[net.audio] My 2 bits on Car Stereo

del@helens.UUCP (Erik Lindberg) (08/05/85)

< nononono please, please leave a line for me! >

Had to put in my two bits worth. I spent some time looking at car stereo
before deciding not to spend any money (relatively) on the deck. I suppose I
will eventually upgrade to a better quality deck, since I can now hear the
difference, but I wanted to get the most SOUND for my money, and that meant
spending the money on the speakers. I too was shooting for low cost, $250.
Well, I did spend more than that, but not much. I have compared my $300 system
to systems >$600, and mine sounded better (not to mention louder, if desired).
I spent $50 on the deck! Then I had a local outfit that does custom speakers
build a woofer enclosure to the dimensions I had to work with (a trick little
PC program they have let's them tune a box of any dimension to whatever you
plan to use for speakers). A midrange and tweeter combination from a warehouse
sale, plus a pair of medium quality 8" woofers completed the package. I stuck
a $49, 60 watt amplifier (also on sale) on the output of the cheapo deck, and
turned it all on, and myself to boot.

My two bits amounts to this: With the acoutsics of a steel box to deal with,
your money will be best invested in the best quality speaker system you can
figure out. Your typical tri-axial speaker running off the output of a $400
deck sounds the same as if you run it of a <$100 deck, so spend the money where
it counts, getting the widest frequency response you can. 1hz-100khz on the
deck ain't beans if your speakers do 150hz-10khz! (and if you think a tri-axial
is much better than that once it's in your car, you should be a salesman)

P.S. If you don't have the SPACE to put in a decent speaker system, don't
     bother wasting your money on a top quality deck, just get the features
     you want and leave it at that. Space means the tweeters have to point
     INTO the passenger compartment, high frequency doesn't like to bounce
     off windows, or wind around peoples legs.

The above opinions are solely my own, and wether they're really worth two
bits or even a plug nickel is a subjective matter. However, voluntary listeners
are welcome.

del
uw-beaver!dataio!helens

rfg@hound.UUCP (R.GRANTGES) (08/08/85)

[]
Definitely worth at least 4 bits!

-- 

"It's the thought, if any, that counts!"  Dick Grantges  hound!rfg

de@ttrdc.UUCP (Dain Evans ) (08/08/85)

Great, now you have speakers in your car with a frequency response from 20
to 20KHZ but the receiver is only capable of delivering a walloping 3W from
60 to 12KHZ, a cassete frequency response of 80 to 10KHZ that might, if you
are lucky, maintain that response for a month. I hestitate to comment on the
tuner's performance!
    
    I agree that if you are going to spend a reasonable amount of money for
the receiver, you should also invest in a good speaker system. There are a
good number of EXCELLENT 6x9 speakers out there that do not cost an arm and
a leg. Few of us have the luxury that you have with the space in our cars!

klein@ucbvax.ARPA (Mike Klein) (08/10/85)

I agree that the speakers are really going to make or break the sound
of your car stereo.  But for this specific application, it is
necessary to spend proportionally more on the receiver than in a
typical home system, because:
	- The car is a rough environment, mechanically.  You will have
	to spend more to get a good cassette transport mechanism.
	- FM reception is very difficult to do with a moving antenna.
	You will have to pay extra for getting top-notch FM reception.
	- Displays and controls need to be more intelligently thought
	out and robust.  Again, this costs money.

If you compromise on any of these, you'll end up kicking yourself
(at least I would).  It's worse to have interference noise,
a chewed-up tape, or constantly have to take your eyes and attention
off the road than slightly poorer overall sound.

But --- back to the original "2 bits on Car Stereo"...
does anyone have any specific recommendations for car speaker systems
that can be hooked up to a 4-channel deck (Sony) and speakers, with
installation, hoperfully run under $200?

By the way, there is a recent issue of Consumer Reports (May?) that rates
car stereos.  CU tested them by subjective evaluation of FM reception
while driving in a real car on real roads, switching among three
decks.  I think this means their ratings are meaningful... there's
no mention of an "accuracy score" anywhere.  This is the only source I
know of where radio reception is rated under real conditions.  Does
anyone know of any others?  A note, though: their ratings table has some
minor errors in it that they caught a few months later.  They said that
it shouldn't affect anyone's buying decisions, however.
-- 

		-Mike Klein
		...!ucbsim:klein@ucbvax.uucp
		klein%ucbsim@berkeley.arpa

tron@fluke.UUCP (Peter Barbee) (08/12/85)

>But --- back to the original "2 bits on Car Stereo"...
>does anyone have any specific recommendations for car speaker systems
>that can be hooked up to a 4-channel deck (Sony) and speakers, with
>installation, hopefully run under $200?

I, too, would like the answer to this question.  I read the orginal article
and, being in the market for car-tunes, went out to a super discount store
and bought a inexpensive Sanyo deck (I owned a Sanyo before and it never
ate a tape so I trusted them).  I hooked them up to my present speakers which
will only be acceptable while I research what to buy.  My questions;

1) I was thinking about mounting the tweeter/midrange on the dash and the
woofer on the back deck (small station wagon) but was told by a salesman
(who was installing a custom, seperate speaker system into a customer's car)
that this would create "disjointed" sound.  He said I should keep all the 
drivers in the same vicinity.  Is he right?

2) How about these "soft dome" tweeters?  I saw a couple of makes, they have
huge magnets (8 oz.) for a tweeter, and are easy to mount.  Are they good?

3) I also saw some tiny ribbon tweeters, could these possibly be worth it
in a car enviroment, especially considering I haven't mortgaged anything for
the electronics?

4) How much air do I need behind the woofer?  the midrange?  How do I calculate
this volume?  Does shape make any difference?

5) What about crossovers?  

I apologize if some of the questions are naive, I've never really thought
about speakers without my checkbook in my hand.

Merci beaucoup,
Peter B