Pontiac Solstice 7 Speaker Monsoon system.

[Chromatic]

I was just driving on an errand in my 350Z,.. (which has stock, 6.5" mids in doors, 0.75" INCH tweeters in sail panels up front,.. two 6.5" speakers behind seats -- and a slot for a factory 8" sub which I don't have, cause I don't have the premium stock sound system.. mine is crap.).

I used to have a Pontiac Solstice that had the Premium Monsoon System in it.. and I did my best to track down just what it was , with speaker sizes and such.

The Monsoon system from factory (premium) is:

solstice monsoon system that uses an amplifier to power two 4 inch speakers in the back, two one inch tweeters & two 6 inch speakers in the doors and an 8" subwoofer behind the passenger. The system is rated at 225 watts max power.

Now I *LIKED* the sound of that.

My point is that I just want to upgrade what is in my 350Z to sound at minimum as good as that Monsoon system (which to me sounded great).. maybe a bit better of course.. but I don't need any huge rumbling or bass massaging my back or rattling the car.

This is the system I had pieced together to put in the 350Z to acquire that:

Doors/Front Speaker/Stage = CDT CL-61-CV 6.5" Mids with the .75" Tweeters going in the Window Sail panels (Both are factory size, and will replace factory speakers directly.) -- The high mounted tweeters should bring up the sound stage well. Speakers are 100 Watts RMS a piece. $180

Cl-61cv - CDT Audio 6.5" Convertible Coaxial Component Speaker System | WoofersEtc

Head Unit = Pioneer AVH-P4100DVD AVH-P4100DVD - In-Dash Double-DIN DVD Multimedia AV Receiver with 7" Widescreen Display | Pioneer Electronics USA (Already installed).

Sub box = Custom Built box that fits exactly in the Factory slot where the Factory sub would go.

$100

Nissan 350z Vehicle Specific Sub Enclosure 1-10"

Sub = JL Audio 10w0 (75-300 Watts RMS) JL's "optimal" range on their website is around 220-250 watts RMS. $110

The alternative here is an 8 Inch Sub.

This brings back the 8 or 10" argument. Money is going to be $100-$130 on sub regardless of which size. So if that budget on sub helps you give me a reason to go with one size over the other.. please do.

JL Audio 10W0v3-4 W0v3 Series 10" 4-ohm subwoofer at Crutchfield.com

Amp: CT Sounds - 4 Channel, 125watt RMS x 2 (for 100watt fronts).. and 380watts RMS (Bridged and stable at 4 ohms) for Sub. $225

Ct Sounds 125 4 Amp Amplifier 125W RMS 250W Max Class A B 4 Channel 2 Ohm | eBay

Given I have Headunit already -- that saves $500+ ... The total for those components comes to $615.

I was thinking.. man.. I'm going too far with this. I could get more for my money if I just backed down the speakers, the wattage, and maybe go with an 8" sub instead of 10" sub.

The monsoon had the 7 speakers I mentioned above and total was no more than 275watts.

So, with this in mind.. To try and get a sound that is at minimum as good as that Monsoon system was, but maybe say 25-50% better -- How would you modify my speaker/amp/sub layout?

Couldn't I go with like 50watt rms 6.5" speakers all around, or even 40watt RMS speakers all around.. fronts with 3/4 (0.75") tweeters, and an 8" sub with like 100 watts on it and still beat the heck out of that monsoon system?

Cause I am on a budget.. if I essentially halved the wattage RMS.. I could throw four 6.5" mids in the factory slots.. two 3/4" tweeters in the factory slot -- and something like a 100watt 8" sub in the factory sub slot.

And I could probably do it all .. INSTALLED,.. for under a grand.

I know it's sort of hard for some people to think of a 'mid range' system that is maybe 50% or twice as good as a 275watt "premium" "monsoon" factory system.. but try! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I think I could get the sound I'm after, without having TOO much going on.. and equally as important have it professionally installed for less than a grand. I mean, why not? If I lower my wattage requirements on speakers, that lowers amp requirements.. speakers are less money, amp is less money, sub is a little less money and so on.

Any setup packages you can throw together that would meet the sound I'm trying to get?

I don't want a sub just overpowering the car and rumbling all the time even at low to medium volumes.. just a nice blend with a little kick from an 8" sub.

Thanks!

Click to read more...

