beginers guide to car audio...

[sidle]

This Guide (and it is only a guide) is intended to answer some of the standard questions we have all asked on this Forum. More often than not the question starts as:


"Hi! I'm new and I'd like to put a stereo in my car!"


So, You're new to the world of car audio and you've decided to spend your hard earned cash on audio upgrades. BRILLIANT!! but wait....

The following advice will help you buy and build a high performing versatile and upgradeable car Audio Install which will provide you with loud clear music, and be safe and reliable.

At the end of this Guide you should have a clear understanding of:

The bits you need to buy to get a working sound system.
The bits you DON’T need to buy.
How it all fits and works together.
How to install and wire it up to get it working (In a general sense).



"What Will I Need?"
The most fun part of every project is shopping. Yes, you will need to spend some money. How much, and on what, is down to you. Do your research and spend wisely. For the purposes of your first install the recommended system will be:

Head unit.To play music, obviously.

An Amplifier. To amplify the signals the head unit supplies.

A Set of Speakers. To produce the bulk of the music for your “front end”

A Subwoofer of some kind. In 90% of car audio systems you NEED a subwoofer. The unintiated my never even notice it’s there when you’re playing music, but you need it.

Other Equipment:

Wiring kit to supply power to the amp and signal to the speakers. This will generally consist of:

Large gauge Power Cable.

A fuse holder and fuse to protect the power cable.

Identical gauge Ground cable to connect the amp to ground (your cars chassis).

RCA Cables (“Phono” cables) to carry the signal from the head unit to the amplifier.

Speaker cable.

A “Remote” wire which is simply any old length of wire that can carry a +12V signal to that amp to tell it to switch on (if +12v is present) or off (if +12V isn’t present). Some RCA cables have this built in.

You may also need a Head unit wiring adaptor to convert your cars Wiring loom to an “ISO” block which is a standardised wiring block to allow you to plug in any head unit to any car and for it to work properly, drawing it’s power from the cars loom and powering standard speakers acceptably well, and a facia adaptor to make the head unit blend into the dashboard.

Sound deadening.
It is almost impossible to overstate the importance of sound deadening. The ever raging battle of Car Audio is defeating the harsh audio environment of a running, moving car and allowing the music to be heard. Sound deadening stops you losing your speakers energy to the outside world. It stops panel resonance overcoming speaker output. It makes the car a quieter, more pleasant place to be even if you’re not listening to music. Even the cheapest install should have some nod in the direction of making the car a better acoustic environment in the first place. If you’ve not sound deadened, you’re wasting money you spend on upgrades like a more powerful amplifier or a slightly nicer set of speakers.

Some basic building materials: MDF, Screws, Glue, Tools… as much as you want and specific to your plans and aspirations!



"What DON’T I need to buy?"

“But my mates installs all have… The audio shop said I needed…. Halfords have this on offer….”

Some of this is contentious and some of it less so but this is a basic install and designed to get a new Car Audio enthusiast the biggest bang for their buck. As such you can safely ignore:

Line Drivers. These hark back to the good old days when head units had a very low Pre-Out voltage (0.1-1Volt). A Line Driver was like a pre-amplifier that boosted that voltage to 4-6V perhaps, and meant that your amplifier gains could be set lower, and higher sound quality and volume was the result. Nowadays even cheap headunits almost all have 2 Volt -8 Volt Pre-Outs, and a Line Driver is not necessary.

Equalisers/Processors: These most definitely have their place, but in a first install, the head unit should give you some EQ and limited processing ability and will be more than confusing enough for a beginner. Some complex headunits have enough processing power on board to make external EQ’s and processors totally unnecessary.

Power capacitors: Yes, lots of people have them, and they’re all shiny and stuff and they look bling and they’re fun to Leave charged up in the garage for your mum to find (don’t do this). If you’re running a very powerful amplifier, and the power supply is a problem, there are many things you should do before spending money on a power capacitor. You should do “The Big Three” to re-inforce your charging system. You should Run a bigger battery or more batteries. You should invest in a more powerful alternator. You should not spend money on a power cap.

6X9’s… Now, again, these have their place. Sort of. In specific applications they can be made to work well. However, by and large, they’re badly designed, have horrible sounding tweeters, they mess up the sound stage in your vehicle and they deafen you and your passengers. If they’re amplified they’re too loud and in the wrong place. If they’re unamped they’re probably distorting badly. A well set up system should not need 6X9’s, and certainly not £30 6X9’s screwed into a sagging parcel shelf above a booming subwoofer.

