Couple of Questions- Deadening, Tweeter Location, etc.

[CodeMan]

Hey all,

I'm pretty new to car audio (at least as it relates to SQ) and just had a couple of questions. I'm planning on building a simple SQ setup in my '02 Protege Sedan. So far I'm thinking of going with the Premier TS-C720PRS components, as they seem to be getting great reviews and are a good bang for the buck component. For sub duty I'm leaning towards the Dayton HO in a 10" variant. All of this would be run by a 4-channel amp of some sort, probably an Alpine MRV-F550 (95x4) or maybe a PDX 4.100. Headunit will be the Alpine 9887. The rear 6x9s will cease to exist. I'm not looking for a competition-grade system, just something that has good SQ qithout breaking the bank. My questions are as follows...

1. How much sound deadening is really necessary considering my goals? People seem to get a little carried away with this sort of thing. Is a basic door treatment sufficient? Do the doors really need to be completely sealed off as I see so frequently? Can I get away with doing the outer door skin and around the speaker opening?

2. Given y'alls experience with audio systems in these cars, what seems to be the best place to mount the tweeter. Keep in mind the PRS tweeter is pretty laid back, not like a Quart. I don't have the factory tweeters in my car, but I can buy the sail panels if that's what's best. I doubt it though. What about the a-pillars? Door panel slightly above the midbass driver? I don't mind cutting holes too much, but fabricating a kickpanel is more involved than I'm willing to go I think.

3. If I run a 4-channel amp as planned, I'll lose my sub control on the HU, correct?

That's it really. If you see any flaws in my system or have suggestions, let me know. TIA

-Cody

 

[ragingxtc]

1. i personally just did a one square foot behind each speaker on my front doors and i don't get any distortion out of my fronts... but then again, i run a high pass filter on them, so you might need more if you are going full range.

2. i mounted mine just forward and slightly higher than the interior door handles. see the pic below. mounting them too low with significantly lower the sound stage... kinda defeating the point of having components, IMO. i may be wrong, but i've always heard that you want to keep the tweeters within twelve inches of the driver. anything more, and the sound waves from the two sources are going to reach your ear at different times and cause phase interference.

3. not at all. the 9887 has three pairs of pre-outs; front, rear, and sub. im assuming you'll be bridging the rear channels of the amp for the sub, so just plug your 4 channel rca's into the front and sub outputs on the hu.


also, i know its a pain to run new wiring, but i would strongly suggest running at least 16 awg to the fronts. all of the components you have chosen are great sounding products... but put in the extra time to make sure you get every ounce of sq you paid for.

hope that helps.
-kiel

 

[CodeMan]

That does help, thanks. You don't have any problems with the driver's side tweeter being too close to your ear? I was concerned about that with that location. Thanks for the pic, that gives me a good idea.

 

[chuyler1]

A-pillars sounded best to me with the sail panels a close second. Mounting them next to the door handle is a bit side biased while mounting them down low will cause them to be blocked by the driver/passenger legs.

At the very least, you should add a layer of deadener to the inner door skin and imediately behind the speaker on the outer door skin. You may also want to finish off the outer door skin and add some to the back side of the door panel (especially near the speaker and any panel gaps). As for the trunk and rest of the car, just hook up your subwoofer and play some test tones. Hunt down any rattles you hear and stop them with left over deadener.

 

[CodeMan]

That's good input, thanks. The tweeter in question is rather large, so I'd probably have to fab something if I went with an a-pillar or sail panel mount. Not the end of the world though.