For All Out There Who Want Good Sound For Your 850

[ThaBigO]

How is the JVC arsenal AR3000??? It seems like a nice affordable Headunit?? IM looking at this 1 on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...TRK%3AMEWA%3AIT What do u think>?

[bogelo]

How is the JVC arsenal AR3000??? It seems like a nice affordable Headunit?? IM looking at this 1 on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...TRK%3AMEWA%3AIT  What do u think>?

←

If you don't use an amplifier (wire speaker to the headunit), based on the JVC spec (in the manual), the sound will NOT be good and will NOT be clear.

If you use an amplifer(s), it should sound decent.

[ThaBigO]

say wat?! wat about the stock Amp??, I just want a nice headunit i can use for now, that looks and sounds good with stock speakers, but i want it to have options so i can upgrade speakers, amp, subs, etc. later. What would you guys recommend??

THanks,

BigO

[bogelo]

say wat?! wat about the stock Amp??, I just want a nice headunit i can use for now, that looks and sounds good with stock speakers, but i want it to have options so i can upgrade speakers, amp, subs, etc. later. What would you guys recommend??

THanks,

BigO

←

Don't think we have an external stock amp (Im assuming the 850s). The amp is inside the volvo Headunit.

This looks okay and should sound beautiful. Also if you add an amp later on, the sound will be much better:

Nakamichi CD-400

There are other alternatives, try looking pioneer premier and clarion.

[highhighs]

how should i choose a sub,amp and speakers. should the amp rms value be higher that that of the sub ? also i want to get tweaters and connecte them the the HU which puts 25WattsRMSx4. the tweatera are 50W nominal(RMS ?) are they more than the HU can handel ? also i want to buy a sub(10') and and amp but i dont know how to choose the ratings like the first question the hu preamp 2.2/1kohm.

and i have a 95 850 GLE would the tweaters fit ?

HU pioneer deh-1500R (already have it)

tweaters pioneer ts-t110

amp 4channel pioneer GM-X574?(maybe)

sub pioneer TS-W254(maybe) 10'

do u think i should get a smaller sub, if the smaller sub can give enough bass with less price and less amp power need it would be ok or the min is 10'

can i make a home made inclosure for the sub ?

and i want to connect the backstage speakers the the amp , not a known manifacturer but i cant change them now.

mind u i just want to improve sound quality(not loudness) ( rock, classic, rap wierd comb eih )

as you see i know sh***

thank you alot

[exexpat]

Almost all subs will hav to be placed in ther trunk.  I desperately want to put a sub under either the drivers or passangers seat, but believe the only way to do it is to go with a pre-made powered sub.  And at that, the only one that I believe will fit is the clarion srv-303.  This is probably what I am going to do.  I want it under a seat for two reasons. 

1. I value trunk utility and stealth

2. I dont like the fact that higher end bass (in the 60ish Hz range) is muddied by passing through the trunk and rear seat. 

I am still a little hesitant about getting the clarion though, as I have never seen/heard one in person.  And while I am not looking for huge bass, I am slightly dubious about how much air can be moved ny a 7 inch driver.

←

JFYI, I installed a Clarion SVR303 under my passenger seat and hated it. Pulled it out and put it in my wife's QX4. It sounds great in her car. The problem in the Volvo was that there wasn't enough room for a complete wavelength of any sub 50hz tone and you could hear port howl. I tried it in the spare tire well with the low pass xover at 50hz, an improvement, but not linear sound output (lots of rumble at low volumes and early max at 1/3 volume, sounded best at 1/4 volume). I ended up going with a JL 10w0 on a baffle board (driven at 150w) to save all trunk space. The xover is set pretty low and the about 60hz tone of concern is adequately provided by the factory rear door "subs." With fade adjusted at 1/4 turn biased to front, sound is balanced, imaging is good, soundstage is high. I don't see a need for kickpanels in our cars.

[bob850]

JFYI, I installed a Clarion SVR303 under my passenger seat and hated it. Pulled it out and put it in my wife's QX4. It sounds great in her car. The problem in the Volvo was that there wasn't enough room for a complete wavelength of any sub 50hz tone and you could hear port howl. I tried it in the spare tire well with the low pass xover at 50hz, an improvement, but not linear sound output (lots of rumble at low volumes and early max at 1/3 volume, sounded best at 1/4 volume). I ended up going with a JL 10w0 on a baffle board (driven at 150w) to save all trunk space. The xover is set pretty low and the about 60hz tone of concern is adequately provided by the factory rear door "subs." With fade adjusted at 1/4 turn biased to front, sound is balanced, imaging is good, soundstage is high. I don't see a need for kickpanels in our cars.

←

Just curious, did the SRV303 fit okay? Were you able to move the seat all the way horizontally and vertially (using manual levers) with the unit installed? Did the heater port under the seat get in the way or have to be rerouted?

[exexpat]

Just curious, did the SRV303 fit okay?  Were you able to move the seat all the way horizontally and vertially (using manual levers) with the unit installed?  Did the heater port under the seat get in the way or have to be rerouted?

←

I just test fitted it there long enough to determine I didn't want to go through with the install. The seat heater wiring would have needed to be moved and the amp would have protruded a bit to the rear of the seat at the floormat line (another deterent for the install, but not a big deal for me since my son's car seat is on that side). Definitely not a direct fit under the seat, but there was a ton of room in the spare tire well (enough for 2-3 of those units if desired.

