ICE time. Please help.

ironman

ironman

ironman

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
8,416
Location
South Central L.A.
Hi guys,

It's come to the point now where I can no longer stand the shoddy sound quality coming out of my Scoobys sound system and am now forced to do something about it.

It already has a Kenwood headunit and am looking for inspiration on what to do. As you know it's a saloon so I am in a dilemma of whether to have the sub in the boot or in the cabin under the seats, it's not really going to be effective in the boot is it or am I being misguided?

I'd also like some recommendations for a decent pair of components and appropriate amp to drive the comps and corresponding subs, is it worth going for a dedicated mono for the subs or will a decent multi channel suffice?

I don't really have a budget as I want it to sound decent but also don't think it's necessary to go overboard as it is only a weekend car and would just appreciate some good quality coming out when I do get stuck in traffic and don't want to hear my Blitz Nur Spec:p

Thanks
 
I don't think you need a sub in most ICE systems, if you get decent enough front components, unless your trying to sound like a Mc D's crew rude boy, they are unnecessary. No high end home music systems need a sub, why do you need one in a car?
 
hurfdurf said:
I don't think you need a sub in most ICE systems, if you get decent enough front components, unless your trying to sound like a Mc D's crew rude boy, they are unnecessary. No high end home music systems need a sub, why do you need one in a car?
Click to expand...

Because the acoustic environment is vastly different? Road noise cancels out bass, so do all the soft furnishings in the car.
 
Janesy B said:
Because the acoustic environment is vastly different? Road noise cancels out bass, so do all the soft furnishings in the car.
Click to expand...

Right, so get a decent pair of front comps which should provide the necessary bass in the first place, and not need backing up. If you start trying to cancel out road noise with a sub are you not going to be constantly dialling it up or down depending on what road you are on? A car is never going to sound good in comparison to home, adding huge amounts of bass is not the solution imo.
 
hurfdurf said:
I don't think you need a sub in most ICE systems, if you get decent enough front components, unless your trying to sound like a Mc D's crew rude boy, they are unnecessary. No high end home music systems need a sub, why do you need one in a car?
Click to expand...

hurfdurf said:
Right, so get a decent pair of front comps which should provide the necessary bass in the first place, and not need backing up. If you start trying to cancel out road noise with a sub are you not going to be constantly dialling it up or down depending on what road you are on? A car is never going to sound good in comparison to home, adding huge amounts of bass is not the solution imo.
Click to expand...

Contradict much? :D

You are correct in a way but, you are forgetting that the bass reproduced by home speakers have a very solid mounting and a cabinet designed to make them sing. A car does not have this and you have to compensate for this.

At OP

You can pickup some nice components and a 4,3,2 channel amp quite cheaply,it really depends on your budget.
 
I guess I don't mind spending a couple hundred of some decent speakers and then a couple hundred on a suitable matching amp.

Another question I have, do I need to replace my rear door speakers or am I ok to keep them standard? I don't ever carry passengers in the back...
 
Get the absolute best components for the front that you can afford, and apply some sound deadening.This is a make a staggering difference to your listening experience, I had some Hertz RS6 comps, these were the best part of £350, and in all honesty, even with a tiny Alpine amp gave me a very decent level of bass in my old ST.

I wouldnt worry about the rear speakers, they are more for rear fill. The sub is a tricky one, what are your musical tastes? I'd be inclined to go with a nice punchy 10".
 
Musical tastes will vary from hip hop/r&b/garage/dubstep/trance/funky house.

What sort of amp(s) do I require?

As for the sub, if I put it in the boot, will I benefit seeing as it's a saloon?
 
I've got 2x12s in mine. You definitely know they're there ;) its very very hard to get any sort of decent bass from the front comps in the scooby. They only allow for shallow speakers, they're mounted too low down. Not the best car for ICE at all :(
 
I did an install in a mates Scooby. He had the double din Kenwood touch screen HU..(can't remember model though) I put some infinity 6" components in the front doors with an MDF mount and dynamat on the doors.

As he didn't want a massive sub due to weight, we put a little 8" sub in the boot to add some bottom end. The crossover settings on the HU are pretty good so i think it was set to cut at 100 for the fronts and 80 for the sub.
 
A sub makes everything sound much more musical. It doesn't have to be loud and thumping.

As you're not going overboard, I would get a four channel amp, run the components passively from the front two channels, and bridge the rear two channels for a 8 or 10 inch sealed sub. Second hand is the way as usual...you will get so much more for your money.

