Please help me out with my S14's audio :)

[destruction]

I have a question to every s14 owner .. how do you like you're sound in the car . i have a very clean s14 and some nice pioneer speakers not great but nice and they make my doors rattle and my trunk rattlest too .. tho they're regular 6x5 speakers . what do you guys do with your cars to improve the sound

[240silvia]

Well.... first of all.... trash those Pioneers. Anything that you can buy at Wally World is bad. I have some Diamond Audio Components in my car. I have an amp ran to them. 500 Watt Diamond Audio amp. Sending 250 a side. I also have 1 JL audio W3 10.... with a 500 watt JL Audio amp. I don't like a lot of bass.... I did when I was younger, lol. But I'm 21 now and I like clarity. The components were $550.00. The Diamond amp was $300.00. The JL audio sub was $300.00. And the amp was $300.00. also.

I know it seems like a lot of money.... but, I LOVE my sound. If you want to reduce your "rattle", get some Dynamat!

[S14DB]

6.5?

I had to dynamatte the shit out of my package tray.

[95Blue240sx]

Yeah trash those speakers, and SEARCH! i just made a post about this last month. Here is the best tip i can give you, EBAY! All those things you can find on ebay for half the price. Most those people on ebay do that for a living, so they arent trying to get a bad rep. Just buy from someone who has high feedback. I just bought some Diamond Audio 6.5 components for 150 shipped, they arent the top of line, like 240silvia, but they are quality.

I also agree, too much bass is for kids. Sound quality is what you want, a 10" sub in our car will be more than enough. Just buy quality parts, not used/refurb.

[96twofourty]

Crystal Audio also makes some good components

[Ian]

i have a question. I tried searching but I really just dont know anything about speakers and car audio at all. My girlfriend has a 95 SE (just like me lol) and she really hates the way her speakers sound. Well, her birthday is coming up so I figured i'd get her some new speakers.

She dosen't want any crazy bass, nor does she care enough to have super high quality sound. Also, i'm on a low budget (read 150 or so)

What kind of speakers could i get that would be direct replacements for the crappy stock paper ones, but sound great without any other modifications to the system besides the speakers.

[240silvia]

Yeah trash those speakers, and SEARCH! i just made a post about this last month. Here is the best tip i can give you, EBAY! All those things you can find on ebay for half the price. Most those people on ebay do that for a living, so they arent trying to get a bad rep. Just buy from someone who has high feedback. I just bought some Diamond Audio 6.5 components for 150 shipped, they arent the top of line, like 240silvia, but they are quality.

I also agree, too much bass is for kids. Sound quality is what you want, a 10" sub in our car will be more than enough. Just buy quality parts, not used/refurb.


Do exactly what he did man. All Diamond stuff is nice... ALL OF IT!!!!!! Just b/c I have the top of the line doesn't mean that you have to. All of their components are nice.... E-Bay it bro!

[papershot]

infiniti kappa series speakers are very nice. high quality stuff, i tell you what. best part is they're like $80 on ebay.

also if you want better quality sound get a little sound dampener stuff (dynamat, b-quiet, fatmat, etc) and put it on the rear speaker tray and a little on the doors.

[chuy]

Boston Accustics

[95Blue240sx]

You can get some HIGH Quality speakers for $150. Thats more than enough to get a sweet pair of components. Mb quart dse216 on ebay is like 100+ 20 ship. Awsome deal IMHO

[Ian]

well you have to remember that there are 4 speakers to replace...and i'm under the impression you're saying 150 for a pair of speakers.

although i've seen some people say the rear speakers are not as important.

[gfisch]

I've got MB Quarts all around and they sound great.
They're a bit expensive, but I really like the sound (and they can do pretty good bass for 6.5"s if you want that). Plus, they come in the right sizes so you dont need to do any custom work for mounting them. Well, except for the tweeters up front, had to modify the original bracket and cut out the plastic frame behind the little speaker grill on the A-pillar. I got them on ebay for a pretty good deal, I think they were the previous year's models.

I also reran all the wires and put in a big RF amp, but that may have been a bit overkill.


But, if you need something cheap ($150 for all if thats what you were saying) I'd just get some decent pioneers from Crutchfield(or ebay if you want to get em cheaper). Thats what I used to have.
Hey, also you are gonna want to scrap those crappy stock amps if you still have em.

[Ian]

the speakers are for my girlfriend's car actually.

Best Buy actually has some Pioneer 2 ways for like 45 bucks a pair right now. I figured i'd pick up 2 sets of those and call it a day. Like i said, she's a girl, and one that dosent know anything about sound performance at that, so she's not gonna care if they're not the best of the best. She just wants something that will sound better then her torn stock speakers with maybe a little bit more bass.

so the setup she'll have essentially is

Pioneer 2 ways all around w/ stock head unit and amp

[katbak]

Get some 120-130 watt kenwoods/pioneers at 100 a pair and stick em in the front, they sound very clean. I'd go for that rather than $45 a pair x 2, i just hate knowing that you get what you pay for and going for lower... even though there are easily higher $$$ per pairs.

And its 6.5" not 6x5 to clarify.



Also - to the creator of this thread - my trunk, when i bought the car, wasn't aligned right and my doors had missing screws. If you tightened everything down I bet it wouldn't rattle, I took mine to the shop up the road and they re-aligned my trunk. It shouldn't rattle, not with anything other than crazy ass bass.

[S14DB]

I got some cheap ass $49 speakers in the rear any they are already buzzing after 6months. I guess I'll get those Diamond Audio components and move the Infity components to the rear. What model does everyone have?

