I just got a new Mazda RX-8 and the stock sound needs upgrading. (Apologies for the longwindedness.)
I am really unsure of how to proceed in the front soundstage department. I want something nice that's not shrill, with a lot of midbass handling capacity, that gets loud and isn't overly bright. I also want a mostly-stealth install, so this means a 2-way install of midranges in doors, tweets in sailpods (I like 2-ways better than 3-ways typically... the fewer speakers the better ).
My previous car, I went through two speakers sets, and I didn't listen to either before buying. I instead relied on online reviews. My first set was CL-61as, which were severely lacking in midbass response/clarity. Replaced those with Elemental Designs 6500s and, bam, more midbass, good clarity, but tweets a little bright, and heavy midbass loads breaks it up at higher volumes. Ended up crossing over the fronts at 100-110Hz, which just doesn't seem right.
This time around, I decided that I won't buy component sets until I listen to them. Until I found diymobileaudio today, I was considering only these choices:
1) go with the most badass components. Read: Focal 165 K2V, or Boston Acoustics Z6. $1000!
2) go with medium range components. I heard Boston Acoustics SL60 and liked how they sounded. $350 sticker not bad at all for those.
It seems crazy to dump $1000 on speakers when I'll be playing them off the stock headunit (via a decent LOC, sure, but still), and having them mounted in the substandard "doors & sailpods" configuration (better setups would involve kicks and such, or maybe not having the tweeter so far from the mid). Stock headunit doesn't do time correction, so I won't be able to compensate for phasing issues all that much. So it seems wasteful to go all out on the speakers when the rest of the system isn't quite that high-level. Plus, just what is it that they make them out of to be worth $1000?
Now I am considering DIY. I mean, commercial component systems are typically mids and tweets with a pre-tuned crossover. How much harder can DIY be? It seems that for the same money, I can get some badass speakers.
So could you kind folks suggest some DIY front stage configurations for my car?
The parameters are such:
* looking to spend ~$250-500 on speakers, amps on top of that. Power requirements will drive the amp selection.
* mids in doors. Maximum mounting depth 3.125", but the maximum cutout is something like 8.25". So I can put in a 7" mid easy, 8" probably as well (if not too deep).
* tweets in sailpods, so typical "round tweet" config.
* looking for good midbass, doesn't have to be too punchy, just needs to handle a bunch of volume w/o breaking up. I like brigher sets, but dislike shrillness and fatiguing brightness. Want punchy, snappy snares.
* my music tastes are primarily: drum'n'bass, trip-hop, downtempo/lounge, glitchy electronic IDM (Here is my audio test CD). This is so that I can optimize the system for the commonly played stuff.
I figured since it's a DIY system, I can look into something like an 8" mid. But then those would probably not work as well as a 6.5" or 7" for good midrange, in a 2-way system.
Any suggestions appreciated, thanks folks!
I am really unsure of how to proceed in the front soundstage department. I want something nice that's not shrill, with a lot of midbass handling capacity, that gets loud and isn't overly bright. I also want a mostly-stealth install, so this means a 2-way install of midranges in doors, tweets in sailpods (I like 2-ways better than 3-ways typically... the fewer speakers the better ).
My previous car, I went through two speakers sets, and I didn't listen to either before buying. I instead relied on online reviews. My first set was CL-61as, which were severely lacking in midbass response/clarity. Replaced those with Elemental Designs 6500s and, bam, more midbass, good clarity, but tweets a little bright, and heavy midbass loads breaks it up at higher volumes. Ended up crossing over the fronts at 100-110Hz, which just doesn't seem right.
This time around, I decided that I won't buy component sets until I listen to them. Until I found diymobileaudio today, I was considering only these choices:
1) go with the most badass components. Read: Focal 165 K2V, or Boston Acoustics Z6. $1000!
2) go with medium range components. I heard Boston Acoustics SL60 and liked how they sounded. $350 sticker not bad at all for those.
It seems crazy to dump $1000 on speakers when I'll be playing them off the stock headunit (via a decent LOC, sure, but still), and having them mounted in the substandard "doors & sailpods" configuration (better setups would involve kicks and such, or maybe not having the tweeter so far from the mid). Stock headunit doesn't do time correction, so I won't be able to compensate for phasing issues all that much. So it seems wasteful to go all out on the speakers when the rest of the system isn't quite that high-level. Plus, just what is it that they make them out of to be worth $1000?
Now I am considering DIY. I mean, commercial component systems are typically mids and tweets with a pre-tuned crossover. How much harder can DIY be? It seems that for the same money, I can get some badass speakers.
So could you kind folks suggest some DIY front stage configurations for my car?
The parameters are such:
* looking to spend ~$250-500 on speakers, amps on top of that. Power requirements will drive the amp selection.
* mids in doors. Maximum mounting depth 3.125", but the maximum cutout is something like 8.25". So I can put in a 7" mid easy, 8" probably as well (if not too deep).
* tweets in sailpods, so typical "round tweet" config.
* looking for good midbass, doesn't have to be too punchy, just needs to handle a bunch of volume w/o breaking up. I like brigher sets, but dislike shrillness and fatiguing brightness. Want punchy, snappy snares.
* my music tastes are primarily: drum'n'bass, trip-hop, downtempo/lounge, glitchy electronic IDM (Here is my audio test CD). This is so that I can optimize the system for the commonly played stuff.
I figured since it's a DIY system, I can look into something like an 8" mid. But then those would probably not work as well as a 6.5" or 7" for good midrange, in a 2-way system.
Any suggestions appreciated, thanks folks!