new speakers and sound deadening advice needed

[balilewis]

Hey guys,

I'm planning to do a road trip in the near future and my MP5 is pretty loud on the highway.
So I was thinking of doing a sound deadening project during thanksgiving and install new speakers before the year ends.

I'm thinking of buying Quick Roof from Home Depot tomorrow and use that to cover everything except the roofs. Any thoughts on Quick Roof? How about Frost King insulation? I've heard people using both Quick Roof and Frost King.

Also, since I'm on a budget, what speakers do you suggest for all four doors? I'm looking to spend around $100 on speakers.
EDIT: Should I consider buying a new HU instead of speakers?
This will be the first time I'm doing this. I'm relatively new to cars (bought my MP5 two months ago and its my first car) so any help and tips are appreciated!

 

[JiggaBro]

just about any aftermarket HU will improve sound quality over stock so id start with that first.
i used 'peel and seal' from lowes and it does help a lot.
only thing you have to make sure of is cleaning the area first and using a heat gun to secure it from ever moving around.
it will give the car a slight smell for a few days (expecially if its hot) but it goes away if you open the windows for a few seconds.
after a week or two it give no smell.

 

[tweety2300]

There's always fat mat

 

[Bastian]

just about any aftermarket HU will improve sound quality over stock so id start with that first.

This.

Always swap your headunit first. Just putting in aftermarket speakers with your stock head unit will not sound good. They will be underpowered.

Think of it like a car. Imagine the engine as the headunit and the chassis as the speakers. The whole car represents the stereo system. The stock chassis and engine are fairly slow.


Let's say you swap in a nice big engine, keeping the chassis stock. You now have more power and the same weight. Your car is faster and more powerful.

On the other hand, let's say you take your stock engine and put it in a bigger chassis. You now have the same power but more weight. Now, your car is slow and underpowered.


An aftermarket headunit will make the stock speakers sound nicer by giving them more power, with higher quality sound. Aftermarket speakers with the stock headunit will not be very loud at all, sound tinny, and lack bass response.

 

[balilewis]

Thanks for the advice guys, so glad that I joined the forum - helpful people everywhere! I would've totally gone and bought some speakers without replacing the stock HU and wonder why they sound so bad!

I'm thinking of buying a 2-din HU. Any suggestions on which ones/brands I should get?

 

[Hank3]

I'm thinking of buying a 2-din HU. Any suggestions on which ones/brands I should get?

Check this recent thread for ideas:

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123821939-Aftermarket-radio-question

 

[Bastian]

My only advice as far as double din HUs go:

Single din HU's tend to give you more bang for your buck. I personally have a double din HU, but if you're trying to save money, you can typically get a single din with similar specs to a double din cheaper. Unless you're set on the double din, in which case, more power to you (2thumbs)

 

[tweety2300]

Double din just looks cool IMO. I personally find it too much of a pain to adjust settings or do other simple things while driving.

 

[Bastian]

Double din just looks cool IMO. I personally find it too much of a pain to adjust settings or do other simple things while driving.

Same, I have a Pioneer double din myself. They typically flow with the dash better. I was just speaking from strictly a budget-based point of view.

 

[balilewis]

Since I am low on budget, I opted for a single din and ended up getting the https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned)
On the other hand, anyone have experience with Quick Roof or Frost King insulation?

 

[pkane]

Same, I have a Pioneer double din myself. They typically flow with the dash better. I was just speaking from strictly a budget-based point of view.

According to Crutchfield's website, Pioneers require slight modification (removal of rear radio support) can you confirm?

 

[Bastian]

My particular installation required no modifications. However, I am the second owner of my car, and the previous owner did have an aftermarket Kenwood HU installed.

 

[sqsux]

I don't remember modifying anything when I installed mine, the hardest part was getting the stock radio out as the din removal holes jammed (typical from what i hear) ended up having to take the glove box out and getting another person the reach behind the dash and push the radio out.


@op for budget deadening I would look at AudioTechnix, 60mil since you mentioned you're on a budget AudioTechnix 60mil

The roofing products will certainly work to an extent, and I personally never had a problem with smell.

as far as speakers I had a buddy with 6 sets of the Rockford Fosgate punch series 6.5s in his front doors, they sounded amazing for "budget speakers" and they make a 5x7 coaxial. Here's a link to those.

