Technical Spots for speakers?

[popsprocket]

Can anyone suggest/show me pictures of the best places to add speakers in the cabin? I'm only looking for places for two 4" or possibly 6" speakers to go. I'm good enough with fiberglass to build a box if I need to. I'll be replacing the parcel shelf ones with either speakers of the same size or building a custom box for two 4" speakers.

 

[jimbro1000]

A friend of mine did some research on this subject some years ago - he was at the time one of the leading car audio experts in the UK and decided he wanted an X1/9 as project car for his business.

The parcel shelf speakers are fine but there is no point in going too big as the length of the cabin means that the low range waves are reflected back and interfere too easily.

If you want sub-range the ideal spot is in the spare wheel well but the wavelength problem remains.

For speakers in the front you should mount them as high up and facing the windscreen (this means facing upwards in most cases) to get reflection from the glass surface.

Alternatively you can buy a pair of miata/mx-5 seats with the speakers built into the seats, they aren't particularly big but the proximity to your ears mean they don't need to be.

Another idea is to put the sub-box under a seat but given the clearance on an X1/9 this is likely to prove impractical but I don't think it is unsurmountable.

 

[popsprocket]

I'll have a look around and see if I can get anything in and around the dashboard.

I definitely won't be putting in a sub since that completely destroys the charm of a 30 year old car.

 

[tfphoenix]

Those Miata seats sound really cool. They are really expensive though at least they are here in the US.

 

[jimbro1000]

An old MX-5 is worth about half what an X1/9 is worth here simply because of numbers. They are starting to disappear though as they've become a popular donor car for caterham replicas - long way to go before they reach the same rarity level as X1/9s still.

 

[popsprocket]

They're worth twice what an X1/9 is worth here because they're kept in good condition usually and never really end up with huge amounts of mileage.

 

[jimbro1000]

MX-5: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201002350334423 £750
X1/9: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201004351078753 £2500

Both are the cheapest advertised in the UK through autotrader....

 

[tfphoenix]

MX-5: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201002350334423 £750
X1/9: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201004351078753 £2500

Both are the cheapest advertised in the UK through autotrader....

I like those fog lights on that X, were those a factory option?

Do you think you could get decent sound out of an X stereo by replacing the original door/behind seat speakers with a decent brand of speakers like kenwood or pioneer or something or do you really have to mount new, bigger speakers?

 

[jimbro1000]

The mounting for the foglights was certainly standard (predrilled into the bumper) - no idea if the lights themselves were standard though, there is definitely no wiring just floating around in the front to plug them into and I don't remember anything anywhere else in the car to just plug into.

As for decent sound? It really depends on your definition. You don't need a set of crossaxial compound 3-ways to get an acceptable quality. If you want really crisp clear sound you need to look at something more upmarket. I have the interscope sound system upgrade in my Abarth and it knocks the socks of what I have in my other cars. That said I spent about £200 on a sound system for my Seicento and it was more than reasonable without stretching to amplifiers, crossovers and a sub (or two). Had to redo it recently because someone broke into the workshop and stole the (cheap) head unit while it was being serviced and for the replacemetn I forked out for a much nicer Sony head unit which sounds even better and has built in Bluetooth for handsfree and audio streaming.

 

[popsprocket]

I like those fog lights on that X, were those a factory option?

Do you think you could get decent sound out of an X stereo by replacing the original door/behind seat speakers with a decent brand of speakers like kenwood or pioneer or something or do you really have to mount new, bigger speakers?

Yeah, evidently my X used to actually have the fog lights since some of the screw holes in the bumper have been used and theres a bundle of wires that don't go to anything anymore, I'll cut them off as soon as I can prove I don't need them.

Is there room in the doors to get 4" or 6" speakers in?

 

[leos mr fixit]

I have a lot of experience in in-car-audio and in my opinion, the newer Alpine headunits are great sound for your money.. Bluetooth and iPod readiness are a bonus too...
You can get 4" speakers in the doors of an X1/9
(like your man in the autotrader ad in the previous posts)
but 6"'s (together with upgraded standard size rear shelf speakers) would definitely give you more midbass up front and with some understated covers might look well too...

 

[digger58]

Hi Mr Leo,
What do you suggest for the rear shelf? I have just replaced the seats and door panels with a leather set, don't want to cut the door cards, given that the car is noisey anyway I am not too pushed on sound quality, I perfer to listen to the engine. If I want quality sound I listen at home, any ideas for the rear shelf speakers??? Pm me if you fancy a trip sometime, there are a few of us around who intend doing a run when the weather picks up, I did a run today and it was great.Thanks T

 

[leos mr fixit]

Thanks Tony but no NCT yet and I've got 4 points already...

 

[digger58]

In its original form I don't think an X1/9 is in dire danger of notching up too many penalty points!!!!!!!. any suggestions for the speakers,
T

 

[popsprocket]

Okay, so I'm just going to casually resurrect this because I have a picture I made in my boredom that might be useful. Note that the measurements aren't pin point accurate but they should be enough for the task at hand. Also note that my car doesn't have power windows, in the power window model there is another spot further forward on the door that can accommodate a speaker without depth issues, but the winder handle would run into one such speaker without electric windows.

Also, I'm not allowed to spend money on the interior yet because dad would shake his head at me disappointedly until I cried (since the engine doesn't run and there's rust holes everywhere).



The overlayed speakers are my close approximation of 4" long, judging by my measurements. Of course the real problem is the depth as you require significant spacers for anything but paper thin speakers. Click on picture (then again when it takes you to my gallery) to see it full sized so you can read the measurements