Component Recomendations

[alteraudiousa 10+ year member]

honestly i you won't even notice a difference. Just to tell you how different the environments can be, I have a guy in my old store who could tell the difference by what type of speaker wire was used or by what dye was used. There are always small nuances from Ht that you will never hear from car audio due to environment. It will be very hard for a car environment to be as articulate as a home setup. You may want to look at mixing and matching and going active for the setup. Install will play an important role too. Also paradigm is that good, but best of luck.

 

[02TurboA4 10+ year member]

alteraudiousa - I know i'll never get the same sound but I want to get something with better clarity than the germaniums. This time I plan on going active and getting a second amp for the tweeters. I've already got over 30 hrs in my current install and its still not finished and it will be perfect by the time its done, I hope, at least to me anyway.

I also noticed your a CDT dealer, is there anything that you would recommend?

Also I know paradigm is not the best, but the were the best in my price range at the time, out of all the speakers I demo'd and everyone has different tastes. I've also listened to many speakers $2000-$10,000+ that put mine and many others to shame.

I would love to be able to demo many different car audio speakers but around here no shops have any good speakers. So I have to rely on people on this forum for a little help.

 

[6spdcoupe 5,000+ posts]

Gimme another call, I may have a few ideas for ya. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[02TurboA4 10+ year member]

I'll do that Don. Can you PM me your # again, I can't find it.

 

[3.5Max6spd 10+ year member]

The problem is in the car with a door mounted/off axis wide range driver its very hard to reach the level of clarity of a home system. I recommend you stepping up to a 3way setup, even if no room opt for one with a dome midrange can can be easy to install even ifs off axis alonside the tweeter. It will certainly allow more finite details reach your ears and every driver has a dedicated range. Should certainly help you stage/image better as well.

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

DLS sells a 2.5" midrange if mounting room area or whatever is an issue. I have been looking into it but I haven't heard any reviews abouts it's off axis response.

I think it is the iridium series but it looks pretty good

 

[nismos14 5,000+ posts]

A couple of things - try reversing the polarity on the tweeters - that may open things up a big for you, also maybe run the germs' active!

 

[02TurboA4 10+ year member]

Thanks for all the input but I only want to stick with a 2-way system due to not having enough room. Also I don't want to cut up the door panels to install a dome midrange, I barely have enough room for the tweeter. But I'll take a quick pic of the door panel and post it. Maybe someone could give me an idea as to where to put a midrange to blend into the factory look. I also would be not able to put a midbass in the kick because of being a manual ***** and not having room on the driver side.

 

[02TurboA4 10+ year member]

Here's a photo of my door panel. If anyone one has any ideas as to where to add in a midrange and keep a factory look I would appreciate it. Also I can't put anything above the aluminum panel in the door because behind that section of the panel is a main part of the door structure.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m35/02TurboA4/2007_0112Audi0001.jpg

 

[3.5Max6spd 10+ year member]

Thanks for all the input but I only want to stick with a 2-way system due to not having enough room. Also I don't want to cut up the door panels to install a dome midrange, I barely have enough room for the tweeter. But I'll take a quick pic of the door panel and post it. Maybe someone could give me an idea as to where to put a midrange to blend into the factory look. I also would be not able to put a midbass in the kick because of being a manual ***** and not having room on the driver side.

Exactly why a DOME 3" midrange and 1" tweet is more than easy enough to squeeze onto an OEM kickpanel cover flushmounted. Dont worry about the low location , that sound will seem like its coming from the top of your dash. These setups are highly unobstrusive and works very well.

You cannot get anywhere close to a home audio setup with your highest sources of sibilance/ localization at your doors. You are just wasting your time, the pathlengths ****.

 

[02TurboA4 10+ year member]

3.5Max6spd - thanks for the input, but the last time I had my kick panels off if i remember correct there was almost 0 clearance behind them with all the factory wiring harnesses. But I might be able to make a setup like that fit. Only thing that I'm not sure of is I know on the driver side my foot would be right in front of them the entire time, because I'm constantly putting my foot on the foot rest when not using the clutch. Wouldn't that cause issues?

Any speakers you would recommend?

Also i'm not trying to get close to a home audio setup, just know I want something better than what I currently have.

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

3.5Max6spd - thanks for the input, but the last time I had my kick panels off if i remember correct there was almost 0 clearance behind them with all the factory wiring harnesses. But I might be able to make a setup like that fit. Only thing that I'm not sure of is I know on the driver side my foot would be right in front of them the entire time, because I'm constantly putting my foot on the foot rest when not using the clutch. Wouldn't that cause issues?
Any speakers you would recommend?

Also i'm not trying to get close to a home audio setup, just know I want something better than what I currently have.

That DLS midrange I spoke about may fit. The mounting diameter is only a few inches (a little under 5"). i couldn't find much outside of the aura whisper that may work and this dls.

Here are some specs on that DLS

Speaker type : 75 mm (3") doped fabric with chamber

Power handling capacity : 100 W RMS / 160 W max

Impedance : 4 ohm

Fs, resonant frequency : 280 Hz

Voice coil : 75 mm / 3" Aluminium flat wire, 5 mm

X-max : +- 0,5 mm

Frequency range : 250 - 8000 Hz

Sensitivity : 91 dB (1W/1m)

Magnet size : 80 mm (3,15")

Outer diameter : 120 mm (4,72")

Installation depth : 35 mm ( 1,38")

Mounting hole : 95 mm (3,74")

I have an S-10 and have it worse than you as much of my door panel is curved and it is difficult as hell to mount a tweet without serious mods to the A-pillar. Keep this thread up as no one has jacked it up yet and has very good info.

 

[alteraudiousa 10+ year member]

Paradigm is quite good for the price in almost any range. i do like the sound of some ML electrostatic speakers and yeah there are those outrageously priced speakers but its quite hard to beat what paradigm has done and their anthem amps are quite nice.

i am quite suprised the germs are clear enough. i think you may really want to consider a 3way setup. the midrange driver i would suggest be IB if possible. i took a look at your picture and your map pocket in the door could be a good place to stick a small 3in midrange. if you could make a small cover over the pocket opening that would be good. I would suggest the Hybrid Audio L3 for midrange use. use the germ woofer in the door and mount the tweeter either in the kick or on the dash. CDT is coming out with some new ES drivers but they are not out yet just used on the CES car. i would suggest running actively or atleast run the germ woofer actively and the midrange and tweeter passively. i think you will get more clarity in a 3way setup than a 2way in the car.

 

[02TurboA4 10+ year member]

alteraudiousa - never thought about using the map pocket area. If i use that area i would take out the pockets and custom fiberglass and wrap the area to make it look like it was meant to be there. But wouldn't I want the tweeter right by the midrange?

Well it looks like from all the info i've got I should go 3-way. I only have room for the midbass in the door at the factory location. So would in the door pocket area or the kick for the tweeter and midrange work best?

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

Well it looks like from all the info i've got I should go 3-way. I only have room for the midbass in the door at the factory location. So would in the door pocket area or the kick for the tweeter and midrange work best?

I would say so from my searching it looks like the higher frequencies are more directional and kickpanels for that would help with that and pathlength differences. Maybe your vehicle has a q-form for it if you are uncomfortable with your glassing skills. They say they are rather thing but if you load them with matting and non-hardening clay to reduce resonances, they are okay.