Evening all, Anyone up on car audio installs and what's good or what to avoid? I've got an Alpine head unit with iPod connectivity and control. What should I look for in terms of speakers, amps and a sub? I don't get all the 2/4 ohms stuff or the 2/4 or 5 channel amps stuff..... Looking for a good all round sound that can handle some decent volume without distorting. Cheers Doug
Speakers in the kick panels and the overhead rear cupboard sound tinny, and even with bass boost wound up the bass goes missing without a subwoofer while driving - we have a the same Sony 4x50 watt peak BT3900U Bluetooth/iPod unit that was going for £129 from Halfords in three cars we run here. This is reasonably loud. It only sounds good in the 6 speaker Peugeot 307 setup with extra tweeters in the dash and door mounted and pillar mounted speakers, proving its not the stereo. I have a plan to install a subwoofer with an additional amp - the in one of the Devon cabinets to cure the lack of bass on the bus.That is to get revenge on all the T4 owners who inflict their basslines on the campsite.
Amplifiers. A 2 chanNel powers 2 speakers, 4 Channel powers 4 etc... A 5 will power 4 plus a dedicated sub channel... Car speakers are rated 4 ohms, house speakers are 8 ohms, you can run 4 speakers on a 2 channel amp but this steps down the speakers to 2 ohms and works them harder ( I think, I'm dredging up memories from 'back in the day' when I was into it all.... A 2 channel amp running a decent pair of 3 way speakers ( low middle and high frequencies ) will sound great, only go separate sub if you really want the rumble.... The key to a tight sound is in the mounting of the speakers so the sound is contained in the space that they are in and doesn't bleed from the edges, they need to move the air cleanly... Don't skimp on the wiring, a good thick power cable to the battery is a must as is a decent earth and of course quality speaker cable, the stuff that comes with the speakers is usually Marmitee, I used 79 strand as a minimum..... Beware, car audio can become an expensive hobby!
Cheers, so is that 1 channel per speaker or 1 channel per pair of speakers? If its per speaker, is it normal to run all speakers through the amp or maybe 1 pair and the sub?
i would run a series of tweeters (maybe 3 or 4 pairs) running the length of the headlining, some decent mid range speakers in the kick panels and doorcards/trim panels in the back, and a pair of 12' subs in the panel under the rnr bed, and a pair in custom twin port boxes behind the front seats.. all of which would be hidden behind custom trim etc so you couldnt see them. (i like the bare period look, wouldnt want all this modern shindiggery on show!) but then again, my bus hasnt got any of those cupboards and shiz like yours does.. so you would have to really think about it to get a good sound, because i would imagine all the odd shapes in campers could provide difficult acoustics to work with... but then again, maybe im over thinking it, because bad sound quality anywhere is a 'pet peeve' of mine..
A 2 channel will have 4 speaker posts to wire your speakers, + - for left and right .... You could use the stereo to power the fronts and a 2 channel amp for 2 rear speakers... You can also 'bridge' across a + and a - of the 4 speaker posts on a 2 channel to power a sub, as long as the sub has a filter to only take the sub frequencies..... Edit.. So one channel powers one pair of speakers...
Cheers Gents! Think I'm going to have to go into a local car audio place and see what they reckon will suit the bus. I'm thinking of better speakers for the kick panels, a sub in a box under the bed (don't know if this'll sound crap?) and a pair of 6 x 9s in the bed panel. All powered by an amp in a cupboard.
A single 10" powered sub will be more than enough, but a sub is essential IMO. I got a all-in-one and chopped it up, made a new box for the speaker and mouted the power and and pre-amps elsewhere. It was cheaper than buying seperates. Also the bigger the speakers, the better the sound. I went on a concealing speaker trip installing mine and had to use 4x weeny 3" speakers, and tweeters to lift the sound up. The result is no lower mid, so if you any other music except reggae you're stuffed. A pair of 5" would sort it if I ever work out how to hide them. So a sub, some 5" and a pair of tweeters is best. And of course the more speakers the better generally.
Top-tip - speakers always seem to want more room than you have, so work out what you can fit in before you buy enough for a P.A. system. You might hit lucky in the car audio shop and find a proper enthusiast to sdvise you. I did and got really helpful advice including enclosure size (volume) for the sub.
Just been looking at amps, what sort of power should I be looking at to run a pair of 4 or 5", a pair of 6 x 9" and a sub? Assuming I run the fronts direct from the head-unit, would a 2 channel amp do for the rears and the sub or should I run the sub on a separate amp? Cheers gents
I did a thread on this a little while back and although my install is not complete I have a background of being a teenager with a 205 and uk garage lol. I've fitted some of the speakers below into the standard plastic kick panel you can buy but cladded the rear side with sound deadening to sure them up a bit and the sound quality was excellent. With the stereo you have you could easily fit two pairs of speakers to the head unit using its standard speaker outlet and run a sub through the preout (it may even be labeled sub out on the head unit). As for the ohm's, standard car stereo amps are four ohm. You only really need to start worrying about 2 ohms is your are bridging two subs passively which in a bus is over kill and there's no space for two. Also I find when running two sets of speaker (one in the front and one in the rear) it makes good sense to fade out the fronts compared to the rears. Ie: make the rears louder and fronts quieter. This only apply when your in the cab mind as when your in the back of the bus you'll want the sound spread more evenly. Also bear in mind what kind of bass you want and the bigger the sub the deeper the base. Final thought and some people may not agree but its my opinion the 6x9's should be avoided as sound waves are round and ideal sound resonate from round speakers. If there is one thing I AM good at its stereos so if you want any advise just ask. Sweet Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
If I turn up what I've got it just distorts and sounds pony so I assumed a separate amp and better speakers would sort it. Maybe just better speakers and a sub? I'm getting thoroughly confused though by the various power outputs etc. I've only ever had bad car stereos!
Most car stereos nowadays are 40-50 watts which is fine for volume. Due to the poor acoustics in the van it's best to rely on the sub for base and use the speakers for mid and high range. This can be sorted by setting the stereo and amp settings up when all installed Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
Don't be sucked in by huge power claims on amps.. A good quality 200 watt amp is better than a cheap 1000w one in my opinion... Peak power ratings are meaningless, it's RMS watts you need and match the speaker handling qualities to the amp output... The shop should be able to advise on this, give them a budget to work I guess...
I run mine off off the pathetic amp in the head unit and it's OK, but only just if you like it loud. A seperate amp will be better no doubt. The sub will need it's own seperate amp I think, though no doubt there are some 5 channel amps with integral sub amp.
When buying a sub and amp look for rms not peak wattage. Try to buy an amp with a little more power than the sub as not enough power can cause the sub to distort. Bear in mind that the sub will distort of pony anyway or not in the right enclosure. Ie: ported or free flowing. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
Indeed, they are pure advertising crap. Also worth remembering that you're 12V and cheap stuff will likely be inefficient. I have a pair of1960's 4 ohm 40W house speakers and a 70's 28 watt per channel amp at home which I amuse the kids friends with - it goes really loud and really clear and deep sounds - it sounds like the band is in the room. The boys go wow, how many watts is your amp grandad - I say 28 and they can't compute. Then I tell them about the good old days. Tee-Hee
Thanks matey. I'll look at the output of the head unit tomorrow and then look into amps. Can a sub be run from the same amp as speakers?
