I have an '87 coupe, and the Delco Bose system is getting worse and worse (e.g., bad FM reception, static and hum that sometimes go away by turning system off then on, and intermittent noise that can be stopped by playing with the noise reduction button). I will be redoing the interior this summer. Seats are at the upholsterer, new carpet on order, new door panels in the garage, etc. so this is a good time to plan on how to replace the sound system. While I've been into home audio for years, I'm not very savvy on car audio so your advice would be greatly appreciated.

I bought a Pioneer DEH-P45DH 1.5 DIN head unit nearly five years back. Never got around to installing it with our first child on the way. I'm planning on using it along with an Alpine 3527S amplifier that I have lying around (25W x 4 channels into 4 ohms). I don't want to spend more than $400 for speakers (may consider adding a subwoofer in the future).

I made the rounds at local car audio shops. While I'm not expecting tremendous sound quality relative to a home system, nonetheless certain things really annoy me. These include tweeter shrillness and beaming, and muddy/overemphasized mid-bass. In my opinion, the low end MB Quarts are too bright for my taste. The JL Audio's didn't seem to have enough detail. The Boston Acoustics (don't know which line) sounded pretty good in terms of tonal quality.

I also did a lot of web surfing and found a whole world of hardcore car audio fanatics. One speaker that came up a few times is the CDT Classic. It's supposed to have a very smooth & natural high end. Unfortunately, CDT's website does not list any local resellers in the San Francisco area. Does anyone on this forum have CDT's in their C4? Could you please describe their sound characteristics relative to other more widely available speaker lines? I'm thinking of getting the CL-5XB 5.25" Braxial component set for the front doors. Right now they have an offer for a free set of CL-5X 5.25" co-axials which I could use for the rear. I can get this package for about $300.

Again, your advice is greatly appreciated. TIA.

 

With $400 you could buy a set of JLXR650's, I hear they are killer for the price. Focal Polykevlar are great too, a little less harsh than MBQ, but not what i'd call a "smooth" set. Spend your money on front stage, mount the tweeters high, (bottom of a pillar) and forget the rear.

you want to power the set with at least 100 watts each side...
The Focals tend to have a super-detailed midbass that doesn't have the unnatural "midbass" sound most speakers have. That's just a personal opinion. That's the 165k2

btw, if ou have the glass top, your tweeters will probablysound harsher than they are.. with my glass top on , I can barely listen to rock music, but with the solid top, the tweeters are smoooooooooooth.

 

Kale, thanks for the advice. How difficult is it to mount 6.5" in the front door? When I searched this forum, I found that 5.25" could be done with only minor mod to the front door panel.

I take it the 6.5" JL component set would be more detailed than the ones I listened to (lower end co-axials). Have you ever compared them to the CDT's? The store that had MB's and JL's was steering me toward the MB's. Another possibility for me are the Boston Rally series. Can't seem to find them online, however.

Finally, I know in home systems that loudspeaker enclosures are a big design item--ensure you don't have standing waves, rigidity, non-resonant, etc. How important are those things in a car environment? All the audio stores I visited merely mentioned making a plate for mounting the speaker to the door--no enclosure, no sealing up any part of the door, etc.

 

They are just as important in car audio. Unfortunately you dont have much room to work with in c4. Here's how I mounted my 6.5's:





They sound great.. but have some bad resonance in that door panel playing Metallica music :p: The midbass is killed somewhat becuse they aren't in a specific enclosure.. but they are spectacular otherwise.

since it sounds like you're big into home audio, can you recognize
the driver in my door? :D




[Modified by Kale, 12:44 AM 6/13/2002]

 

Sure--very distinctive. Focals, but not sure which model. Are they the Audioms?

BTW, you say you didn't build an enclosure but did you try anything in terms of stiffening and damping the door panels?

 

yeah, same drivers as the JM Labs "micro" system, or whatever it's called.. except without the expensive cabinets.

I reinforced the door.. put sound deadening on it.. just isn't good enough yet. This car isnt a permanent home for these speakers, so... i havent doen anythign exotic yet