How To Improve Sound With Aftermarket Audio System?

[nissandoms47]

Do it.

[MichiganAve]

<offtopic>

So far, San Fran weather by the ocean has been high in 50s with fog so thick you can't see a block. Depressing. One of the few nice things here besides the food is that my new neighbor has a lifted Grand Cherokee. Utah was pretty cool to drive through by the way.

</offtopic>

[XPLORx4]

<offtopic>

So far, San Fran weather by the ocean has been high in 50s with fog so thick you can't see a block.</offtopic>

 

Yeah, that's what summers are like in the city. Spring and Fall are actually warmer than Summer because the rising hot air in the central valley sucks the cool moist air in across the bay, and SF gets the brunt of it.

[nissandoms47]

Just get some 33s and you'll be set.

[XPLORx4]

OK, I think I'm done (for now)! I thought I'd give y'all an update on what I did.

 

I took the experts' advice and got myself a 10" sub. I got a Polk Audio db104, and constructed a box for it that fits in about the same place as a JL Audio stealthbox, although my box is smaller and more crude. It's not carpeted yet, and I haven't decided if I'm going to keep it or try building something a little more custom, like the stealthbox.

 

The sub is powered by the bridged rear channels of the amp. The front pair of speakers are powered by the front channel of the amp, and the rear pair are powered by the HU. I disconnected the factory tweeters. The sub can get far louder than I really need it to be. It can actually overpower the volume from the door speakers before distorting, so I've turned down the gain a lot to better balance the sound. I've set the front/rear speaker high-pass crossover to 100Hz, and the sub low-pass crossover to 120Hz.

 

I also installed some Dynamat (Original, not Extreme) in all of the doors, but I didn't cover the whole door to seal it up. It was much trouble to fuss with the plastic moisture barrier, plus, I don't have enough Dynamat to do that anyway, and I don't really want to spend another $100 on the stuff. Instead, I placed semi-large pieces of Dynamat on the easier to access parts of the interior of the doors to dampen vibration. I haven't driven the truck enough yet to determine how much lower road noise is, though.

 

Overall, the system is much improved. I'm sure with a little more tuning, I can get it to sound better, but for now, it's a big improvement.

 

Thanks for everyone's help and advice!

[nissandoms47]

I also just finished up my subwoofer install. I used an infinity 10" sub rated at 1030 watts peak and 250 rms. And a "Verge" amp I think it is rated at 230 watts RMS. I went online and typed in the specs for the sub into a subwoofer box demension calculator dealy and it gave me the demensions. It sounds really good for how much I paid for everything. I think I spend about $40 total. The sub was $15 from a friend who had it brand new in a box for awhile, and I traded one of my jeep friends a spare 33" for the amp. The wiring was the most expensive part. I ran an 8 gauge back to the amp. Then from the REM amp turn on switch I just tapped into my stock non bose nissan amps turn on switch so when that goes on the sub amp goes on. I also discovered that the deck I bought for $75 was a really good bang for the buck. I bought it off a friend on AC. Its a Pioneer premier DEH-480mp I think. It has preouts for the front/rear and the sub so if I ever wanted to amp everything I could. It sounds way good and im happy with it. Although I want to build a more stealth like box.

[FUELER]

I also just finished up my subwoofer install. I used an infinity 10" sub rated at 1030 watts peak and 250 rms. And a "Verge" amp I think it is rated at 230 watts RMS. I went online and typed in the specs for the sub into a subwoofer box demension calculator dealy and it gave me the demensions. It sounds really good for how much I paid for everything. I think I spend about $40 total. The sub was $15 from a friend who had it brand new in a box for awhile, and I traded one of my jeep friends a spare 33" for the amp. The wiring was the most expensive part. I ran an 8 gauge back to the amp. Then from the REM amp turn on switch I just tapped into my stock non bose nissan amps turn on switch so when that goes on the sub amp goes on. I also discovered that the deck I bought for $75 was a really good bang for the buck. I bought it off a friend on AC. Its a Pioneer premier DEH-480mp I think. It has preouts for the front/rear and the sub so if I ever wanted to amp everything I could. It sounds way good and im happy with it. Although I want to build a more stealth like box.

 

 

 

[nissandoms47]

And your reasoning behind that?

[vengeful]

It's Fueler, Alex...he doesn't need a reason for his stupidity. LOL.

[nissandoms47]

lol okay, I didn't think it was ghetto at all. Unless you think spending a small amount of money for a good setup is ghetto.

[XPLORx4]

OK, time to beat a dead horse.

 

I guess I'm still not quite happy with the sound. I downloaded an audio test CD that has 63 tracks of 10-second pure sine-wave tones from 20Hz to 20KHz. It seems overly loud at certain frequencies, and decidedly quieter at others, so I'm guessing I need an EQ to help balance the sound output.

 

I'm having a tough time trying to find an EQ that will allow me to tune both the front channel pre-outs and the subwoofer pre-outs on the HU. The HU has a subwoofer on/off and separate volume control and that I would like to retain. Is this EQ any good?

 

Any more tips from the pros?

Edited June 20, 2007 by XPLORx4

[mora2818]

Wow, can't believe this one is still going. I haven't logged on for days.

 

I am not sure how soundstream is these days but to me that looks like a solid choice. I myself have always gone with Audiocontrol EQ stuff but that is out of personal preference. That should definitely help you balance out your sound.