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

Speaker power ratings have nothing to do with how they sound compared to anything else. You especially want to be careful using a factory premium system's ratings of any kind to set your expectations for aftermarket equipment. I know you want better sound, but focusing on RMS power ratings is not a meaningful comparison. A 50W speaker is not better than a 40W speaker.

Amplifiers will be cheaper for less power, mainly if you're looking at the same brand and the same line of amplifiers. However, many low budget amplifiers have greatly inflated power ratings, and you're best off avoiding that kind of amplifier.

Since you're on a budget I recommend you start with the head unit, sound deadening the doors, a 4-channel amplifier, and a 10" subwoofer. If you have room for a 12" that should be considered as well. The speakers should sound better with more power available and a better sounding head unit.

 

[tat2bass 10+ year member]

I would get the following for cheaper

PPI P900.5 5 Channel amp-around $220 new

Image Dynamics CTX6.5 and run bridged off the amp-$150 new

Alpine Type R 8" D4 with the ported enclosure. $150 from Best Buy. Or you could do a Sundown SD-2 8" sub and build you an enclosure for around the same price. Both sound amazing

This would sound great and not rattle your car to death.

 

[Chromatic]

Speaker power ratings have nothing to do with how they sound compared to anything else. You especially want to be careful using a factory premium system's ratings of any kind to set your expectations for aftermarket equipment. I know you want better sound, but focusing on RMS power ratings is not a meaningful comparison. A 50W speaker is not better than a 40W speaker.

Thanks, I suppose I don't exactly give off my knowledge of audio equipment with posts comparing to factory equipment. The factory premium comparison is just an example of sound quality I am after or better.

I'm quite aware of the quality of speakers,.. distortion ratings,.. That you can buy a 500watt RMS sub of a cheap brand and it will sound like utter junk compared to a 100watt JL Audio sub for example. Mid's and Tweeters even moreso on sound quality.

I'm not after factory equipment, it's a quality of sound. I will not be putting anything factory,.. spark-matic, jenson, $29 walmart speakers etc in the car. Trust me. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I have a handful of brands I trust,.. and I know within these brands there is still a low end, medium end, and upper end. Then there are lesser known brands that are both utter crap, and above what you commonly see in Independent Car audio shops.

I focus on RMS power ratings simply because they are the best power rating to focus on when it comes to "watts".. Simple mistake people make is seeing "peak power" ratings which are misleading at best.

I merely mention wattage because a great sound can be had with less wattage than I had picked out.

If I was going on Experience alone.. I'd throw in only MB Quart mids and highs.. and JL sub, and Kenwood amps..

Amplifiers will be cheaper for less power, mainly if you're looking at the same brand and the same line of amplifiers. However, many low budget amplifiers have greatly inflated power ratings, and you're best off avoiding that kind of amplifier.

I am staying away from "budget" or low end anything. It's all relative, but if you look at the equipment I had picked none of it is low end, nor poor sound quality. Much of the equipment was recommended by people on this forum. IE: CDT mids/highs I had never heard of.. CS Sounds I had never heard of.. The JL Audio is my own choosing, and the sealed enclosure is a custom built box for the car itself,.. it is not a run of the mill box.

I look at speakers statistics,.. ie: Subs.. check their brand first.. then their various statistics.. if Satisfied, I check the RMS Wattage, and the specs for a sealed or ported enclosure. IE: The jl 10" sub I mentioned is pretty dead on with the enclosure I will likely use, as it is rated to perform best in .65 Cubic feet of sealed space,.. while the custom box is .66 cubic feet. On the other hand, if I went with the 8", that same box would be too large.. as the 8" sub I've been looking at works best at .35 Cubic feet. So I would either use a different box, or possibly fill the custom box to reduce volume.

Since you're on a budget I recommend you start with the head unit, sound deadening the doors, a 4-channel amplifier, and a 10" subwoofer. If you have room for a 12" that should be considered as well. The speakers should sound better with more power available and a better sounding head unit.

I'm on a budget.. $1000 installed. It's quite a reasonably fair budget for a good sound with a bit of bass from an 8" sub (maybe a 10) in a 2 seater car. That said, I do not HAVE to spend a grand,.. the less for the goal the better.

As for going with a head unit,.. why should I change out my Pioneer headunit? It's a great unit with nice 4v pre-outs.

I agree with sound-deadening.. That said, I had a car of a previous model as this one.. 300ZX and it is very similar in build and shape.. Used no sound deadening in that vehicle and had a superb sounding system with a pair of MB Quart coaxials and 2 JL 12 subs.. that's it.

