need advice on good sound system

[TOM B]

I cant hear my radio when driving my 65 convert and need help here.
This is what I have now. Pioneer DEH-15 stereo with speakers in the kick panels. (These speakers are a Blaupunkt kit from CJ pony parts with kick panels and speakers). I have a 250 watt amp for the 10 inch Xplod base box in the trunk.
It sucks, with the roar of the engine I just can hear anything, NEED Help.

 

[66stangbluework]

im running a clarion deck with 4 6x9's and 18" sub with 500 watt amp, everyone can hear it and you can blow your ears out if you want.

 

[85 Turbo Bird]

im running a clarion deck with 4 6x9's and 18" sub with 500 watt amp, everyone can hear it and you can blow your ears out if you want.

any pics?

Tom- have you thought about amplifying your mid/highs? And getting a better sub setup if that's what you're looking for...

 

[grego37]

flowmaster

 

[TOM B]

any pics?

Tom- have you thought about amplifying your mid/highs? And getting a better sub setup if that's what you're looking for...

I dont know much about setting up a stereo system. I didnt know that I could hook up a amp to the mids/highs. Anyone that has a convertible and a good sound system please speek up as I am limited to where to put speakers.

 

[iskwezm]

Get a 4 ch. amp and put a couple of speaker in the dash,you can fit 2, 3.5" speaker and cross them over so they act as midrange,that way they will bounce off the glass and give more sound up top.Right now the speakers in the kick panels are only playing to your feet and they arent even angled so the sound goes to your ankles.You could try to put a couple of 6X9's under the top where it folds down,you are limited,but it will work.

 

[68converted]

Pick up an Alpine Type R head unit (allows you to plug in your I-pod) Get the Alpine R-Model speakers to go with it. Get a set of crossed Polk or JL 3.5" for under the dash like "iskwezm" said. Put the Alpine speakers, five's up front in the kick panels (get a set from M.Depot that are molded to allow an angle when mounting) and 6" rounds the rear quarter window rest/ash tray area. I pulled my ash tray to give more room for mounting. The R model's come with a fairly thin mounting screen. Put your amps and crossovers in the trunk along with your dual 8" subs. You can also try a base tube (but I hear they are real weak) Then make sure all of your screws and emblems are tight, 'cause you'll be thumpin! JMHO

 

[ddonaca351]

Well imho....

The speakers in the dash would help, but personaly I would buy a good set of component speakers (the tweeter is independant of the mid range, like two seperate speakers, but made in a matched set)
This allows you to mount the tweeter up by the wing window, or the corner of the dash, etc... and gets more sound to you.

As a general rule, if you need more volume, then you need more power. Most decks (even real good ones) only put out about 30-40 watts per channel, and the power is not real clean.... its just not enough room in one little unit to do it all (play cds, recieve signals, amplify, etc..)

You would be best off (again imho) by getting a 4 channel amp, like a 40x4 would do well, and run it to the speakers, two channels to the fronts, and two channels to some in the rear pannels alongside the seat, or even in boxes on the rear seat floor facing up. (if you dont carry 4 people all the time)

This will give you more sound, and cleaner sound as well... if you find that multiple amps are a pain, then you can get a 5channel amp like Alpines V12 (or whatever they call it now-days) that has like 40x4 AND 150x1 all in one amp, this makes wiring and space available, an easy deal to handle.

As for a head unit, if you have an "i-pod" then I think you are stuck with Alpine (propriatary deal with apple), but if its just a mpeg player, then almost any newer good stereo will have an aux input that will hook right up to it.

Like my Clarrion has 128megs of memory inside the deck itself, so it can store like 4 hrs of music to listen to even if you dont have a radio antena... (kinda cool).

But anyhow, any good name brand will make good equipment, as long as you buy their good lines.... if you buy their entry level cheap stuf, guess what, you get entry level cheap stuff....

Buy a good head unit, good amp, and good speakers once, and be done with it. My system in the 5.0 is like 4-5 years old already and it still sound great, and will probably continue to for another 5-10 years.

Oh just kinda an fyi... if you hook it up yourself, one mistake I see alott, is dont run the power leads for the amp, RIGHT NEXT to the signal leads carrying the sound to and from the amp.... the induction caused by the magnetic field around the power leads will give you noise on the signal lines and make it sound cheap.

