how does the stock sound system rate?

[85crownHPP]

They are old pioneers... the stock ones i took out didn't look any bigger, but you're right that doesn't mean 6ers wont fit

Here's a pic of a 90-91 speaker bezel with a 5 1/4 in it... mounts a 1/2" further out on each end looks like they might go past the ring.
I guess if you left the ring out there's plenty of room, but that angled ring is great for the sound.
Maybe premium sound cars got bigger rings/speakers?

[sly]

ah... so stock doors had a spacer ring. Makes sense now. Mine had stock dash speakers.

[packman]

Wow!!! ALl this talk of car audio makes me wish I had my Ranger with the super cab. I could have fit the bandpass box from my old system in there. As far as the CV is concerned; I will probably replace the door speakers with new 5-1/4" Pioneers or Alpines (will these fit in pre-'88 boxes?) and replace the rear deck speakers with the 6x9 Alpines that came out of my Malibu. Perhaps I will get a small 4-channel amp and whatever head unit that is simple enough for my mom to use.


Packman

[BerniniCaCO3]

thanks for the help!!

Sooo, all those pricey 300 watt speakers are for naught unless you have an amp to drive them? It seems like a lot of people who rely on just the head unit alone, are being upsold on speakers they can't take advantage of.

Not that I need 300 watts power anyway, mind you.

thanks for the advice!
My errands for tomorrow are autozone for the climate control panel, crazy rays for a rear swaybar, and then best buy for speakers :-D

[gadget73]

Power ratings on speakers are only useful to see how much you can put into them before the voice coils melt down. On the other hand, you can nuke a speaker with a lot less power than its rated for if you drive it with highly distorted and clipped sound. You want a speaker rated for at least as much power as you plan to put into it, but beyond that level, you're not gaining anything just by going to a higher wattage speaker. On the other hand, its possible that a speaker thats rated for higher wattage may also have a better tweeter, or be more sensitive, or have other things that make it sound better. This is not always the case though. Listen before you buy.

[sly]

personally I like to match head units and speakers based on nominal power ratings. The speakers should meet or exceed the output power of the head unit on the nominal/RMS rating. I think what I have now is matched within 10W on nominal per channel. sometimes it's difficult to find that information though and I tend to pass up brands that don't provide that info. I do this because I know I'll never be pushing peak power on any system I use because I like to keep my hearing into old age (though that's already a questionable thing since my idea of keeping it below peak sometimes is only 30% below - aka 70 on a 100 dial - 22 on a 30 dial).

[Piece-it pete]

Just FYI total volume depends on both wattage and speaker sensitivity. Think of wattage as horsepower, and sensitivity as the weight of the vehicle (except the higher the sensitivity rating the better, rated like 89db, or 93db, you get the idea).

Pete

[gadget73]

sensitivity actually will be more important than power levels. The sensitivity figure is the sound level at 1 watt of power, 1 meter from the speaker. It takes double the power to increase by 3 db, which is about how much it takes for the human ear to notice the difference. To get whats percieved as double the sound level, you need about 10 db of increase, which actually works out to over 8x the wattage. Basically, you'll get a hell of a lot more sound out of a 99 db efficient speaker and a 10 watt amp than you will out of an 85 db efficient speaker and a 50 watt amp.

[Piece-it pete]

Not to threadjack but the timing is perfect and a great illustration. Last night I heard a 110 db efficiency altec speaker system driven with 1.8 watt tube monoblocks. 1.8 teenie watts and they shook the rafters, because the speakers generate 110 db with one watt - they are very efficient.

Pete

[BerniniCaCO3]

ah, wow! Thanks! They do a very, very poor job explaining speaker efficiencies at the store....

Well, I got cheap 6x9s for the back, and nicer polk speakers for the front. Will start installing all of it tomorrow (I've been held up by other projects).

I did want to ask: what are some basic principles for the subwoofer box? I need to build a new one for the 10" subwoofer I was given, because I'm putting it in the seat well of a wagon. The existing box is just an inch too tall.

Does material matter? Plywood, particle board, mdf? Stiffness: make it out of 1/8" quartersawn sitka spruce lightly braced, like a guitar's sound board, or make it out of 3/4" plywood with heavy 2x4 bracing?
The present box is ~1ft^3 in volume. There is no sound hole. Should I match that volume? Any way to improve on it, a larger box, or a deeper box, or cut a sound hole?

I'm a bit more familiar with the acoustics of a violin or guitar. I'm not as familiar with the design principles for a subwoofer box.


thanks!
-Bernard

[BerniniCaCO3]

I guess what I meant to say, is that the salesmen gladly hype the 300watt peak power of a cheap speaker, while failing to explain that little number called speaker sensitivity.

[gadget73]

Not to threadjack but the timing is perfect and a great illustration. Last night I heard a 110 db efficiency altec speaker system driven with 1.8 watt tube monoblocks. 1.8 teenie watts and they shook the rafters, because the speakers generate 110 db with one watt - they are very efficient.

Pete

Altec VOT speakers? yeah those things are spectacular as far as efficiency. What were you listening to, 45 SET amps? Those are good for about 2 watts.

[sly]

ah, wow! Thanks! They do a very, very poor job explaining speaker efficiencies at the store....

Well, I got cheap 6x9s for the back, and nicer polk speakers for the front. Will start installing all of it tomorrow (I've been held up by other projects).

I did want to ask: what are some basic principles for the subwoofer box? I need to build a new one for the 10" subwoofer I was given, because I'm putting it in the seat well of a wagon. The existing box is just an inch too tall.

Does material matter? Plywood, particle board, mdf? Stiffness: make it out of 1/8" quartersawn sitka spruce lightly braced, like a guitar's sound board, or make it out of 3/4" plywood with heavy 2x4 bracing?
The present box is ~1ft^3 in volume. There is no sound hole. Should I match that volume? Any way to improve on it, a larger box, or a deeper box, or cut a sound hole?

I'm a bit more familiar with the acoustics of a violin or guitar. I'm not as familiar with the design principles for a subwoofer box.


thanks!
-Bernard

material does matter. generally MDF is better, particle board is usually just LDF so it would be a little lower quality sound, and plywood is usually just the cheapest. But unless you're an audiophile, it really doesn't matter as long as you seal the box seams. Generally, half inch material is fine for a 10" sub. You'll need about 1 cubic foot of space for a 10" speaker in a sealed box IIRC.

[gadget73]

If you're using MDF, be sure you seal it well. its like a sponge with moisture. Slather it up with oil paint or varnish or whatever before you carpet it.

[zoomie]

3/4 MDF is excellent for speaker boxes, if you need to seal the outside to prevent moisture i would use urethane sealer. on the inside i usually use either clear sealing cualk or automotive sealer,which is bit more pricey, oh and seperate the box on the inside, so each sub will have its own chamber