[Bing_0]

exexpat, i would love to do an A/B comparison wtih your system and mine...i am a little skeptical about how good the system you described will perform, and its not that i am just randomly doubting, i have been in the car audio business and intalling for almost 10 years...and have heard and seen lots of installs techniques...

b

[Guest R4Life]

I am re doing the sound system in my car and eventhough I have done this before a few times, I think I will ask the all wise bing_o for advice.

I use to have an aftermarket system in my car. It was a pretty decent setup but it had its flaws. A lot of them had to do with the environment of the car itself and somethings that I should have done but did not. This time however I plan to take care of those too.

My goal with this system is quality not quantity.

HU I recently purchased an Alpine CDA-9855. Its still in the box. I think I might just put it in over the coming weekend. It will all depend on how much time I have.

Front speakers

I cant seem to decide on what to get. I use to have MB QUART upfront. It was either the PCE-213s or Reference series. I cant seem to remember. They had the 1" tweters. Anyway they were very decent and I was using an Alpine MRV-340 in 2 channel mode to power those. They needed a lot of power to sound good.

I was using an Old Kenwood amp (35x 4) to power my rears.

This time however I just want to use 1 multi-channel amp for all my speakers. I want to spend less money than what I did last time so I was thinking of getting Infinity Kappas all around but a part of me is a little hesitant. i just dont know how they will sound compared to my last system. What do you think? Reason I am thinking Kappas is their sensitivity. I think they are 90 or 91 db. My MB quarts were 86dbs. I am thinking if I get speakers with 90 or 91 db sensitivity I might be able to use a 45w rms amp like the JL audio E4300. If I go for MB quart again, I might need to get something like the JL Audio 300/4 to compensate for the difference in sensitivity.

So my question to you on the front speakers is actually 2 questions. Are the Kappas worth it? Is the Midbass decent or just so so? If you dont think they are worth it what would you recomend for the fronts? My other options are Boston Acoustics although I think if I go that route I'll end up spending more money than I want to.

For the Amp, I am pretty much sold on JL Audio. With my alpine the advertised power was at 14.4 volts. Realisticly the alternator in the car doesnt supply 14.4 volts. 12 -13 Volts is what it really is.

Rears

For the rear parcel shelf, I am going with 6x9s. Hoping Doug can make that parcel shelf with the 6x9 holes.

(I am not sure if I want speakers in the rear doors. Still on the fence )

Keeping the front speakers in mind what would your recomendation be for the rears? Do also keep in mind that there is only going to be 1 amp for both. I am not too concerned about pushing the soundstage back.

Sub

I have a Nakamichi 12" sub. I will probably use my good old Kenwood Amp that survived all these years . Like I said , its basically a 35x4 but bridged it should put out about 150w rms. The subwoofer is a single voice coil with 90db sensitivity so I think that should be enough.

I plan on covering the whole car with either dynamat or Fatmat (spel?) Doors, trunk and including the floor. I am still trying to figure out if the firewwall is doable or not.

So what do you think and what you recomend I do or not do.

Thanks and pardon any spelling errors!

[exexpat]

exexpat, i would love to do an A/B comparison wtih your system and mine...i am a little skeptical about how good the system you described will perform, and its not that i am just randomly doubting, i have been in the car audio business and intalling for almost 10 years...and have heard and seen lots of installs techniques...

b

←

I would take you up on that challenge now. I actually got my car to pull a 37 on my RTA last weekend without EQ's (it was one of those lucky 2:00am things, got a 40 once in my Golf with the MEQ230's) and the image is dead center. I do reserve the right to put 2 telephone books on the passeger seat for that person, the steering column and dash hump design is a killer for the passenger.

[Bing_0]

tell you what, lets both both to one iasca event, pay the fee and get judged, same class, and then compare score sheets? I just cant quite imagine how your set up can image properly without time alignment, and now it can obtain proper midbass levels... I am not saying its not true, it just goes against everyti8ng i have learend over the last 12 years

b

[exexpat]

Not willing to spend $50 (and a whole day) to enter another one, but I will take a pic of the RTA curve and get some witnesses on the imaging when I'm at the IPD event.

RTA curve peaks at 50hz (+9db) drops to -3db at 100hz, then is flat from 125hz to 16khz where it drops 3-6 db again. It's about where it needs to be. Mic has only been used 6 or 7 times since recalibrating (in 1999), and Audio Control is about 15 minutes away from my house.

Remember the rear doors are only producing midbass and d-pillars blocked 95%. Deck control is set to -1 Bass, 0 Treble, 0 Fade, 0 Balance. Sub xover is set to 60hz. Power is 25x4 to mids and 150x1 to sub (modest gain).

[Bing_0]

i never doubted your tonality. Of course, you know that RTA is definetly not the judging factor when it comes down to sound quality. having a high score on RTA in many cases, does not equal good sound, whcih is why many of the competitors have a seprate setting for RTA and SQ judging.

again, I am sure your set up is capable of getting good SQ scores tonally. what i am doubting is two things:

1. midbass response, i dont mean score on the RTA, i mean midbass scores as scored by a judge. I just cannot see how you can get kick panel or door pod quality midbass from stocklocations.

2. center image, with how our locations are set up, the path difference is much longer than whats needed to get a solid center image without time alignment or playing with the balance controls. unless you sit with your seat all the way reclined to get the path difference down, i just dont see how physically possible it is to get a solid center image.

[highhighs]

STEALING THE THREAD

How can u aligne the speakers in the kickpods?

Also would kickpods remove the problem of my highs being smeared all over(to the point of becoming high pitched noise)?

thank you.