Best of luck to you,
Dave-

 

[66newbie]

Well imho....

The speakers in the dash would help, but personaly I would buy a good set of component speakers (the tweeter is independant of the mid range, like two seperate speakers, but made in a matched set)
This allows you to mount the tweeter up by the wing window, or the corner of the dash, etc... and gets more sound to you.

As a general rule, if you need more volume, then you need more power. Most decks (even real good ones) only put out about 30-40 watts per channel, and the power is not real clean.... its just not enough room in one little unit to do it all (play cds, recieve signals, amplify, etc..)

You would be best off (again imho) by getting a 4 channel amp, like a 40x4 would do well, and run it to the speakers, two channels to the fronts, and two channels to some in the rear pannels alongside the seat, or even in boxes on the rear seat floor facing up. (if you dont carry 4 people all the time)

This will give you more sound, and cleaner sound as well... if you find that multiple amps are a pain, then you can get a 5channel amp like Alpines V12 (or whatever they call it now-days) that has like 40x4 AND 150x1 all in one amp, this makes wiring and space available, an easy deal to handle.

As for a head unit, if you have an "i-pod" then I think you are stuck with Alpine (propriatary deal with apple), but if its just a mpeg player, then almost any newer good stereo will have an aux input that will hook right up to it.

Like my Clarrion has 128megs of memory inside the deck itself, so it can store like 4 hrs of music to listen to even if you dont have a radio antena... (kinda cool).

But anyhow, any good name brand will make good equipment, as long as you buy their good lines.... if you buy their entry level cheap stuf, guess what, you get entry level cheap stuff....

Buy a good head unit, good amp, and good speakers once, and be done with it. My system in the 5.0 is like 4-5 years old already and it still sound great, and will probably continue to for another 5-10 years.

Oh just kinda an fyi... if you hook it up yourself, one mistake I see alott, is dont run the power leads for the amp, RIGHT NEXT to the signal leads carrying the sound to and from the amp.... the induction caused by the magnetic field around the power leads will give you noise on the signal lines and make it sound cheap.

Best of luck to you,
Dave-

Not to hijack the thread...but if you get an amp like that, would you need to upgrade the alternator ? I am not sure how much my alternator is putting out.

 

[CornerCarvin67]

I've got four speakers in my car... and no receiver. The previous owner cut holes in the rear panel and front kick panels. The only reason they're still there is so I don't have to look at the empty holes. I took the deck out two years ago and really haven't missed it since. Especially now with the five speed in there...

 

[iskwezm]

I think componenets ar a waste of money unless your going for a SQ type system.Most coaxial speakers are a woofer/mid with a separate tweeter and a crossover,yet people think a component is something special and gives better sound,not true.You could also keep what you have in the kick panels and add a tweeter to the pillars,I preffer Boss because the cost and and the last with a lot of abuse.

As fas as Bass tubes,you cant beat a Bazooka,even the hokey NOS bottle 8" sounds very good, i have sold a few of these and most people are very happy with them.

Brand name stuff DOES NOT necesarily mean better quality,i have been to where the stuff is made and some of the bigger names are made right next to the off brands with the same parts.

 

[Jc69Stang]

I have run a bazooka bass tube in my trunk, with an amp and it is plenty loud for all the neighbors to hear...

 

[mustangman70]

Bah go get yourself ONE JL W7 sub and burn that xplod in a fire lol

 

[race-rodz]

custom molded kicks w/ mb quarts components, coaxals in pakage tray(kinda hard in a vert), 2 kicker 10's in trunk, kicker 5 channel amp (4+1mono) alpine deck with xm.

overall very happy with it... the custom kicks hang out a lil far.

 

[ddonaca351]

Not to hijack the thread...but if you get an amp like that, would you need to upgrade the alternator ? I am not sure how much my alternator is putting out.

Well the main fuse is 30a, but it probably only draw 15-20 unless you are totally deaf...
but realy you should think about upgrading your alternator anyhow (again imho) because a 60s vintage alt is good for like what, about 60-80 amps total? The one in my 5.0 is 140 (stock 94+)... it probably puts out more at idle than the original one did at 6000.
With modern fans, stereos, headlights, etc... (even the ones that look original usually draw more power) and besides the charging system is like the cooling system: too much is always ok, but not enough and youre walking home.


