Audio Update

Pioneer Premier's on a budget and almost any of the Focal speakers will blow anything else away if you can afford it (which it sounds like you can). If you're ever near Athens give me a shout and you can listen to my setup. You will probably be surprised considering how little I spent

 

Not at all true. A 6x9 has cone area advantage which is good for bass output but it's inherently a bad design. The shape isn't nearly as strong as a true cone and it's unbalanced. Go to some Sound Quality competitions and tell me how many guys you see running 6x9's.

You can't go wrong with those Focals man. Mr.Marv and I are big time SQ guys and do this for a living. I've run the Focal 165V1's in my IS300 and they were just plain beautiful.

 

not many sq comp cars have 6x9 for door speakers. we arent talking about comp quality. as i stated before, for 90% of the users out there, a good set of 6x9's in the doors will be plenty. he asked for opinions and i gave mine. i have heard many component sets that sound like shit.

 

Hey Upstate I'm just starting to learn about caar audio myself. There is a few guys on here that REALLY know their stuff. If I were you I would call Mr. Marv, I spoke with him on the phone a few times and lemme tell ya he is a great guy to give advice and to learn from, along with others. If I were you I woul go with rammat and ensolite which from what i understand is a great product for a great price. This will save you some money to get some very good quality speakers. If you are not going with a sub get 6x9 components upfront and 6.5 coaxial in the back along with a decent amp. If you have any questions I can try to help you out, but if you want to speak with somone very knowlegable and kind call Mr. Marv. He will tech you some stuff you never thought about.

 

x2 on what BIGLuke said about Marv.


Can I ask what your wife doesn't like about subs?
If it's an issue of space, that is one thing.
If it's a matter of sound, then it may be that she has had the wrong exposure.
People get the idea that a subwoofer's only purpose is for rap and overpowering, loud, deep music. However, a sub's PROPER application is to fill in the areas that door speakers can't achieve, and provide a richer, warmer, more accurate sound experience. It's the same idea as having tweeters, just the opposite side of the scale.

My advice to you is to find a sound room in an audio store where you can close the door. Choose a head unit that you can easily turn the sub on and off, and pick a small sub (8" or 10"). Now, get music like "My Maria" by Brooks & Dunn, Alice in Chains Unplugged, or Eric Clapton Unplugged, songs that are uncomplicated and have distinct musical instruments. Zero out all EQ settings, and play with the sub volume at zero. Now, slowly add in the sub until it sounds balanced and natural without overpowering the other speakers. Once you have that, turn the sub off but leave the levels where they are. Bring your wife in the sound room, have her close her eyes. Play the song for a few minutes with the sub off, then turn the sub on. Ask your wife which sounds better.

I'd try this out before you try finding a speaker that's going to attempt to fill the void of no sub.

 

x2 on what Mike said, I like that idea. Also he is right bout what a sub is intended for, but it can go both ways.

 

got mine for rock and some top 40 stuff.. i rarely listen to rap.

 

Are you serious? You're advising someone not to worry about the sound produced from their rear door speakers?

 

If you want the best sound you'll want component 6.5's powered with an amp., not 6x9's (only use 6x9s if you're not going to install a sub (in most cases)).

 

exactly man, I don't know where these guys are coming up with this stuff about 6x9's being so great.

 

I'd be quite serious. I have all but removed my rear speakers and feel my setup is much better off for being so.

My tone here isn't to be condescending, but basically, just because there's a hole doesn't mean putting a speaker there is the right thing to do, and more speakers does not mean better sound. It's about having the right speaker at the right spot.

 

What if he was serious? The fact is, rear is not necessary for great sound. Rear is for fill. If I was on a budget, I'd lose the rears and buy the best fronts I could.

I'd take my Focals out of the rear doors and still have a better sounding system than 98% of the stereos driving down the road.

Rears are not necessary. I'd love to debate it if you have an opinion otherwise.

 

But YOU have focals in your rear doors. What does that tell the readers?

Rear door speakers may not add as much to a system as the fronts do, but they are still important to those who want the best sound out of their system. It is also worth mentioning that rear door speakers are important if a person wants their rear-seat passengers to experience excellent sound quality as well, which is often the case.

IF money is an issue, then maybe your advice to the readers to put the best speakers they can afford in the front, sparing the rear is a good idea... affording that person the option of installing rear door speakers at a later date.

