I am just recently getting into car audio , trying to slowly revamp the system in my 87 GTA . It had the performace sound option, but I just couldn't stand not having any real tunes (tape deck), ( and quality! ) (delco) while cruising.
I've been doing research and reading alot of posts here, learning alot , definately.

I just picked up a new Alpine CDA-9831. Very happy with it overall, only wish it had more eq options.

http://iweb.alpine-usa.com/pls/admn/...y=20&p_main=10

I also picked up a set of four Infinity Reference Speakers. Again, very happy with them overall, sound very good and install wasn't too difficult ( put washers , longer screws in dash to raise )


REF6042CF 4x6
http://www.infinitysystems.com/carau...t.aspx?ProdId='REF6402CF'&Ser=REF&Cat=MEL

and

REF9062I 6x9
http://www.infinitysystems.com/carau...t.aspx?ProdId='REF9602I'&Ser=REF&Cat=MEL

Like I said above, my car had the performance sound option so I originally had 4x6 in the sails. I had old 6x9 plates from my old firebird, so I installed those in place of the 4x6,sub enclosure.

Now to my questions/problems. I've only had the speakers for a month, but already I want more.

---What people say about 4x6's in the dash- regarding distortion off the windshield and the poor imaging, is TRUE. The imaging is bad, I want to sit in the back seat where music is surrounding me on both sides rather than sounding like its coming from a central location in front of me. You can definately hear the distortion on the 4x6's because of the windshield. They also put out very little mid-bass/bass, ( to be more or less expected from a 4x6 I guess) (Still sound good though)

What I want:

1)Better imaging, doesn't have to be perfect, but I would like the sound to come more at my ears than at my face.

2)More midbass. The 6x9 put out tolerable amounts of midbass. But not enough to really hear from the front seat. 4x6 output is pretty much null. And any output that does come out rattles my dash like theres no tomorrow, and sounds bad.

3) Less dash rattle : )


I fully intend on getting a nice quality sub and amp, I also intend on amping the highs/mids, but it won't be immediately. Will these 2 things be generally enough? Can a sub play properly 80-150hz or so? Will amped coaxials help solve my problems?

What I don't want:

1)Kick panels. I would love to be able to go out and buy some nice premade kicks and put components in them, but they are more than I'm willing to spend and I also need the footroom.

2)Speakers in the door. I have the GTA door panels and do not want to make permanent changes to them.

-------

Some of my thoughts:

1) Custom fit the 4x6. Buy another dashpad to cut up and arrange the 4x6's for possible better imaging, SQ?

2) Ditch the 6x9's put in some smaller speakers and put in the factory subs possibly as midbass speakers? Future sub/amp as well. Would midbass in the rear be enough to hear well in the front?

3) Custom fit bigger/different speakers into dash location.

4) Add a matched tweeter somewhere on the door/a pillar/vent to improve? imaging?

5) 2 or more of the above.

I would be interested to know how the factory subs would function as a midbass or even bass driver with this setup. Buy a smaller amp to power them and possibly the tweeters?

Well that's a start...

Thanks for reading and for any comments or suggestions you have.

-Terry

 

I know you say you don't want kick panels for the legroom, but you would not believe the difference they make in imaging and midbass. It's astounding. You won't be able to come even close to that with dash speakers. And forget about midbass from the rear 6x9 locations. That will just pull the image back to the rear.
Is your car an auto or 5 spd?
Also, are you in Winnipeg? I grew up there, it's a great place to be from..

 

Kick panels do seem to be the only answer for proper imaging, but where the hell to find them? Reznor won't be coming out with any for a few more months, at least, and buying Q-Logics is like dropping a hundred and thirty dollars to be kneed in the groin. I have a set of Alpine SPX-177rs that have no home, and I'd rather not go custom, if possible. This is becoming a major roadblock.

 

Thanks for the responses so far. I guess kick panels ARE the only way to go if I want the things that I do. I guess I already knew that, but was hoping there was another option. Especially since I can only return these speakers for another 2 days, ... and will have to be without front speakers for awhile, it looks like.

A couple questions about kick panels.

Do you have to use a component system or can you use regular 6.5 coaxials? I want to stay with the same series of speaker , and infinity's 6.5 comes with a pivoting speaker just like my 6x9. Point it up and roll the fader to the front by 1 or 2 notches ?

Does the SQ change noticeably when people are sitting in the seats? Would a matched tweeter high up help counteract this , if so?

Unless anyone has any suggestions on buying some kick panels, I think I might tackle making some myself. .....but who knows , I might completely change my mind in the morning.

-Terry

And btw , Auto, and yeah Winterpeg, MB.

 

Hey im in Winnipeg as well. I got a 91 GTA and hacking the door was defintley not an option as i have my beloved large Gatorade bottle cup holders on the doors. So I got the carpeted kickpanels in my car made by Rezn8or with 6.5inch Alpine SPX Comps Bi-wired off a 4channel amp.. Holy **** did it scream. I sold the speaker/amp combo as there wasn't enough Midbass coming out of them to another one of the F-body guys in our local F-Body club. Looking at Alpine Type-R's now which from personal experience have a touch more mid bass and a little less sharpness on the highs. Which im sure my ears will appreciate. Personally i took out my 6x9s and tossed them and disconnected the 4x6's. At 6.5 ft tall im practically sitting in the back seat as is, So i didn't like the horrible imaging that would give me from the front. And with size 14 shoes the kickpanel were only slightly annoying as the car is a auto(L98) so it was a lil hard to find a place to rest my big *** feet, but it was a joy to listen to music. My kickpanel also perfectly matched my interior color and they blended in perfectly. Black is pretty easy to match though. If you wanna see the kick panels sometime i keep them at home as the car is already parked for winter. So PM me and we can meet up some time and i can show them. They are really easy to test fit.

 

P.S You don't happen to work at Convergys do you? There's a 87 GTA there and i can't track down the owner. Also join our local Fbody board www.thefbody.com Look for me as Wildside

 

Sent you a PM WinnipegGTA.

-Terry

 

Concerning where the sound is "coming From"...
I have the CDA-9831, by using the Time Correction and Bass Focus adjustments, I can move my sound stage any where I want inside the cabin.
Read the manual concerning these functions and play around with them. But be careful you can make your system sound great or quickly sound like sh|t.
There are 2 presets you can set by pressing "1" and "2". Before you start playing with the settings, navigate to T.Corr, press and hold "1" until it beeps. This will save your settings as Preset 1. Then play around with it. Do the same for Bass Focus.

Good Luck