jasonwellwicked
15th August 2007, 23:50
Absolute basics, hoping to save people some money in the long run!
Lots of us are tempted to play with the audio in saxo's, myself included, I don't blame a single one of you, its pants!
In terms of uprating your audio there are, I suppose stages which offer you differing levels of sound quality!
The brief version! – The further you go down list = increasing sound quality. By jumping stages you are saving yourself money, rather than proceeding through all stages. (Stage 1 is neccessary for all combinations)
Stage 1 + 6 + 7 = the best combination!
1 Get better HU
2) Get better front speakers (13cm) - Coaxials = good, Components = better
3) Get better rear speakers (10cm) - Coaxials = The only necessary speaker choice in this situation.
4) Purchase amplifier to power front speakers
5) Purchase active Subwoofer
6) Replace front speakers with larger 17cm speakers - Components
7) Replace active with passive subwoofer and purchase external amplifier.
I am now going to attempt to further outline the above!
1) The first stage should be to up rate your Head Unit (more commonly referred to as stereo or cd player) HU will be the abbreviation now on!
http://www.analogstereo.com/images/deck/cdm7874_main.jpg
The HU will send a much better signal to your speakers compared to the standard CD or cassette HU. Lots of manufacturers to choose from, lots of features, but a few things to remember!
Wattage, usually given in an example like 4 x 45 watts. Generally speaking the higher the rating here the better the signal quality, but beware every manufacturer is liable to exaggerate these stats.
This figure refers to the MAXIMUM OUTPUT of the HU in a measurement of quality (watts). The ‘4 x’ relates to 4 channels, alternatively 4 speakers. In RMS - or prolonged output the previous exemplary figure is nearer 4 x 15 / 4 x 20 watts, for background knowledge, this is the amount the speakers receive constantly.
In terms of £ to sound quality ratio don’t go for all singing all dancing HU’s they are generally unnecessary unless you intend to use all of the features. Bass and treble controllers are standard, some allow you to customise pre set equalisers for music, e.g. ‘Rock’, ‘Pop’ etc, all varying bass and treble levels again. For complete customisation, some HU’s enable the use to increase certain frequency levels to the individual taste. Not complicated, higher frequencies (2,000 -> 20,000hz) = treble effect, lower frequencies (1,000->30hz) = bass effect, and you can have a given level say 80hz at –5 through to +5 for instance.
Pre outs - Connectors to external additions, for instance a subwoofer. Uses RCA connections. The more a HU has the more potential for expansion!
http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-Radio/pic10.jpg
Some HU’s allow connection of mp3 players, some read mp3 discs (which store about 200 rather than 20 tracks), some are in fact dvd players which read, CD’s + DVD’s and have built in motorised screens.
http://www.carhifiservices.com/images/uploads/d310.jpg
Generally speaking do not spend over £130 on a HU or you’re a fool. Why not over £130?? Because that’s how much my Alpine cost, and I don’t want to be a fool by my own logic!
2) Front speakers! Easy to remove, pull off plastic surround at bottom of door card or remove whole doorcard (see sticky)
Standard ones are rivetted in. Get a small drill bit and drill through rivets to remove them (I accept no responsibility...yadda yadda yadda) install new ones in same holes using screws from local DIY place, might also consider sound deadening - stops plastic inerds of car doors vibrating with bass - sounds nasty!
Anywho, RMS, the higher the better as better sound quality, in the long run even if HU cant give them enough power, can amplify the signal later. Anything around 50 watts RMS cant be faulted really.
Hz! Yes this dreaded monster again! Same principles as before apply, realistically 60hz-20,000hz is good, anything beyound this range might need to be taken sceptically, although is possible by all means. 30hz from a 13cm speaker however is not!
Coaxial speaker - treble and bass driver mounted on same axel, and therefore are a straight replacement for standard speakers, highlighting their popularity!
http://www.global-b2b-network.com/direct/dbimage/50101756/Car_Speaker.jpg
Component speaker - 3 parts, 'Bass driver' 13cm speaker, Tweeter 'treble speaker 1 inch, Crossover 'box of mystery' seperating treble from bass sounds and putting it to the right speaker. Better sound quality as speakers have more freedom to play their designated specialty areas, also you can mount the tweeter higher up the door card or indeed closer to seated ear height as these sounds are directions (are best situated close to, and pointed towards your ear).
http://www.onemotoring.com.sg/publish/onemotoring/en/motoring_buzz/motoring_accessories/pioneer_prs_speakers.MainPar.0005.Image.gif
3) Rear speakers
The saxo is a small car and so generally rear speakers arent required, but for a more balanced sound these could be uprated aswell, especially if you play taxi. Rear speakers are 10cm in diameter and the same as above applies.
