Sound system for a noisy classic?

[EdF4ce]

Hello all, wondering if any of you classic car owners could give me a bit of advice on sound systems for our noisy, rattly cars. Sorry if I go on a bit.....

Firstly the car is a Morris Minor and currently has Kenwood 6x9s under the seats and a Sony minidisc head unit which is due an upgrade to a nice Bluetooth unit so I thought I'd overhaul the lot while I'm at it! Currently the sound is great.... That is until I fire up the engine and drive. Then I lose all low ends and mids to engine noise and rattles, im left with a very tinny sound unless I crank it so loud its uncomfortable then a few more frequencies start poking through.

Now I'm not after car shaking bass and rediculous volumes I'm just after a big full sound that can prevail over the car noise. Im not so much after a rumbling sub throbbing bass but would like tight punchy low ends you can feel, full rich mids and crisp clear high ends.

There are a few options I have thought of along with the new head unit... Sticking with the 6x9s under the seats, putting some 4inch tweeters on the rear shelf and an active underseat sub. But should I go seperate amp for more power? Is it necessary for my requirements? This was thought of for minimal cosmetic impact but I realise I may have to sacrifice the original looks to fulfil my music snobbery! Other options were....
Bigger is better, big speakers, big sub, all amped up?
Full range component set up with sub and amp?

Things I have considered are sub sizes, would I get I tighter punch with a smaller size or bigger size. Also which type and position in the car, under seat, on back seat, behind front seats, in boot, passenger foot well? Will any of these make a difference? I just thought it would take some serious volume to hear a speaker from the boot of a moggy which would probably be enough to rattle it to bits haha, would bigger speakers help in this case?

I'm just wondering what you other classic car owning music lovers have done in your cars to get a nice big sound in a noisy classic car? The moggy just seems to eat bass and mid frequencies!

Any advice please!

Thanks

Ed

[spoodler]

Rather than trying to uprate the sound system what you probably need to do is reduce the unwanted noise. There is little you can do about wind noise etc. so forget that. What you can do is fit some decent soundproofing to keep out the mechanical noise of the engine, diff' etc. - use the proper stuff, have a good look 'round the 'net or ask at a decent installers. Any decent size speakers will need proper enclosures - the door cards in cars are just too flimsy and the magnets will probably end up covered in rust flakes if the doors haven't been treated (not necessarily for you but for others that may be reading).

Nice looking Minor by the way.

Edited by spoodler on Sunday 25th August 14:31

[S0 What]

As above, sound deadening pads and other isulation will help with the body drumming drowning out the bass.

[Hooli]

What they said ^^

[The Nur]

Hooli said:

What they said ^^

Very much so. Carpets up, door cards off, dynamat (or similar) all over everything, stick it all back together.

May even help to stop some stuff rattling

[nta16]

spoodler said:

Rather than trying to uprate the sound system what you probably need to do is reduce the unwanted noise.

well, unusually I agree with spoodler ... on this

spoodler said:

There is little you can do about wind noise etc.

unless your door and window seals seals are worn then replacing these or adjusting them or the doors or windows for better fit/alignment

spoodler said:

What you can do is fit some decent soundproofing to keep out the mechanical noise of the engine, diff' etc.

or you could try reducing the noise from them by regular servicing, if you've not already done so try topping up or replacing the oil in the g/box and diff

also full regular servicing on the whole car to keep all items lubricated and checked for tightness and worn parts and components repaired and replaced (e.g. suspension bushes, exhaust, bearings, air filter, adjust tappets, (points/plugs) timing and carb mixture)

old and/or little used tyres (regardless of tread depth left on them) can go hard and as well as making them a deterrent to braking, steering, handling and ride they can contribute greatly to noise

4" tweeters, if you mean tweeters, sounds massive to me - most people confuse big and higher numbers as being better for cars and sound reproduction but this isn't always so and bigger numbers don't equate to quality or enjoyment

spoodler said:

Any decent size speakers will need proper enclosures - the door cards in cars are just too flimsy

this is good advice - decent speakers doesn't mean a particular size, bigger doesn't necessary mean better in itself, big numbers on speaker and amplifiers can be very misleading and have little to do with sound quality

sorry Ed but it sounds like to me that you've got the opposite of music snobbery by going for quantity over quality, unless you're into modern excessive (very muddy and unclean) bass then with a decent system set up you don't need a sub-woofer or the welding that would be required to properly brace the car to help control the bass sound (and you'd need to secure the windows) - perhaps I'm being the snob as I used to be a home hi-fi nut but to me it seems like you want to cover one lot of noise with another whereas yo might be best to do a bit of both, reduce the bad and unnecessary noises from the car and replace them with better quality sound reproduction that doesn't contribute to the rattles of the car

[bigblock]

I like to listen to my engine although I don't really have an option.