Steve Adkins

I am in the market for a stereo system for my 69 and was wondering what is some of the best equpment out as far as subs, 6x9's, amps, cd changers etc.. I thought about using a factory looking deck so I won't have to cut the dash, but those **** radios are hard to come by. Also, I have seen a lot of great pics on rear speaker set ups here on coups, but not verts. Does anybody have any ideas or pics for verts? TIA

dman535

I went the factory look on my 77. the C3 is not the most acoustically sound vehicle in the world. Given the motor/road/tire and air noise I wouls not invest a ton in super high quality components. In my opinion you need an amp, soemthing to generate some bass and something to just kick out some sound.

I have a set of kenwood box speakers in teh back end that come out in two seconds. They fit under the t tops and stay strapped in, so nothing shifts around. They kick out a ton of strong bass. I have a selt of oolk plate speakers in the dash. The head unit was done by http://www.westechradio.com/ . I also have a ADS amp stuck in with the spare tire well.

Twin_Turbo

The best subs (affordable) would be the JL audio ones. One major drawback imo is the cheap connectors they still use (spades on a paper support). Considering that, I really like the DVC Rockford series. They have a very stiff spider, excellent coil cooling, good terminals and a lightweight cone w/ good rubber surround.

The best speakers I ever had were the flat honeycomb phase linear allante 15".

I'm not that fond of 6x9's, especially if they have a stacked all-range arrangement. IMO best quality is achieved by deviding all the speakers, properly placing them (a good place for the tweeters is inside the old spider of the stock speakers, slam out the coil & remove paper and mount the tweeter in there, no one will notice it and the sound will be perfect, it bounces off the windshield and is almost exactly at ear height)

Then I mounted midrange woofers in the kick panels, kickbass in the corners above the wheel wells & subs in the rear, all controlled by an active crossover.



You should be able to make something like that fit in your vert. The sub arrangement would be wrong though, you'd need them sticking towards the back of the seats.

Marck

Steve Adkins

Thanks guys for the info. One thing that I am fighting is not enough SPACE. I was thinking of maybe going with one sub and two 6x9's in the back. I read that kicker makes a sub that is designed to be used by itself, I think it was called S7 Solo. Do any of you know about this?

Twin_Turbo

It's called the solobaric and I think they suck :)

Steve Adkins

Is there a reason they suck. I have read nothing but good reviews on these. :confused:

zZArAZz

Here is what I suggest, start off with a new 15" kicker square solobaric.
Crutchfield.com has them.
go to a pawn shop and buy a nice 2 channel and a 4 channel used amps.
Take them to a custom stereo shop and ask for a custom made form fitting box with amp rack to fill the rear of your car. Make sure you tell them I dont want a square box, I want something with curves and a vanity plate w/ matching carpet.. Normal every day stuff..
That should handle all your bass needs by far...
Get some nice componant speakers for around 300 for all 4 corners... (seperate tweeters)
then get a cheap deck with a tv, I suggest this one:


This is the nicest cheapest one you can get, it has AM/FM but thats it..
Then get a componant dvd player, like this for $500. It plays cd's with mp3s, burnt video cd's etc....

Probably the most bang for your buck if you ask me, If you can afford it, its the way to go... Add in a generic TV tuner for under 200 dollars..

Dont worry about cutting out the dial radio part of your dash, A competant installer will make it look like it came from the factory.. Whole project probably $3500 or so...
Not so much when you consider all the other work we do to our vettes:)
That is what I plan to do to my 1981 soon...
Anyone that says a square kicker solobaric sucks, has no idea the power and sound they can make:)
They use less square footage of box room, and hit harder, plus look the coolest... Why buy anything else?

Steve Adkins

Now that would be a system! :yesnod:

71'AirStrike

I agree hole heartly with Twin turbo, except for three points.

A: I think Kicker solobarek (sp :) ) sound great, and more imprortanly that they can do there job with less air volume than other subs. Meaning smaller box, more cargo room. Granted I have not heard the new "square" subs from kicker. With out hearing them I dont like them already (sound waves are "round/curved" in nature. using a square radator will create oblong or mishaped waves= distortion when Our brains hear them)

B: you gain +3 dB when sound is reflected off of glass. So the subs firing up onto the back hatch glass is not necessarly a bad thing. Plus you can get a betted dispersion (depending on what x-over/ slope you are using with the sub)

C: 90% of all 15" subs installed in cars are for bragging and not for performance. On average a 15" sub requires about 7 square feet of air space to work correctley.

I have beaten dual 15" subs with ONE 10" in SPL competion. Its all in how the box is designed.
For anyone wanting to learn the real science behind car stereos, I reccemond a book called The Speaker Design Cookbook.
Rember its not WHAT you use, its HOW you use them.