20 RMS watts + is great
90 - 20,000hz is also great range.
(It is also possible to increase the size of this speaker, but isnt really worth the effort £ to sound quality wise)
4) Amplifier!
http://img.alibaba.com/photo/11856656/The_Adassa_Warlord_5000w_Car_Amplifier.jpg
A very good way to improve sound quality of existing uprated items. This will give a higher RMS than a headunit so that the speakers receive a better signal yet again, and therefore will not distort at higher listening volumes. Amplifiers come in a range of channels, 2, 3, 4, etc. 2 for two speakers or bridged - to double capacity for a single connection to a sub.
3 for front speakers and sub. 4 for front speakers + back speakers or front speakers plus bridged for sub etc.
5) Subwoofer!
Want people to hear you coming from down the street?? Then step this way people! A Subwoofer is effectively a large diameter speaker which creates the bass, or low feel of the music. Rather than the 13cm/5.25 inches as previously we are now talking 8 inches and upwards! 10 inches and 12 inches make for the most effective sound at this point. The earlier stats for speakers applies:
Wattage anywhere from 100 watts RMS and above, the 'big dogs' or this area are at around 1000 watts RMS.
Hz range is at the low end of the scale ofcourse, 35hz - 500hz, as a general range. The lower the frequency able to play, the lower the bass effect. Some subs can go down to 20hz!
Active subwoofers have a built in amplifier which powers this speaker. They dont tend to be the highest wattage available but for £ to sound quality ratio you catn beat them! Usually placed in the boot, bass is non directional and so will dispurse around the car despite its hidden location. These are popular as they are a package whereby subwoofer, amplifier, and enclosure are be included and so it minimises hassle of seperate constituents to some extent.
Active subwoofers come in various shapes, some slimline, to minimise depth space taken in any given location,to save on used boot space or so that they can be used for example under the front seats to give added bass effect. Some are in 'Bass tubes' which are cylinrical and may have either one or two subwoofers mounted at either end.
http://www.hendoncarstereo.co.uk/trolleyed/images/products/swd3000.jpg
6) Larger speakers!
http://www.focalaustralia.com.au/pictures/Kit%20165%20A1_low%20res.JPG
This is not for the faint hearted, this involves temporarily gutting your car and making a mess of your garage! But the results are truely worth it in the end. See Pred's progression thread, it involves using the speaker grill as a mounting point for large 17cm diameter speakers to fit to, to allow a deep magnet and large speaker size to fit up front. This improves the wattage, the Hz range, and therefore increases the bass effect upfront of the car, giving a balanced sound effect between bass upfront and from rear of car.
7) Passive subwoofer and external amp!
http://www.audiodiscounters.com/productimages/xs15d.jpg
http://carjamz.com/osstore/images/Kenwood%20%20KAC-7202.jpg
Amp to power your newly acquired larger diameter speakers to gain the most from them, but also to power the subwoofer! Try to get an amplifier that will more than cope with the demand from a subwoofer to gain the best sounds quality and reliabiltiy. For instance:
Subwoofer RMS 300watts, max output 600watts
Amplifier RMS 100 watts, Max output 300watts = Big No!!!
Subwoofer RMS 300watts, max output 600 watts
Amplifier RMS 300watts (or greater), max output (irrelevant somewhat but high = good)
The latter is the correct way to match a Subwoofer to an amplifier, in that the amplifier is more than capable of coping with the strain of the subwoofer.
There is complete compatibility with mixing brands, which allows you to choose different a manufacturer for a subwoofer and an amplifier giving you the most flexibility. Doing things in this manner unfortunately means you have to purchase seperate enclosure, amplifier and subwoofer unless you can find a reasonable deal (JBL are good entry level)
Think thats the basics covered, hoped I haven't stepped over peoples toes in making this, and indeed I hope I have achieved what I have set out to do which was to assist those with basic knowledge of car audio, and to highlight the best ways to improve sound, and the ways in which to minimise spending but maximise sound quality!
