I am considering installing speakers in the kick panels of my '79. I would like to know what speakers you have installed. Pictures are much appreciated too!
TIA.

 

I'll post pics in the next couple of weeks on my restoration thread:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...465589&page=30

Planning on 6 1/2" Rockford Fosgate component speakers up front. Mids in the kicks and tweets in the doors. Going to be angling them towards the driver with trim ring and fiberglass. Then cover them in leather dyed Charcoal to match the interior.

 

It depends on what you want. I did a very simple install of 2 3" speakers. My in dash speakers did not work, and these just give me a little background noise. No amps, no big speakers in the back.

I'll find my pics and try to post them.

 

You need to match your speakers to your radio/stereo. Too much power going into less capapble speakers and you'll get a lot of distortion and be very unhappy with the results. Too much speaker for the power and you'll get no volume or bass.

Don't go to WalMart or anyplace like that. Most discount stores may sell good name brand equipment, but it's in their lesser quality lines. Go to a stereo specialist and get their advice.

For the best quality and performance without busting your wallet, buy Boston Acoustics or Infiniti speakers.

In my '69 I installed an Alpine stereo/CD player with Sony 4"x6" speakers in the kickpanels. I could not crank the stereo up to where I could hear it without the speakers sounding like they were tearing themselves apart. I replaced them with Boston Acoustics speakers matched to the Alpine and the difference in phenomanol. Plenty of volume, bass and no distortion at all.

 

What headunit are you using. Are you going to use the amp in the radio or a seperate amp. What is power rating of the amplifier?

 

Sony packed the CDX-GT400 with an array of audio features, so you can rest assured that the stereo will sound as good as it looks. Read more

Details:

» CD player with built-in amplifier (17 watts RMS/52 peak x 4 channels)
» plays CDs, CD-Rs, and CD-RWs (including discs loaded with MP3, WMA, and ATRAC3plus music files)
» seven switchable background colors
» EQ3 (seven preset tone curves and a 3-band equalizer)
» 24-bit digital to analog converter
» Dynamic Soundstage Organizer
» BBE MP
» three sets of preamp outputs
» front-panel auxiliary input
» CD changer controls
» satellite radio-ready (XM or SIRIUS tuner, subscription, and antenna required)
» CD Text compatible
» detachable face
» CEA-2006 compliant amplifier
» clock
» SSIR-EXA AM/FM tuner
» 18 FM/12 AM presets
» seek tuning
» remote control
» CD frequency response: 10-20,000 Hz
» CD signal-to-noise ratio: 120 dB
» FM sensitivity: 9 dBf
» warranty: 1 year


I am open to your suggestions. I have an amp (600w) for the rear speakers. I also have the in dash 4" (Pioneers I think) speakers running directly from the head unit.

EDIT - Here are the specs for the amp. I have the 600w unit



XPA Series






XPA2100

XPA4100

XPA6100
Power Output:

4 ohms at < 1% THD+N:

50w x 2 RMS
50w x 4 RMS
200w x 1 RMS
2 ohms at < 1% THD+N:
75w x 2 RMS 75w x 4 RMS 300w x 1 RMS
4 ohms bridged at < 1% THD+N:
150w x 1 RMS 150w x 2 RMS 200w x 1 RMS
Dynamic power:
300w 600w 600w
User Manual User Manual User Manual
Preamp:
Low level inputs (RCA)
High level inputs (Speaker)
Variable input level control
Selectable crossover (high pass/low pass/full range)
Variable high pass crossover
Variable low pass crossover
Variable crossover
12dB/Octave crossover slope
12dB Variable bass boost
General:

PWM MOSFET power supply
2 Ohm stable stereo operation
Class AB output design
Stereo/bridged simultaneous operation
Bridgeable operation
Extruded aluminum heatsink
Barrier strip connection terminals
Side mounted controls
Auto-reset thermal overload protection
Speaker short circuit protection
Reverse polarity protection
Bi-color LED status indicator

So what do you suggest for the kick panel set up?

 

If you're running your front speakers off of that head unit they better be less than 25 watts RMS each or a stock speaker from a stock car some where. New after market speakers all have an RMS wattage too high for head unit amplifiers. It will sound like poop when you turn the volume up.

Amp the speakers, or buy low RMS speakers.

 

ok, lets get something straight, speakers have no power so there is no such thing as a speaker that is too powerful or not powerful enough for a radio or an amp.
Speakers have a power RATING which is the amount of power the manufacturer suggest for that speaker but in reality it means basically nothing as the type of power that you put to a speaker can vary dramatically.
A speaker can be rated for 50 watts RMS power handling and you can easily "blow" that speaker with 5 watts while at the same time throw more power to it and it will survive.

The key points to remember are this:

1. ONLY go by RMS power ratings when looking at speaker power handling, NOT dynamic or peak power handling. Dynamic or peak or Max power handling is a useless spec. Only RMS, which is the continious power handling really has any value.

2. Only go by RMS power output when comparing amp outputs. Once again the dynamic or peak power output of an amp is a completely worthless spec and isn't worth the amount of the ink they use to print it.

