Non-Chavvy Car Audio Upgrade

[Andy C]

Hi,

Recently brought a 106 car. The car came with a CD player but its about 11 years old and skips when you go over large bumps.

Anyway, the sound from the speakers (has only 2 13cm speakers) is quite empty and would like the quality to be a bit better. I 100% dont want to put more speakers in so just get better ones to replace current ones.

From what I have read its important to look at RMS of head units and speakers and get speakers with a slightly higher RMS so you dont blow them (not that I intend to have music that loud).

Anyway, my plan is to get a new head unit with aux in so can play my ipod through it and have one with a higher RMS output (the currently one has 30W peak about RMS ~15W) and then buy 2 speakers to replace the old ones.

Do you think this will make a noticable difference?

I was thinking of getting THIS head unit (RMS 22W) and THESE speakers (RMS 35W)

Has anyone ever done anything simular to thier car and was there a noticable improvment?

Anyway help/tips/advice would be great as dont really know much about car audio stuff
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99 RS125 --> 02 SV650s --> 03 Speed Four --> 92 RXS100 --> 93 CB400sf --> 01 CB600f Hornet

[Misc]

Don't know much about Headunits but as for the speakers, you'll need to spend a bit more on the speakers if you want a decent sound. I had some cheap Alpines & they sounded awful, maybe no better then stock. They won't be able to handle anything & pop & crackle when you turn the volume up & generally sound tinny.

[Bikeless]

I have those alpine speakers in my car and they are not that good bass wise but i have a sub to do that.I would fit that headunit and if you get the speakers,i would recommend getting a small sub to enhance the whole lot,nothing too big and chavvy,just a nice sound.

[Andy C]

Thanks for the comments, was thinking that the speakers may be on the cheap side.

What about these JL speakers instead?

Also, if you are only using two speakers can you have twice the power going to each (e.g. 4x50W peak into 2x100W peak power to each).

Not going to get a sub, like my boot space too much and only really want the music better not louder and bassier (reckon I could live with it not having too much bass)
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99 RS125 --> 02 SV650s --> 03 Speed Four --> 92 RXS100 --> 93 CB400sf --> 01 CB600f Hornet

[defblade]

If you really want to know, go to www.bcae1.com

In the meantime:

1) Few HUs will have a very powerful amp. They simply don't have the current handling, heat-losing capacity required to boost the music that much. Take all the figures on the front with a LARGE grain of salt.

2) Most HUs will allow you to turn them up so far the amp starts to clip. This will kill your speakers - on a certain extent, the nicer the speakers, the quicker they'll die. Get a test tone CD and listen for when the note changes as it gets louder - never go above that volume setting.

3) Make sure your speakers have the range to play the range the HU puts out.

4) The key to getting the best from any car set-up is mounting the speakers properly. Seal completely around the edges, and seal as many holes in the volume they're mounted in as possible. Oh, and before you screw them in, slap dynamat (or similar) on every surface inside the mounting you can.


5) If you'd really like nice quality, it's hard to beat a pair of amped components up front with a small sub to back them up.
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Honda Varadero 125cc => Suzuki Bandit 650 33bhp => 77bhp =>
BMW K1200R Sport 163bhp => Aprilia Shiver GT 750 95bhp

[shadowbiker]

Cant go wrong with an alpine setup, have the same in my 106 xsi

[UnknownStuntm...]

Most manufacturers will have different ranges of speakers. The low end stuff is crap. Better than OEM maybe, but still poop. My humble advice is to listen to a song you know well on some headphones at home a couple of times. There will be different things you should listen for. What's the highest splash cymbal you can hear? What's the definition of the bass like? - Can you hear the bass player's plectrum? Do the vocals sit with the track or are they swallowed into it? Then take the CD into Halfords and listen to three different sets of similarly priced speakers - same song, same headunit, same volume. The acoustics of the shop won't tell you what your car will sound like, but it will tell you the differences between the speakers. Listen to them 'off axis' (to the side) as most cars have the speakers pointing at your knees, and there's a job to project the treble. That said, most manufacturers compensate by having WAY too much treble (and bass, cuz bass is BETTER innit blud), and no midrange.

A good price to pay is upwards of £40. As said above, headunits don't have very large amplifiers in them, so there will be an upper limit of about £80 - anything over this will have a higher power rating and will only work well with the extra load an amp can generate. I'm not suggesting you avoid an amp setup, it's just way more complex and will blow a budget very quickly!

Use your ears, that's what they're there for.

(And shadowbiker above knows nothing, so pay ZERO attention to him! )

[chris-red]