As for speaker recommendations, look at Rainbow, Morel, DLS, Focal...ideally demo some at your local shop then buy online.

I certainly wouldn't bother with replacing your rear speakers, in fact I'd mute the existing ones through your head unit (just so you've got the option to add them back should you ever carry passengers that demanded it for some reason). Just use any money that you could have put towards rear fill for better front components.
 
The optimal setup for decent quality would be something like a good quality HU (Alpine), some components in the front, a 12" sub in the boot and either 2 x 2 channel amps (one bridged for the sub) or a 4 channel amp that allows you to bridge 2 of the channels. Ignore hurfdurf. As Robbie says, just fade it forward 100% so you arent using the rear speakers, you dont stand with your back to a concert so no point having the sound behind you.

Shame about your musical "taste" really :p
 
ScoobyDoo69 said:
I've got 2x12s in mine. You definitely know they're there ;) its very very hard to get any sort of decent bass from the front comps in the scooby. They only allow for shallow speakers, they're mounted too low down. Not the best car for ICE at all :(
Click to expand...

Interesting, are they 6.5" speakers in the front? Guess i'll have to do some research as to what depth I have to work with.

Reality Bites said:
I did an install in a mates Scooby. He had the double din Kenwood touch screen HU..(can't remember model though) I put some infinity 6" components in the front doors with an MDF mount and dynamat on the doors.

As he didn't want a massive sub due to weight, we put a little 8" sub in the boot to add some bottom end. The crossover settings on the HU are pretty good so i think it was set to cut at 100 for the fronts and 80 for the sub.
Click to expand...

What year was this scooby?

Robbie G said:
A sub makes everything sound much more musical. It doesn't have to be loud and thumping.

As you're not going overboard, I would get a four channel amp, run the components passively from the front two channels, and bridge the rear two channels for a 8 or 10 inch sealed sub. Second hand is the way as usual...you will get so much more for your money.

As for speaker recommendations, look at Rainbow, Morel, DLS, Focal...ideally demo some at your local shop then buy online.

I certainly wouldn't bother with replacing your rear speakers, in fact I'd mute the existing ones through your head unit (just so you've got the option to add them back should you ever carry passengers that demanded it for some reason). Just use any money that you could have put towards rear fill for better front components.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this post, is there any benefit from going for a mono amp for the sub and a seperate 2 channel for the components? Are there any forums/places you recommend for second hand?
 
Just an update, i've bought some:

Focal K2 Power 165 KP 6.5" front components for £240 second hand and a JBL GTO 5355 6 Channel Amp for £80 which I think is pretty reasonable, comes from a fellow scooby owner so has the adapter ready modified to fit to my doors.

I guess i've saved quite a bit of money there for some quality goods, so anyone recommend what specific subs to go for now? Seeing as it's a 6 channel I guess I can go for 2x 8"s or 2x 10"s?
 
Try Talkaudio for gear Gurdas, great place with loads of gear always for sale. You have quite a varied tast in music, so I'd go for a 12", something like a Resonant Engineering RE12, I had 2 RE8's in my mondeo, they really are a efficient sub, and dont need a big enclosure.
 
Cheers sol, I would like it to sound quite tight and not farty so will the 12" be ok or am I better off with 2 x 10"? Really have no idea so will just do what you recommend is the best for me!
 
gurdas said:
Thanks for this post, is there any benefit from going for a mono amp for the sub and a seperate 2 channel for the components? Are there any forums/places you recommend for second hand?
Click to expand...

A monoblock usually works fine at 2 ohms whereas multi-channel bridged amps often have to operate at 4 ohms. The benefit then is basically that a monoblock tends to give more power and customisability to your sub setup.

Regarding where to buy, you've already bought I see, but as above Talkaudio is a good place to buy.

gurdas said:
so anyone recommend what specific subs to go for now? Seeing as it's a 6 channel I guess I can go for 2x 8"s or 2x 10"s?
Click to expand...

Do you want two subs for any specific reason i.e. aesthetics or volume? Otherwise, spending the same on one really good sub will yield better sound quality. As for what brand; JL, ID, DLS again, Diamond, ...depends whether you want volume or SQ really.

It's not really possible to say whether a 12" will be more farty than two tens, as you get some farty 10s and some tight 12s. A LOT also depends on the box construction. I tend to go for a 10" in a small sealed box for accuracy and tightness of bass. With enough power it's plenty loud enough and I don't want very low bass anyway.
 
Last edited:
A single JL sub would be perfect - leaves you 2 spare channels for the future too, if you decide you want to do the rear doors :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom