Sound system help?

[maxddr19]

I really need help making the sound in my car sound a lot better. I'm new to car audio and I don't even know how to get the right ranges on my radio set. But the sound quality is very bad. There is barely even any bass, just a lot of sharp cymbal and it hurts most of the time if I turn it up and if it's down too low I can't hear it because my car is loud. Also, my passenger speaker shakes anytime the bass hits. I listen to alot of rock and metal, and dubstep. To start off, I just want a cheap, or atleast not super expensive way to make my audio sound better. I know my speakers aren't stock and neither is my headunit. The speakers are pioneer. The headunit is JVC.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

It'a not double den. I need to know what I should do about that and exactly what I should get. So links would be helpful. I'm open to any recommendations. And would also like help setting mt car's radio to sound good, like the mid ranges and whatnot.

 

[maxddr19]

I really need help making the sound in my car sound a lot better. I'm new to car audio and I don't even know how to get the right ranges on my radio set. But the sound quality is very bad. There is barely even any bass, just a lot of sharp cymbal and it hurts most of the time if I turn it up and if it's down too low I can't hear it because my car is loud. Also, my passenger speaker shakes anytime the bass hits. I listen to alot of rock and metal, and dubstep. To start off, I just want a cheap, or atleast not super expensive way to make my audio sound better. I know my speakers aren't stock and neither is my headunit. The speakers are pioneer. The headunit is JVC. It'a not double den. I need to know what I should do about that and exactly what I should get. So links would be helpful. I'm open to any recommendations. And would also like help setting mt car's radio to sound good, like the mid ranges and whatnot.

 

[chinola69]

I would get component speakers. You should always seperate your bass from your highs and mids. Like the link below. If you connect them to a good head unit then you dont need a amp. And to top it off you could add a good 10" woofer and should sound great.

Polk Audio db6501 Component Systems at Onlinecarstereo.com

 

[maxddr19]

What type of sub should I get?

 

[ChiTownHussla]

good and cheap just get a name brand small one

 

[MJBean420]

I agree with the previous posts. Look on C-list for bargains. Spend your money on your amps. A better, smaller amp will sound louder and clearer than a bigger cheaply-built amp will. Just do a good component set up front. I think I used Orion components and put some 5.25 in the back with some plates. Just need some sound for surround effect. I got 2 8" Rockfords I got off ebay for like $30 a set. Sound decent with a Zapco 400 watt amp too.

If you are looking for more sound quality, look into an Audiocontrol preamp. (Welcome) Makes a huge difference in sound. Even if you just get an Epicenter for the bass, you will be super-happy!

 

[LTUDSM]

What type of sub should I get?

Big subs in our cars are useles. Ill tried alot of different sizes,but i found the best one ,that fits our cars 1g's and 2g's - Dual 8 inch in as smal box. Clean,deep base,... I used JBL'S and for a speakers i went frot and rear "mb quarts" components had a 750w amp for a subs and 1200w for speakers... Sub amp was "Alpine" amp for the speakers "MB Quart"

 

[filabob1]

how loud do you want to go? i would just start with replacing all the stockers with newer speakers and a small amp. the sound will be ten times better. if you want to "thump" then i would look into getting a sub. as far as components go, yes they sound much better but appeal more to audiophiles. but this is just the speakers, if you want good sound you have to start at the source, the head unit. buy a quality head unit and some moderate replacement speakers. if you get hooked improve from there. go troll crutchfield.com get some ideas. goodluck, just like upgrading your motor, it gets addicting.

 

[Rsawd95dsm]

I put a 10 power hx2 (rockford fosgate) in mine for a sub and it destroyed me. Fix the rattles then you can go as big as you want for a sub.

 

[mattasi]

I would say that I have been there and done it with all the crazy stereo setups in my 10 years on the road since age 16. I pride myself in my electronics. Sounds like you just want a nice sounding stereo and not something that will knock down picture frames in the neighbors house. My advise for a clean sound.... Get an amp that has five channels. One channel is for a sub (get a 10" or 12" sub in this case, ported box), the other four channels on the amp will go to the four speakers in the car, 2 upfront in the doors and two in the back. Buy some good quality speakers, install them. I wont go into wiring right now and such as you can look all this up? Wire up the amp and then mess with the different setting on the amp to get the effect you want. Some stereo head units will let you mess with a lot of settings for sound to really dial it in. GL in the search.

 

[AngelOfPassion]

You really need to just get to basics with this... Every car speaker is going to sound like crap turned up without proper wattage going to it. So maybe look into getting a cheap amplifier and wire it correctly for all the speakers to give them more power.

Now as far as bass goes, I don't know what speakers are best for this. I have subs myself in my GS. And with some experience with music, two 10's in one box will get you a decent sound for bass. Some people say to go with 12's but we have always used 12's for guitar and vocals in our music and 10's always sound the best for the bass. I have no idea if this translates to car audio but it works for me...

