WANTED: Thoughts on my system

[wickedwitt 10+ year member]

Your system *****, you should have went 100% DD.

...oh wait, wrong thread.

jk

awaiting pics, and have fun with that install in a Mercedes. Heard that isn't fun at all.

 

[Why So Cereal? 5,000+ posts]

Your system *****, you should have went 100% DD.

and then got mad for not being hailed as ca.com god lulz

 

[wickedwitt 10+ year member]

and then got mad for not being hailed as ca.com god lulz

I think he was shooting for car audio in general god.

Anyways, enough derailing. Good stuffs. Hope you get a deal on your gear, and it looks/sounds wonderful once you're done.

 

[Chrisw21 10+ year member]

Well guys, I was about to order today and I hit a roadblock, so I'm back for more advice. I totally forgot that there was another reason I didn't originally plan on the MS8. Here it is:

(see pic in next post.... sorry!)

Notice that my front and rear soundstage share a common enclosure. If they are not in sync then they will be fighting each other. Am I wrong in thinking that even the great MS8 will not be able to compensate for this???? This was my original reason for the cheaper sound processor..... keep left and right channels equal between front and rear so they would work together and not try to blow each other apart. Now I could just ditch the rears, but I've always thought that systems without rear fill just sounded a little.... lacking, I guess. What do you think???? I'm not really up for much experimenting with this. As was mentioned earlier, Mercedes is not going to be the easiest to work on so I'd like to get it right the first time. Plus more interior remove/reinstall = more chance for damage. Bring it on guys!!!!!!!!! I want to get this done soon!

 

[Chrisw21 10+ year member]

Sorry........ Messed up that image attach.......

View attachment 26528052

 

[Why So Cereal? 5,000+ posts]

You have a few options still. I'm not too familiar with the ms8 but time alignment would help keep the sound from being pulled to the rear. Also a simple fix is to simply fade most of your sound to the front with your rears still playing bbut at lower volume. I've never been a fan of systems without rear fill either.

Also iirc since your brain locates sounds below 3khz by their time arrival, then very slightly delaying the rear signal would give u a better front stage. Another thing to think about too is that above 3khz, you localize ssound based on relative loudness. That being said, a rear tweeter may not be your best bet if you want to maintain a good front stage. The rear mid can add to ambience but a rear tweeter unless setup and aimed for a specific purpose could probably pull your stage rearward as well

 

[Chrisw21 10+ year member]

I'm not too familiar with the ms8 but time alignment would help keep the sound from being pulled to the rear.

Time alignment is EXACTLY what I'm worried about. With 2 drivers sharing the air space of a (mostly) sealed door, when 1 wants to push out, it will cause the other to pull in. Add in a time alignment where one driver is trying to fire at even a slightly different time than the other and there will be a conflict. At high volume they could, in theory, tear each other apart. That leads to trouble. Or as I mentioned in the OP, a sound like Fran Drescher and a Mongolian goat herder in a shouting match. Not pleasing to the ears.......

 

[Why So Cereal? 5,000+ posts]

If you will bein sealing the door anyway, then try and see if u can also seal the drivers from each other.

 

[Chrisw21 10+ year member]

try and see if u can also seal the drivers from each other

Yep, thought about that, but don't think I can. I like to roll down my windows sometimes. Also thought about checking for space in the rear for the speakers and sealing off the back hole in the door, but I think there is an airbag in the way. May have to do something about that...... I don't usually have people in the back seat anyway, but I'm sure that would set off flags, horns, flashing lights, and any other warning signals the German engineers at Mercedes could think of. Also thought of making a sealed enclosure in the rear deck. I think it would need to be sealed to isolate it from the sub in the trunk. Otherwise the sub would impose it's will on the smaller speakers. That cheap 'lil sound prcessor is sounding better and better..........

 

[Why So Cereal? 5,000+ posts]

Throw some of those xtc foam baffles on the back of the rear ones then. I used some for a while and they cleared my window and all or maybe even change the rears to 5.25 to accommodate

 

[WheresTheButta 10+ year member]

Throw some of those xtc foam baffles on the back of the rear ones then. I used some for a while and they cleared my window and all or maybe even change the rears to 5.25 to accommodate

Oh God please do not use those XTC foam baffles. They essentially create a very tiny, very crappy sealed enclosure which screws up the damping of the speaker and causes them to sound like garbage. I tried them years ago and it was the worst waste of money I've yet encountered in car audio. And I wasted a lot of money in the early days....

First: don't worry about the low end rolloff on your factory H/U, the MS-8 compensates for the factory tune and fixes the frequency response.

Second: Your door should be fine. Those little speakers won't be able to really pressurize the air inside the door, so there is no danger of them "tearing each other apart". If you are really that worried, then don't run the rear speakers.

 

[Why So Cereal? 5,000+ posts]

Oh God please do not use those XTC foam baffles. They essentially create a very tiny, very crappy sealed enclosure which screws up the damping of the speaker and causes them to sound like garbage. I tried them years ago and it was the worst waste of money I've yet encountered in car audio. And I wasted a lot of money in the early days....
First: don't worry about the low end rolloff on your factory H/U, the MS-8 compensates for the factory tune and fixes the frequency response.

Second: Your door should be fine. Those little speakers won't be able to really pressurize the air inside the door, so there is no danger of them "tearing each other apart". If you are really that worried, then don't run the rear speakers.

my only issue with the baffles was that they limited my midbass pretty Bad but he wont really need much midbass in rear.

I was thinking the same about the speakers in the door though. I dont see them tearing each other apart mayb cancellation issues though.

 

[Chrisw21 10+ year member]

Even with the "tearing each other" thing put aside, won't they conflict with each other enough to really mess with the SQ? And a side question to other MS8 owners.... Have you tried to set the system up with both windows down and windows up??? Giving each configuration a different pre-set name?? Does it work? Obviously a car's soundstage will change dramatically with windows up vs. down. Just wondering.......

 

[Falcons 5,000+ posts]

go on sonicelectronix. they let you type in an offer for the ms8. i typed in 500 and they accepted it. hope this helps //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Why So Cereal? 5,000+ posts]

Even with the "tearing each other" thing put aside, won't they conflict with each other enough to really mess with the SQ? And a side question to other MS8 owners.... Have you tried to set the system up with both windows down and windows up??? Giving each configuration a different pre-set name?? Does it work? Obviously a car's soundstage will change dramatically with windows up vs. down. Just wondering.......

I dont see too much happening with the SQ. given the door is sealed correctly and all; the only cancellation I see is amongst the back waves off the speakers. The sound you actually hear should be fine. But I could be missing something here.

Also concerning the windows up, windows down thing; unless youre really picky about your staging at all times I dont think it'll be too much of a concern. In my car, I use time alignment to center my stage. Windows up its centered pretty perfectly, windows down it moves slightly to the left for some reason but not enough to drive me crazy (in most cases) and I'm pretty picky about my sound too lol