Speaker modifications
Discussion
Hey all, today I fitted the little cheap 25mm tweeters I often recommend.
Man, for something that costs 20 quid, they make an enormous difference to the sound in the Tuscan! The sound is clearer, stereo image sounds good, and they make it sound as if the sound is coming from the front of the car!
I fitted them at the far right and left or the ally trip, under the dash lip. They're almost unnoticeable.
Now the sub-bass. Problem! Where to put it?
I got an active sub-bass unit, its an 8" speaker in an enclosure about 60mm deep, 200 x 300mm ish.
I thought it might go under the passenger seat, but there's NO space!
So maybe behind the passenger seat? But the plastic seat panel kinda sticks out in the middle, so the seat has to be a bit too far forward to fit the sub-bass unit.
How easy is it to remove those rear panels, and whats underneath?
(I'll post pics when I'm done).
Andy.
Man, for something that costs 20 quid, they make an enormous difference to the sound in the Tuscan! The sound is clearer, stereo image sounds good, and they make it sound as if the sound is coming from the front of the car!
I fitted them at the far right and left or the ally trip, under the dash lip. They're almost unnoticeable.
Now the sub-bass. Problem! Where to put it?
I got an active sub-bass unit, its an 8" speaker in an enclosure about 60mm deep, 200 x 300mm ish.
I thought it might go under the passenger seat, but there's NO space!
So maybe behind the passenger seat? But the plastic seat panel kinda sticks out in the middle, so the seat has to be a bit too far forward to fit the sub-bass unit.
How easy is it to remove those rear panels, and whats underneath?
(I'll post pics when I'm done).
Andy.
Well I got them from CPC ( http://www.cpc.co.uk ) and I think Maplin might sell them.
Here's the box:
Excellent little jobbies.
A.
Here's the box:
Excellent little jobbies.
A.
Well that's almost exactly the same as my set-up and it sounds pretty darn good!
I've got an underseat type active sub ( this one) concealed behind the carpet on the front wall of the passenger footwell. It works brilliantly, really beefs up the sound, and is totally invisible. I am always impressed by the sound the system now produces and it's easily on a par with a decent factory fit sound system you'd find in a normal car
Best of all, I managed to pick the sub up from Halfords for 40 quid!
For those wanting to spend a bit more cash, a Clarion unit will fit in the same space.
I've got an underseat type active sub ( this one) concealed behind the carpet on the front wall of the passenger footwell. It works brilliantly, really beefs up the sound, and is totally invisible. I am always impressed by the sound the system now produces and it's easily on a par with a decent factory fit sound system you'd find in a normal car
Best of all, I managed to pick the sub up from Halfords for 40 quid!
For those wanting to spend a bit more cash, a Clarion unit will fit in the same space.
alinton said:
Well I got them from CPC ( http://www.cpc.co.uk ) and I think Maplin might sell them.
Here's the box:
Excellent little jobbies.
A.
Can you take a photo of them in the car for me?? Here's the box:
Excellent little jobbies.
A.
my setup is enhanced but still poor with 2 X 6X9 and 2 X 4" plus a allinone sub....
im actually taking a leaf from 'pimpin my ryde' of all places in the summer to create a sound system in the back colour coded made of fibre glass, mdf, and other bits.... hopefully the idea in my head will work but you know what its like... sometimes it doesn't!
Sure I will, tomorrow.
Unless you want one of those over the top systems that Max Power espouses, you really don't need much in a Tuscan.
A pair of tweeters in the front, maybe replace the Pioneer rears with a better make, like Focal, and a sub-bass unit will transform it.
Looks like I'll have spent about £100, and it'll be a good-sounding system.
A.
Unless you want one of those over the top systems that Max Power espouses, you really don't need much in a Tuscan.
A pair of tweeters in the front, maybe replace the Pioneer rears with a better make, like Focal, and a sub-bass unit will transform it.
Looks like I'll have spent about £100, and it'll be a good-sounding system.
A.
alinton said:
Do you have tweeters too Dave?
And how did you wire power to the sub unit?
Think I'll be installing mine your way tomorrow.
A.
Yes I do.And how did you wire power to the sub unit?
Think I'll be installing mine your way tomorrow.
A.
I have an Alpine i-pod head unit with Pioneer 25mm tweeters with built in crossovers run off the front channel and the 4" side speakers run off the rear channel.
The sub runs off the sub pre-outs and is wired up to the battery via a redundant battery conditioner connector in the footwell. The whole install is virtually invisible as it uses the factory speaker locations, doesn't weigh much and sounds great.
Hey Guys,
Any experience on the Convertible? I had a rear speaker unmounted at a specialist shop to study replacement, but nothing would fit...
Putting a ring to create more place is not really an option because the roof need the place between the rollbars and the speaker.
Which speakers do you guys fit in the rear?
PS : will be studying those tweeters and passenger side woofer. But I keeping thinking step 1 is good speakers in the back.
Any experience on the Convertible? I had a rear speaker unmounted at a specialist shop to study replacement, but nothing would fit...
Putting a ring to create more place is not really an option because the roof need the place between the rollbars and the speaker.
Which speakers do you guys fit in the rear?
PS : will be studying those tweeters and passenger side woofer. But I keeping thinking step 1 is good speakers in the back.
alinton said:
Is there such battery connector in the footwell already?
Your setup sounds good. I like installations that look standard, with all the special stuff hidden away.
A.
There was on my car, however I think is was installed by the previous owner for the battery conditioner. The conditioner I use now just plugs into the cigarette lighter, hence the footwell connector now being redundant.Your setup sounds good. I like installations that look standard, with all the special stuff hidden away.