Now your deck isn't going to make too much of a difference now at this point except for the settings it includes for adjustments. You want something that you can customize as much as you can for your price range because those presets you choose will really help with quality. You just need to fiddle with it until it sounds right.

I'm no expert but I can at least tell you what has worked for me. Right now I have a 1200watt amplifier feeding the 2 door speakers, 2 rear speakers, and the two 10's in the back. The sound is really good at moderately loud volumes and decent at really high volumes. I listen to a lot of metal though so my setup might not be optimal for a more hip hop type scene...

All of this was done on the cheap like 7 years ago and still sounds ALMOST as good as the system my friend just installed in his Civic SI.

 

[2GSXR]

I wouldn't bother with wiring all of your interior speakers to an amp if your trying to keep things cheap. Especially if you don't know if your speakers are blown or are even able to handle more power. Your deck looks like it's a lower end unit, but Pioneer is a pretty descent brand, and it looks like it has a 50x4 preamp. Which means if you have 4 speakers properly hooked up each will ideally receive 50amps. From my experience that's enough power to blow most really cheap speakers. However it's not going to be enough to properly power most high end or larger speakers. As long as you don't have any issues with the deck, I would keep it, replace any "blown" speakers and maybe install a 10" sub/amp (make sure your deck has sub outs or this may be a bit of an issue.) then use the speakers connected to the deck for higher tones and the sub to supply the bass. This will probably take some adjusting like Angel said, but I personally think this would be a more effective use of time/money for someone on a budget. Also you get what you pay for, but only to an extent. I would perhaps advise looking for speakers, etc. which have some sort of warranty, or descent return policy.

 

[noavgjoe]

OP, take a look at Car Audio - Car Audio Basics or Caraudio.com. From what you stated it sounds like the head unit is lacking enough power to play your speakers at a decent level without distorting. Its typical. Also, because your speakers lack crossovers you're unable to remove some of the lower frequencies which your amp struggles to play at louder levels which equals more distortion. If you are going to keep it cheap try playing with the Eq (if your radio has one) to balance out the sound. But if I were you I would get a 4/5 channel amp and bypass the built in amp in the radio and a small sub to take care of the low end for a more complete sound. I hope this helps a little.

 

[thomcasey]

I personally think you will get your best sound using a small amp for the front speakers, deck power for the rear speakers, and a separate amp for a sub. This way your sound stage will be in the front as it should be, with some rear fill.

You can use your stock wiring for this. real easy to do.

 

[maxddr19]

All I'm basically looking for is something that will make the quality better than it being as sharp as it is (to the point where you turn it up loud enough to hear and it hurts). I think the bet thing to do right now is get an amp. I'll wait awhile before I decide to get a sub. Any suggestions on a cheap or not too expensive 4 channel amp? I'm thinking about putting the amp up front with the head unit since the head unit is single den. Wouk that be easier in setting up and how would I set it up with all the wiring?

 

[drocks22]

I agree with amplifying the front and pushing the deck to the rear.

As far as a subwoofer I would just go with a powered sub. I have the Infinity Basslink and it has plenty of power and sounds great in my Spyder. When it was in my Talon hatchback the bass was much better. Crutchfield has them for $199. Not too shabby.

Infinity BassLink Powered subwoofer: 200 watts and a 10" sub at Crutchfield.com

If your passenger speaker is blown I would opt for some polk audio or infinity reference series 6.5" speakers. I have had good experiences with both of these.

 

[Nekid]

What do you consider cheap?

Car audio isn't very magical, what you pay is what you get. There are some exceptions to the rule in the case you can spend waaaay too much and not get enough, but if you stick with the standard brand names: JL, Alpine, Polk, MB Quart, JBL, Pioneer, etc... it is true.

If you just want better sounding for cheap and easy, my recommendation is:

HU: Alpine of your choosing, as long as it is compatible with...

Amp: Alpine Electronics of America, Inc. this is a very nice amp for its size and ease of installation.

Speakers: go to a sound board and pick em out. You'll want components in the front and just coaxials in the rear.

Mounting: make sure when you are mounting the speakers, they are mounted tight and DO NOT RATTLE! If you find it ratteles, you can put some rubber cement (the stuff that never dries hard, stays rubbery, and can be rolled out easily) between the speaker's metal mounting ring and the door's metal...the goal is to have the speaker "floating" on the rubber cement so it can't vibrate the metal. If you have some other bad metal vibrations, you can look into selectively placing Dynomat (or equivalent) to dampen those areas.

Sub: if you want bass, especially if you listen to dub step, you'll probably want to expand your system to include a subwoofer. As suggested above, two 8's would probably be plenty for what you are looking for, or you could build a box to fit one side of the hatch area and put in a 10".

