Stone
Oct 7 2003, 01:11 AM
Hey,
I'm still in the preparing process before going ahead with my install... I'm wondering if it is possible to get good SQ in stock locations?
I have a VT Berlina and it has the stupid door pods/map pocket that covers the whole drivers side speaker from my ears, I mainly hear the left speaker because the pods are built so far out it blocks the sound.
I don't really want to make up new door trims because it will be a stealth system. Any ideas on getting the best sound from the stock location?
I've got a G-Spot bulk pack + more Serenity Max to deaden and seal, so that will be the first thing to do.
Also, I might try and angle the woofer with an MDF spacer(if I have the room behind the trim), so any ideas on how to make a solid MDF angled spacer? I can only thik of using a wide belt sander and I don't have one easily accessable
Thanks in advance
[ October 06, 2003, 23:13: Message edited by: Stone ]
claf_43
Oct 7 2003, 08:44 AM
im going to be listening eagerly on this thread....
im doing an install in my VT soon as well, will be using lots of dynamat and no pods
nemesis
Oct 7 2003, 12:48 PM
i had a brief look inside a vt the other week trying to work out how im going to install MB Quarts into, as you mentioned about the heavily angled mfd/fibreglass/filler pod inside the pod seems the best move to me. but ill also keep an eye out here, see what the pro's have done
T-Bro
Oct 7 2003, 01:10 PM
QUOTE
Originally posted by Stone:
Hey,
I'm wondering if it is ossible to get good SQ in stock locations?
id say the short answer is: yes, but it depends. that is, it depends on what you regard as good sound quality.
factory locations aren't going to offer the imaging or spectral balance properties of a pod setup, as your critical mid-range is going to be off-axis and pathlengths far from ideal.
that said, if i had a car i wanted to kep stock, id get the nicest speakers my ears approved of, deaden the doors extrensively, mount the mid-bass driver in a solid mdf baffle (angling this is going to be kinda pointless given the cramped conditions behind most door trims), and then look for a tweeter location that both sounds great, overcomes some of the imaging short-falls of the stock mid-range location, looks stock, and will allow the vehicle to be returned to factory condition. a good all round compromise tends to be the upper-forward portion of the door trim, or the door sails, angled towads the opposite headrest. you'll get seperation and some brightness, but its one way to overcome the low-stage suffered by most factory door speakers.
id make time alignment a high priority as it will be about the only way to centre up the image placement given the non-optimal pathlengths.
and maybe id add some quality rear fill drivers if the front stage wasnt high or large enough.
you can get stealth installs to sound pretty good, my first installation was one of these and while not up to what i have now, was alot of fun to listen to. but yeah, quality 2-way speakers, deadened doors, careful tweeter placements, and time alignment are what id be relying on to get the job done if i had to do such an install myself.
Stone
Oct 7 2003, 07:50 PM
Thanks for the replies
Ok, SQ for me isn't a perfect sound stage, etc, just well balanced sound coming from the front. Both other systems i've had have been very bright and bass heavy(i could adjust this, but not the brightness), which I hated. The first system(Pioneer Bright Bullets, i mean Bass Bullets) the tweeters were mounted above the woofer in the bottom of the doors and the second system(Morel Dotechs) they were mounted in the kick panels. Both systems were still too bright
I've got reasonable speakers(see sig) going into the car and my head unit has time alignment, so that should help a bit.
I was looking at putting the tweeters in the stock locations aswell because they are surface mount ONLY and i'm not prepared to cut holes in my door trims. The stock location is on top of the dash right at the botom of the windscreen... I know this position is going to make it seem pretty bright, but I was thinking of putting a layer or two of speaker cloth inside the factory grille to sort of attenuate the tweeters.
subwayboy
Oct 7 2003, 08:40 PM
i have morel dotech and they dont seem to be bright at all, maybe you should be looking at the way you are installing your gear
Macca
Oct 7 2003, 09:03 PM
Yes it can be done, but the seperation between the tweeters and mids will degrade SQ unless you mount the tweeters near the mids. Time Alignment is a MUST too, i have my current speakers in the stock location andtweeters in the vents, before i added time alignm)nt theyere was no center images ect, now theres an amazing center very clar but the seperation is my problem, but the door pods and kicks go in very very very soon Look out MAE ;0
Stone
Oct 7 2003, 09:12 PM
subwayboy... Maybe my ears are more sensitive to treble than yours I had mine mounted in the stock locations with the tweeters right down in the kick panels facing the opposite side of the car's head rest. For most music they sounded great, but for punk, which I mainly listen to, they seemed bright. My doors were sealed and thoroughly deadened also.
Macca... I was worried aboutthe seperation, but I have never heard it before so I don't know if it will bother me that much.
CHIEF
Oct 8 2003, 09:43 AM
For an SQ system in a VT etc, I definately recommend (if you have them) that you remove the speakers from the rear doors and use the parcel shelf location, if at all.
claf_43
Oct 8 2003, 10:11 AM
they generally reccomend against the parcel shelf here as it lets more bass in the cabin
Spec83
Oct 8 2003, 10:42 AM
If u still cannot get the speakers u want into ya VT... check out the latest street machine mag as they have a step by step guide to how they installed speakers into their VU for U ute. Very nice looking install if u ask me
Stone
Oct 9 2003, 02:48 AM
Thanks, i'm sure i'll be able to get the speakers in
I plan to use the rear doors for the rear fill as I want somewhere for the bass to come through. The rear fill we barely ever be heard from the front and I plan to angle them slightly so that they're not pointing directly at each other.
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