Twin: please, please dont take this as a slam against you. You have a great, cleain looking install that im sure rocks! (or raps, or countrys, or tecnos.. whatever :) )

cheers chad

Twin_Turbo

Hey everyone has the right to their own opinion :) :D

I say the solobarics suck. I heard them in comparison with the non solobarick kicker and Rockford Fosgate and they weren't even in the same league :)

Go listen at a store with a large inventory and pick the ones you think sound best :)

The free air subs (developed for no inclosure) are much less effective that the enclosure woofers. Also, they tend to distort more at higher volumes. In an enclosure the enclosed volume of air (if sealed!) will act as a damper, the voice coil will have much less of a hard time to control the cone movement.

Oh and the enclosur that was in my car was designed with term-pro (or was it term-pac) software by mike harris (the guy who wotks for RF and used yo work for orion). A guy I knew back whenI was in audio had it and used it for the enclosure.

It may be a tad expensive to get someone to run a simulation for you but you'll know you're right the first time :)


[Modified by Twin_Turbo, 4:59 PM 10/25/2002]


[Modified by Twin_Turbo, 5:33 PM 10/25/2002]

Twin_Turbo

I agree, that's why I have them like that but I think Steve has a convertible :)
Marck

C3Vettesrock

its called L7 solo baric

i have one 12" in mine, it slams, probably overkill.

I have one 12" L7 and 2 6x9s and I have no storage space:

Cajun99

I didn't want to alter my dash when I added another stereo to my '75. I left the stock radio hooked up and just unplugged the factory speakers. Replaced those with 4x6 Inifinity's in the dash and kick panels. Built two boxes for behind the seats. I don't travel with this car so I don't care about storage. One box was for two 6x9 Infinity's and a 10" MTX sub. The box theoretically isn't big enough for all three but room is a constraint. The front box holds the amps, Sony head unit w/removable face and internal cassette and the Sony 10-disc CD changer behind the passenger seat. There's about four inches of cleanance with the top down so the sound comes through OK. The MTX sub has a variable volumn control that I mounted next to my seat to adjust bass levels. The whole rig is run by a credit card sized remote that I velcro'd on the shifter plate. Top of the line cables and connectors. Added a power antenna during the install also.

Compartmentalizing the system was the only way I knew to put something in there that could rock with the top down, with all the wind noise, and still be removable without altering the original unrestored interior. It's not real fancy but it's effective.

1Bad69

This is what i used to have in my Dayton Shelby......Clarion deck with 12 pack cd....ADS seperate mids and tweeters...(2) Orion XTR275 amps...(2) 12
" Orion XTR subs in a 6 cubic foot bandpass box...

total cost was 4000 can. this was probably 8 years ago....this system hit 135db's...i was very happy with all the components...the amps rocked but were by far the most $$, 1000 each...mids were 750....if you want good stuff it's gonna be pricey.... :cheers:

SLICKMAN

Here is what I have and it sounds GREAT!!!!

Ryan77

In my opinion, Kenwood eXcelon makes the best equiptment in a decent price range, not all out competion equiptment. I got a good deal from a guy I know that owns a stereo shop, my system would have come to a total of $2,000 not including installation, which I did myself, except the dash cutting and sub box, which the installer at the store did for me on the side for free (don't tell the manager :lol: ). I got the system for about $1500
My system is as follows, with price I paid:
Kenwood eXcelon 717 flip-over face cd player, 50Wx4, ---$400
Kenwood eXcelon 4"x6" with seperate tweeter's, for the front,---$100
Kenwood 4-way 6"x9" for the back,---$150
Kenwood eXcelon 401M amp for the sub, 1200 watts,---$400
12" Eclipse Aluminum sub,---$350
Amp wiring and other misc. items,---$100


[Modified by Ryan77, 11:05 PM 10/25/2002]

71'AirStrike

OK here are some of the hurdels involved with putting a "good" sounding stereo in a vert.

Car: a car is one of the most abusive enviroments around for electronic and sound equipment (cook, virbate, rinse and repeat)

Open enviroment: You ever look at the speaker cabnets used for a rock concert or sporting event. You will see a massive 12" - 15" speaker (that weighs 60+ lbs!) but no tweeter (there is one but hear me out :)). The reason is because with no walls, roof, or doors the sound wave will freeley radaite in (almost) all directions. And the smallest fraction of the waves actually reach the intended target. So how do you get "great" sound to a bunch of teenagers. Simple. Volume, losts and losts of volume.
Thoes 15" speakers you see at the rock show, are not actually "Subs", they are full range drivers. In car audio terms thay produce the same sounds as the 3", 4", 5 1/4", 6 1/2", 8", 10", 12" ,and 15".

Theving Pr!cks: Top down, they see it, they want it. enuff said :mad

Space: As we all know the vett cargo room is so small that we have to get out just to change your mind. Verts are worse. To put a speaker box with an amp in such a way as not to interfere with the top going up/down is almost impossible.