 

Not true... Rear speakers don't provide much if anything more than more volume...unless you are running a multi channel set up for surround sound. Then, you have to be sure all of your music is recorded to support that and that your HU can decipher it. Otherwise, you are correct, it's only for the passengers. Nearly anyone who is concerned with a correct sound stage will tell you the same.

As for me having Focals, I'm not sure what that has to do with anything. I think people get a little absorbed in price thinking the more expensive they are, the better they are. Focals are bright and their tweeters are a bit harsh. If I didn't have a HU that compensated for that, I wouldn't have them in my car. In fact, I would rather have a different brand but happened to get these from a store that went out of business...they were cheaper than what most pay for a decent set of 6x9s. Lucky.

 

It tells the readers that he wanted a different sound or had a different amount of money to spend. Readers must realize that buying Focal doesn't get you a ticket to sonic heaven or that having rear speakers is a rule. Audio is a subjective topic where "usually you want this" or "typically this sounds best", but is not always right. There's too many variables, including the size of the person, their disposition towards what they want in music, and the construction of their eardrum.

Of course, music sounds best in a silver TRD

Who are you wanting to be the most pleased with the audio? You can't have it all. Realize that everyone in the vehicle is sitting in different positions, and therefore the audio from the speakers is reaching the person at a different time. You can only time align for one set of ears. Consider also that grandma hates the sub that's going off against her back, Uncle Joe wants to 'feel it and get the cymbals crashin' ' from the back seat, and cousin Amy thinks that the right speaker next to her leg is drowning out the rest of the sound. You can't understand what's wrong since you spent a meticulous amount of time tuning everything from the driver's seat.

You could change your EQ to match someone else's desires, change your time alignment for a passenger, or get different speakers based on the the musical emphasis someone else likes.

So who are you wanting to impress? If you try doing it for everyone, your entire system ultimately suffers and plateaus.


The basic idea that's being preached is make it right for yourself.

You can always buy more, so start with nice fronts.
Fade it all forward.
Fade it back to center and see if that sounds better. If it does, determine what is wrong with the rears and pursue changing that.

I have been driving around for a few months now with everything fully forward and have just tried fading it back a few clicks for rear fill, but haven't noticed a benefit for my ears.

 

Absolutely correct. In support of the ideas above, I have the Alpine 9887, a single din HU that most people can afford ($299) but don't buy because it's not a DVD player and doesn't have the flash that the double din players have. BUT, what it does do is have an Imprint feature that has an EQ with more than 500 bars that are set by a software program based on interior dimensions, listening position (driver preferred), cloth vs leather, speaker locations, you name it. In the end, it directs the "best" sound towards the driver. Because of that, and ONLY because of that, do I have rear speakers.

 

Well I got ahold of Mr. Marv and he asked me what i wanted. Told him i was think about alpines so he told me to go with the type r stuff. he also suggested me to get the pioneer shadow mount which would be best for the box that he is going to build for me. I have already started ordering my stuff. I got my metra faceplate, and ordered a lcd, pac-swi-jack, my ipod cable. Next week going to order raamat, and also get my alpine pdx-5. I will start posting my pictures of my build in jan, after i get the dnx-9140... Yeah i am looking forwards to doing my mod, and if the wife buys me a dremal i will order a replacement grill and do my satochi grill Whoot!!!

 

You cant beat Focal. I have been competing for years and I have gone from MB Quartz Q series to Focal and I am more than pleased. I have a completely dynamat install top to bottom and am running the following.

TRD Colad air Intake,Borla Cat Back Exhaust,Complete Clifford Alarm System w/ Bed Monitoring,Custom 185 Amp Alternator,Alpine 9887 Head unit,Alpine HD Radio Module,Alpine Bluetooh,JL Audio HD 600/4 Amp,JL Audio HD 750/1 Amp,JL 10W7 Sub,Focal 165 KPS Components (Front),Focal 165 CVX Coaxial (Rear)


See a few attached pics

 

Memphis Amps and subs can't be beat. I like the Focals as well. Both might be expensive for your budget, but you would be getting some of the best epuipment. Good luck on your search.

 

Did you have the imprint done with your 9887? I had mine done and it sounds great!!!