Hi,
I am in the process of re fitting the stereo and need to fit speakers too, now rather than cut into door cards etc I was wondering if anyone or indeed if I could fit speakers in the front of the base of the subframe for the seats where the rubber matting is now?
Paul
Speaker placing
Moderators: User administrators, Moderators
-
CovKid
- Trader
- Posts: 8411
- Joined: 30 Apr 2006, 13:19
- 80-90 Mem No: 3529
- Location: Ralph - Coventry (Retired)
- Contact:
Re: Speaker placing
Tis possible although arguably this area may contribute to vehicular strength. I mounted mine invisibly right under the dash when I had it out (amazing how much room there is behind the dash). I use small discreet tweeters above dash to compensate for any top-end loss. Sounds great anyway and no sign of speakers - foxes most passengers.
Unfortunately previous owner fitted door speakers - not a location I would choose at all as you're so limited with position and depth - ugly too.
Unfortunately previous owner fitted door speakers - not a location I would choose at all as you're so limited with position and depth - ugly too.
Roller paint your camper at home: http://roller.epizy.com/55554/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for MP4 download.
Re: Speaker placing
You probably could... but it would sound a bit weird as music would play outwards towards your feet...
Best place is right in front of you, but thats a little impractical, so most people opt for in the door cards. I have some inch kenwood speakers set low down at the front of the door cards, though a few people have speakers set higher up (I may well put some smaller speakers up there for greater treble range). it may well be worth mounting the speaker to the door rather than the card as they are heavy and can easily warp or pull the cards off, However, do remember that water gets down there too. If I was fitting my door speakers again (previous owner fitted them) I would make an MDF frame, attach speaker to frame and frame to door. This cuts down on buzz and helps towards a fuller sound.
If you were looking to avoid cutting door cards, a few places I've eyed up recently include,
The black plastic shroud in front of the gear stick would be big enough for a single 6x9 but would need to be well attached and perhaps deadened to avoid vibration buzz. This would probably require the construction of a wooden sub frame.
The corners of the dashboard, either cut in and flush with the dash, or separate pod mounted speakers. This can look messy and provisionally involves cutting the dash, also, in my experience, pod mounted speakers are a bit rubbish sounding.
The central "holly bit" behind the ash tray. I believe this is a speaker grill anyway?
in the base of a rock n roll bed is a popular place, and the thickness of the wood (if yours is made of wood) provides good acoustic properties. I have 2 6x9's and an amp built into this. Also a good spot for a sub woofer if you're so inclined.
The thing with speakers is you need to think of them as air vents. You can put them anywhere they fit, but if you want to feel them blowing on you (hear them well) they need to be facing your ears, and your ears are designed to here sound best which comes from in front of you. Also, if speccing out the whole van, consider that sound moves relatively slowly, so if you have speakers right at the back, it can sound a bit weird.
An amp is not essential and most modern headunits will kick out 50w per channel, but if you are building a decent soundsystem, a cheap amp can be had for very little money and makes a huge difference to sound, and not just chakkaboomchakkaboomchakkaboom music heard from Corsa's across small towns of England, all music. Classic FM with a big subwoofer sounds immense!
Hope that helps, if you need anything else PM me and I'll try to help!
Jim
Best place is right in front of you, but thats a little impractical, so most people opt for in the door cards. I have some inch kenwood speakers set low down at the front of the door cards, though a few people have speakers set higher up (I may well put some smaller speakers up there for greater treble range). it may well be worth mounting the speaker to the door rather than the card as they are heavy and can easily warp or pull the cards off, However, do remember that water gets down there too. If I was fitting my door speakers again (previous owner fitted them) I would make an MDF frame, attach speaker to frame and frame to door. This cuts down on buzz and helps towards a fuller sound.
If you were looking to avoid cutting door cards, a few places I've eyed up recently include,
The black plastic shroud in front of the gear stick would be big enough for a single 6x9 but would need to be well attached and perhaps deadened to avoid vibration buzz. This would probably require the construction of a wooden sub frame.
The corners of the dashboard, either cut in and flush with the dash, or separate pod mounted speakers. This can look messy and provisionally involves cutting the dash, also, in my experience, pod mounted speakers are a bit rubbish sounding.
The central "holly bit" behind the ash tray. I believe this is a speaker grill anyway?
in the base of a rock n roll bed is a popular place, and the thickness of the wood (if yours is made of wood) provides good acoustic properties. I have 2 6x9's and an amp built into this. Also a good spot for a sub woofer if you're so inclined.
The thing with speakers is you need to think of them as air vents. You can put them anywhere they fit, but if you want to feel them blowing on you (hear them well) they need to be facing your ears, and your ears are designed to here sound best which comes from in front of you. Also, if speccing out the whole van, consider that sound moves relatively slowly, so if you have speakers right at the back, it can sound a bit weird.
An amp is not essential and most modern headunits will kick out 50w per channel, but if you are building a decent soundsystem, a cheap amp can be had for very little money and makes a huge difference to sound, and not just chakkaboomchakkaboomchakkaboom music heard from Corsa's across small towns of England, all music. Classic FM with a big subwoofer sounds immense!
Hope that helps, if you need anything else PM me and I'll try to help!
Jim
1982 A/C 2.0 Bright Orange Panel Van.
-
CovKid
- Trader
- Posts: 8411
- Joined: 30 Apr 2006, 13:19
- 80-90 Mem No: 3529
- Location: Ralph - Coventry (Retired)
- Contact:
Re: Speaker placing
There does come a point in the audio range where stereo separation falls off sharply to the human ear. It works in mine as the dash tweeters make up for any perceived loss. Can only say it does work ok. You have to kind of sit in there to see what I mean. It also meant I was able to fit substantially larger speakers up front whereas door cards are far more limiting. Door speakers are not ideally placed either to be honest, with usually one obscured by your legs
Roller paint your camper at home: http://roller.epizy.com/55554/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for MP4 download.
Re: Speaker placing
I have a spare set of 6x9's looking for a home, how did you mount them under the dash? I agree there is a lot of dead space there, and I quite fancy building a larger cab sound...
1982 A/C 2.0 Bright Orange Panel Van.
-
CovKid
- Trader
- Posts: 8411
- Joined: 30 Apr 2006, 13:19
- 80-90 Mem No: 3529
- Location: Ralph - Coventry (Retired)
- Contact:
Re: Speaker placing
I just happened to have the dash out doing another job.
Roller paint your camper at home: http://roller.epizy.com/55554/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for MP4 download.