Car speaker advice :)

[iOllieSM]

Hey peeps
so... i love listening to music. The music i like the most when driving though is pretty bassy. My question is, would it be possible to find some high quality speakers for my car that'll be really bassy? I know most people are going to comment about getting a subwoofer but im not so much into them. Is there something i can do instead of buying a sub? Because although my standard dynamique speakers are very good, i do often wish they were that little bit better. Either being more clear, or just better at handling bass. Also how much would these speakers cost me roughly?
Thanks, Ollie

 

[bionic]

just buy a sub lol

door speakers are called mids and highs for a reason mate bass is low so its either a sub or bigger speakers in your doors which will work out more expensive getting made to fit and getting them then it is to fit a subwoofer even if its one under your seat

 

[iOllieSM]

Actually, the idea of a sub under my seat sounds quite appealing. May look into that

 

[dave_rudabar]

Well I fitted Hertz Deici 6.5" speakers into my doors & wasn't happy with the results as they sound too bright IMO. It's sensible to audition different ones if you are able to, unfortunately there's nowhere around here for me to do that.

What is your budget? If I were to change mine i'd just put an under-seat sub in, would give enough low end for my needs & I could cope with the rest of the sound then.

 

[john182rs]

If your on a limited budget most people on here say to get a decent aftermarket headunit (this does not mean buy the more expensive one) and connect to your std speakers with a possible active underseat sub.
^^ that is by far the cheapest.

If you want slightly better, I can highly recommend some Focal Access or upto Performance speakers, the 5.25's are straight swaps and even the 6.5's with a little bit of work will go behind the doorcard and give you a better sound stage. I have Focal Pro's comps that cost me £149 and are by far the best speakers I have ever had or heard in a clio. These work brilliantly off just the HU and even better when amp'd.

If you dont want a big amp some where then go for an inline amp like the Alpine KTR-445 for around £100 and will sit behind the centre consol area yet will supply enough power to your speakers for more boom.

An underseat sub like the Ground Zero below with a small wire amp kit will be enough for deep bass.
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/ground-zero-gztb200xact.html

So for upto £200 on a decent HU on your standard speakers up to another £320 if you have a good HU already, you should be able to get some better bass...

 

[iOllieSM]

Well my budget isn't massively high, I'd like to keep spending down to a minimum really. I've recently brought a new head unit which is very good IMO and very bassy I like the idea of an under seat sub the most tbh. That way, I can keep my boot space and people won't see the big ugly sub either. I prefer the hidden approach how much would I be looking at for an under seat one? Are they still powerful? I imagine they're tiny to fit under the seat?
Thanks for info so far

 

[tarmacmuncher]

tbh if you want decent bass, the underseat subs just won't cut it, you would be better with a set of amped speakers.

The underseat sub is pretty much like having a speaker under the seat

 

[Rhauri]

Yo!

I know, I know, you've said you don't want a sub in the boot... but have you considered a small (and affordable) Active Sub for the boot? Give it a thought because they truly are fantastic.

Small being only an 8" / 20cm cone and Active meaning its got a built in and sensibly powered amp. Being a smaller cone too, they're ultra responsive and you don't get that delay you often hear with bigger cones.

I've got a Sony Xplod XS-AW200 and its fantastic. Beats out some great levels if you want it to but I have it tuned to give a 'responsive warm punch', but what's really good about it is that I can control the level of the sub independently from all other speakers via the head unit (you'll have to check your new one to be sure, but the majority have this feature these days).

The benefit of a boot sub no matter how big or small, is that you can let it deal with ALL of the bass, and the rest of your speakers focus solely on the mids and highs; and because your relieving the car speakers of the bass, they're not struggling and straining so the quality of everything else flies up - along with the volume if you desire. So if you could get your hands on a second hand Xplod XS-AW200 for £30/£40 - its a cheap and hugely effective upgrade.

Also - for the long trips where I need ALL my boot space, its just a case of removing the phono's and one plug and out it comes as I just secure it down with bungie cables. I have the the speaker facing the wheel arch too so it just looks like an inconspicuous grey box, and not a show off sub.

My Sony Xplod (not my very one, but an example of how cheap they go for):
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sony-Xplo...7?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item2572cf6b07

Some Alternatives (these two are good because they're angled for your back seat, i.e. room saving):
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Blaupunkt...5?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item337860fcd3
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VIBE-LITE...6?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item27bbdc975e

Under-seat Subs do an ok job I believe but as said, its mostly just like having a speaker under your seat - I'd be surprised if the overall bass in the car was greatly improved. Your bang for buck comes from the stuff above as under-seat subs cost about the same if not a lot more; example below:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Blaupunkt...3?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item4ab9bf1de5

Another thing to consider with under-seat subs too is, your front seats - do you have a 3 door car and are the front seats moved forward and backwards all the time? Not sure how an under-seat sub would deal with that.

Hope that helps anyway matey,
Rhauri

 

[iOllieSM]

Yo!

I know, I know, you've said you don't want a sub in the boot... but have you considered a small (and affordable) Active Sub for the boot? Give it a thought because they truly are fantastic.

Small being only an 8" / 20cm cone and Active meaning its got a built in and sensibly powered amp. Being a smaller cone too, they're ultra responsive and you don't get that delay you often hear with bigger cones.

I've got a Sony Xplod XS-AW200 and its fantastic. Beats out some great levels if you want it to but I have it tuned to give a 'responsive warm punch', but what's really good about it is that I can control the level of the sub independently from all other speakers via the head unit (you'll have to check your new one to be sure, but the majority have this feature these days).

