Car Audio system

[joker_927]

Is it possible to nice a nice sounding system in a car with 4 speakers and no subs?

My stereo sounds great when I'm parked, but when I drive, and I turn it up louder, the bass drowns out. It's REALLY loud, but no bass.

The previous owner of the car put in some speakers in the back, and got an after-market deck. This is back in '97. The deck is a Pioneer and say 45w x 4 on it, but the lights on the front display dim whenever I turn the sound up. The people here at TechIMO helped me track the problem down to the deck itself. We concluded that the deck was just old and couldn't supply enough juice when turned up loud.

My friends tell me that I need to get a sub-woofer if I want more bass. I looked into it and it's gonna run me about $400 to get a sub. (amps = big $) I'm wondering if there is an easier way.

I ripped off the front speaker covers, and they look like Stock speakers. they LOOK. I have no way to tell, the inner cone is paper though, if not stock, they sure are cheapos. I thought they were after-market because the speakers cover looks as though it has been taken off a few times. The back speakers (I'm told) were put in. I can't get the cover off for the life of me, but I can get in the trunk and look at the back of the speakers and they say AudioVOX 110T 1045A 10W MAX 4 OHM. Google brings back nothing.

If they are only 10W max, they why can't my 45W deck supply enough power?

I think my sound system is *good* as it stands now. When I went to bestbuy, there most of the speakers had an average Watt rating of 50, and a max of 200. If numbers are correct, they make my 10w's look like baby's toys.

What I'm really wondering is: Can I buy a nice $150 deck, buy/put some tweeter/mid speakers up front in the doors, buy/put some "kicker" speakers in place of the ones in the back, and have a better sounding system than I do now?



My last question is: Can I do all this this without blowing an earth-sized hole in my wallet by buying an AMP?

How good can a system get with only 4 speakers and a deck? (oh, and a budget? lol )

Thx for reading this long thing.

The people here at TechIMO helped me track the problem down to the deck itself. We concluded that the deck was just old and couldn't supply enough juice when turned up loud.

Sounds like it is hooked up to the factory wiring; common problem. Replace the 12v power wires with a heavier gauge line.

If they are only 10W max, they why can't my 45W deck supply enough power?

The deck rating is a peak power load. Your deck will rarely exceed a few watts per channel RMS, thus the speakers remain relatively unharmed except at extreme listening levels.

I would replace the speakers with a decent brand. Drop by Circuit City or Best Buy for a few ideas. Measure your speakers, and try out similar sized models from a variety of manufacturers.

Brand choice is highly subjective. While I think my MTX and Infinity competition-grade system sounds nice, another person could think it sounds like garbage. Another example, I would never install any Sony Xplode components in my car, yet Sony sells thousands of Xplode parts each year.

I would string a new power wire to the deck before replacing it, thus saving significant money. If my idea proves correct, you would then have additional money to put towards better speakers.

You do not need dedicated sub to have decent bass. A couple of quality 6x9's can hit hard enough to satisfy most listeners ears. Don't let these audiophiles around here tell ya' different.

Robert Richmond

[wju425]

Speakers make a lot of difference. Long ago I had a cheap am/fm cassette player that put out 4w per channel. I bought two 40w power booster amps and two 8" guitar amp speakers (50w each). I put each amp (bridged) to each speaker so they'll have 40w+ each. There I had a cheap system (except the speakers) with a lot of omphs. My friends had remarked on it.

It doesn't pay to buy cheap speakers for a good system though.

\o/ Billy

[ironforge]

You won't get a lot of bass without a subwoofer.. the frequency extension just won't be there..

Check out www.partsexpress.com, fairly popular among the DIYers.

Hopefully it'll take these links:
MTX 75x2 or 150w x 1 amplifier $89.99 ea
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...D=166651&DID=7

MTX 12" Road Thunder subwoofer $54.95 ea
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...D=166884&DID=7


Now keep in mind something like this is just bare bones to get you going.. but it will be a night and day difference compared to what you have..

Running off a head unit.. even a fancy one.. will never be close to any decent amplifier.. especially for bass which requires more wattage

[originel]

agreed...you really just can't get much more without an amp...you could get more bass from your components, but it would still require an amp.

simply put a head unit won't power much. as stated above a head unit will only push about 15 watts RMS. so for bass you need an amp and sub...actually if you did it right you could do it for around $200.

Pioneer 10" 350W sub

Sony 200Wx1@4ohms sub

Phoenix Gold Amp Kit

it comes in at a little under $200 too and it's a decent system. certianly not for audiophiles, but it will definitely give you the bass you want

[joker_927]

What about these deck that supposedly have AMPS built-in?

[joker_927]

www.polkaudio.com 's speaker fit guide says that I have 4" speakers in the back and 6 1/2 ones in the back.

Are 6 1/2 's big enough? RobRich mentioned that 6x9's can thump.

[joker_927]

I probably sound like a newb asking simple questions like this, and if you know a website that had FAQ's like this, please tell me.

When an AMP says it is 100x2 does that mean 100W for each channel (left and right) thus leaving 50w for each of the four speakers, or does it mean 100w for 2 speakers.

Do I have to buy a ?W x 4 amp in order to power 4 speakers?

[joker_927]

Look what I found... http://www.polkaudio.com/car/faqad/index.php

Reading time...

A quality 6.5-inch 2-way speaker can hit decently with a moderate amount of wattage, say around 50-100 watts per channel, with the windows rolled up! If you are an open air driver, then it is time to start fishing in the deep recesses of your wallet.

I just used 6x9 as an example, as many cars come factory with 6x9 rear speakers.

Don't expect to do much with the 4s, though some vendors do offer adapter kits to increase speaker size depending upon speaker specs and car model.

Robert Richmond