3. The MOST important thing in making a system sound good is twofold:
a. a high quality good sounding speaker.
b. a high quality amp with enough clean, undistorted power to properly drive the speakers.

almost everytime you hear a poor sounding system and almost everytime a speaker blows it's because of one simple reason - distortion from the power sourse whether it's from the amp section in the radio or from an external amp of poor quality and/or too low of a pwer output. Distortion is the main enemy to avoid.
I can take (and have) a speaker with a 75 watt RMS power handling capability and blow it with less than 10 watts of power while I've taken the same type of speaker and driven it with over 1,000 watts and played it loud and hard for many hours with no damage to the speaker.
Again, the key here is distortion or lack of it.
A good amp with enough power can drive a speaker to good listening volumes without pushing itself too hard and therefore the distortion levels are very low. The speakers like a nice clean, non-distorted signal so they play good and sound good.
on the other hand, an amp (including pretty much ALL built in amps inside of the radios, even the so-called 'hi-powered" radios) that doesn't have enough power needs to be turned up to a higher level to achieve the same volume level and this causes the amp to have to work harder and create higher distortion levels. This induced distortion is what sounds bad and damages speakers.

4. speakers have a rated efficiency rating. An example would be something like 92db @1 watt or 89db @ 1 watt.
The higher the efficiency of a speaker the louder it will play given the same amount of power. This also means that a speaker with a lower efficiency rating required a larger amp to play at the same volume and still be able to achieve the same low distorion levels throughout the system.
Typically the better the quality the speaker the lower the efficiency rating is though (yes, there are exceptions).


trying to run any speaker off the radio itself is a waste of time if you really want it to sound good although in the smaller speaker sizes such as 3" or 4" coaxial type or full range type speakers it really isn't going to make much difference anyway as a speaker that small inherently has too many limitations to really sound good.

Bottom line is that if you really want a system that sounds good you need to go to at least a 5.25" speaker of good quality and run it off a good amp that produces enough clean undistorted power. Generally, a good amp in the range of 40-75 WPC RMS is a good choice.
Any good speaker of that size will handle the power fine so don't even concern yourself with the power handling specs when purchasing speakers, buy them on what counts which is the sound........ listen to as many as you can and buy what you like the sound of than hook them up to a quality amp with an RMS power output in the range I just mentioned and just enjoy your drives.

Also, forget the big box stores such as Best Buys, Circuit City, etc, go to a speciality car audio shop. These places will carry higher quality brands of products so you can get a better sounding speaker and a better quality amp that work well together plus the people at the speciality shops have better knowledge and can help and assist you better in creating a system for your car that will work out better and you will enjoy.

 

On my 71 I install some Polk 4x6s. I also put the same speaker in the dash. I was running everything with an Alpine head unit.

 

I bought a used set of kick panels to hack up off eBay for $15. I made a ring to mount the speaker on out of wood. I measure where it was going to mount on the panel, over the body mount pocket. I then cut the kick panel, carpeted the ring and the kick panel, mounted the speaker to the ring, the ring to the kick and the kick to the car. The body mount opening is large enough to accommodate a smaller magnet on a 6.5" speaker. Angle the speaker upwards, use a component set for best sound. Add an amplifier unless you want it to sound like a kick *** stock system from a '92 Dodge Shadow.

 

4x10s were stock on the 68/69 and mounted behind the kick panels. 4x6 will also fit.

 

Thank you all for your input!

 

A mounting plate must be used to separate the front from back to prevent cancellation esp. bass. Some 5.25 can be fitted to kick panel location. At least the tweerters should be angled up towards the middle. While one would normally want the tweeters near the primary front speakers, the dash location can work very well for tweeters.

Kenwood eXcelon 5.25 Components in kick panels.
Kenwood eXcelon mask CD

 

Which D-Mask HU do you have? I have been running Excelons for 10 years now. I love them and have had almost every version of the D-Mask. The new ones don't have it but I till have two of the last model. One in my Durango and a new X917 for my Vette.

 

Sounds good.

I like them for the concealed faceplate.
Should be X711 & X811. Yes, older models- I don't normally run a stereo.
The engine makes enough music for me.

 

Separating a component set like that will ruin the sound. Especially with the tweeter reflecting off such a harsh material such as the windshield. The change in wavelength from the mid-bass to the listener and the tweeter to the listener would be very different, in addition to the sound change of the reflected high end. With a setup like that you would have to be able to control the power output of the tweeters separately to get any sort of reasonable sound control. The tweeter should never be very far from the mid-bass.

 

I agree and disagree. Many car audio systems in new cars have the tweeter separated from the mid-driver. True, this changes the dynamics of the whole thing but it can be properly tuned to sound good.

I am installing my tweeters in my dash, but I know how to tune and adjust the system so it sounds good.

In most cases, I do suggest the tweeter stay next to the mid-driver.

 

Here's a thread from two years ago (man, time flies) detailing my stereo install. The only thing I've changed since then is the addition of an iPod cable to the Alpine head unit and changing the 4 x 6 top dash speakers over to stand alone add-on tweeters. The 4 x 6 speakers just sounded bad and the tweeters do a much better job of establishing directionality. BTW I've tried 4 x 6 speakers from Pioneer, Blaupunct, Kenwood and others and they all sounded like crap so I would avoid them if possible. Good luck.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1049772

 

Ak. Mal

You deleted the part where I stated mine were in the kick panels!
Theory is good. I certainly agree in principal & further all should be together. Many who are a lot more into car stereo than I am do separate them. Have you tried it in a C3?
Here's one that I noticed because he put the 5.25s in the doors where I thought about putting them in the 70s :
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...post1550100942

Just because I don't normally post about stereos don't jump to conclusions. I studied stereo & speaker system design on my own.
I have friends who have brought over classical to see if a hotrodder's rock system could do it.

If you guys want to discuss that just leave me out, I don't type & don't care to discuss stereos much.