Question for all the boffins

[Flipfinger]

(I managed to sell the BM, so I keep the Supra AND my genitals, BTW)

I want some low-end grunt, however, I have somewhat of a budget, and want to know if:

It would sound okay to keep the component speakers as they are in the Supe, with maybe one amplifier driving them, yet have a sub box with its own amplification.

The stuff I will buy won't be substandard gear: I might want to upgrade the components later, and I figure going for just higher quality stuff to get the bass and the power all relatively level is better than going for a complete strip-out and replace it with bargain bass-ment (arf!) stuff later.

And I can't do the wiring myself, as I'm a muppet (see avatar).  So that's an issue too against paying someone to open up the doors for the components etc too.

[matt]

Do you mean keep the stock speakers or replace with ones the same size???

Can't quite work out what ya gettin at .........

Whose mashed ? you or me??

[Flipfinger]

I was, erm, slightly under the influence when I wrote that.

I mean keep the stock speakers all round, but I have no subs/amps, so buying 1 new amp to drive the stock speakers, and another to drive a new subs/box affair.

Does that make sense now?

[matt]

The stock speakers are the first things to change.......... I think you'd kill them if you powered them from an aftermarket amp,
Replacing with same size better quality kit makes a huge difference....
and its straightforward enough even for muppets:wink:

[Ash]

The stock speakers are the worst part of the whole system. Which is a pity because, as far as stock stuff goes, the MKIV offering is pretty good.

Yours,
J

[Flipfinger]

Right then.

Just went out for a spin and put the volume on my nice new Alpine head unit past 15 - what a horrible sound.....

The door panel speakers are a pain in the ass, as I recall, right?  But I can just use the old wire to put the new speakers on?

I need a weekend and some nice components.....any suggestions?

(Edited by Flipfinger at 10:54 am on Dec. 14, 2001)

[Matt Harwood]

Depends on how much work you are prepared to do to get big speakers in the front doors.

Look further down on this section for a thread named "front speakers how do I get to them" - Ash gives a very detailed explanation of how to get 6 1/2's into the doors.

I'm a strong believer in "you get what you pay for"... Let me know how much you want to spend and I'll give you my recommendations... Feel free to ask for any prices.

[Flipfinger]

I'm happy with keeping similar-sized speakers, so long as the clarity is better than it is right now.

[Matt Harwood]

That's NO problem!

Any thoughts on budget?

[HedgehogSandwich adi]

The stock speakers will be fine left alone for now, dont put a bigger amp on them.

The one thing the stock system lacks is any grunt under 400 Hz. If all you want to do is to get a decent frequency range as regards low end fqs, then fitting a sub box and amp will be fine.  All you'll be doing is adding to your 400- response range, theres no need to replace the stock speakers if this is all you want to do. The stock speakers can be replaced at a later date.

adi

[Matt Harwood]

I agree that adding a sub is the single biggest improvement you can make, but the standard speakers are a bit... Muddy.

If on a budget, get a decent head unit, smallish 4 channel amp, 8/10" sub and front speakers. Use the amp to power the fronts and the sub, and put high pass caps on the headunits output to the rear speakers.

Budget around £500-600 including cables at high street prices...

[Flipfinger]

I've got the most expensive Alpine single-CD headunit they had in the shop - a CDM-7870R (probably out of production now as it's 6 months since I bought it!) - will this do that 'stuff' to the rear speakers?

I'm so technical...

[HedgehogSandwich adi]

No, this wont make the blind bit of difference to your stock system, the overall sound quailty may be improved or different, depending on how your new head unit is EQ'd (graphic equalised basically)., but your stock speakers still wont be able to reproduce any more than they could before.
You might hear better low end response due to the head unit being able to accurately reproduce better low end frequenices, but it wont be amazing.You may also hear better frequency seperation (which basically gives a colder sound, not a good thing depending on your point of view).

adi