I suppose it's just really quite hard to explain a level of 'sound quality' you are aiming for. I could only compare the minimum I'm after is what the best Factory "premium" sound system with an 8" sub from factory you've ever heard sounds like,.. perhaps a little better.

I mentioned the Monsoon system because that is the factory system in a previous vehicle and it sounded quite good. Not 2 grand good.. but an impressive factory setup nonetheless.

The speakers should sound better with a better sounding headunit? Is a Pioneer AVH-P4100DVD not a decent headunit? The car has this headunit already, with factory 14watt Clarion speakers that sound absolutely horrible. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

Appreciate your input.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

do this do your doors and you'll see a world of difference http://www.caraudio.com/forums/speakers/579338-how-do-i-get-bass-out-my-door-speakers-2.html

whats your idea of sound quality? what did you not like about the sound? not enough bass comming out from the speakers? midrange is lacking? not clear enough? trebles are harsh and ear piecing? no midbass kick from the speakers? subwoofer's not playing low hz/high hz bass well? Imaging and sound stage is off? Sounds hollow? mids/bass/trebles sound forced? midrange/trebles too laidback? Not loud enough? it would help us narrow down what you would need to do to achieve the sound you want by knowing your preferences to sound quality.

How good your equipment is not the main factor of good sound quality most of it is in tuning the system properly and having a proper install job like the thread i just listed. You might want to consider going active. To me, CDT speakers are really picky with crossover points even with their own crossovers, but if you go active and get em right they'll sound amazing.

you can have a 500$ pair of hertz components sound like junk if they are just put in a non treated door with no special baffles or seals created and tuned improperly. Also tweeter positioning is pretty important too. The reason why the stock system sounds good is because it was designed and installed to work well with the car.

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

Chromatic, your response to me looks like, "No, I'm good, I know what matters".

 

[Chromatic]

do this do your doors and you'll see a world of difference http://www.caraudio.com/forums/speakers/579338-how-do-i-get-bass-out-my-door-speakers-2.html

Thanks,.. I'm looking into prepping the doors -- Link is helpful.

whats your idea of sound quality? what did you not like about the sound? not enough bass comming out from the speakers? midrange is lacking? not clear enough? trebles are harsh and ear piecing? no midbass kick from the speakers? subwoofer's not playing low hz/high hz bass well? Imaging and sound stage is off? Sounds hollow? mids/bass/trebles sound forced? midrange/trebles too laidback? Not loud enough? it would help us narrow down what you would need to do to achieve the sound you want by knowing your preferences to sound quality.

Well this car has the "base" bottom of the line speakers in it. It comes with a much better bose sound system if that option were added. The car literally has 4 Clarion 14 watt speakers in it. These are on par with $20-30 walmart bottom of the line speakers. What is in the car (aside from the aftermarket pioneer headunit) is literally absolute garbage. Enough so that I would use the speakers that are in it.. cut them out and use them as spacers. These speakers never sounded good, even new. It's quite frankly the worst factory system I'm ever heard in a vehicle.. be it a Lexus, or a Ford, etc.

So there is no salvaging these speakers. Every part of the sound range on these speakers is muffled, distorted,.. it lacks in every category to be honest. If it sounded halfway decent I probably wouldn't be doing anything to it. But since I am going to pull them all out.. I am going to do it right.. make sense?

It's just my expectations aren't for major bass,.. I want just clean sound from the lows, mids, to the highs. Blending well.. and a little kick from something like an 8" sub. Not too much .. definitely nothing to impress or go into competitions //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

How good your equipment is not the main factor of good sound quality most of it is in tuning the system properly and having a proper install job like the thread i just listed. You might want to consider going active. To me, CDT speakers are really picky with crossover points even with their own crossovers, but if you go active and get em right they'll sound amazing.

I'm learning and have learned a great deal about tuning amps,.. and have run active crossovers before, and am fairly adept at dialing in what sounds good to "me".. which really, that's what it's all about. I like active,.. it helps pull unnecessary frequencies from all the speakers that other speakers are designed to handle,.. and just helps you dial it in much more precisely. (in my experience). But given my expectations and goals.. I'll likely start off passive,..

you can have a 500$ pair of hertz components sound like junk if they are just put in a non treated door with no special baffles or seals created and tuned improperly. Also tweeter positioning is pretty important too. The reason why the stock system sounds good is because it was designed and installed to work well with the car.

