ICE help: speakers

[RNRMF]

Howdy.

Looking to upgrade my stereo and could do with pointing in the right direction. I know a set of components at the front are a good starting point so thats whats first. I would like a simple setup that sounds OK without spending too much. So, up front, what size components would be best? 5" speakers would be easier to fit somewhere but I guess 6.5" one would sound better (less tinny?). Also, is there a massive advantage to having components over coaxials if i'm only looking at spending £40-ish?

[Tommy Cooper]

ive got 5 1/2" speakers to go up front and some pods that you can get off of ebay for £8 plus some tweeters and a 400W amp... all to be fitted... my project for 2007

Main thing as Faz demonstrated with his current set up with 3" speakers in the rear is to have them powered off of a seperate amp and not just off of the CD head unit

I have some 4" sony speakers surplus and you can get 4" pods on ebay but these may be too small for you

[Iceman]

If you can push to £60 you will get some cracking speakers HERE (http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/jbl-gto6507c-p-5135.html). As they are 2 ohms when you get an amp to run them you can give them more power as an amp will give more power at a lower ohmage if you know what i mean. An amp that would be perfect is this one (http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/jbl-gto752-p-4139.html) but it depends what you want to do and how much you want to spend. You could also look on talkaudio and get something secondhand in the way of ampage.
FAZ

[Josie & Gary]

I'd surgest getting the best sounding speakers that you can afford at the moment, then upgrade the rest of the system when money allows it :D Most decent head units can put out around 50w per channel, which would be plenty in a basic system.

When buying speakers, look at the RMS rating and not the max watt output, and look for ones that have a wide frequency range. The best thing you can do is go into Halfords and have a listen to all there speakers and see which you like the sound of the most. :D
Gary

[Tommy Cooper]

I could be wrong but I dont think head units really put out a proper 50w per channel. I have a top of the range shelf hi fi system and that only does 22watts and thats damn loud.

[Iceman]

No most head units can only manage about 15watts rms even when thay say they can. The thing is it isn't all about wattage it is about giving the speakers the cleanest signal possible. This is why i always suggest giving speakers more that what they are rated at as you really won't be giving them that in reality. Say you have speakers rated at 50w rms and an amp at 100w rms you can keep the sensitivity of the amp down and also the actuall volume on the head unit down. So in affect you will be giving them around 50 watts but not pushing the head unit or amp to clip. Just hope i am making sense to you all :D .
FAZ

[Tommy Cooper]

loud and clear ;)

[Josie & Gary]

Sorry i meant it to read 50w max. :(

Advice was based on the fact that with the system he wants for the money he has, he is not aiming for clarity of music, just a nice overal system :D

Most manufactures will give a sensitivity rating, this tells you how much watts into volume the speakers produces at a distance of 1 meter. The higher the sensitivity rating, the lower the wattage required to achieve this :cool: :D

A word of advice though. I have seen people damaging good quality speakers by giving them a bit too much juice :eek:

[Tommy Cooper]

thats because its current they want not juice.. thats better in a glass with ICE in it and a straw. :p

[RNRMF]

Cool, I understand all that but...


what size components would be best? 5" speakers would be easier to fit somewhere but I guess 6.5" one would sound better (less tinny?). Also, is there a massive advantage to having components over coaxials

[Iceman]

Yeah you you can but i know of some giving some midbass 350watts rms per midbass and he has 2 in each door check this link (http://www.talkaudio.co.uk/vbb/showthread.php?t=155586). So if setup right it can be done and it is better to give a speaker more wattage and a cleaner signal than less wattage and a signal that is starting to distort at the top of the wattage range. The thing is the wattage rating are on most amps at 13.8volts wich in a mini you'll never have once lights heater and all that is on so you be lucky to push out what it is rated at anyway.
FAZ

[Tommy Cooper]

very good point Faz about the voltage...

Darren going back to your original point I would go for some good 5.5" speakers in pods in the front foor well and a smallish seperate amp

[Josie & Gary]

Cool, I understand all that but...

The larger the cone, the lower the note it can play, but the slower it is to react. So if you like bass lines, go for a slightly bigger speaker cone like the 6.5".

I prefer bass, so would go for the bigger ones as i like more bass in songs. :D And opt. for co-axials to save space and reduce wiring :)

I would run these off the stereo. Yes, ideally you want every speaker driven by an amp, but amps take up space, and you can always upgrade at a later date. As to where to mount them, its really personally preference. Although speakers should be at a level with your ears, or at least directed at them.

My Alpine headunit gives out a really nice clear sound, so the only amp i had in the Bmw was the one for the 12" sub. I had a set of 5" in the doors and 2 tweeters on the dash, and this was so good a sound(even at high volume) that i never changed it in the 4 years i had the car :D

[Iceman]

Cool, I understand all that but...

Yes a big advantage to have components but if you just want sound either will do and the bigger the size generally the better but not always :p .
FAZ

[Tommy Cooper]

my tip if you want to stick within budget.... ebay of course and buy local as then it saves you postage and some are local pick up only so you can get an amp CD head or speakers for next to nothing..

this amp is 99p and pick up only in worthing so you might get it for 99p
Item Is Boxed With Manual and Spare Fuses, Terminals etc

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MUTANT-NW480SP-High-Power-640W-Car-Amp_W0QQitemZ330083274744QQihZ014QQcategoryZ4950QQ rdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I paid £10 for my amp, £35 for a unused and boxed kenwood cd head and got 5" speakers for £5 and 4" speakers for £1. The wiring kit was about £10 and the speaker pods another £10.

[Auntie Mini]

I dont know much about stereos as Faz always does it, but from listening to him over the years (yes i do that occassonally) i remember him saying that 6.5 are better for the car, a pain in the posteria to fit but better sounding. Please dont go to halfords to listen to there speakers as some are pants ( sorry Lee) go to Huets in Portslade, if Faz comes with you he could get you a good deal as he did with me.
Some of you know what you are talking about, but my hubby did win the ICE sound-off at SMOC with the best install and sound quality so he does know quite a bit!! Yes i was very proud!!!
And im hoping if he gets his fingers out of his butt he could win again with all the stereo equiptment he has. :D :D
So i dont know if that helps properly not but!!

[MINI ME]

HA HA HA nice 1, most of r speakers r bad but brand new board in the shop now so we can listen to the speakers now!! but we do cost a bomb to! :D