help me

[lady_pink]

hi to all, ive just brought my first saxo (very proud) anyway i have some
nice idea for the interior but im afraid i have not got a clue about ICE, ive
only got 6x9s at the moment, and dont know what i need. please help, in
anyway. thanks, debs x

[hesslevtr]

well what are ypou after

headunit
speakers
subwoofers
amps

what price range you looking at

[lady_pink]

well all i know is i love bass, i feel so stupid not knowing anything bout it
all, i dont know what does what really, not sure on the price range,
something i can buy gradual if you know what i mean

[hesslevtr]

well id recomend a decent headunit to start off with alpine are very good

id lose the 6x9s
get a sub or 2 smileys/smiley2.gif
and a decent set of components
and 2 amps 1 for sub and 1 for front speakers

[lady_pink]

what do u mean by components? whats the difference between 6x9 and
subs?

[hesslevtr]

subwoofer is made for bass

6x9s are pointless in saxos theres a thread about them in this section

components are your front speakers

[lady_pink]

would i have to have one of those wooden boxes made for the boot?
where is the best place to get all this stuff?

[CSVTR]

If you want to gain a little knowledge before buying, have a little read of the forums over at talkaudio.co.uk (http://www.talkaudio.co.uk), very helpful community and incredibly informative. To give you a bit of starting advice on car audio, the usual set up that is seen in cars who's owners have little knowledge of audio is:

- Head unit
- Uprated front speakers (component system or co-axial speakers)
- 6x9s or sub(s) or both
- Amp to power sub

Now the ideal system that you will come to realise if time is taken to browse various forums and sites dedicated to car audio is:

- Head unit
- Component system
- Sub(s)
- Amp(s)

Both the subs and the component speakers to be amplified rather than run through the head unit.

The difference between component systems and co-axials speakers (simply uprated replacement speakers) is components generally sound much better due to the fact that the driver and the tweeter are seperate where as with co-axial they come as one. Below are links to each type.

Component System (http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=4144)
Co-axial Speakers (http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=4145)

Now, people bash 6x9s left, right and centre, and I am not disagreeing with any comments made (majority are correct). 6x9s on the parcel shelf in such a small car is uneeded. For sound quality, speakers that produce anything other than base frequencies are ideally not to be played from behind. All higher frequencies should come from up front, unless you plan to include DVD with 5.1 surround sound. But the speakers themselves aren not bad (not the best, but not bad) it is the positioning on the shelf that is "bad".

Much more satisfying sound can be obtained by a well set-up system up front rather than having speakers in the rear.

Now without knowing a budget it is very hard for me or anybody else to suggest gear, and even with a budget it is still difficult as tastes vary, a speaker may sound great to me but not so great to you. If you can give us an indication of:

- What type of music you usually listen to.
- A rough budget (hard if you plan to buy bit by bit, I know)
- Whether there is some parts of the system you don not want to have, i.e. you may not want to take up much space with a sub and amp etc.

- Are you going to install the gear yourself, have someone you know do it or pay to have it done.

There is so much to learn and understand in car audio and to someone that knows very little it is very mind boggling but with a bit of reading the knowledge comes very quickly.

If you have any more questions feel free to ask. I will always give advice and recommend speakers and amps that I feel are good value but as I said tastes vary.

Car Audio Direct (http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk) is a great website, good quality products, prices, and customer service. There are many other places that sell car audio and I may bit a bit biased as I am a regular member over at Talk Audio (http://www.talkaudio.co.uk) which is run and sponsored by the above online shop but once you have had a read of the forums and got a little knowledge on the subject, have a look at their site, you will probably find what you need there and as I said great service, send them a message and I am sure they will help you choose what is best for you.

[jaybiss]

stay away from 6x9s

give us a budget and we will reccomend some products

also tell us what you want and what youve already got

[Baz]

very nicely explained CSVTR smileys/happy.gif and totally agree with all the 6x9s dissing after i got shot of mine and installed my components

[lady_pink]

oh wow thank you CSVTR, i had no idea that i would have to concentrate
on what was up front rather than all in the boot. ok well the music tends
to be rap and hip hop so its very bassy (if thats a word), i will be able to
get someone to install the gear so im ok on that.

what about the power and stuff, do i have to match the powers of all the
speakers, like do they have to be all the same or certain power, and
match with a certain sub/amp (sorry trying to explain this, i dont know
the technical terms)

so what do i do with the 6x9s? i mean i dont tend to go overboard and
expensive but i would like to have a lovely sound system, what would say
is the best thing to buy first? the speakers in the front?

[stevossaxo]

your a bass junkie like me i see, make sure you get a more powerfull amp than your subs, then you wont have any distorting and you subs will then be able to pick up lower bass lines

[CSVTR]

It is not necessary to match all the ratings, when looking at power ratings the RMS figures are what is important. The peak power ratings are what the speaker can handle in a short burst, RMS is what the speaker can handle for a long period of time.

When you come to buy an amp it is always good to get an amp with a higher RMS rating than the speakers can handle but it will mean that who ever sets the system up will have to be careful with the gain levels (all explained in the manual, providing you buy brand new and get the manual).

12" subwoofers tend to be used in applications that hear alot of rap/hip hop as 12" subs have a larger cone area which allows the sub to drop lower in frequencies. But having said that not all 12s out do 10s in that sense, but out of a 10 and 12 of the same model sub the 12" will usually drop lower, but as I said before, a more expensive 10 in a properly set up box and amp, will out do a 12 set up poorly.

Your best bet is to sell the 6x9s and buy a set of components, remove the OEM door speakers and replace them with the 5.25" driver and mount the 1" tweeter somewhere higher up.

If possible get someone to use a hole-saw to cut a perfectly sized hole towards the top of your door cards.

If you are not confident about choosing a sub and amp, then an active sub/amp combo could be a good choice for you, something along the lines of this, the Vibe Active 12" (http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=2457).

The front end is a major part of the system, you can not fully enjoy your bass without it. Try listening to a system with an expensive sub and amp set up with only some uprated speakers up front running off a head unit. Even though the speakers are aftermarket you have all the power in the rear and when you turn it up to anywhere near 3/4 volume you get major destortion.

A little trick that usually persuades people to amp their front speakers is to disconnect all speakers except for the sub(s) or download/buy a bass tester track/cd.

Turn the volume up to 3/4 then gradually increase and see the difference until full volume. This range is where you will find the largest increase in volume, but with distorting front speakers most do not dare push past the point of distortion there for do not get to enjoy that large increase. Amp your fronts and you can usually go all the way to max volume with very little if any distortion, providing their not dirt cheap speakers.

Once people try this it is not long before I see an amp connected to their fronts.

Sorry for another long post, tried to be as informative as possible whilst answering all your above questions.