Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

component speakers - placement

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    component speakers - placement

    Sometime, next month, I'm looking to install a pair of component speakers for my 2002 Protege5. I need your superior audio minds to figure the best spot to place my speakers for the best sound quality which includes tone, imaging and soundstaging.

    I am looking to get a pair of 6x8 components. For my car, do you think that this is the best size for components or should I go with 6.5 components? I have a Kenwood 180wx4 channel amp currently running in my system.

    I am wondering if the existing speaker hole in the front is the ultimate place to keep my mids? I've been told that the kick panel is the ideal spot to place them but it looks too small to fit anything there. Also, I am looking for the best place to put my tweeter. I don't want to place it in the A-pillar because of poor imaging. I read somewhere that it should be somewhere 6-12 inches away from the mids. What do you think, Protegeans?

    #2
    Go with the 6.5"s... round speakers sound better than oval. Kick panels are generally the best place for imaging, but in my personal opinion the sound is better from the stock location in the door. As for tweeters, there seem to be a lot of different opinions on placement. Most people say the tweeters should be mounted within 6 inches of the mids. I personally like the tweeters near the bottom of the window because it brings the sound stage up more. Best thing to do would be duct tape them in one place for a few days, see how they sound, and then move them to the next option and try again for a few days. Also, for imaging, aim the tweeters toward the opposite window, a little behind the center mark (that's a good starting point anyway).

    Comment


      #3
      if you are inexperienced and doing this yourself, then it's easiest to mount the tweeter as close to the mid as possible. it's easier to mount the tweeter far away from the mid if you have a higher x-over freq between them.

      there is room in the kick panel area for a mid and the tweeter, however, there would be more room if you relocate your fuse panel. rider69 did that in his p5 and had some nice looking kick panels.

      i personally don't like the tweeters mounted down low. more often than not it brings the sound stage down or creates a bowed effect of the sound stage. the upstage kit from CDT audio works well to raise the sound stage if you find that yours drops down due to tweeter placement.

      and do not go with 6x8 components if SQ is your goal. there are no really good sets on the market and the sound dispersion of the oval is not as uniform as a round speaker.

      Comment


        #4
        Read this for more info... these guys generally know what they're talking about

        Comment


          #5
          Alright JNORION,

          The tweeter position make a lot of sense. So, it sounds like I should place the mids in the factory position and place the tweeters in the same area as the location shown on CDT's site. It seems like CDT is insisting that you should put a full component system down in the kick panel area and simultaneously place a new set of tweeters on the sail panels to acheive the best sound. Are you saying that you place the mids (only) in the factory speaker location or should I have another component speaker set down below?

          Comment


            #6
            It really depends on your personal preference. Most people will say you should put the tweeters down with the mids. I personally like it much better with the tweeters up at the bottom of the window. My suggestion is to try them in all different places before you mount them anywhere. Find what sounds best to you.

            I've never used a second set of tweeters... I'd like to try it sometime to see how it sounds. That brings up a question for Brian: what exactly is the Upstage kit and how does it work? I couldn't find any good info about it.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by jnorion
              It really depends on your personal preference. Most people will say you should put the tweeters down with the mids. I personally like it much better with the tweeters up at the bottom of the window. My suggestion is to try them in all different places before you mount them anywhere. Find what sounds best to you.

              I've never used a second set of tweeters... I'd like to try it sometime to see how it sounds. That brings up a question for Brian: what exactly is the Upstage kit and how does it work? I couldn't find any good info about it.


              when it comes to sound staging, there are many factors that come into play when deciding to put the tweeters up high or down low. like you said, you need to try them in different locations to see what you like best. if i didn't go with a 3-way set that has a dome mid-range, i may have mounted the tweeter closer to the 6.5" because of the x-over point and possible poor imaging.

              the upstage kit is something that competitors have been doing for years when their primary tweeters are mounted down low. it's just an attenuated tweeter with a high x-over point. the reason why it is easier and sometimes better to mount a tweeter up high with a higher x-over point is that it won't interfere with the vocals. when you use most standard 2-way components, the tweeter and mid share the vocal range so it is very pronounced if they are far away from each other. with the upstage kit, or any attenuated tweeter, the x-over point is generally well above the high vocal range and is a bit quieter than the main tweeter so it doesn't draw too much attention to the extra tweeter. used well and they can achieve amazing results. not properly implemented and you're shooting yourself in the foot.

              Comment


                #8
                What's an attenuated tweeter?

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by jnorion
                  What's an attenuated tweeter?


                  a tweeter that doesn't play as loud as the main tweeter. L-pads are common to use for the attenuation circuit:

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Is there a specific volume that you'd want, say 50% of the overall system volume, or do you just tweak each one individually?

                    Also, how would that work using an L-pad rated for 15 watts RMS?
                    Last edited by jnorion; 09-17-2005, 07:27 PM.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      It seems like you have to tweak each one to get the right sound. Probably go even 25% of the rated power. I saw somewhere else that there was a set of two angled tweeters that you place in the front-center area of the dashboard to accentuate the imaging even more. http://www.cdtaudio.com/stagefront_c...ge_systems.htm. Each tweeter is facing opposites of each other.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by jnorion
                        Is there a specific volume that you'd want, say 50% of the overall system volume, or do you just tweak each one individually?

                        Also, how would that work using an L-pad rated for 15 watts RMS?


                        just like any system, it all has to be tweaked individually. that's the nice thing about the upstage kit, they give you up to 10 dB's of attenuation per side. the attenuator is similar to what components give you with the tweeter adjustment with the jumpers in the x-over box.

                        because of the nature of tweeters, you are probably only sending one tenth the power your amp is rated for to them. my amp is rated at about 85 watts, but the tweeter isn't seeing hardly 5-10 watts. you could also build your own. they have the l-pad design built into winISD.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by shred
                          It seems like you have to tweak each one to get the right sound. Probably go even 25% of the rated power. I saw somewhere else that there was a set of two angled tweeters that you place in the front-center area of the dashboard to accentuate the imaging even more. http://www.cdtaudio.com/stagefront_c...ge_systems.htm. Each tweeter is facing opposites of each other.


                          i haven't listened to a vehicle with that set yet, but it does look interesting. course that goes against many competitors philosophies of keeping it simple. it sounds like CDT wants you to use 3 sets of tweeters to achieve good sound stage. i've heard it done enough times with one set to not personally want to spend the time and money on the other 2 sets.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by blue LEDz
                            because of the nature of tweeters, you are probably only sending one tenth the power your amp is rated for to them. my amp is rated at about 85 watts, but the tweeter isn't seeing hardly 5-10 watts. you could also build your own. they have the l-pad design built into winISD.
                            For the price of those l-pads you linked to I'd rather just buy them.

                            So would you reccomend placing the main tweeters down near the stock location and using a second set to bring the stage up, or using only one set up near the top? Or is there another way of bringing the stage up with the tweeters down below?

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by jnorion
                              For the price of those l-pads you linked to I'd rather just buy them.

                              So would you reccomend placing the main tweeters down near the stock location and using a second set to bring the stage up, or using only one set up near the top? Or is there another way of bringing the stage up with the tweeters down below?


                              you can bring the sound stage up with proper aiming.

                              of course one of the reasons why i chose the components i did was because the dome mid-ranges are more forgiving when off axis. i have little room to work with in my truck, so i knew it was going to be very difficult to properly aim components. so the iridium 3-ways seemed like the perfect choice. with a x-over point above 5 khz the tweeter can be easily mounted away from the mid-range without the normal negative effects of off axis mounting.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X