[Siizzzoooo]

I've got Infinity Kappa components up front and 3ways in the rear.

way better than stock. I need an amp on them though, they're 90 watts rms

[SimpleS14]

Infinity Kappa 3-way in the front, Reference 2-way in the back. But I recently destroyed the bas in my rear speakers (after 4 years)...so I'm going to get some Kappa 2-Ways. Also considering a Pioneer headunit.

[k0uki]

i gots Infinity Kappa 2-ways in the front and 3-ways in the back, Xtant 10" sub, and waiting for my Kicker amp to come in so i can get my sub in

[95Blue240sx]

Stay away from 2 ways up front. From my expierence they sound like CRAP. I know this is for your GF's car, but you can get a nice set of cmponents(which is a 6.5" sub and a tweeter) for the front and some infinity kappas($30 - ebay) and youll spend just about 150

[s14 blacktop]

why dont you get a receiver and the factory bose speakers nice base and mids it wont be too much either, it looks like your leaning towards the cheapies please dont youll regret it ex. (sony, pioneer, tec..)
with what I experimented I had a sony receiver and sony speakers, man what a dissapointment I leter on tried the stock bose speakers and it sounded pretty nice...

[rainier]

get a brand name component system from a store. dont bother from ebay since sometimes youll get a warrenty and thats always a plus. find a person that works like in circuit city and you can get 70% off kicker stuffand infinity.. etc. but yeah the fronts SHOULD be componentsbut the rear could just be random speakers like 3 ways

[Ian]

ok, so components up front and 2 ways in the rear?

i may have a friend at best buy, and i do know someone at tweeter (but that's very expensive)

what about crutchfield...i heard they have good prices but i donno...i'll take a look into it

[Juujai]

spend a little more money everyone is an audiophile at heart thats why we like to go to movie theatres instead of watching crap at home

focal utopia or some arc audio components would be really good powered by maybe a rainbow or mcintosh amp push about 125watts each.

for subs i hate bass actually i just like a little thump. nakamichi, eclipse is pretty good for me. that diamond audio tdx is pretty crazy too though. i dont like any jl stuff its too overpriced for what you get.

[papershot]

could a normal headunit with around 55w per channel be able to handle a 6.5'' component up front with 3-way speakers in the rear? maybe infinity 60.5cs components up front with infiniti 63.5i 3-way speakers in the rear? i'm not buying an amp.

i don't know shit about speakers and all that, I just need to be able to hear music over my exhaust. getting rid of one loud noise by adding more loud noise.

[SimpleS14]

ok, so components up front and 2 ways in the rear?

i may have a friend at best buy, and i do know someone at tweeter (but that's very expensive)

what about crutchfield...i heard they have good prices but i donno...i'll take a look into it


Yes, components or 3-way upfront and 2-way in the back. Online you'll find good deals, such as e-bay and http://www.etronics.com

I HATE Crutchfield in terms of pricing....they go for retail pricing and don't offer that much IMO compared to other sources.

[01SaturnL200]

ive got mb quart's up (6.5's, i made plates) and infinity plates in da back, on a alpine deck, sounds really clean.

[Colorado S14]

why dont you get a receiver and the factory bose speakers nice base and mids it wont be too much either, it looks like your leaning towards the cheapies please dont youll regret it ex. (sony, pioneer, tec..)
with what I experimented I had a sony receiver and sony speakers, man what a dissapointment I leter on tried the stock bose speakers and it sounded pretty nice...

Wow, you need to get some better shit. Sony stuff sucks, Bose is even worse. Ditch what you have sell all the Sony/Bose stuff. Get an Eclipse deck with some MB Quarts or Focals. You have obviously yet to hear a decent system if a Sony/Bose combo sounds good.

[MakotoS13]

Wow, you need to get some better shit. Sony stuff sucks, Bose is even worse. Ditch what you have sell all the Sony/Bose stuff. Get an Eclipse deck with some MB Quarts or Focals. You have obviously yet to hear a decent system if a Sony/Bose combo sounds good.

yeah, bose sucks. thats why all those high end sports cars rock em. you're SOOOOO much smarter than the people that design 70 thousand dollar and up sports cars when it comes to fit, finish, and sound quality.

[S14DB]

Wow, you need to get some better shit. Sony stuff sucks, Bose is even worse. Ditch what you have sell all the Sony/Bose stuff. Get an Eclipse deck with some MB Quarts or Focals. You have obviously yet to hear a decent system if a Sony/Bose combo sounds good.
Great, now this thread is turning into an elitist convention.

[Colorado S14]

yeah, bose sucks. thats why all those high end sports cars rock em. you're SOOOOO much smarter than the people that design 70 thousand dollar and up sports cars when it comes to fit, finish, and sound quality.

I was not trying to be a dick. BOSE does suck, they have terrible sound production, the speakers they use are horrible. Go pull apart almost any car that is equipped with a BOSE system and you will find that the speakers are made with paper cones, foam surrounds, and teeny magnets. The only reason that BOSE is in nice cars is that they built a name for themselves and therefore only have to maintain a sound quality that is better than the base stereo in order for people to think it is the shit. BOSE is notorious for a washed out monophonic sound with poor reproduction of highs and details.

As for sony they concentrate so much on flash that the quality of their processors and in-deck amps is not that great.

I am sorry if I came off "elitist". I was just suggesting that the guy ditch his current setup and get something that will really leave him amazed.