If you decide to go the route of a new headunit instead(which I also suggest), I can only suggest the pioneer avh double dins as thats all I've ever used.. but I've heard good things about the Alpine CDE series.

 

[balilewis]

When I get my new head unit, will I need an amp for my car if I buy speakers for my four doors?

 

[Bastian]

You don't need an amp. Many people I know do not run external amplifiers.

 

[balilewis]

Update: I managed to apply Quick Roof on all my doors, rear seats and floors, and the trunk. I decided to finish the drivers seat sometime during Christmas break since I don't really have time right now. It did reduce noise in a noticeably amount. Engine noise is still loud though and I don't think I can do anything about that.

I also installed my new stereo! It was a PITA because my clips were broken and the DIN removal tool for the left side of the factory stereo wouldn't catch. Trying to wiggle it around for half an hour without any luck, so I searched around for a bit and find out that i can access the clip by removing my center panel. Such a great feeling getting that old stereo off I actually yelled YES out loud haha

Anyways, you guys are right. The new stereo does improve the sound quality of my factory speakers by a lot (2thumbs)
I'm kinda curious now to see how a new set of speakers will sound? Gotta save up I guess..

 

[Bastian]

Good to hear (2thumbs)

As far as speakers go, get some three-way speakers for your front doors and two-way speakers for your rear doors. If you have the factory tweeters inside where your side mirrors are, disconnect them when you install the three-way speakers.

Sorry if you already know all this, just figured I'd throw it out there

 

[tweety2300]

Update: I managed to apply Quick Roof on all my doors, rear seats and floors, and the trunk. I decided to finish the drivers seat sometime during Christmas break since I don't really have time right now. It did reduce noise in a noticeably amount. Engine noise is still loud though and I don't think I can do anything about that.

I also installed my new stereo! It was a PITA because my clips were broken and the DIN removal tool for the left side of the factory stereo wouldn't catch. Trying to wiggle it around for half an hour without any luck, so I searched around for a bit and find out that i can access the clip by removing my center panel. Such a great feeling getting that old stereo off I actually yelled YES out loud haha

Anyways, you guys are right. The new stereo does improve the sound quality of my factory speakers by a lot (2thumbs)
I'm kinda curious now to see how a new set of speakers will sound? Gotta save up I guess..

Don't cheap out on speakers and they will sound great, get cheapos and they will sound like s***. I paid $80 for a set of 6x9 pioneers from crutchfield for my 323 and their ok but I wish I woulda have gotten something better

 

[balilewis]

As far as speakers go, get some three-way speakers for your front doors and two-way speakers for your rear doors. If you have the factory tweeters inside where your side mirrors are, disconnect them when you install the three-way speakers.

Sorry if you already know all this, just figured I'd throw it out there

I'm completely new to all of this, so I really appreciate the advice! Just curious, do you know why I need to disconnect the factory tweeters?
Also thanks for the advice tweety. I'll probably save up and buy a $120-150 speakers sometime in the future.

I forgot to mention a funny thing that happened to me while I was installing my stereo. It was the evening and I parked my car on a parking garage on campus because it's lighted pretty well. I was taking apart my center panel when a campus security patrol came in with his segway and started questioning me for "suspicious activities". Apparently someone saw and reported me for trying to hot wire a car! It didn't help that I left my wallet with my ID's back in my room too. Had to explain to him that this was, in fact, my car. Pretty hilarious.

 

[Bastian]

I'm completely new to all of this, so I really appreciate the advice! Just curious, do you know why I need to disconnect the factory tweeters?

Your factory speakers are not capable of reproducing higher frequencies very well, which is why tweeters are installed in the sail panels. If you purchase aftermarket three-way speakers for your front doors, these speakers will be much better at reproducing the higher frequencies. The crappy factory tweeters will just make the sound muddy. In case you're unaware, a three-way speaker essentially has three little speakers: a woofer, a midrange, and a tweeter. No need for crappy stock tweeters when you have nice aftermarket ones

Two-way speakers are better to have in the rear doors because they deliver good mid and low range sound, but not as many higher frequencies. This is a GOOD thing. You want the music to sound like it is coming from the front of the car, almost like you have a little band playing on your dashboard. Since higher frequencies are easier for us to locate, putting them in the front enhances this effect. This also tricks your brain in to thinking that is where the rest of the sound is coming from.

On the same token, it's never a bad idea to fade your system a bit to the front. That is, turn the volume on your front speakers up just a bit louder than your rears.