Upgrading speakers

[revor64]

I would also take 400w RMS with a massive pinch of salt (i.e never seen a 400w 6.5" driver, in fact i've never seen a 150+w RMS 6.5" driver...)

Remember, the power is the Consumed ! power. Now you need also the conversion factor.
Like a big resister. It can take a lot of power, and will get hot, but does not produce any sound.

[Big Fra]

I'm no expert, but I have fitted and modified a fair few sound systems in my time.

You will always get better sound if you use a subwoofer. Most cheaper amps (£70-£90) have an in built crossover facility to enable them to run solely bass frequencies. If you are only running one subwoofer, then I would recommend 'bridging' your amp, basically, unless you buy a bass amplifier which is one channel, then you will have ideally two channels. You would use the +ve feed from the left channel, and the -ve feed from the right channel, giving you the full power and control from the amplifier.

There are two types of subwoofer, boxed and free-air. Boxed is as the name suggests, lives in a box. This gives the best bass resonance, deeper tones. Free-air subs are designed to live in a shelf. If you need to use the boot regularly and dont have the space for a box, then a shelf sub will suit. However, you dont get the same range of deep notes and sound as you would with an enclosed sub.

There are lots of different sized subwoofers too, each with different ratings and excursion rates on the cones. The size of the speaker depends on what you want out of it. The larger the subwoofer, the more rumble, the smaller the subwoofer, the punchier it is. The best, in my opinion, is a 12" subwoofer, you bet the best of both worlds.

There are different types of boxes too, but I wont go into that.

Basically, if you run a boxed sub through a moderate amp, you can use this for all your bass frequencies, adjust the bass down and the treble up, (you can use the sub to compensate) via the head unit, you will have a decent sound with little or no distortion, which you'll get enough volume from. You can push the standard speakers that little bit harder if you reduce the amount of bass you're pushing through them.

This way, in theory, you are using the woofers in the doors as mids, the tweeters remain the same, and the lower elements are being provided by the subwoofer in the boot.

The hardest part is tweaking the system to your own taste in music.

Anyway, either I've help someone somewhat, or I've pickled everyones brains.
This is just information that I've learned over the years, and I will not take the huff in anyone notices I've made a mistake and have been talking verbal diarrhoea.

Fra

[VVC-Geeza]

Originally Posted by Big Fra

I'm no expert, but I have fitted and modified a fair few sound systems in my time.

You will always get better sound if you use a subwoofer. Most cheaper amps (£70-£90) have an in built crossover facility to enable them to run solely bass frequencies. If you are only running one subwoofer, then I would recommend 'bridging' your amp, basically, unless you buy a bass amplifier which is one channel, then you will have ideally two channels. You would use the +ve feed from the left channel, and the -ve feed from the right channel, giving you the full power and control from the amplifier.

There are two types of subwoofer, boxed and free-air. Boxed is as the name suggests, lives in a box. This gives the best bass resonance, deeper tones. Free-air subs are designed to live in a shelf. If you need to use the boot regularly and dont have the space for a box, then a shelf sub will suit. However, you dont get the same range of deep notes and sound as you would with an enclosed sub.

There are lots of different sized subwoofers too, each with different ratings and excursion rates on the cones. The size of the speaker depends on what you want out of it. The larger the subwoofer, the more rumble, the smaller the subwoofer, the punchier it is. The best, in my opinion, is a 12" subwoofer, you bet the best of both worlds.

There are different types of boxes too, but I wont go into that.

Basically, if you run a boxed sub through a moderate amp, you can use this for all your bass frequencies, adjust the bass down and the treble up, (you can use the sub to compensate) via the head unit, you will have a decent sound with little or no distortion, which you'll get enough volume from. You can push the standard speakers that little bit harder if you reduce the amount of bass you're pushing through them.

This way, in theory, you are using the woofers in the doors as mids, the tweeters remain the same, and the lower elements are being provided by the subwoofer in the boot.

The hardest part is tweaking the system to your own taste in music.

Anyway, either I've help someone somewhat, or I've pickled everyones brains.
This is just information that I've learned over the years, and I will not take the huff in anyone notices I've made a mistake and have been talking verbal diarrhoea.

Fra

Thanks for sharing your experience