I am an auto enthusiast, a long time music aficionado, and admirer of audio in general. Though my primary passion is modifying cars, I have collected speakers and music for years and enjoy finding various ways to record music across different mediums.
I have not been a serious audio fanatic until recently, now recognizing the beginnings of falling into car audio obsession, perhaps a natural next step in car modification as I start to focus on custom interiors in more detail.
As with everything in my life, the biggest accomplishment will be creating something for next to nothing, pulling every trick in the book and inventing some new ones to reach my goal, choosing effort and creative skill over money.
The Good: I have a stockpile of speakers from a lifetime of collecting, albeit of varying quality and applications. I have an unlimited supply of raw resources, a healthy portion of spare electronics, and a decent amount of tools to utilize (for enclosures, appearance, wiring, etc.). I can record and transfer music from Vinyl all the way to MP3 from virtually anything that produces sound, which may not be unusual nowadays.
The Bad: I am learning as I go, granted I am a fast learner out of necessity. I have virtually zero budget, allowing for new items occasionally when I have money to burn.
This is my mishmash setup to learn what I'm doing. Am I on the right track?
My current setup...
-Head Unit (spare unit after my JVC KD-R330 died): Pioneer DEH-1400, LPF for rear @160 Hz, simple 3-band equalizer (still tweaking)
-Tweeters: 2 Kenwood 301432 (JL-707) positioned at Roof/Windshield/A-Pillar corner, adjustable, thinking about adding a third tweeter in center dash or mid-upper console.
-Front Speakers: 2 6.5 Kenwood KFC-1690ie positioned at outer kick panels facing between seats, built ported mini-tubes for them but they won't fit in this location (yes, they sound better and hit harder in them, shaking the whole tube, rear end tapers to 1.5 inch hole after about 10 inches).
-Midrange: Infinity 6.5 positioned at lower center console in short tube enclosure, thinking about replacing with tiny speakers hidden in upper console beside head unit.
-Sub #1 : 8" Sony SSwg990 @6 ohms, located behind/between front seats with box pressed against seats (a seat shaker) facing forward/upward, playing up to 160 Hz (HU LPF), ported enclosure. I've had this speaker for 16 years and love it. It is potent, with big excursion that can be seen in several YouTube videos as this little speaker has a way of growing on people.
-Sub #2 : 12" Rockville RVB12.1A, positioned at back of trunk facing rear, playing up to 80 Hz, ported enclosure.
-Power (Spare amp after Rockville 300 RMS died): Kenwood Bridged KAC-648S, 70 RMSx2, LPF @80 Hz for 12" and no filter on 8" (filtered by HU), yes I'm under-powered at the moment.
-Scosche Wiring Kit
Master Plan...
-Goal: Having the best possible setup within the budget... Optimal sound imaging, balanced quality and range, powerful volume.
-Head Unit: A reliable unit with CD/Aux/RCA, a respectable equalizer, and enough power to decently push my front speakers without an external amp... no need for fancy screens or features I will never use.
-Tweeters: I'm not picky with these. I actually already have plenty to choose from.
-Front Speakers: 2 nice 6.5s in custom kick panels
-Midrange: A true midrange speaker with dedicated crossover.
-Bass 1: 2 good 8" subs placed low in the rear corners of the cab in custom enclosures/panels that blend into the interior changing the shape of the cab altogether, playing the higher sub frequencies.
-Bass 2: A potent 12" sub in the trunk, playing the lowest lows, letting the 8s take over at just the right overlapping frequencies.
-Power: A modest 600 watt RMS total, 300 for the 12 and 150 for each 8, a 4-way bridged for the 12, with good controls.
-Other: This particular car could use some sound deadening in areas, as it has had about 200 pounds of weight reduction, although you can't tell by looking at it because of the meticulous upholstery. I wouldn't be averse to adding some lighting effects, or even a more complicated system to put on little shows for my friends if I can find a way to build it myself for cheap.
I have speakers from 1" to 6.5s to 6x9s to 15s, but it would be nice to build a system with brand new dedicated components, and I think I can do that in the manner listed above for $500. There is much to learn before that point though.
The top candidates for this audio makeover are a Nissan NX2000, Nissan NX1600, and B13 Sentra, all compact cars and two of them hatchbacks, which I think are ideal candidates for this endeavor.