Good luck people, thanks for reading the essay!
Jase
Lots of us are tempted to play with the audio in saxo's, myself included, I don't blame a single one of you, its pants!
In terms of uprating your audio there are, I suppose stages which offer you differing levels of sound quality!
The brief version! – The further you go down list = increasing sound quality. By jumping stages you are saving yourself money, rather than proceeding through all stages. (Stage 1 is neccessary for all combinations)
Stage 1 + 6 + 7 = the best combination!
1 Get better HU
2) Get better front speakers (13cm) - Coaxials = good, Components = better
3) Get better rear speakers (10cm) - Coaxials = The only necessary speaker choice in this situation.
4) Purchase amplifier to power front speakers
5) Purchase active Subwoofer
6) Replace front speakers with larger 17cm speakers - Components
7) Replace active with passive subwoofer and purchase external amplifier.
I am now going to attempt to further outline the above!
1) The first stage should be to up rate your Head Unit (more commonly referred to as stereo or cd player) HU will be the abbreviation now on!
http://www.analogstereo.com/images/deck/cdm7874_main.jpg
The HU will send a much better signal to your speakers compared to the standard CD or cassette HU. Lots of manufacturers to choose from, lots of features, but a few things to remember!
Wattage, usually given in an example like 4 x 45 watts. Generally speaking the higher the rating here the better the signal quality, but beware every manufacturer is liable to exaggerate these stats.
This figure refers to the MAXIMUM OUTPUT of the HU in a measurement of quality (watts). The ‘4 x’ relates to 4 channels, alternatively 4 speakers. In RMS - or prolonged output the previous exemplary figure is nearer 4 x 15 / 4 x 20 watts, for background knowledge, this is the amount the speakers receive constantly.
In terms of £ to sound quality ratio don’t go for all singing all dancing HU’s they are generally unnecessary unless you intend to use all of the features. Bass and treble controllers are standard, some allow you to customise pre set equalisers for music, e.g. ‘Rock’, ‘Pop’ etc, all varying bass and treble levels again. For complete customisation, some HU’s enable the use to increase certain frequency levels to the individual taste. Not complicated, higher frequencies (2,000 -> 20,000hz) = treble effect, lower frequencies (1,000->30hz) = bass effect, and you can have a given level say 80hz at –5 through to +5 for instance.
Pre outs - Connectors to external additions, for instance a subwoofer. Uses RCA connections. The more a HU has the more potential for expansion!
http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-Radio/pic10.jpg
Some HU’s allow connection of mp3 players, some read mp3 discs (which store about 200 rather than 20 tracks), some are in fact dvd players which read, CD’s + DVD’s and have built in motorised screens.
http://www.carhifiservices.com/images/uploads/d310.jpg
Generally speaking do not spend over £130 on a HU or you’re a fool. Why not over £130?? Because that’s how much my Alpine cost, and I don’t want to be a fool by my own logic!
2) Front speakers! Easy to remove, pull off plastic surround at bottom of door card or remove whole doorcard (see sticky)
Standard ones are rivetted in. Get a small drill bit and drill through rivets to remove them (I accept no responsibility...yadda yadda yadda) install new ones in same holes using screws from local DIY place, might also consider sound deadening - stops plastic inerds of car doors vibrating with bass - sounds nasty!
Anywho, RMS, the higher the better as better sound quality, in the long run even if HU cant give them enough power, can amplify the signal later. Anything around 50 watts RMS cant be faulted really.
Hz! Yes this dreaded monster again! Same principles as before apply, realistically 60hz-20,000hz is good, anything beyound this range might need to be taken sceptically, although is possible by all means. 30hz from a 13cm speaker however is not!
Coaxial speaker - treble and bass driver mounted on same axel, and therefore are a straight replacement for standard speakers, highlighting their popularity!
http://www.global-b2b-network.com/direct/dbimage/50101756/Car_Speaker.jpg
Component speaker - 3 parts, 'Bass driver' 13cm speaker, Tweeter 'treble speaker 1 inch, Crossover 'box of mystery' seperating treble from bass sounds and putting it to the right speaker. Better sound quality as speakers have more freedom to play their designated specialty areas, also you can mount the tweeter higher up the door card or indeed closer to seated ear height as these sounds are directions (are best situated close to, and pointed towards your ear).
http://www.onemotoring.com.sg/publish/onemotoring/en/motoring_buzz/motoring_accessories/pioneer_prs_speakers.MainPar.0005.Image.gif
3) Rear speakers
The saxo is a small car and so generally rear speakers arent required, but for a more balanced sound these could be uprated aswell, especially if you play taxi. Rear speakers are 10cm in diameter and the same as above applies.
