Best Install Options

[Godsmack 360]

How god awful difficult is it to go active and if so do you suggest using the 8's as mids or something else? I wouldn't combine them with the 3 ways I already have, sorry if I illuded otherwise.

I could just use the 3 ways I already have but would you only do one set per side or both?

I'm just looking for suggestions because this is the first setup where I am really taking my time and planning shit out in advance.

J

[Tirefryr 1,742]

Personally, I wouldn't bother trying to go active or even worry about soundstage in that car. No matter what, you're fighting a losing battle, although, we all are in the automotive environment, but the cramped confines of the F-body are just not conducive to a proper image. Just throw the drivers where they'll fit, but keep them OFF the dash, and go to town.

[ssh 924]

We could do something like this:

Or

But I honestly don't know how well it would sound with multiple drivers playing the same frequencies. Or what layout would work best...

The last pic may be approaching "Put as many speakers as I can in my door, SMD forum status."

[Godsmack 360]

I like ur ideas Stefan. I think as long as the x/o's are set up the same with the sets of 3 ways, it could sound decent.

J

[///M5 2,833]

J, I think you are waffling through this for a few reasons. The car isn't ideal and is full of compromises, you have equipment that you bought nicely but may not be appropriate for your goals, and your goals and effort you are willing to put into this is unclear to me. While generically speaking I agree with Ryan as the biggest factor is the car, there are also ways to improve it a bunch but the amount of time dealing with the install and processing may beyond the effort you are willing to put in which would make it a rather bad idea. The other end of the spectrum is to just use what you have, but if it were me and I was paying for custom door panels I'd personally optimize my setup. I am an anal prick though when I pay for stuff so we may differ a bit.

[Godsmack 360]

Fair enough. With you mentioning equipment not meant for my goals, what do you think would make for a better option than the eqipment I have picked up?

My main goal is just to be able to have loud clear music. The music to primarily be played is guitar and drum oriented music. It will cover the spectrum from death metal to glam rock to acoustic rock and maybe some limited hip hop thrown in from time to time. I am not looking for perfection, just a vast improvement in clarity especially when the T-tops are off and I am going 65 down the side roads.

The lower end of the audio spectrum will be covered a little later and will more than likely be covered by a single 12" sealed sub in the hatch.

J

[///M5 2,833]

I just picture your definition of loud and mine to be drastically different. Same with clear. For my tastes I expect that comp set to fail on the clear side and for you on the loud side, but that is just extrapolation.l

[Godsmack 360]

To me loud in my car is to where I cannot hear myself talk loudly (shouting is only barely audilble), and by clear I mean that the frequency response seems even. The plucks of the bass strings are lost by the voice of the lead singer. Basically beautifuly blended songs with no audible distortion, shrill highs or muddly lifeless mids.

[///M5 2,833]

To me loud in my car is to where I cannot hear myself talk loudly (shouting is only barely audilble)

Ok, my thoughts are confirmed. The not hear yourself talking is usually caused by distortion, not volume. You'd be surprised at how high of a level music can be playing and still have voices be heard. Frequency masking doesn't have a really soft Q.

That being said I just gave you the cue on how to get "loud" of course the rest of your request doesn't follow it so well.

[Godsmack 360]

So basically my 'desires' were not what I was thinking they were. Well shit......Honestly I would love to hear TRULY loud music where I can still talk.......Its astonishing to yet again realize how truly little I know.......Thanks for all your help here.

J

[ssh 924]

You can hear the volvo tonight. Decide what route you want to take...

[///M5 2,833]

Car noise is the beyotch.

Let me put it in perspective a little bit. If your ear was a perfect filter then even if you were listening to a 100dB note (let's say middle C) and there was a C# that was 80dB you'd hear it very clearly. However, your ear isn't perfect and based on both frequency separation and volume will do some masking. The Q or response of this filter is "fairly" broad, but has a reasonable roll off. This of course means that as long as your music doesn't contain all the same notes as your speech you should hear them of course with the ones being close being masked out. Distortion by nature smears the frequency response making these filters much broader and masking more of the speech.

I super simplified that, but hopefully that helps clear it up even further.

There are genre's of music that play through a broader spectrum ALL the time that will be harder to speak over, but I personally don't find that music interesting. To some its the notes, to some its the space between to me it is how the two interact with each other.