The stock system sounds horrid. The stock system(s) I am referring to that I'm after as a "minimum" sound quality are those in other vechicles with the premium sound packages,.. usually with some factory 8" sub. My best reference is the Pontiac Solstice Monsoon premium factory system because I owned that car previous to this one. Which is the only reason I mention it. The factory system in my current 350Z is unfortunately the base.. which has an empty hole where the factory sub would have gone.. and Nissan just dropped in some bottom of the line 10-14watt Clarion speakers in there.. Which probably has a .75" tweeter in the factory sail panels.. but it's so bad you can't really stick your ear to it and know for 'sure' if a speaker is even in there.

Another thing with this car, is the front kick panel door speakers have factory speaker covers that muffle/block the sound horribly.. It's a big design problem and it's a common "modification" to take a dremel and cut out the center of these covers and re-wrap them. Which I'll be doing.

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

 

[Chromatic]

Chromatic, your response to me looks like, "No, I'm good, I know what matters".

I wasn't trying to offend you. In fact I apologize for the tone that post may have come across as,.. it was not my intention at all. I appreciate you taking the time to respond to me. But it was quite evident you didn't read the post in entirity (or forgot what you had read).. which is fine, I don't fault you for it.. it's a long post. Why do I say this,.. merely because you mention twice about me replacing my head unit, when the head unit is mentioned in the post to be installed already in the car and is a very nice aftermarket headunit. It makes zero sense to replace that headunit.

Then you proceeded to give me advice that is well below my knowledge level. However, again.. as I believe I mentioned in my response I understand as I didn't give any indication whether I knew a thing about car audio with the post. So I wasn't trying to offend you. I was merely trying to respond to each bit of your response to clarify I do understand much if not all of what you had mentioned.

I wasn't posting to offend you.. you to tell you "I'm fine,.. I know what matters.. " -- I am seeking advice,.. and I appreciate yours as everyone elses. Your time is your time, and that alone is valuable. What you posted was good information, it was.

Thanks,

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Thanks,.. I'm looking into prepping the doors -- Link is helpful.


Well this car has the "base" bottom of the line speakers in it. It comes with a much better bose sound system if that option were added. The car literally has 4 Clarion 14 watt speakers in it. These are on par with $20-30 walmart bottom of the line speakers. What is in the car (aside from the aftermarket pioneer headunit) is literally absolute garbage. Enough so that I would use the speakers that are in it.. cut them out and use them as spacers. These speakers never sounded good, even new. It's quite frankly the worst factory system I'm ever heard in a vehicle.. be it a Lexus, or a Ford, etc.

So there is no salvaging these speakers. Every part of the sound range on these speakers is muffled, distorted,.. it lacks in every category to be honest. If it sounded halfway decent I probably wouldn't be doing anything to it. But since I am going to pull them all out.. I am going to do it right.. make sense?

It's just my expectations aren't for major bass,.. I want just clean sound from the lows, mids, to the highs. Blending well.. and a little kick from something like an 8" sub. Not too much .. definitely nothing to impress or go into competitions //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

I'm learning and have learned a great deal about tuning amps,.. and have run active crossovers before, and am fairly adept at dialing in what sounds good to "me".. which really, that's what it's all about. I like active,.. it helps pull unnecessary frequencies from all the speakers that other speakers are designed to handle,.. and just helps you dial it in much more precisely. (in my experience). But given my expectations and goals.. I'll likely start off passive,..

The stock system sounds horrid. The stock system(s) I am referring to that I'm after as a "minimum" sound quality are those in other vechicles with the premium sound packages,.. usually with some factory 8" sub. My best reference is the Pontiac Solstice Monsoon premium factory system because I owned that car previous to this one. Which is the only reason I mention it. The factory system in my current 350Z is unfortunately the base.. which has an empty hole where the factory sub would have gone.. and Nissan just dropped in some bottom of the line 10-14watt Clarion speakers in there.. Which probably has a .75" tweeter in the factory sail panels.. but it's so bad you can't really stick your ear to it and know for 'sure' if a speaker is even in there.

Another thing with this car, is the front kick panel door speakers have factory speaker covers that muffle/block the sound horribly.. It's a big design problem and it's a common "modification" to take a dremel and cut out the center of these covers and re-wrap them. Which I'll be doing.

