jonblack

Seems like I remember birch plywood enclosures having a different sound. Of course that was years ago and I may have been just imagining things. I wouldn't mind doing a comparison test just to see if I am remembering things right. Compare MDF or birch to a concrete speaker enclosure and I imagine one could tell the difference. Another thing we did that we thought made boxes sound better was paint the inside of the box. Any old paint would do. Years later I told a friend about that "concept" and he thought I was crazy. He had worked at higher end shops than I had and built many nice enclosures. The next enclosure he built he painted the inside. He said the box sounded awesome and was convinced that the paint made a difference. Of course, no blind test so at that point everthing is subjective. Lots of beer was drank in those days, though, so it may have had something to do with our perception. Anybody else heard of painting the inside of the box to improve the sound? jonblack

I am pretty sure I know the diffence between active and passive crossovers. I remember my first set of 15" woofers. That was back in 1986 or 1987. I ordered a coil from Parts Express to make a home-made low pass crossover. Of course, the coil only gave a 6 db/Octave slope at 100 Hz so the woofer sounded very muddy. I used to work with the hermetically sealed PAC passive crossovers and I always recommended 1000µF (I think that was the value) capacitors when people put 3.5" speakers in the dash locations. I sold many "bass blockers" over the years. I also owned several electonic crossovers over the years, installed many active crossovers, and worked with 19" rack mounted 2-4 way crossover networks in the pro sound field. I always enjoyed a rack running a nice Rane AC24 which is a quality stereo 4 way crossover. So, I do think I at least understand the difference between active and passive crossover networks. Keep in mind I have not been around car audio gear for 15 or so years. We didn't call a crossover a processor back then. I am sure that modern equipment does a lot more than act as a crossover. I simply don't know what products (crossovers) are on the market today and what current trends are in system design and installation. I have not heard a nice set of components in the factory locations. I want good sound and I enjoy building stuff, so I would like to make custom A-pillars. Thanks for your help jonblack

Hey guys I remember years back, when we wanted to build a "premium" subwoofer enclosure we would use birch plywood rather than particale board. Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s we mostly used particle board, not MDF, at least not at the shops I worked at. I don't know if it was because MDF wasn't widely available, or if it was more expensive, or if we just didn't know about it. So, my question is: What are your thoughts on using birch plywood for a subwooder enclosure? How do you think the enclosure would handle flex and can you comment about its tonal qualities? What brought this question to my mind is that MDF really is not a great material for holding fasteners (screws). If you swap your woofer out a few times the screw holes are more or less shot. I was think of using T-nuts or some other threaded insert, and use machine screws to mount the subwoofer. That way the woofer could be removed would damaging the enclosure. Care to brainstorm? Thanks jonblack

I think my pathlengths will be longer and therefore, relatively speaking, a little better in terms of left/right length differences. I was thinking 3 way processing, so I could bandpass the mids. I wasn't really thinking about using the 3 way for bass, just mids and highs. Am I missing something on how the modern crossover offerings operate? jonblack

This is very similar to what I was thinking. Photo from here. jonblack

I have a set of B&W bookshelf speakers that I was thinking about harvesting the drivers out of. I have been reading about on/off axis response and wonder if home speakers would not perform well for my application. The mid driver looks like it is 4.5" with a coated paper cone and butyl rubber surround. The tweeter looks like a 1" silk/soft dome. The cool thing about the B&W speakers is that I can put them in the car and give them a listen before I go through the work of making the pods. Of course the enclosure is large and designed especially for the speakers, but I will mostly be listening to the upper mid-range as well as the tweeters. I always enjoyed a smoother tweetwer. I remember when MB Quarts and JBL Titanium tweeters were popular. I never like them much, although they were loud and could cut like a knife. The minivan is a little on the plush side with the velour fabric, so maybe I will need a little more edge in the highs. The B&W speakers sell for $100 on eBay so I could always sell them and put the proceeds towards my budget. What are your thoughts on firing the drivers towards the windshield? Would that bring the sound stage up and out or would it just created a jumbled mess from the perspective of phase/reflection? jonblack

I don't mind a protrusion. I am thinking of making removable "pods" that will fit in the pockets so I can remove them if I want to. Will probably look trashy, though. So I am still brainstorming. Active sounds fine with me. Can you recommend a good external 3 way crossover? I have not looked at those at all buy I rememer them being 12 dB/octave through 24 dB/octave. I'm not sure what the general consensus is on slope these days. I guess I would want enough roll-off in the slope to conceal any "gaps" in the sound that might present themselves. jonblack