And now, back to your goals. It costs you nothing to bolt a piece of MDF through your door panels (destroying them which you are going to do anyways) holding the comp set you bought. Why not do that and see what you don't like and decide if its worth the dough/effort to take it a step further. It is always easier to help someone who has done something and would like to improve than to specify what they should do. In particular since I am not trying to tell you what I would do, but what I would do if I were you and knew what I know. Trying to remove those assumptions is hard which is why you haven't seen a concrete recommendation from me. You'd surely get that if you install something and then describe what you like/don't like about it

[Godsmack 360]

Size Z Xmax Fo Bl Vas Qms Qes Qts Mms SPL Levc Krm Kxm Erm Exm Freq. Resp. Power

(inches) (ohms) (mm) (Hz) (T.m) (litros) (g) (dB/w/m) (mH) (mohms) (mH) (Hz) máx/wrms

8" 1.0 7.6 35 5.1 25 4.00 0.45 0.40 52 86.0 0.42 1.18 21.0 0.82 0.56 30-4500 360/180

Hopefully this lines up.

J

[Godsmack 360]

Thats off the Bravox PVX 8" dual 2 ohm subs I have sitting around. I have 4 of them.

And Sean your help has me reading it two and three times one this last one.

God the confusion is driving me batty. Especially since I gotta figure out how and what to do.

J

[///M5 2,833]

My last advice was the thing I'd do if I were you. After thinking about it more, it makes a lot of sense. Use the car to train your ears. Install what you have cheaply and ugly by bolting some mdf to your current door panels and drive around listening. Come back with some specifics on what you like and don't and then we spend money. This way you are out $10 worth of mdf, have door panels that aren't that much worse than is there, and will make the right decision for YOU much better with some ear time.

[Godsmack 360]

Since I had to drop off the door panels tonight, would it be worth my time to make a template and mount them to the existing holes in the doors?

The ONLY issue I can see is that I don't have quite the clearance as the door sits now.

J

[///M5 2,833]

What do you mean drop off the door panels?

If you don't have depth then stack mdf.

[vladd 26]

J

I'd go ahead and work on the door, deadened and sealed, then a baffle around the "speaker" holes. That way when you mount a speaker to try it out it'll be close to what it would be like with the panel on. If you mount them to the skin with no panel and no sealing I don't think you'll be happy at all.

Alternatively you could throw a piece of hardboard over the whole panel and seal it up with some silicone to use temporarily. I'd still throw some speaker rings on either way for depth.

edit: think he meant dropped the door panels off to have them worked on and no longer has access to them, if I'm wrong ignore all that!

[ssh 924]

I have his door panels. There thin particle board, speakers aren't mounting on the OEM ones.

I'm making a new door panels, then holding off on the lower section until he figures out if he wants to use these comps, both sets, or something entirely different.

[Godsmack 360]

Thank you Stefan.

I'm wrestling alot with these ideas, mainly because how much the listening environment will change. As the car sits now (stereo wise) its like my head gets a cocoon of sound. Music from the front on the dash and music that should not be there coming from the back speakers in the B pillar. Now I won't have the cocoon surrounding my head, nor will I have such thin ass doors either.

I will make a decision soon, very soon.

J

[///M5 2,833]

I have his door panels. There thin particle board, speakers aren't mounting on the OEM ones.

I'm making a new door panels, then holding off on the lower section until he figures out if he wants to use these comps, both sets, or something entirely different.

Speakers should never mount on the door card, exactly why I was confused at why he was dropping them off. Until a baffle is in the door and you know how that is going to work I wouldn't do anything to the panels.

If your goal was to glass some stuff on a reinforced door card then just use the components you have J.

[ssh 924]

I have his door panels. There thin particle board, speakers aren't mounting on the OEM ones.

I'm making a new door panels, then holding off on the lower section until he figures out if he wants to use these comps, both sets, or something entirely different.

Speakers should never mount on the door card, exactly why I was confused at why he was dropping them off. Until a baffle is in the door and you know how that is going to work I wouldn't do anything to the panels.

If your goal was to glass some stuff on a reinforced door card then just use the components you have J.

I'm definitely holding off on part of the panels, until I know what's happening.

The new door panel is 1/2" MDF verse the stock 1/4" particle board. The plan was applying some resin to the panel (make it weather resistant & so fiber glassing will stick to it when the time comes for the speaker panel / pod), then wrapping the entire panel in pleather / vinyl.

[Godsmack 360]

Components I have it is then.

I guess I'll just do what I can to make the most of it.

I think I will be happy in the long run as I seem to have different tastes than you do Sean. Not that that is a negative thing. If anything it means I just have less experience.

J

[///M5 2,833]

Exactly why I wanted more info to recommend what I'd do. Doing anything based on my tastes is great for me.

[Godsmack 360]

Fair enough man.

J