Hi all.

I've never posted in this section before because I've never really bothered about the ice in the car - cared more about tuning.

Anyway, I have std speakers and a Blaupunkt CD headunit (very nice).

Now, whenever I turn the stereo up the speakers distort, bass sounds horrible and everything rattles.

I'm sure the hu is capable of more and that its not at fault here.

Any first pointers or recomendations? I dont want to start putting subs in the boot but dont mind spending £200-300 getting it as good as it can be.

By comparison my wifes Alfa 156 (with £50 goodmans headunit and std speakers) sounds wonderful by comparison!

Thanks all.
James

You could get a nice set of components for the front (replacing the std ones) and a good 2 channel amp (Genesis profile 2, 2x75w, fan cooled and slim).

If you want a bit of bass, replace the rear speakers with 6x9s and power them from the HU

OR
Get a Genesis profile 4 and amp all 4 speakers.

A little bit of sound deadening, and bobs your uncle

Actually she would be your auntie

Cheers Shippy - great advice. Thanks. I'll have a look around.

James

James - I run JBL 6.5" speakers in the front direct from the head unit, and in the boot a custom (home-made) bass cab running a pair of 10" Kenwood subs (driven from an amp obviously).

I can't recommend the JBL stuff enough, but I reckon whatever you do you should get a sub in there somewhere - bass gives the music 'authority'.

It's not an ear-bleeding set-up, but plenty loud enough, you are welcome to have a listen if you like before you consider going down the road of running an amp & component speakers at the front.

I'm just running a alpine hu, vibe 6.5" components in the front, and an active 10" vibe in the boot. I was thinking about getting some 6x9s as well. Why don't you get some 6x9s in the rear and upgrade the front components? I wouldn't run any bass off the hu personally though, my installer said the amps in them are the size of matchboxes.

Cheers gents - more top tips - thanks.

So upgrading the front rear speakers sounds like a good place to start. 6x9 in the rear and 6.5" (JBL?) in the front maybe. If that doesn't do it then I'll definitely look to separate amps and possibly a bit of something in the boot.

James

if you run both of the head unit it will sound rubbish. Power the fronts from the head unit and the rears from an amp. Best would be to power both from an amp.

I've still got std speakers in the back, the fronts do all the mid / treble & the subs supply bass from the boot. I don't even here the rears to be honest !

Just stick in some uprated 6.5" speakers in the front, will make a world of difference.

Cheers gents - yes, uprating the fronts is my first step.

I've been looking around and have a couple of questions.

1) Are the speakers I need 4ohm or 2ohm?

2) Would you go for coaxial like these or normal like these ?

Thanks
James

Personally James I would go for the first lot - coaxial speakers not the component speakers. IMO to get the best results from components you need to drive them with an amp.

4 ohm.

I'd go for components, leave the back speakers driven from the head unit and amp the fronts.

But don’t forget the most important part of any system is the head unit the better the quality the better overall sound can be achieved.

Do you think these would fit the front and back?

James

they would certainly fit the front, dunno about the back though....

They will fit the back as well. All four corners are 6 1/2" stock.

You could just buy some 6.5" components for the front and drive them off the head unit for now (buy some speakers which have a higher than average low end response - like JBL/VIBE etc). If you use decent cable you can always add a small amp later.

Scott

Cheers Scott.

James

Just wondering how you went on Jap with your search. I'm in a similar position where I have no choice but to replace my HU as my Blaupunkt San Diego has packed up, but would be interested to know what speakers you went for and your comments.

Cheers

Dan

Hi Dan.

I've bought some Infinity speakers (605C?) which have come highly recommended. Yet to fit them though. They certainly feel good - about 10X the weight of the original ones!

I'll report back when they're fitted.

James

Hi James, Ive got reference Pioneer stuff in mine with amp in back & a sub. The speakers make the biggest impact as the standard ones really are total not-very-goodness! Id fit the Infinity speakers youve bought, have a listen, then decide if you need more. Problem with the coupe is that at 90mph you cant here certain frequencies much at all from the hi-fi as the cars so damn loud. Buying a sub for me though was a waste of time as the reference stuff is more than adequate. In fact its turned off as it sounds too artificial for me....bit of an audiophile aswell unfort! In general, with good audio stuff, buy the best speakers you can afford then add the HU (hi-fi). The infinity speakers do seem to get loads of good reviews so I reckon youve made a good choice. Just need your car back to put them in ay!!

Another vote for Infinity's here. Excellent speakers, as can be demonstrated by the fact that they sound superb in a diesel car

One thing that I've done that has made a HUGE difference to the coupé is sound-proofing. Being a real tight-wad I read a lot of stuff about sound-proofing and looked for the cheapest option

I went into my shed and found a roll of B&Q flexible self-adhesive roof flashing tape. It's black on the sticky side, silver/lead coloured on the visible side and comes in a huge roll for a few quid.

Cut small sections of it and plastered it all over the car panels when the car was stripped for rust-proofing. It's easy to know where to put it and how much to put on: just tap the panels, you'll hear the panel vibrate when bare, stick on small strips at intervals and keep tapping until the panel doesn't vibrate. Job done!

Trust me, for the sake of a few pounds it puts these mega-expensive kits to shame. The car is so quiet inside it's like driving a modern car

There is one down-side to doing this: you can hear your passenger

Im running alpine front speakers in mines, from the HU. 60w rms and plenty of oomft.

Ross

To add to stans sound deadening suggestion. I would also say it makes a massive difference. One area that realy benefits is the roof Doing that on Friday, quite a time consuming job but make the car sound far better and also the doors close with a germanic clunk.

John

Bockers, did you put it on the inside or the outside of the roof?

Cheers gents - lots of good info there.

I've already bought some sticky-flashband type stuff. I'll be using some of that as soon as the car's back from the bodyshop. Not too much mind - the stuff is so damn heavy!

The speakers are rated at 90W rms so should be a definite improvement on the originals. The thing is they come with crossovers and separate tweeters. Can these be fitted in place of the std tweeters I wonder?

James

Outside of course. A la Marina 1.8TC styleee Viynle roofes, will they ever come back into fashion I wonder

In a word?




NO!!!!