Here are the gross dimensions. The "pockets" are about 3" deep, but the speakers could protrude from the pocket. jonblack

I like this idea. I have 7 year old Clarion amp in storage that I never pulled out of the box. I don't know the model number and I don't know how good it sounds. I will dig it out. What crossover network do you plan to use with your setup? Thanks jonblack

Here is a Prius (not mine, original site) that has the same sort of a pillar that my Odyssey has. This is what I was thinking of doing. I think I have room for a bigger driver in mine. If I could get away with a nice set of 6.5" components I think I would be happy. What advantage do you see to an active crossover network over the matched passive network that is included with most component setups? Thanks jonblack

Allow me to clarify. Sure, I would love the driver and passenger to have equal aural enjoyment. However, if that is going to require heavy processing (time delay or?) or exotic electronics then I would be willing to compromise. I'd like to keep the system as simple as feasible. Budget is at the bottom of the list. 1. Select speakers and placement 2. Design the front stage based on selected speakers so I can start fabrication 3. Select amplification and processing If I go over budget that just means it will take me longer to accomplish my goal. I can live with that. If I start with speakers and amp, I can always add whatever processor is needed to fine tune the system later. Is my thinking based on sound logic? jonblack

Anybody use anymore? I guess I am showing my age by saying that was an awesome song back in the early "Crank It Up" days.jonblack

I'm still a little confused on the active part. Sure, I am open to an active crossover on the mids and highs. I don't have to run a passive crossover. What is making me more confused is you mentioning using the head unit to do that. Are you meaning to run the high pass out of the front set of RCAs? Are there crossovers on moderns amplifiers that are worth using? I feel I can tune the system. I was involved in pro audio in the mid 1990s. I got hired by several local nightclubs to come in and tune the sound systems. Usually the resident DJ would have the system so out of wack it would barely play. They would normally call me in right before the club opened and hope I could work a miracle. I usually did... I tuned everything by ear. I had a pair of Carver 1.0t amps at home that I used to run my studio monitors. I feel like I know what good sound is. It's all subjective, though. I also had a MIDI studio around that time. I always liked the idea of incorporating pro audio equipment like compressors into a mobile audio system. I guess in my mind, mids have to make vocals sound real. When I close my eyes, she needs to be right in front of me. I need to hear vocal chords and I want to feel her breathe on my neck when she sings. If I can't smell her breath...you get the point. I definitely want to do more than put a tweeter in the pillar. I was thinking a component set fiberglassed in up there. I was not thinking of using the door for a mid-bass location but I also don't want there to be a gap between a 5.25" or 6.5" and the 12" sub, so I am open to using the doors as a mid-bass support location. Thanks jonblack

Admittedly, I don't know what you are asking about when you mention "active." The only thing that comes to mind is a crossover, so I am not sure how to answer your question. I don't think I have ever heard the perfect dubstep song. I guess it would be the vocals from with a dubstep bassline. Me...I'm a part of your circle of friends...and we...woomp woomp woomp burm woump woump...Hopefully that makes sense! I just love a dreamy vocal but house music and dubstep really make me want to move.I would say that I will be the passenger at least 50% of the time so I don't want to kill the soundstage on the passenger side. I realize that approach will be a compromise for the sound stage on the driver's side, but anything is better than what I have right now. Thank you for brianstorming with me. jonblack

Hello everybody I'm new here. I worked as a car audio and alarm installer 15 years ago. I have not had a decent system since...well...a long time. I bought a 1997 Honda Odyssey and I really like the van. I'd like to build a nice system. Can you give me suggestions on what components to use for a nice simple front sound stage that focuses on sound quality? I like "vocally" music. I also like dubstep and house music. I really like vocally dubstep. I also listen to talk-radio. I am thinking I am going to use a SSA DCON or GCON for bass. Maybe a SKAR 800.1 for a sub amp. I have no idea what components to use for the mids and highs. The head unit is a JVC KD-X50BT. I bought the head unit for the Bluetooth phone and Pandora features, and the fact it was $100. I am thinking I want to make custom a-pillars, since there is a lot of space on the Odyssey dash right where those vent windows are. I know there is no way to make it look stock, but I don't want it to look cheesy either. I really just want to bring the sound stage up because it is all on the floor right now, but I would like it to look tasteful. What would you suggest on a $250-500 budget, assuming I am providing all of the fabrication and installation? Thank you jonblack