The benefit of a boot sub no matter how big or small, is that you can let it deal with ALL of the bass, and the rest of your speakers focus solely on the mids and highs; and because your relieving the car speakers of the bass, they're not struggling and straining so the quality of everything else flies up - along with the volume if you desire. So if you could get your hands on a second hand Xplod XS-AW200 for £30/£40 - its a cheap and hugely effective upgrade.

Also - for the long trips where I need ALL my boot space, its just a case of removing the phono's and one plug and out it comes as I just secure it down with bungie cables. I have the the speaker facing the wheel arch too so it just looks like an inconspicuous grey box, and not a show off sub.

My Sony Xplod (not my very one, but an example of how cheap they go for):
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sony-Xplo...7?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item2572cf6b07

Some Alternatives (these two are good because they're angled for your back seat, i.e. room saving):
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Blaupunkt...5?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item337860fcd3
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VIBE-LITE...6?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item27bbdc975e

Under-seat Subs do an ok job I believe but as said, its mostly just like having a speaker under your seat - I'd be surprised if the overall bass in the car was greatly improved. Your bang for buck comes from the stuff above as under-seat subs cost about the same if not a lot more; example below:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Blaupunkt...3?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item4ab9bf1de5

Another thing to consider with under-seat subs too is, your front seats - do you have a 3 door car and are the front seats moved forward and backwards all the time? Not sure how an under-seat sub would deal with that.

Hope that helps anyway matey,
Rhauri

Tbh with you buddy, your reply was of great help! I've pretty much decided now that a small sub in the boot will do me fine cheap and cheerful! You reccomend these "sony xplod" subs then? im just after something cheap which will give a nice boost to bass. I will keep an eye out for some of them dont i also need to invest in an amplifier? Dont know much about sound systems tbh unfortunately..!
Thanks for your reply Ollie

EDIT - , this is the headunit i have, i saw you mentioned it and i found it on the internet. I dont know if its good or not tbh, seems good for the £35 i spent on it. Got the ipod connection too.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...uctId_788123_langId_-1_categoryId_165474#tab1

 

[tarmacmuncher]

that head unit has 2 preouts so you can always connect another amp for front speakers if you wanted too.
If you buy an active sub to save space the amp is built in mate

 

[iOllieSM]

that head unit has 2 preouts so you can always connect another amp for front speakers if you wanted too.
If you buy an active sub to save space the amp is built in mate

Is that any active sub or certain types? Il have a look for one

 

[tarmacmuncher]

a ported sub will sound louder than a sealed sub but the box takes up more room, also speaker size will determine alot aswell to the size of the box.

an Active sub is a sub with the amp built in.
A Passive sub is one you have to connect to a external amp.

its all down to how much room you want to take up really, i have a 12 in a sealed box and it doesnt take up too much room, but i dont really use my boot

 

[tarmacmuncher]

Also forgot to mention that sealed is more musical than ported, so it's also down to preference

 

[Rhauri]

tarmac muncher has answered your questions there matey

Yeah, I've got the Sony Xplod XS-AW200 and it does sound ruddy good. They crop up on ebay fairly regularly so just keep an eye out. Straight forward to wire in too, I got my wiring kit off ebay too and that was only like £8/£9!

Feel free to send me a PM if you need any help with it!

Rhauri

 

[Rhauri]

Also, that Blaupunkt GTb 8A Active Sub I linked above looks pretty good. The enclosure looks a bit smaller than mine too, but that will prob make it a touch less bassy, but then when you crank mine right up its very very bassy, so I think that Blaupunkt will be spot on. Plus you can get it brand new and they're readily available.

 

[Goodj]

get 17cm components in the front pods

fit some 17cm mid-bass in the back pods.

amp them up.

should be plenty sufficient if you want to avoid subs.

Personally, I have OEM speakers, an Alpine HU and an all-in-one Pioneer tube and although it's not the last word in refinement it's plenty loud enough to make LTJ Bukem sets punchy

 

[iOllieSM]

tarmac muncher has answered your questions there matey

Yeah, I've got the Sony Xplod XS-AW200 and it does sound ruddy good. They crop up on ebay fairly regularly so just keep an eye out. Straight forward to wire in too, I got my wiring kit off ebay too and that was only like £8/£9!

Feel free to send me a PM if you need any help with it!

Rhauri

Thanks bud pretty sure I'm going to go for this Sony xplod. My mate has said to me he'd fit it for me so I've got that angle covered just need to find one near my area now to go pick it up! Assuming the price is right. With this Sony xplod will I need to buy an amp separately or is it built in?
Many thanks

 

[Rhauri]

The Xplod XS-AW200 an Active Sub, so its got an Amp built in

If you read Active Sub anywhere, it means its the whole package in one, i.e.: enclosure, cone and amp.

So both of these subs are also Active (have amps built in) too:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Blaupunkt...5?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item337860fcd3
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VIBE-LITE...6?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item27bbdc975e

If you are struggling to find a Xplod XS-AW200, go for that Blaupunkt GTb 8A. They are a very very good German brand and make quality audio products for cars. Their head-units are some of the best too.

You'll also need this wiring kit too (regardless of which Active Sub you go for):
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400W-CAR-...8?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item2a1679ee46

If your mate knows what to do to wire it up, he'll know about the wiring kits too Just don't get one from Halfords as it will cost you twice the amount it needs to!

 

[dave_rudabar]

Funnily enough, I noticed in a Halfords branch earlier that the Vibe unit is on offer, was about £100 IIRC.

 

[tarmacmuncher]

Funnily enough, I noticed in a Halfords branch earlier that the Vibe unit is on offer, was about £100 IIRC.

That would do the job gor you i think mate