Well how do you solve those hurdels.

Car: get good quality equipment. Not necessarly the most expensive, or flashy, but solid.
--And example to prove my point: A car stereo manfactur by the name of Kracko (cracko?) put out a HUGE 500w amp. This thing was massive, and weighed a ton. So i decited to crack open the housing to look inside. To my shock the circut board for this 500 watt beast was only 4" by 4"! The funniest this is for Kracko to "simulate" the heavyness they actually put a lead weight inside the housing! AND PEOPLE BOUGHT THIS THING!!--

Open enviroment: Mucho volume. Unfortunally with lots of volume in an open envirment the sound quality will suffer. If you accept that then you will do ok.

Theving Pr!cks: keep the stereo equipment hidden. Or "stealthy" as they say in the biz.

Space: use eficent equipment. Get an amp that has a x-over built in for example.

IMO with a money no object senaro. I would remove the battery, and fiber glass in the battery and tire jack compartments. I would use 2 8" subs firing towards the back of the seats with the ports aimed toward the center console. I would tear up the dash pad and fit 1 tweet and 5 1/4" per side. I would place the amp and EQ equipment on the back fire wall.

The battery would get moved to where the spare tire was in a procetive housing.

In the real world where money does not grow on trees..
....just get a walkman :lol: :lol:

cheers
chad

LS1-Corvette00

IMHO the "best" Stereo Equipment is the stuff you have never heard of.
Mainly that applies to speakers because all Head Units are fairly main stream.

If you had the money to spend and really wanted to go into the in depth
and proper install for a Sound Quality instalation. Speaker wise I would say
go with either Scan Speak Revelator 5.25 Mids and Scan Speak or Vifa tweeters
or Focal PolyKevlar or Ceramic Components. For sub wooferage I would say
either an Adire Tempest or a Shiva or a Parts Express Titanic DVC would by
far kill anything that the "mainstream" companies like RF, JL, Eclipse Etc
offer.. This is fact.. If you research the Shiva or Tempest sub woofers and
compare it's Specs, F, Vas, X-Max, Q , SPL Etc you will find that not only are
these affordable subs better than the name brands, they are far superior!

As far as amplifierage is concerned look for Mosfet circuitry, look for "High Current"
(Sure Amperage is important but Current is what carries everything through
demanding Dynamic Passages) Look for RMS not "Program" look for Bridgeability.. If an amp can handle a 1 or 2 Ohm load, rest assured it is
WELL BUILT... Look for Total Harmonic Distorsion (stay in the .001 range for the Mids and Tweets, Subs aren't as critical and you can get away with
a higher THD on the Sub Amp but not too high.. Too high means it's not a
quality component) You could always look into Tube amps if you want the
really good (really expensive) stuff.. Like McIntosh.... :)

Head Units... Well that's like a tough choice, they are all pretty dang good..
Some will argue the best are Alpine and Nakamichi.. I have always been
Partial to JVC, Kenwood and Pioneer myself.

Make sure to run good cabling throughout the install and keep all power
wires on one side of the car and all signal leads on the other side. Make all
wiring NEAT do not do sloppy azz wiring (I hate spaghetti) If you go real
crazy make sure the alternator and battery can handle the system and you
might want to invest in a good 1 Farad Cap for the Sub Amp if you do go big..

Positioning of the Tweeters and Midrange is Critical. Anything above 75 Hz
IS Directonal and needs to be aimed at the listener if and when possible for
proper sound stage. High Frequencies can easily be blocked by objects,
Lower Mid Range is slightly less suseptable and anything below 75Hz is
completely Omni-Directional (meaning it can't be "blocked" because it penetrates
solid objects.

But I digress :)




[Modified by LS1-Corvette00, 6:56 AM 10/26/2002]

'79ProwlerOrange

Focal
MB Quart (overpriced, but good)
Kicker
Nakamichi (sp?)
Alipine
Eclipse
McIntosh
PPI
AlumaPro
JL Audio
Kenwood Excelon
Directed (older is better than newer.)
Viper (will be good once they fix their amp problems)

I'd buy from these brands, but my favorits are Eclipse, Alipne, Kenwood Excelon, JL, and Directed. I plan on doing 2 12" Eclipse Aluminum subs, (was going to do 4 10s but i dont want to crak the fiberglass...) powered by 1 Directed 1100d, Eclipse 6.5s in the kicks with tweets in the a-pillars. those will either be powered by my Alipine V12 amp, or JL 300/4. My head unit will be a Kenwood Excelon DVD unit. Probably the 911. :cheers:

Twin_Turbo

Rainbow :) If you want a ~10.000$ 3pc composet that is absolutely top notch, get the Rainbow Reference series :)



I have a lot of quality car audio mags and they have long lists of products (about anything out there on the market) with all the test results.

Marck


[Modified by Twin_Turbo, 1:24 PM 10/26/2002]