Simple amp and speaker install.....advice appreciated
Discussion
I've got a mk1 Renault Twingo which I'm looking to upgrade the audio in, but really not sure what to order. It's only a tiny car.
Currently it has 100mm speakers on the dashboard, and 130mm speakers in the door panels. You can get 165mm speakers in the doors, which is what i'd like to do.
I'm going to leave the original headunit in place, but not use it. Source will be my phone, linked to a JL Audio MBT RX V2 bluetooth receiver. This has lineouts which will go to an amplifier.
What I need help with is speccing the amp and speakers.
Would I be ok with pairs of coaxial 10cm and 16.5cm speakers fed by a 4 channel amp? Or would that be a bit light?
Would I better with a small subwoofer too, and if so, would that need a separate mono amp, or do I just run all 4 front speakers together from 2 channels and bridge the others for the sub?
Any advice would be really appreciated.
Currently it has 100mm speakers on the dashboard, and 130mm speakers in the door panels. You can get 165mm speakers in the doors, which is what i'd like to do.
I'm going to leave the original headunit in place, but not use it. Source will be my phone, linked to a JL Audio MBT RX V2 bluetooth receiver. This has lineouts which will go to an amplifier.
What I need help with is speccing the amp and speakers.
Would I be ok with pairs of coaxial 10cm and 16.5cm speakers fed by a 4 channel amp? Or would that be a bit light?
Would I better with a small subwoofer too, and if so, would that need a separate mono amp, or do I just run all 4 front speakers together from 2 channels and bridge the others for the sub?
Any advice would be really appreciated.
It's unlikely from similar set-ups I've seen that you'll be able to decently seal the dash speaker locations, so I'd forget about them - although you could consider mounting the tweeters there if you get a set of component fronts.
Loads of deadening inside the door - on the back of the outside body panel, try and seal any/all gaps behind the door cards. Mounting the speakers well is a big chunk of the battle for good sound. Anything you can hear outside the car is wasted energy.
Then I'd go for a small sub if there's room.
A 4 channel amp is the simplest solution if you can find one that matches your speakers (I think I'd start by identifying the sub/box I was going to use, that'll give you the RMS bridged wattage you're looking for from your amp, then you can choose front speakers to suit the power provided by the amp's single channels as there's loads of choice there)
What you buy then depends on your budget.
Watch out, the shopping list can get expensive if it's your first install and you need to buy wire (chunky battery/earth supplies), fuses etc as well to get it all installed. Getting speaker wires into the doors is a PITA and I've never worried about just cutting into and using the OE stuff, but others will disagree (I'm not pushing massive wattages)
Massive power is not required if you choose carefully - My car currently has one approx 70w/channel amp feeding the fronts, and a 200w sub. It's nicely balanced and you can't hear yourself talking/singing if you turn it up
Post your amp/sub/speaker ideas on here and I'm sure we'll be constructive
Loads of deadening inside the door - on the back of the outside body panel, try and seal any/all gaps behind the door cards. Mounting the speakers well is a big chunk of the battle for good sound. Anything you can hear outside the car is wasted energy.
Then I'd go for a small sub if there's room.
A 4 channel amp is the simplest solution if you can find one that matches your speakers (I think I'd start by identifying the sub/box I was going to use, that'll give you the RMS bridged wattage you're looking for from your amp, then you can choose front speakers to suit the power provided by the amp's single channels as there's loads of choice there)
What you buy then depends on your budget.
Watch out, the shopping list can get expensive if it's your first install and you need to buy wire (chunky battery/earth supplies), fuses etc as well to get it all installed. Getting speaker wires into the doors is a PITA and I've never worried about just cutting into and using the OE stuff, but others will disagree (I'm not pushing massive wattages)
Massive power is not required if you choose carefully - My car currently has one approx 70w/channel amp feeding the fronts, and a 200w sub. It's nicely balanced and you can't hear yourself talking/singing if you turn it up
Post your amp/sub/speaker ideas on here and I'm sure we'll be constructive
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