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

You gotta learn to shorten up your posts man make it short and to the point. I'll admit i dont have the biggest attention span to read everything fully. I actually thought you already bought the CDT speakers and everything. If what you have are stock speakers. Replace them with what tat2bass suggested along with deadening the doors and you'll be blown away. No need to pay the JL premium for the sub. The CDT CL line doesn't impress me too much compared to their HD and ES series. Frankly better can be had at that price then the bottom line of the CDT series.

You'll most likely see a world of difference adding the speakers, amp and treating the doors. If done right, it'll poop all over that monsoon system.

 

[Chromatic]

You gotta learn to shorten up your posts man make it short and to the point. I'll admit i dont have the biggest attention span to read everything fully. I actually thought you already bought the CDT speakers and everything.

Yeah,.. I admit it's a "fault" of mine when writing online. I tend to get into details and digress a bit. So I understand when people just don't want to bother reading my posts just by the looks of them.

If what you have are stock speakers. Replace them with what tat2bass suggested along with deadening the doors and you'll be blown away. No need to pay the JL premium for the sub. The CDT CL line doesn't impress me too much compared to their HD and ES series. Frankly better can be had at that price then the bottom line of the CDT series.

I know zero about CDT anything.. I'm familiar with Kenwood, Alpine, JL, Polk, Pioneer, MB Quart, and so on. Noted on the CL line, I'll check out the HD and ES series. Thing with the front 6.5" speakers is the 350Z is notoriously shallow in the doors, and anything over 2.5" in depth just doesn't fit. Even the factory speakers with little bit magnets has a one inch spacer on it. So I really have to pay close attention to specs on aftermarket if I want to keep the speakers looking "stock" and not hitting the windows.

As for the Sub. My mind is made up on putting a sub in. But it doesn't need to be anything monsterous. I'm perfectly happy with a JL 8" sub with 50-100 watts on it. Frankly it's not that expensive,.. $100 for the sub, $100 for the box.. and looking at Class D amps,.. I can get one that will run 4x100w front stage + behind seats.. and run 300watts (if needed) on the sub for $250 or less in some cases.

If I JUST run the front components like I intended originally.. This Pioneer class D amp has been vouched for by some guys I know on a 350Z forum, and is incredibly affordable at $130-$140. Pioneer GM-D8604 (class - D - 100watts x 2 , and bridged channel 3 and 4 will push 300watts (if I needed it). ) Plus it fits easy, and runs cool.

PIONEER GM-D8604 +2YR WRNTY 1200W 4 CHANNEL CLASS D CAR STEREO AUDIO AMPLIFIER

No one is going to talk me out of some little sub,.. now talking me down from a 10" sub.. no problem. Less sub, less rattles I say! I'll throw in a JL 8" w0 or w1 for $99, and put 50-100watts RMS on it in that custom box and it'l be all I need, probably more.

You'll most likely see a world of difference adding the speakers, amp and treating the doors. If done right, it'll poop all over that monsoon system.

Heh, Pooping over the monsoon system is my goal. Again, I'm just after a nice clear great sound quality of Low, Mids, and Highs -- Nothing that over powers the other. I'm a musician so my ear is a little more particular on instruments .. I don't need VOLUME,.. just sound quality with the punch of an 8" sub at 50-100 watts. Nothing more. Hell, a 6.5" sub would probably do the job on bass.. but A JL 8" sub is $99.. I'm not too concerned with putting that money out. I'd never (for my needs) buy some $300-500 sub and put 400-1000watts on it. I *trust* JL Audio on subs,.. and they are priced reasonably for what I want. I am not , by any means, saying JL is the only mid range good sub brand out there.. not by a long shot.

As for sound deadening.. this is something I'd never considered was really necessary if I wasn't going to put some monster subs in the car. If I install myself I'll do my best to deaden everything I take apart (which will be from the Sub compartment forward). Though reasonable solutions for the material would be nice price wise. Maybe I'll just get some Dynomat and put it around the speaker areas up front, and around anywhere I can squeeze it around the car. I may take the panels out of the hatch inside.. and deaden all that up to help with road noise.

Thanks

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

for 200$ and under range, the image dynamics tat2bass recommended are a very balanced set. Other sets you might want to look at are the jbl ms-62 or the jbl p660c. As for deadening, ditch the dynamat idea and go for second skin's Damplifier pro if you want the good stuff. If you want cheaper alternatives but still very nice quality(still waay better then dynamat), Murdermat is pretty good.

as for shallow mounts, try making 1-2 inch mdf baffles for the speakers to raise it up more or if you are feeling ballsy, remove part of your door panel where the speaker is and try to make a flush mount design. With some fiberglassing it should look clean and sound a lot better then cramped inside a shallow door panel.