Even if you dont want to change the looks, like for shows that you HAVE to have all the old parts, you can get an alternator that looks original but that puts out 20-50% more than stock. (summit has some, Im sure jegs and other guys would too)

And look at it this way, a good battery is like $100, so if the better alternator saves you only one battery over its lifetime, then its basically paid for itself.

Not hijacked, just detoured
Dave-

 

[ddonaca351]

Bah go get yourself ONE JL W7 sub and burn that xplod in a fire lol

what he said.

Dave-

 

[ddonaca351]

Brand name stuff DOES NOT necesarily mean better quality,i have been to where the stuff is made and some of the bigger names are made right next to the off brands with the same parts.

I'll put my Clarion / JL / Infinity / Rockford / Alpine / etc... up against Kraco / Sparkomatic / Pyramid / Audiovox / etc... anyyyyyy dayyyyy

DD

 

[ddonaca351]

....ya know its like last night when I drove my stang into work, the resident 19 yr old wana-be audio-phile comes out (and dont get me wrong, the system in his honda is ALOTT better than what I had at 19...) but he sticks his head in to check out the datalogging display on my laptop and hears my subs, he's like "are those 10s? Damn those hit hard for being so tight..." then I say nope their 12s and I turn up the volume..... (it was like 8 out of 35) Then he's all "HOLY S__T DUDE.... THOSE F____ING ROCK" to which I reply, yeah and thats only about 200 watts... if they had some power, they'd blow your mind.

A "good stereo" is like a "fast car" its all relative to what you are used to.... you think you know what the term means, until the next time something takes your breath away... Now my stereo is NOWHERE NEAR top of the line, but it does sound pretty damn good. And total, for everything including the wires, and materials for the box, etc... everything, was may-be 1500 at the most.

Now Im not saying everyone should spend that much, or that little, but I think it is better to get the best possible system you can, and you will be much happier with it in the looooong run. (by "best", that could be loudest, clearest, tightest, etc... it all depends on you)
But whatever you like, get the best you can, dont skrimp, you'll only be cheating yourself.

DD

 

[Rajun_Cajun]

Seriously, you should really look into sound deadening your car. it wil cut down ALOT of the road noise. Look into Grace Ice and Water Shield. Its really for roofs, but works well in cars too. Make sure you get the floorboard, as far up the firewall as you can go, trunk, doors especially, package tray, back seat, and anywhere else you can put it. Trust me, its a ****** b/c you have to rip out the whole interior, but once you are done, YOU WILL BE SATISFIED! Your system will sound louder, cleaner, and you wont notice road noise, or rattles if done right. Other brands to look into are: Rammat, Edead, Brown bread, and peel n seel. Dynamat is overpriced IMO.

Also, if you want a new sub, check out www.reaudio.com Look into the SE series. The 12" is $170, and the 15" is $200. I have a 15" that isnt installed yet, and my friend has ONE 12" in his Bonneville. That one 12" does a DAMN good job at putting out bass. Sounds GREAT, LOUD, and CLEAN. They are abit of an unknown brand. Dont jump on the bandwagon and buy a dub7 just b/c someone tells you they are "the best." By all means, they are a great sub, just not worth the $$$700 IMHO. There is no "best" sub, they all have different characteristics. Another suggestion would be looking into an Image Dynamics IDMax. By far one of the cleanest sounding subs in the business. What do you think is winning all of the SQ shows? Plus, they are VERY efficient, meaning that you can run them at 200w or 700w, either way they are loud and sound hella good. IMHO.

 

[TOM B]

Now Im really confused.
You say my pioneer DEH-15 is junk. I dont think I need a Ipod thing. I like Listening to Cd's and the radio.
Iskwezm you say buy a multi componant speaker and that sounds good for my space restrictions but what is a "crossover" and how do I hook the 2 front dash speakers as a crossover.
Ddonaca351 you say that I should have a 40x4 amp, is that for the front speakers and does that stand for 40amps per speaker?
And when I buy better speakers how do I know there "better" Do I look at the watts rating or....
Sorry for the dumb question but
Maybe Im to old to learn this stuff, When I bought this mustang It came with an AM radio and ONE speaker!!!