[Orangetang]

I was snooping around visions today looking at car starters, and... now I'm doing away with my BOSE system completely and getting a car starter. Funny how that works.. It'll be all Alpine gear, that I hope to hell will be night and day to the BOSE.

 

I went with:

 

iDA-X001 head unit, which appears to be everything that CDA-9887 is performance-wise, with an ultra sharp display, and best iPod/USB interface I have seen.

SPR-17S - 6-1/2" Components up front

SPR-17C 6-1/2" Coaxials in the back

PDX-4.100 4CH x 100w amp to power them.

 

I don't even know what kind of car starter I got... Autostart somethingerother.

 

I don't know what I'll do with my subwoofers. I hate having them in the back all the time. I originally planned to install a trailer wiring connection on the box, with two big steel handles so i could just unplug it, and pull it out... Never got around to it, and still, I'm not sure I'd be happy with them being in there, ever. Pioneer is making shallow profile subs now, which apparently sound pretty good, no doubt better than the Xplods I have. Maybe I could squeeze one in one of the quarter panels... Any ideas? I hate speaker boxes. Install is booked for the end of the month. I would generally do this myself, but since the car starter is going in that day, I don't think I mind paying someone to do it. A-pillar tweets might be agonizing anyway.

 

I'll have a CDA-9853 in perfect working / good cosmetic condition, with the ipod module, cords, and PAC-ROM module for BOSE amp for sale shortly if anyone is interested. Make me an offer, I'll do my best to ship cheaply, as a gift to avoid duty charges for you, if your in the US.

[Orangetang]

I'm having a tough time trying to find an EQ that will allow me to tune both the front channel pre-outs and the subwoofer pre-outs on the HU. The HU has a subwoofer on/off and separate volume control and that I would like to retain. Is this EQ any good?

 

Any decent head unit from Alpine will have completely programmable equalizers and crossovers to make your lows, highs, and mids sound exactly how you want, as long as it isn't going through the factory BOSE amp.

[Orangetang]

No way I'm going to read ALL of this thread right now, but I thought I'd pass on my results from my recent install...

 

Alpine Type R 6.5 Components 110RMS

Alpine Type R 6.5 Coaxials 100RMS

Alpine PDX 4CH x 100W Amp

 

Bottom line is, even the Type R Coax speakers are junk. They have no low range, as you've mentioned, and the sound they do produce is somewhat flat and boring. On the other hand, the components sound pretty good and have some nice thump to them. I would absolutely ditch the coax you bought and invest in some mid-high end 6.5 components. I'm satisfied with the sound in the front, though I wish I went with something like a Type X or another brand. The sound in the back sucks...

 

These particular components dont begin to make much bass until you begin to crank them, and at that point the tweeters are a little too powerfull, but the crossovers have a jumper for you to tune down the tweeters, which works well. Considering I used the factory BOSE enclosure that was in there, I'm impressed with the amount of bass they actually produce.

 

Components are a must. I also want to lose the subs in the back. I hate them being there. I'm trying to figure out a lower realestate 8" setup.

[02silverpathy]

JL made a small encloser that uses the left wheel hump in the back to the tailgate to produce some low end....I never heard it thoug. I personally have 3 12's with a Memphis 1000d pushing them...very happy with the heart pounding bass!! Fairly small sealed also...38 wide, 14 tall and I think 14-15 deep also

[Orangetang]

Now that I have clear and loud mids and tweets, I really feel the lack good bass. Currently running some older 10" xplodes, on a 600W amp. Though I would love to lose the box, I think I'll go with a single 15" or a 12" pair on a PDX1.000, if I do anything.

 

I can't believe how much sound is coming from the components, and at the same time, the coaxs are completely terrible (worse than the bose were IMO).

[arcano]

Well, I too have been upgrading the audio on my truck. A couple of weeks ago I replaced the plain head unit I had with a Kenwood Excelon KDC-X891 head unit, the Kenwood KCA-iP200 high-speed ipod interface and the Kenwood KCA-BT100 bluetooth adapter. I already had an Alpine Flex4 amplifier sitting under the passenger seat and Kenwood Excelon 3-way speakers on all 4 doors (can't remember the model).

 

Now I can carry all my music on my 80gb ipod, which sits out of sight in the glove box, and leave all my CDs at home. I can control all the functions in my iPod from the head unit, and browse my complete music collection by artist, album, genere, etc. Also, the head unit automatically mutes the audio when a call comes in, shows the caller ID info right on the head unit screen, and lets me answer the call without taking my eyes off the road or my phone out of my pocket.

 

The sound is much better, specially since the new head unit allows much finer control, including high- and low-pass filter, 3-band equalizer, etc. The only aspect I still find lacking is the bass, and in order to fix that without sacrificing storage or sitting space I decided on the Kenwood KSC-SW1 powered enclosed subwoofer. Its a 9" x 16" enclosure only 4" thick, which packs a 6 1/2" driver, a 6 1/2" passive radiator (?) and a 150 watt amp (38w RMS). I hope it will fit under the drivers seat. I don't expect it to rattle any windows, but it should nicely fill the gap left by the 3-ways. I should be getting it sometime this week, and will let you know how it sounds.

Edited February 11, 2008 by arcano