A.
Anyway, wiring a fused link direct to the battery is easy as the battery compartment is directly in front of the passenger footwell and there's plenty of routes through.
Can you take a photo of them in the car for me??
my setup is enhanced but still poor with 2 X 6X9 and 2 X 4" plus a allinone sub....
im actually taking a leaf from 'pimpin my ryde' of all places in the summer to create a sound system in the back colour coded made of fibre glass, mdf, and other bits.... hopefully the idea in my head will work but you know what its like... sometimes it doesn't!
[/quote]
I thought you might like to see my install. 6.5" Rockford Fosgate power components in the front doors, a 10"Rockford Fosgate slim sub in custom fibreglass box trimmed in matching leather and alcantara. In the boot ther are two Rockford Fosgate Power series amplifiers. The sound quality and volume are fantastic.
cheers andy
my setup is enhanced but still poor with 2 X 6X9 and 2 X 4" plus a allinone sub....
im actually taking a leaf from 'pimpin my ryde' of all places in the summer to create a sound system in the back colour coded made of fibre glass, mdf, and other bits.... hopefully the idea in my head will work but you know what its like... sometimes it doesn't!
[/quote]
I thought you might like to see my install. 6.5" Rockford Fosgate power components in the front doors, a 10"Rockford Fosgate slim sub in custom fibreglass box trimmed in matching leather and alcantara. In the boot ther are two Rockford Fosgate Power series amplifiers. The sound quality and volume are fantastic.
cheers andy
The enclosure is moulded fibreglass with a mdf front. I do this for a living so was a very simple job.it does not protrude into the boot at all the sub is only about 3" deep and will take 300watts rms "real power". The front door speakers are fitted in the same way using the original door pockets the moulding onto them,its not difficult but can be time consuming. I trimmed the doors and box in matching hide and alcantara. The sub is powered from a 2 channel bridged and the front components are run of the other two channel amp. both these are mounted on the boot floor with a false floor covering then.
andy
andy
loudandfast said:
The enclosure is moulded fibreglass with a mdf front. I do this for a living so was a very simple job.it does not protrude into the boot at all the sub is only about 3" deep and will take 300watts rms "real power". The front door speakers are fitted in the same way using the original door pockets the moulding onto them,its not difficult but can be time consuming. I trimmed the doors and box in matching hide and alcantara. The sub is powered from a 2 channel bridged and the front components are run of the other two channel amp. both these are mounted on the boot floor with a false floor covering then.
andy
Very impressive Andy. andy
Thats exactly the kind of thing im looking to do in the summer.
loudandfast said:
The enclosure is moulded fibreglass with a mdf front. I do this for a living so was a very simple job.it does not protrude into the boot at all the sub is only about 3" deep and will take 300watts rms "real power". The front door speakers are fitted in the same way using the original door pockets the moulding onto them,its not difficult but can be time consuming. I trimmed the doors and box in matching hide and alcantara. The sub is powered from a 2 channel bridged and the front components are run of the other two channel amp. both these are mounted on the boot floor with a false floor covering then.
andy
How much to do me one just the fibre glass and MDF no trimming? andy
loudandfast said:
I thought you might like to see my install. 6.5" Rockford Fosgate power components in the front doors, a 10"Rockford Fosgate slim sub in custom fibreglass box trimmed in matching leather and alcantara. In the boot ther are two Rockford Fosgate Power series amplifiers. The sound quality and volume are fantastic.
cheers andy
Looks like a very nice install, professionally done!cheers andy
Got me thinking about the rear space.
I would if possible like to avoid cutting the doors...so, adapted from your install, would it be possible to put the woofer's from the components either side of the sub in the rear, and put the tweaters in the dash like the start of this thread?
Any loss in quality from not having the components in the front of the car?
I had thought about an active sub in passenger footwell but your idea seems to work well too...
Rob
Sub-bass, and bass speakers can be put anywhere within reason, the location not affecting the sound, as your ears do not determine direction from bass frequencies.
Ears use mid to high frequencies for direction-finding, so you really need the tweeters in front of you. Midrange speakers should really be in front as well - but thats difficult in the Tuscan.
So I would say, in the Tuscan, the best places for various speakers are:
Bass/sub-bass: Anywhere. A nice enclosure in the rear like that above, or hidden in the pass. footwell.
Midrange: Doors if poss, or factory location. If using factory, eq the high-end out of those speakers if poss, i.e. roll off above 3.5kHz.
Tweeters: Front, both sides of the dash if poss or top of doors.
I'm not sure about doors for the mids though. Those speakers will need an enclosure behind them to work correctly, and there isn't enough space behind the door cards to mount speakers, so I've seen them mounted in the lower moulding. But that does not have enough of an enclosure behind it, so the speakers won't sound right.
Just my £0.02!
Andy.
Ears use mid to high frequencies for direction-finding, so you really need the tweeters in front of you. Midrange speakers should really be in front as well - but thats difficult in the Tuscan.
So I would say, in the Tuscan, the best places for various speakers are:
Bass/sub-bass: Anywhere. A nice enclosure in the rear like that above, or hidden in the pass. footwell.
Midrange: Doors if poss, or factory location. If using factory, eq the high-end out of those speakers if poss, i.e. roll off above 3.5kHz.
Tweeters: Front, both sides of the dash if poss or top of doors.
I'm not sure about doors for the mids though. Those speakers will need an enclosure behind them to work correctly, and there isn't enough space behind the door cards to mount speakers, so I've seen them mounted in the lower moulding. But that does not have enough of an enclosure behind it, so the speakers won't sound right.
Just my £0.02!
Andy.
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