the Ipody boys seem to want to present specifications on their hardware other than Mother Hood stuff. At the presnt time there a 4, 4.7, 5, and 8 Ohm systems out there to lock the consumer into their so called unique system---Keoke- /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rolleyes.gif

 

[BrandonBJ8]

The outdoor speakers are 8 Ohm. How much of a difference do you think they would be versus 4 Ohm car speakers? I'm not looking for a competition system, just something basic to listen to some tunes on.

 

[Keoke]

Well Brandon, what do you propose to drive these speakers with. A standard AM/FM car radio? If so there will be some power loss but it will not be too sever. However, there must be sufficient power available from the radio's amplifier to produce adequate power over the music spectrum to drive the speakers. The speakers you referenced earlier in this post are reportedly 5 Ohm units with a power handling capability of 130 Watts RMS each. ---Keoke

 

[BrandonBJ8]

Keoke - I will be getting a modern receiver, so likely 50 watts x 4. Do you think that will suffice? Using outdoor speakers seems to be the easiest route that does not entail a lot of customization which is very attractive.

 

[Keoke]

Well before you go out and spend some bucks Brandon, why not visit a few local sound installation facilities and see if there is not a matched set up they can install at a competitive price.---Keoke

 

[SHG]

Brandon, I tried the 8Ω first, because one of the hardest things to find were speakers that were small enough to fit. They just didn't produce much sound, even with an amplifier, and the sound was hollow even though they were good speakers. That's how I finally ended up with Marine speakers, https://www.polyplanar.com/products/ma7500.asp after trying about 5 different types, ranging from Bose to Boston Accoustics, etc.

Also, I tried speakers with white boxes. They looked horrible, as you could see just enough white under the dash to make you realize that they were there and didn't belong there. Black boxes disappear from sight when you tuck them up under the footwell.

 

[anthony7777]

shg, how are you? yes they are great speakers but as you know i opted to also use the round marine speakers in the rear seat area to achieve greater separation and enhanced stereo quality id tried just front speakers and found it too muddy a sound with little or no clarity as heard by my aging ears, of course the rears might not be suitable if a pure vintage look is demanded, i went with the sound rather then the look. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/savewave.gif

 

[AUSMHLY]

SHG, did you paint the speakers?
What is the speaker box dimentions?
Can you post a photo of your install?
Roger

 

[SHG]

SHG, did you paint the speakers?
What is the speaker box dimentions?
Can you post a photo of your install?
Roger

Hi Roger. I'd like to post, but this new website won't upload pics. The speaker box dimensions at 9"x 5" (if you go to the link above, it should include all the details about the speakers). No painting, the box is black. I have the bracket attached to the heater vent walls tucked up under the footwell of the front seats toward the outer walls. On the driver side, it slips in nicely between the steering wheel column and the panel. You don't notice they're there when you're in the car.

I see that my good buddy and mentor, Anthong, also uses complimentary round speakers in the rear to flesh out the sound. I, on the other hand, don't need to do so because I added and amp (hidden behind the center console and attached to the bottom of the heater box) and drives the speakers better than my old Becker radio (for proper appearance) alone. Of course, I am also much younger and better looking than Anthony, and so I don't need a hearing aid like Grampa Anthony. If you want, I'll take a pic and email it to you to show you the appearance and if you have the means, you can post it here.

SHG

 

[BrandonBJ8]

SHG, would you mind emailing a few pictures to me as well? Also, in the link you provided for your speakers they are white. I assume they come in black as well since you said yours are black.

Thanks!

 

[SHG]

Here's the pics. I've finally figured out how to include them in a post, though I have yet to figure out how to configure them properly. The first is from the driver's POV, where you can barely see the dark bottom of the speaker. The second is from below the seat, looking directly at the speaker. The third is outside the door, down low, looking at the speaker.

 

[GregW]

Hi Brandon,
There are a couple of variables on how loud a speaker sounds. Db sensitivity will have an effect as well as the ohm rating of a speaker. Without a common reference speaker, it would be hard to say exactly how much difference in volume you would get.
You have to love marketing firms, they like comparing apples to oranges. A radio (head unit) is usually rated at peak watts. So 50 watts is usually 22-25w RMS. Amplifiers are rated by RMS, so a 50w amp would have an 80-100w peak, a lot more power. So now you have 25 watts (4Ω) pushing an 8Ω speaker (twice the resistance). Personally, I like to have lots of power in my radios (min 45w RMS per channel, 100w RMS for a sub). Not because I play them really loud, but the less you push the system, the better clarity you have. Distortion happens when you start driving the amps too hard. It is definitely a juggling act to get a decent stereo into a small car presentably, on a budget you can live with.

 

[Ed_K]

Brandon,

What Greg just said means that if your head unit is rated 25 watts RMS per channel into 4 ohms, then it would only be able to put out 12.5 watts per channel into 8 ohms. That may not be enough power to hear it with the wind and exhaust noise in your ears no matter where the speakers are located or how efficient they are.

Ed K.

 

[Keoke]

Well now Greg, some of that be so. However, when you have a Low impedance driver at 4 Ohms driving a Higher Impedance at 8 Ohms there is no loading of the source. For this case while it is not an optimum arrangement { Matched Impedance's} it is the better configuration if you are unmatched. Also note Peak Power is 1.4 X RMS. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif That other thing they spray on the consumer "Music Power" is reported to be twice the RMS value?? Kinny like the Vacuum cleaner folks bedazzling the consumer with " Watts Cleaning Power".--Keoke- /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif

One more note here. What sounds good is subjective. This is to say what Tom likes is lousy sounds to Dick and absolutely unbearable to Harry. This is why we have all the purity destroying controls on our high quality stereo systems so folks can bugger it up to their likes.

 

[Ed_K]

Dash Speaker pics and head unit.

 

[Ed_K]

I had to put my lower speakers toward the inside since I had my fuse panel where most folks mount the lower speakers. You can also see the arm from my Watson street works brake light switch.