Note: the HU and Amp suggestion above is the cheap and easy route. It was suggested based upon 'cheap' and 'easy' being a criteria. The two together can all be done right there in the console without running much more wiring or trying to find a nice play to mount it. All the speaker wires are right there.

Ultimately, if you are amping your speakers, as mentioned before, get a GOOD amp. I had a nice powerful amp once, supposedly made for full range speakers...it sounded like ass no matter what speakers I put on it. I upgraded to JL's HD amp and a world of difference!

 

[JusMX141]

Merged. One new thread on the same topic per user, please.

 

[chinola69]

Keep clean and simple. No need for amps right away, get some good quality component speakers and a good head unit and once you feel you have out grown that get a Woofer. Done

Many good speakers, it will be more of a prefrence thing, but:
Infinity, Alpine, Polk, MB quartz, Just try to stay away from cheap ones like Jensen,boss

 

[rocketrapson]

Ok, simple solution if.you want to keep it cheap with decent sound. Walmart, Sony explode speakers, 4 channel amp id say 300 watt to push the speakers, mount it under passenger seat in the stock.location. Also keeping.it.cheap, 2 Sony explode 12 inch subs.from.walmart they are 50 each online, and.get a.cheap monoblock amp about 600 watts, 1000 max and.bridge the.subs

I am currently running infinity reference speakers off the factory amp which I will be upgrading. I am also going to put out for 2 kicker comp 12s with a 300 watt monoblock, I may go for a 1000 though

 

[chinola69]

a Good head unit will sound great no need for an amp. If he feels later he can always add an amp but for now component speakers and a good head unit will be fine. Start with a good foundation you can always add to it slowly.

 

[MistrMackey]

bump what noavgjoe said - I'm an audio engineer - This is correct ... sort of, An amplifier sends distorted signal when you turn it up all the way yes... BUT the OP didn't say his system was distorting he says he is experiencing too much high freq which would be an EQ issue.

NOW the reason your getting so much high freq is because of the Fletcher Munson Curve - basically this states how loudness effects frequency , when you turn your system up it sends more high end freq to the speakers , try listening to your stereo at a lower volume with the car off so you can hear it then turn it up all the way you will see what i'm talking about (if you don't have subs)

You need to provide enough power to the speakers with the head unit mid to three quarters of the way up to get around the curve, I would suggest getting a head unit with a better eq or an external eq.

EQ EQ EQ EQ is EVERYTHING this is the biggest tool we have to shape sound the more bands you have on your eq the more you can dial in your sound personally I have a 7 band eq in my car kenwood makes an 11 I believe but its pricey, an external wouldn't be bad but its extra wiring

Speakers - components are great, but more of a pain in the $$$ than anything a good set of 3 way speakers in the front are fine I run JL 3 ways in the front and 6x9s in the back but if you want to raise the sound stage replace the tweeters in the dash with components.

Subs - depends on your preference 12s have a wider frequency range 10s are punchier if you listen to rock i'd say go with 10s MAKE SURE YOU PUT DOWN SOUND DAMPENER!!! You won't believe all the overtone frequencies that are created from rattling plastic in our cars, I went crazy fixing rattles when I got mine and finally fixed them all and the Sound Quality is AMAZING I even took the headliner down and did the roof.

AMP - a good head unit with run 55watts per channel which is close to the output of most 4 channel amps , I wouldn't go with a 5 channel simply because I don't like dealing with crossovers on my amps and depending on the quality of amp you get the preciseness of the crossover can be iffy i'd run the sub on its own amp and the speakers on an amp or to the head unit

I do apologize for the long winded reply but I felt it was necessary to line this out, also if anyone has any questions about audio feel free to hit me up

Also what NEKID says about amps BUMP clean signal is clutch

 

[Nekid]

AMP - a good head unit with run 55watts per channel which is close to the output of most 4 channel amps

55 watts peak, not RMS Unless they have done something amazing with HUs lately. But in any case, a properly set up HU with matched speakers will make it uncomfortable to listen to when cranked...just don't expect to vibrate your fillings out with just speakers form a HU.

Everything else MistrMackey said is mmmmkay?

 

[greengoblin2011]

You said you can't even adjust the settings like bass and treble on the unit you have? Assuming the unit you have is the one in the photo, you should be able to access all that thru the menu button to the left of the unit. That may only change sourcees like radio CD or iPod. If so read the manual, each radio is different. You may also be able to press in the volume knob to access these settings. I use pioneer but my cousin has a jvc and his are accessed by pressing in the volume knob. Try that and see if you can adjust sound settings. You may find you can change that to a sound your happy with. As far as the passenger speaker rattling, take your panel off. It my just be loose not blown. Seen it before

 

[MistrMackey]

mmmkay!