Thanks for lending me your wisdom and for having a welcoming community //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif
I have not been a serious audio fanatic until recently, now recognizing the beginnings of falling into car audio obsession, perhaps a natural next step in car modification as I start to focus on custom interiors in more detail.
As with everything in my life, the biggest accomplishment will be creating something for next to nothing, pulling every trick in the book and inventing some new ones to reach my goal, choosing effort and creative skill over money.
The Good: I have a stockpile of speakers from a lifetime of collecting, albeit of varying quality and applications. I have an unlimited supply of raw resources, a healthy portion of spare electronics, and a decent amount of tools to utilize (for enclosures, appearance, wiring, etc.). I can record and transfer music from Vinyl all the way to MP3 from virtually anything that produces sound, which may not be unusual nowadays.
The Bad: I am learning as I go, granted I am a fast learner out of necessity. I have virtually zero budget, allowing for new items occasionally when I have money to burn.
This is my mishmash setup to learn what I'm doing. Am I on the right track?
My current setup...
-Head Unit (spare unit after my JVC KD-R330 died): Pioneer DEH-1400, LPF for rear @160 Hz, simple 3-band equalizer (still tweaking)
-Tweeters: 2 Kenwood 301432 (JL-707) positioned at Roof/Windshield/A-Pillar corner, adjustable, thinking about adding a third tweeter in center dash or mid-upper console.
-Front Speakers: 2 6.5 Kenwood KFC-1690ie positioned at outer kick panels facing between seats, built ported mini-tubes for them but they won't fit in this location (yes, they sound better and hit harder in them, shaking the whole tube, rear end tapers to 1.5 inch hole after about 10 inches).
-Midrange: Infinity 6.5 positioned at lower center console in short tube enclosure, thinking about replacing with tiny speakers hidden in upper console beside head unit.
-Sub #1 : 8" Sony SSwg990 @6 ohms, located behind/between front seats with box pressed against seats (a seat shaker) facing forward/upward, playing up to 160 Hz (HU LPF), ported enclosure. I've had this speaker for 16 years and love it. It is potent, with big excursion that can be seen in several YouTube videos as this little speaker has a way of growing on people.
-Sub #2 : 12" Rockville RVB12.1A, positioned at back of trunk facing rear, playing up to 80 Hz, ported enclosure.
-Power (Spare amp after Rockville 300 RMS died): Kenwood Bridged KAC-648S, 70 RMSx2, LPF @80 Hz for 12" and no filter on 8" (filtered by HU), yes I'm under-powered at the moment.
-Scosche Wiring Kit
Master Plan...
-Goal: Having the best possible setup within the budget... Optimal sound imaging, balanced quality and range, powerful volume.
-Head Unit: A reliable unit with CD/Aux/RCA, a respectable equalizer, and enough power to decently push my front speakers without an external amp... no need for fancy screens or features I will never use.
-Tweeters: I'm not picky with these. I actually already have plenty to choose from.
-Front Speakers: 2 nice 6.5s in custom kick panels
-Midrange: A true midrange speaker with dedicated crossover.
-Bass 1: 2 good 8" subs placed low in the rear corners of the cab in custom enclosures/panels that blend into the interior changing the shape of the cab altogether, playing the higher sub frequencies.
-Bass 2: A potent 12" sub in the trunk, playing the lowest lows, letting the 8s take over at just the right overlapping frequencies.
-Power: A modest 600 watt RMS total, 300 for the 12 and 150 for each 8, a 4-way bridged for the 12, with good controls.
-Other: This particular car could use some sound deadening in areas, as it has had about 200 pounds of weight reduction, although you can't tell by looking at it because of the meticulous upholstery. I wouldn't be averse to adding some lighting effects, or even a more complicated system to put on little shows for my friends if I can find a way to build it myself for cheap.
I have speakers from 1" to 6.5s to 6x9s to 15s, but it would be nice to build a system with brand new dedicated components, and I think I can do that in the manner listed above for $500. There is much to learn before that point though.
The top candidates for this audio makeover are a Nissan NX2000, Nissan NX1600, and B13 Sentra, all compact cars and two of them hatchbacks, which I think are ideal candidates for this endeavor.
Thanks for lending me your wisdom and for having a welcoming community //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif
