Improving sound

[countrydude]

I've been tweaking my stereo setup. I've always favoured alpine head units and I've had an amp for ages and finally got around to fitting it. I've got 6.5" speakers in the front and the estate only gives 4" at the rear mounted into plastic so not too ideal there. The amp is 50w rms per channel and the speakers are rated a little above that so all should be well.

The sound is clear and at certain frequencies the base response is good. I'm wondering as my amp has a pre out I could fit an under seat sub, does anyone have experience of these? are they good, any recommendations? As a guide I have infinity reference and kappas fitted in the car and the amp is also alpine, so mid range units. Not really looking to break the bank or to go all out crazy bass, just looking to fill out the frequencies. Maybe 8 or 10"?

[E_T_V]

I'm looking at the same sort of thing for the ZTT (either that or do an underfloor sub build).

I think Jon has an underseat sub in his EFI.

[PhilBill]

I have a '94 Maestro Clubman TD. I swapped the original four Rover speakers for good quality co-axial ones. The car didn't have a radio when I got it, so I fitted an R750. That was the middle range original optional fit radio, and the manual for it was included in the radio handbook that came with the car. I use a cassette adapter to play mp3s from my phone. I am thinking about doing DAB in the same way to get Planet Rock and BBC R6 because of the crappy choice of analogue radio stations.

The things I noticed with the 4 inch rear speakers was that some of them have a much lower frequency response and wider frequency range than others. There is a lot more difference than you would expect between speaker sets. The quite flexible plastic parcel shelf supports zizzed and seemed to be causing sound problems, I fixed this by using neoprene foam rubber mouse mats cut into ring 'gaskets', this dampened the zizzing and helped use the boot space as a resonator and improved the bass quite a bit. My neighbours are skaters and take a large sound system out with them, and they were surprised by the bass sound quality of the 4 inch Blaupunkts.

I've also bought an old Kenwood active sub tube, it is fairly low power 100w, but it does the job. Because it was missing the wiring/connector it was very cheap. I did a lashup with the wiring to test it but have yet to do a full fit. This is only an 8 inch, but because of the enclosure and port you get double the output, because it also uses the air moved by the back of the speaker. It does take up space so I intend to use tie down straps using the rear seatbelt bolts, so I can take it out easily. I also didn't have to sort out crossovers and amps and all that, I just wanted reasonable sound for a reasonable price, there isn't much point having a major effort for super hi-fi when your car is Prima powered.

Before this bargain came up some of the other ideas I looked at were, Mk2 Fiat Punto subs that use the space between the inner and outer rear wing for their enclosure so that they don't lose boot space, Toyota MR2s also have a well packaged sub, and Harman Kardon subs from old BMWs or Range-Rovers. When I looked at underseat subs they seemed to be pricey for their performance, even the older used ones on ebay. The other alternative I considered was to build an enclosure using the rear wheel arch space or the trough at the back of the boot floor.

Anyway, that is what I did maybe there is some useful info in there. It all looks completely standard, sounds OK and who would want to nick a 'crappy' old Rover radio-cassette anyway?

[countrydude]

Space is tricky, that is why I think it has to be underseat. My estate is full of kit a lot of the time, also I've moved the battery to boot so the obvious place to put a sub box in an estate is full of tools and a battery!

I'm thinking of something like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hertz-Ener...item2c63da5e2d

Hertz units are good quality, this has an 8" but uses a 10" passive radiator so there will be some deeper frequencies.

[PhilBill]

The under seat subs that were on ebay when I looked were by Pioneer, Alpine, Kenwood, and Clarion. I hadn't heard of Hertz, but looking at the their site it looks like they're Italian and have been around a while, so at least they're not Chinese with a Euro sounding name, as goes on with tools.

I thought about the Punto subs, because I recall a favourable mention of the sub in a review of the car when it was current by a non hi-fi buff car journo. Obviously they are not a proper sub, but my thinking was that at 20 quid-ish and if they fitted inside the rear wing space, that if they weren't loud enough maybe I could have one each side. I didn't even get as far as measuring, because the Kenwood I bought was too good to miss, but if they fitted a Punto I thought it was a good possibility. I think they are only 6 inch but 100w active subs. I've been influenced by Boston computer speaker subs that have small low power speakers with a good enclosure that give a surprisingly good output. If it didn't work I could just sell them on.

The Harmon Kardons were a more upmarket version of the same idea. Because these subs were for specific cars that are now quite old the market for the speakers is fairly limited, making them good value for money if they could be adapted to fit. With good standard fit speakers by people like Bose, Boston and Harmon Kardon fitted to top of the range luxo-barges, that are now bangers or scrappers, I think this could be a good way to get hold of quality well packaged speakers/enclosures at a knock down price, if you can sort out the wiring.

[Simon]

I fitted an active subwoofer ahead of the centre console where it was practically invisible. It did reinforce the bass sounds quite a bit, but then the hearing my left ear went a bit funny (eustacian tube dysfunction not as a result of the subwoofer I hasten to add!) so I decided to remove it as my ear responded in a strange and annoying way to low frequencies. You only need one subwoofer speaker because bass is non directional. Treble enhances the stereo sound stage/imaging so this is important for good sound. I fitted tweeters to the triangular interior panels where the door mirrors mount, like some cars have. It didn't work that well, so off they came too!

Big sticky-out magnets on speakers in our cars mean that the front windows don't wind down fully, so be careful of that.

Best way to a nice sounding speaker system - biggest speakers you can fit, good amplification and lots of dynamat in the doors/enclosures. Our cars were notorious for tinny sound from the stereo.

[E_T_V]

Good speakers well mounted in the door will help. You can see my 6.5 inch speakers mounted to MFD mounts to help give window clearance. As will amplifying them.

Don't bother with the backs as the fronts are far more important.

You can add a sub under the seat but you can also squeeze one under the dash too if you prefer.

[Simon]

Later post 88 Maestros have provision for 130mm speakers in the front doors rather than the 100mm ones fitted to earlier cars, due to bigger cut-outs in the shell pressing.

[PhilBill]

I got some of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KENWOOD-KF...-/150911086547 KFC-1328C Kenwoods for the front. They were thin enough to fit behind the grilles and allow the windows to go down fully. I transferred the rainwater covers from the original Rover speakers. I know that ideally you want separation of tweeter from midrange speakers and to mount them nearer to ear level. Co-axials though are a cheap standard looking solution that provides a great improvement in sound quality.

I was suggesting the possibility of two subs to take advantage of cheap active subs that might fit in unused space and not take up boot space. I thought of under the heater/dash placement also, but I was concerned that if the heater sprung a leak it might take out the sub as well.

The Montego review by the AA still on their site as a PDF actually praised the stereo sound quality on a late Montego.
http://www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/ca...akeName=Austin

[PhilBill]

Here's the AA Maestro review link as well.
http://www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/ca...akeName=Austin

[countrydude]

I have thought about a passive sub box but it is all about saving space, I think an active sub box is the way forwards. I probably get one in a couple of months or so.

[PhilBill]

Just to say those front 'flush mounting' 13cm - 5 1/4in Kenwoods that cleared the front window had a 45mm mounting depth, if that info is of any use to anyone. The standard grille also fitted over the front of the speaker.

[countrydude]

but anyone who can fit an mdf adapter should. The difference from 5" to 6 is massive in response and frequency range.

[PhilBill]

Can you re-fit the original grilles and keep it looking standard or do you need to change the grilles if you go to 6 inch speakers with the MDF adapters? Although they look a bit big for what you want I just checked ebay and Range Rover P38 Clarion subs with the amp now start at £15.

[E_T_V]

I fitted the grills that came with them to the door cards on my old car. On the new one this isn't as easy as it has the late style doorcards. Those may change though!