audio pros

**Mott6904** · 10-05-2009 09:02 PM

I have a bose system that is shot and im looking at upgrading, but i dont want to spend a bunch of money. I do want it to sound better than the bose setup. I was looking at hifonics stuff just because my budy can get it dirt cheap through his company. I was looking at getting 5 1/4 components for the front because the small speaker grill in the door will only muffle the sound from a larger speaker i think. i will put the regualr coxial speakers in the rear door and deck. I want to use a hifonics 5 channel amp to run the interiors so i have the options to add a small sub later if needed. I was going to run the front components speakers to 2 channels(one channel for each speaker) and then the backs to the other 2 channels. If it makes sense i want to run the both right rears to one channel and then the lefts to the other channel. Should i run the rear speakers in series or parrel? Running the speakers in parrell will make 4 ohm speakers run in 2 ohm correct? I want the system to have some bass. Come on stereo pros do you think it will work? the speakers are 4 ohm and the amp is 2 ohm stable if that helps.

**b6onboost** · 10-09-2009 10:12 AM

If you have a 5 channel amp then it should have 4 speaker channels and 1 subwoofer channel. Each coax speaker/component set should be powered by 1 of the 4 amp speaker channels. If the amp is stable at 2 ohms, you need 2 ohm speakers to present it a 2 ohm load. (While you can run 2 4ohm speakers in parallel to create a 2 ohm load to a single channel, you don't want to run say the Left Front and Right Front speakers on the same channel, as that defeats the purpose of staging Left to Right.)

So if your 4/5 channel speaker amp is 2 and 4 ohm stable, you want to get 2 or 4 ohm speakers in order to present the amp your desired impedance. To get decent bass, you almost certainly need a subwoofer. If you are scraping your Bose amp/speakers then you really need an aftermarket sub to provide bass. If you have the 5 channel amp check the specs on the subwoofer channel and find a sub with matching specs.

**naiku** · 10-09-2009 10:32 AM

You said you want to have a system with some bass, you are not going to get that out of the stock speakers or some 5 1/4 components.... this is what I would do, leave out the back speakers entirely, unless you like to ride around in the back... spend a bit more on decent front speakers, pick up a 4ch amp, use 2 channels for the front speakers, and bridge the other 2 channels for a sub.

**b6onboost** · 10-09-2009 10:41 AM

^ honestly that is terrible sound quality wise. full range rear speakers play a big role in the overall fullness of the sound.

you need components or coaxs front and rear, 5 1/4 is fine. power them well. then add a subwoofer to add bass. You can do this via a 5 channel amp or a 4 channel amp + a mono sub amp. Both are simple systems and will sound great if done right.

**naiku** · 10-09-2009 10:59 AM

Originally Posted by b6onboost

^ honestly that is terrible sound quality wise. full range rear speakers play a big role in the overall fullness of the sound.

Please, provide me some proof as to how that is terrible sound quality...since when did you go to a concert and have the stage behind you? The only time you really need speakers in the rear is for 5.1 set ups. A properly set up 2.1 system will always sound better than a 4.1 system (until you start adding processors into the mix). Take a read at DIY Mobile Audio

Originally Posted by b6onboost

you need components or coaxs front and rear, 5 1/4 is fine. power them well. then add a subwoofer to add bass. You can do this via a 5 channel amp or a 4 channel amp + a mono sub amp. Both are simple systems and will sound great if done right.

Yes, either of those would work, but see above, there is no need for the rear speakers.

Edit: Just wanted to add that 5 1/4 speakers are fine, what I meant was that 5 1/4 speakers would not provide very much bass, which is something that the OP wanted.

**b6onboost** · 10-09-2009 12:12 PM

Are you really arguing that a 2.1 setup with solely a pair of front components and a rear sub is the best setup for a car?

Car Audio has been a hobby of mine for 10 years, I respectfully don't need a forum to tell me what sounds good. My current system supports dolby digital surround and has 12 speakers total. Sounds great. Through the EQ and staging I can setup almost any type of sound you'd want and I know for a FACT that if I fade all of the speaker signal to the front so I have no rear output, it sounds worse than having balanced front and rear output.

NoVA

**naiku** · 10-09-2009 12:23 PM

Originally Posted by b6onboost

Are you really arguing that a 2.1 setup with solely a pair of front components and a rear sub is the best setup for a car?

