[DML] Re: speakers

["Marv Hein" <marvhein@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

My car came to me with the original radio removed (I have it), an 
only slightly better radio in its place and all-original speakers.  
Here's what I did on a small budget:

Rear:

I can't comment on installing back speakers that don't take up all 
the space because I chose to sacrifice the entire luggage space to a 
ready-made big speaker box that ate it ALL up.  I still have a 
little space on either side.  There's a photo someplace on the AZ-D 
web site. 

I just set the box in the space, connected the wires and I was done. 
(Pep Boys, about $60. If you're so inclined, the 10" speakers are 
also surrounded by neon rings.) When I need to access the fuse box 
area, I tilt the seats forward, tilt the box forward and I'm in. 

Front:

For the fronts, I picked up a pair of 3.5" Blaupunct 2-way speakers 
at Fry's Electronics for about $30 that dropped right onto the 
original mounting posts and took the original connectors.  They 
handle the 50-or-so watts/channel from the front channels of my 
stereo fine and sound much better than the originals I took out. 

David is correct in saying that the tweeter horns on a lot of the 
speakers project above the frame. The Blaupuncts "barely" projected 
and I was able to mount them just fine without distorting the dash 
speaker cutout. (I just didn't torque the nuts down real tight... if 
you see any bulging on top, back off!)  I don't get any rattling 
from the speakers.

You will want a third hand in the cramped space under the front 
dash.  A magnetic nut driver might help. It was miserable every time 
I dropped one of the nuts and had to completely extricate myself 
from under the dash to find it, then crawl back in to start over.  
On the passenger side, get yourself some working room by removing 
the air duct, etc.  

A pair of safety glasses with built-in LED lights would have helped 
a lot.  I took one nut in the eye and got an achy jaw holding a 
flashlight. I have a set of these glasses from Sears now, of course, 
and use them a lot.  

Stereo:

I didn't go nuts here either, though I did replace the original with 
a 52w x 4 stereo made by Dual that I thought fit well with dash. I 
did not add an amp and don't yet feel like I need one.  Radio ran 
about $150 and I added an integrated satellite radio tuner later 
when there was a "free" offer.  Of course, the tuner was free but 
the subscription for the service is not.

Everyone's opinions will vary, of course, depending on their 
tastes.  In what is a pretty small, fairly noisy interior, I'm happy 
with this setup.  As Johnny Sawyer wrote on the AZ-D site, "If 
you're deaf, Marv's stereo will help.  If you're not deaf, it can 
help with that too." :)

Marv
#10820
AZ-D


--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "David Teitelbaum" <jtrealty@...> 
wrote:
>
> --- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Chris Hawes" <chris@> wrote:
> >
>  
> Anything  can be done, it is a matter of how much work you want to 
do.
> 4" will fit right in, anything bigger will require reworking the 
dash
>  (making holes) and rejiggering some kind of mounting. Be aware 
that
> if you do not get a speaker that mounts flush the tweeter horn will
> project and interfere with the mounting of the speaker. Some 
speakers
> will require extending the mounting studs. The stock radio only 
puts
> out less than 10 watts per channel so don't go crazy over the 
speakers
> unless you plan to upgrade the radio. You can go a little bigger on
> the rear speakers but it won't change anything much except the $$ 
you
> will spend. Rectangular speakers are inherently junky.
>  The theory of car stereos is that the front speakers (which are
> closest to the listeners) mainly function as tweeters being small 
and
> very directional. The rear speakers mainly give out omni-
directional
> bass (low frequencies). You are correct that the OEM speakers are 
way
> past their prime. The stock radio will sound many times better with
> new speakers. The old ones are stiff, probably cracked, and very 
old
> technology. They were inexpensive to begin with and never meant to
> last this long. Check out Crutchfield.com. They have some good
> speakers at reasonable prices. They can help you select something 
that
> will fit in easily, sound good, and fit your budget.
> David Teitelbaum
> vin 10757
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> > I am looking to upgrade my speakers as the originals are well 
past their
> > sell by date.  
> > 
> >  
> > 
> >
>










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