 

[Chromatic]

for 200$ and under range, the image dynamics tat2bass recommended are a very balanced set. Other sets you might want to look at are the jbl ms-62 or the jbl p660c. As for deadening, ditch the dynamat idea and go for second skin's Damplifier pro if you want the good stuff. If you want cheaper alternatives but still very nice quality(still waay better then dynamat), Murdermat is pretty good.

Thanks. The more specific speaker recommendations that are KNOWN good quality the better range of selection I have. As for front components,.. I do have to work with the limitations of the door itself on this 2008 350Z. Absolute specs are next to impossible to find on depth,.. But from all I've found from people who own the car,.. is that depth cannot be more than 2.5" or you hit the window.. (And this is with a 1inch spacer on the top mount),.. so I have to be careful on the depth of the front 6.5 door speakers.

I also am going to match the factory 3/4" tweeter locations. If a 1" tweeter will sound just fine behind a 3/4" grill/cutout factory then that's fine,.. otherwise I have to be specific on the tweeter size to 3/4" -- Depth here isn't as much a factor given how shallow tweeters generally are anyways. This is a personal preference as I'm just not going to alter the factory panels on the car (IE: Cut out for a 1" tweeter). I know a 3/4" tweeter in a good quality component set will sound good. I also see that 1" tweeters are far more common, so it limits my selection, but there are plenty of 3/4" tweeter components out there.

The Image dynamics Tat2bass mentioned are somewhat deep.. As at *topmount* depth is 2-3/4" depth, which likely wouldn't fit. An easy way to check fitment is to use crutchfield and put in 2008 350z base.. and it helps with that. I am already going to be using a dremel to modify the factory speakers,.. essentially cutting them out of the factory 1" spacer and enclosure for the speakers I add. More on that below.

as for shallow mounts, try making 1-2 inch mdf baffles for the speakers to raise it up more or if you are feeling ballsy, remove part of your door panel where the speaker is and try to make a flush mount design. With some fiberglassing it should look clean and sound a lot better then cramped inside a shallow door panel.

I do have X space between the woofer and the factory grill,.. there is a little room for additional spacer,.. but I plan on using the factory spacer and mount to put the aftermarket speakers in,.. which will make fitment and a solid seal within the door.

You can get a perfect picture of what I mean by this by clicking this link,.. you don't need to read any of it.. just scroll down till you get to the pictures of the factory speakers and the mounting spacer I mention and how they fit with the door panels off.

2008 Door Panel Removal / Front Speaker Install - MY350Z.COM Forums

As you can see it fits flush within the door .. now I can squeeze some sound deadening material behind that maaaybe.. but the window is incredibly close to all that behind the speaker itself. Now putting deadening material on the outside (around the speaker head) in the middle of the door with the panels off.. is no problem,.. again you can refer to the link above and the pictures of this very car to get the exact way it fits and looks.

Thanks

 

[Chromatic]

Oh, and the setup right now in my mind which is fairly solid is going with a JL 8" sub -- specifically this sub: 8W1v2-4 - Car Audio - Subwoofer Drivers - W1v2 - JL Audio

Which will run about $99. Going with the Custom box for my car: Nissan 350z Vehicle Specific Sub Enclosure 1-10"

Which the builder will fabricate for an 8" sub,.. and can adjust the fill in it for the cubic ft. preference JL audio specifies. This sub runs at 75-150watts RMS. I could throw 100watts RMS on it, or 150 (does it matter? should I run 150w RMS on it?)

Then running front components (likely 100watt RMS speakers),..

Now, what I'm debating now that I'm going to go with a Class D (quality name brand) Amp.. is whether or not to go ahead and put in these MB Quart 6.5" coaxial speakers I have in my closet. Late 90's model,.. QM-160 KX (70 Watts RMS, with 1" tweeters). -- In the rear 6.5" factory spots on the car (which are behind each seat at about shoulder height or so). I can afford it easily,.. as it's just a little more on the amp,..