Car Audio has been a hobby of mine for 10 years, I respectfully don't need a forum to tell me what sounds good. My current system supports dolby digital surround and has 12 speakers total. Sounds great. And I know for a FACT that if I fade all of the speaker signal to the front so I have no rear output, it sounds worse than having balanced front and rear output.

NoVA

I am not arguing that it is the best set up in a car, but if you are solely listening to music, and everything is installed correctly it will be hard to beat a 2.1 setup. Adding anything else on top of that is essentially just overkill, music is recorded in 2 channels, whats the point in having more? Having dolby digital and 12 speakers is great (and I don't doubt your set up sounds good, would not mind knowing what you are running) if you are watching movies in the car, but for music its pointless.

I realize that some people like to have a "full" sound, and believe that if installed correctly it can sound good. But for simplicity sake (talking music only here) you can't beat a well setup 2.1 system for SQ, but that's my opinion.

NoVA

**8520** · 10-12-2009 06:45 PM

Originally Posted by b6onboost

Are you really arguing that a 2.1 setup with solely a pair of front components and a rear sub is the best setup for a car?

NoVA

I would.

While rear speakers are great for "fill", tweeters of any form in the rear of a car will detract from your front stage.

I'm not saying that this would be the "best setup" for you, but personally I have a quality set of components in the front and no rears and I am more than happy with it. I never run rear speakers in my cars.

Fwiw, I install for a living and have been in the car audio industry for ~ 5 years.

**b6onboost** · 10-13-2009 08:25 AM

To each his own.

A lot of music has unique staging both left, right, front, and rear. If you don't have 4 channels you miss out on that imaging and are not hearing the full audio. Just as you miss low frequency notes if you don't have a subwoofer, you miss rear imaging if you only have LF and RF channels. So I'll always argue that a 2.1 < 4.1, and more recently both are < 5.1. Never would've though surround would work best in a car but I am now a believer. Its incredible how much the center channel really changes the way the entire car sounds.

**koolade9** · 10-13-2009 08:46 AM

Originally Posted by 8520

I would.

While rear speakers are great for "fill", tweeters of any form in the rear of a car will detract from your front stage.

I'm not saying that this would be the "best setup" for you, but personally I have a quality set of components in the front and no rears and I am more than happy with it. I never run rear speakers in my cars.

Fwiw, I install for a living and have been in the car audio industry for ~ 5 years.

this.

I haven't ran rears since '99. A properly setup front stage will provide adequate rear fill...my rear passengers even enjoy my setup. My offer always stands for any disbelievers...take a listen in my car before passing judgement

Originally Posted by b6onboost

To each his own.

A lot of music has unique staging both left, right, front, and rear. If you don't have 4 channels you miss out on that imaging and are not hearing the full audio. Just as you miss low frequency notes if you don't have a subwoofer, you miss rear imaging if you only have LF and RF channels. So I'll always argue that a 2.1 < 4.1, and more recently both are < 5.1. Never would've though surround would work best in a car but I am now a believer. Its incredible how much the center channel really changes the way the entire car sounds.

linear response, and localization are two completely different things... I won't comment on true 5.1 audio, but reproducing 5.1 from a stereo track is like hitting the 'surround' button on your home stereo. Now adding a center to a stereo system to help with imaging has been done for years, but in my personal opinion, is a 'band-aid' for not properly setting up the front stage in the first place.

**8520** · 10-13-2009 12:56 PM

Originally Posted by b6onboost

To each his own.

A lot of music has unique staging both left, right, front, and rear. If you don't have 4 channels you miss out on that imaging and are not hearing the full audio. Just as you miss low frequency notes if you don't have a subwoofer, you miss rear imaging if you only have LF and RF channels. So I'll always argue that a 2.1 < 4.1, and more recently both are < 5.1. Never would've though surround would work best in a car but I am now a believer. Its incredible how much the center channel really changes the way the entire car sounds.

You do understand that unless music is specifically recorded in 5.1, that it is inherently recorded in 2 channel, right? Maybe I'm misinterpreting what you're saying, but it seems you're arguing that 2 channel audio is somehow playing different audio between your front and rear channels.

Saying that 2.1<4.1, seems insane to me.

**405Z** · 10-13-2009 02:27 PM

These car companies that tout their audio systems as being great because they have 12 speakers (or more) just crack me up. I agree that 2 front plus a sub is all you really need. If you want some rear fill, add a couple in the back but you don't need them. A quality 2.1 aftermarket system will sound better than any factory system out there.