So Now I’m going to break down each of the key components in the System and explain to you what to look for when making your choices.

[NoNolva]

you are right

Sorry, what you mean?

[NeilP]

Re: beginers guide to car audio...

I agree with JJ on that!

but i'd get a 4 channel amp and amp the midrange speakers as well, purely for the extra headroom offered from an external amp

your parrot 9100 will also be able to work with the aftermarket set up, as you'll take the signal for the amplifiers where the speakers would be (with a high to low convertor)

tune it properly and you'll have a cracking little system that hasn't broken the bank yet sounds every bit worth it!

[problemchild1976]

Re: beginers guide to car audio...

I would suggest an alright ish HU upgrade (£150 sort of sony/pioneer)

Small amp to power sub

Bass bins with components (mids in bins and tweeters on a-pillars)

You can keep the original HU and run that into an amp too but I wouldn't waste my money on the sound chip tbh

NeilP is your man really

JJ

[TwoPlus1]

Re: beginers guide to car audio...

I've currently got a pair of warn out speakers in my Smart 450 Coupe and I want to replace them with speakers, tweeters and an 8" sub which I'm going to build an MDF box for it which will replace the styrofoam in the passenger footwell. I've selected the 8" sub as a 10" one will struggle in the confined space of the footwell.

First off do I need to replace my Grundig Tape/CD changer head unit or can I just fit the sound chip? I’m not an audio phial and am looking for good sound on longer journeys rather than concert quality reproduction so if possible I’d prefer not to.

My first question is what speakers, tweeters and subs would others recommend I look at with this setup and secondly are there any other components I need such as amps or can I just plug my CD changer and Parrot MKi9100 into the back of the existing head unit to give me all the inputs I need and then add the speakers?

[maxxx]

Re: beginers guide to car audio...

have this in my roady
with 2x16mm speakers and 2x40mm tweeters focal polyglass
but still missing the subwoofer (the one in fiber at the passenger feets)

[NeilP]

Re: beginers guide to car audio...

From an engineering point of view, something needing more fans is a shame, they should of included something already.....

When my bit 10 :censor: arrives I will let you know..........

i'd imagine that they've sorted the cooling issue.

as for my amps, it has some 'power down' tech which reduces the power if it gets too hot rather than the amp cutting out...

the fans are just going in purely because I have them from my old build, so might as well use them

[Smartie81]

Re: beginers guide to car audio...

i've already got a set of fans that I will be running with.

http://www.stingerelectronics.com/pr...0&CategoryID=3

one for the amplifier, and one for the processor



had the system battery delivered today, and I can't wait!

From an engineering point of view, something needing more fans is a shame, they should of included something already.....

When my bit 10 :censor: arrives I will let you know..........

[DaisyDuke]

Re: beginers guide to car audio...

Stickied

[NeilP]

Re: beginers guide to car audio...

Cannot fault the stinger stuff, currently for two of there gel batteries to be delivered!

not a fan of their batteries; the guys at work run them and are always complaining about the voltage! (mainly as they cheaped out and have poor alternators)...but I'm yet to experience a system with stinger batts that are problem free!

what system are you running/planning on running? you've got quite a bit of good kit from what i can see so far!

would love a listen!

[sidle]

Re: beginers guide to car audio...

Cannot fault the stinger stuff, currently for two of there gel batteries to be delivered!

[NeilP]

Re: beginers guide to car audio...

You'll love the range of adjustment in the audison, my only observation was mine got quite hot, but was replaced under warranty

i've already got a set of fans that I will be running with.

http://www.stingerelectronics.com/pr...0&CategoryID=3

one for the amplifier, and one for the processor



had the system battery delivered today, and I can't wait!

[sidle]

Re: beginers guide to car audio...

You'll love the range of adjustment in the audison, my only observation was mine got quite hot, but was replaced under warranty

[NeilP]

Re: beginers guide to car audio...

Or could use the jl cleensweep or even the audison bit 1

although both great units...they're not cheap

if someone was working to a budget then it's a great unit(having lived with one myself for a little under 2 years)

will have to wait and see of the audison units sound as good as the reviews say they are!(i've already had a play with the software and all i can say is WOW!)

[sidle]

Re: beginers guide to car audio...

you can use something like a hifonics HFEQ to take care of that, although you won't have the best quality (as you're going to use the tablet's internal DAC - digital audio converter)

specs on the link...

http://www.soundevo.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=309

Or could use the jl cleensweep or even the audison bit 1