That's the only part I'm undecided about,.. to run just the new front Components and the 8" sub (and disconnecting the paper 14 watt junk rears) -- OR, to go ahead and buy a little more amp and put in the MB Quarts I referenced above in those rear slots while I'm at it? I only ask because I don't know if this would be "too much" of the mids/highs for the little 2 seater area,.. or the more the better?

Here are the actual MB Quart speakers just to be handy:



I've already taken them out of the wooden mounts they were in (they were put in these wooden mounts to fill the space in a 300ZX where the old very large (due to being self-amped) Bose speakers were.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

things to be careful with and to pay close attention to when installing the new speakers. the link you provided fell short in a few areas.

here, we see they neglected to seal the hole where they ran the wiring through the stock plug

i am not against reusing the stock mount, but you need to get good seals.

here we see there is no seal between the speaker and the door panel/grille. this allows sound to get behind the door panel which will cause a multitude of issues.

the best thing the stock system had going for it was factory seals and optimized speaker selections.

i don't run rear speakers and I have a 4-door sedan. Amplifier selection will strongly determine sound quality, as will speaker choice. Based on the discussions above, I expect you will be both happy and disappointed no matter what you choose.

 

[Chromatic]

things to be careful with and to pay close attention to when installing the new speakers. the link you provided fell short in a few areas.
here, we see they neglected to seal the hole where they ran the wiring through the stock plug

i am not against reusing the stock mount, but you need to get good seals.

Good catch -- I can definitely seal the top gap where the factory "plug" went into the speaker "spacer/bracket". Appreciate the eye.

The stock mount actually provides the best seal compared to aftermarket solutions that are a bit generic and don't fit as good as this does.

here we see there is no seal between the speaker and the door panel/grille. this allows sound to get behind the door panel which will cause a multitude of issues.

Hrmm. The factory speaker didn't have a seal between it and the door panel/grille -- The speaker Grille covers pop off from the outside, and that 'gap' you see there is there from the factory.

That said, I'm sure it will sound better sealed. You see how that is offset a bit,.. what would you use to make that a better seal between the speaker and grill? I could use sound deadening material packed around there and some good tape to fill the open area? I'm not a master fabricator so fabricating a perfect piece to fit in there probably isn't going to happen,.. but if you have any ideas.. or if my idea of the sound deadening and some good tape would help a great deal that's a fairly simple solution.

the best thing the stock system had going for it was factory seals and optimized speaker selections.

Believe it or not the only seal the factory had this picture doesn't was that white square plug that is now an open "hole" on top of that spacer/mount.

i don't run rear speakers and I have a 4-door sedan. Amplifier selection will strongly determine sound quality, as will speaker choice. Based on the discussions above, I expect you will be both happy and disappointed no matter what you choose.

Well, that's good and bad. I'm confident in picking a quality amp.. No issues on that front. Speaker wise,.. I have to be frank I am not familiar with CDT, and some of the other recommendations that I've gotten. The brands I am familiar with like MB Quart, Pioneer, Polk, JL, and the other similar long term, well known, brands have not been recommended at all for speakers thus far. If you have any speaker recommendations for the front components in this type of brand line.. fire away.

As for you expect me to be both happy and disappointed no matter what I choose. Heh. Just because I'm analytical doesn't mean I'm hard to please. You have to remember this isn't my first system,.. and my expectations are seriously low. On par with a factory system that is a "Premium" option. My expectations aren't some insane sound I've never heard before.

As long as my front stage is of high enough quality, (The headunit is of good quality already),.. and the Sub will be just fine .. I'll be more than content and happy, trust me. So the main unknown , or undecided at the moment .. since it seems I'll be going with just front components and a single sub -- Is just what components to put up there.

If you , or anyone else,.. can link me a set of 6.5" components with 3/4" tweeters that should FIT in this car -- that are definitely great sounding (Honestly, I'd feel better about a brand I know.. instead of CDT.. ) but still in the price range I"m working with.. around $200 (I'm not locked here, we can go $250 if need be.. ) Then I'm pretty straight with what I'm going to go with.

It's practically impossible for the sub to not be pleasing to me,.. the only way the sub would disappoint me is if it was SO powerful it made the car rattle and shake. Which is why I'm trying to dial it down to a lower power 8" sub. Any sub is going to give me WAY more bass than 4, Clarion paper cone, 14 watt speakers. Hell, a set of $50 speakers would sound 10 times better than the factory speakers. (What I have in there MAY be partially blown,.. it sounds that "off"..)

Thanks for the tips,