20 RMS watts + is great
90 - 20,000hz is also great range.
(It is also possible to increase the size of this speaker, but isnt really worth the effort £ to sound quality wise)
4) Amplifier!
http://img.alibaba.com/photo/11856656/The_Adassa_Warlord_5000w_Car_Amplifier.jpg
A very good way to improve sound quality of existing uprated items. This will give a higher RMS than a headunit so that the speakers receive a better signal yet again, and therefore will not distort at higher listening volumes. Amplifiers come in a range of channels, 2, 3, 4, etc. 2 for two speakers or bridged - to double capacity for a single connection to a sub.
3 for front speakers and sub. 4 for front speakers + back speakers or front speakers plus bridged for sub etc.
5) Subwoofer!
Want people to hear you coming from down the street?? Then step this way people! A Subwoofer is effectively a large diameter speaker which creates the bass, or low feel of the music. Rather than the 13cm/5.25 inches as previously we are now talking 8 inches and upwards! 10 inches and 12 inches make for the most effective sound at this point. The earlier stats for speakers applies:
Wattage anywhere from 100 watts RMS and above, the 'big dogs' or this area are at around 1000 watts RMS.
Hz range is at the low end of the scale ofcourse, 35hz - 500hz, as a general range. The lower the frequency able to play, the lower the bass effect. Some subs can go down to 20hz!
Active subwoofers have a built in amplifier which powers this speaker. They dont tend to be the highest wattage available but for £ to sound quality ratio you catn beat them! Usually placed in the boot, bass is non directional and so will dispurse around the car despite its hidden location. These are popular as they are a package whereby subwoofer, amplifier, and enclosure are be included and so it minimises hassle of seperate constituents to some extent.
Active subwoofers come in various shapes, some slimline, to minimise depth space taken in any given location,to save on used boot space or so that they can be used for example under the front seats to give added bass effect. Some are in 'Bass tubes' which are cylinrical and may have either one or two subwoofers mounted at either end.
http://www.hendoncarstereo.co.uk/trolleyed/images/products/swd3000.jpg
6) Larger speakers!
http://www.focalaustralia.com.au/pictures/Kit%20165%20A1_low%20res.JPG
This is not for the faint hearted, this involves temporarily gutting your car and making a mess of your garage! But the results are truely worth it in the end. See Pred's progression thread, it involves using the speaker grill as a mounting point for large 17cm diameter speakers to fit to, to allow a deep magnet and large speaker size to fit up front. This improves the wattage, the Hz range, and therefore increases the bass effect upfront of the car, giving a balanced sound effect between bass upfront and from rear of car.
7) Passive subwoofer and external amp!
http://www.audiodiscounters.com/productimages/xs15d.jpg
http://carjamz.com/osstore/images/Kenwood%20%20KAC-7202.jpg
Amp to power your newly acquired larger diameter speakers to gain the most from them, but also to power the subwoofer! Try to get an amplifier that will more than cope with the demand from a subwoofer to gain the best sounds quality and reliabiltiy. For instance:
Subwoofer RMS 300watts, max output 600watts
Amplifier RMS 100 watts, Max output 300watts = Big No!!!
Subwoofer RMS 300watts, max output 600 watts
Amplifier RMS 300watts (or greater), max output (irrelevant somewhat but high = good)
The latter is the correct way to match a Subwoofer to an amplifier, in that the amplifier is more than capable of coping with the strain of the subwoofer.
There is complete compatibility with mixing brands, which allows you to choose different a manufacturer for a subwoofer and an amplifier giving you the most flexibility. Doing things in this manner unfortunately means you have to purchase seperate enclosure, amplifier and subwoofer unless you can find a reasonable deal (JBL are good entry level)
Think thats the basics covered, hoped I haven't stepped over peoples toes in making this, and indeed I hope I have achieved what I have set out to do which was to assist those with basic knowledge of car audio, and to highlight the best ways to improve sound, and the ways in which to minimise spending but maximise sound quality!
Good luck people, thanks for reading the essay!
Jase