SPR

Hi,
I have been reading the archives about the upgraded stereo etc. I am going to replace the speakers in the doors with components and maybe the rears with coaxials as anything more unless if cheap seems to be a waste. I am also going to build my own box for the rear, I have done many custom installs, to mimic the bose height etc, sealed of course. I was thinking about using a Jl for the sub, maybe a w0? The main question is that I want to use a ppi 5 channel amp for the whole deal. It puts out about 4 x 30 @ 4ohms. given this lower power, I wanted to know what speakers would be best for the dash.

I have really been racking my brain about which. It is down to the boston pro 4" set, focal 136k's, and the mb quart 4" component set. I originally was very gung ho about the boston's and then later focals, but after reading how power hungry they are I think I will go with the mb quarts to better match the power even though the highs aren't as natural. Mainly I have the cheapest stock system. By this I mean I don't have the speakers in the doors! So I want to have a good mid fill as well as highs and the jl in the back should take care of the rest, as well as some coaxials in the rear. Any suggestions?

Also say I did go with those focals, which I have heard nothing but good things about, how do they fit? They are a 5 1/4 and the size is 4"? I know someone else made them fit, but is it that much work and is it worth it? Help! I want to get the stuff done soon and indecision is my main problem.

Thanks all, Sean

SPR

Sorry I meant initially to replace the speakers in the DASH as I have no speakers in the doors! Also I could run the bostons and or focals if I run them bridged in the front. Thanks again.

Carlos from Spain

Hi Sean,

You can't go wrong with any of the speakers you mentioned. If you want to know how much power they need to run, just take a look at the size of their magnet.

I recommend you place a pair of 6" woofers in the doors instead of the rear coaxials for the same price, since the rears aren't really needed for a balanced system and being behind you may actually throw off the image and especially the stage of your system since being coaxial will produce the whole range of freqs and the mid and high freqs can be localised by the ear, unlike the low freqs of the sub. And the 6" speakers in the doors are needed to fill the mid freq range that the sub or dash 4" barely reach, unless you manage to fit the 5 1/4 Focals in the dash, they should be able to do the work to get a flat freq spectrum. But you will need a pair of 6" or at least 5 1/4 in the system to bring the base to the front. Also if you still wanted to have something in the rear, you could use the stock ones you already have and power them directly from the headunit so as not to take from the ppi amp and maybe place a resistance to decrease their output since they are just for fill-in and can't be too loud or will throw off the stage.

If your amp/speaker can run at 2 ohms then you would get twice the watts from the system, I'm running mine at 2 ohms.

Here is an example of my sealed box of two 10" subs. Made in MDF and fiberglass to give it the shape to blend in with the cars curves and covered in the same savana beige as the interior.

Hope this helps
<img src="http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/subtop1.jpg" alt=" - " />
<img src="http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/subside1.jpg" alt=" - " />

Waz996

Carlos,

You are crazy amd i love the Psign on the rear..

Waz

Carlos from Spain

Well, you need a lot of watts to eclipse the aerodinamic noise when going at 294KM/h

SPR

Damn that is clean. I need a box like that. I am going to make my own, and will wrap it in factory carpet if I can find it or simular. I am going to make it as small as possible to duplicate the bose size and not be intrusive, that's why I think I will go with 1 10 for the cubic space. I might end up going with two and dropping the load down. I was also thinking about running the front stage bridged also off the PPI. I am going to go with the mb quarts as they don't need nearly as much power to perform well. I think that with the 10 or 10's that that will be enough bass to work well, so I will have the mids and highs tuned for the cut off properly. I really dig that box though, is that leather wrapped or vinyl? In any even it's very clean. How do those grills work? Are they removable? I really like that design. Thanks again. Sean

Edward Kay

I just bought a 996 Cab and have a mega system ready to go. I am an audio maniac. I spent much time deciding on the best system I could get in there within reason. I am going to post a new topic about it during the install. All components are sitting at my house ready to go.

Dash: Sony Mobile ES CDX-C90 cd/tuner
Front: Focal Utopia W3 3 way components. Tweeter and midrange in the dash and 6.5s in the doors.
Rear: Focal Utopia 136K 5 3/8 components stuffed in the factory location (it will work).
Bass: Cool technique... 4 5 inch Focal long excursion special purpose subs under the seats. They are supposed to be tight as hell and equal to at least 1 10 inch.
Dynamat Extreme throughout the doors and rear area around the Focal 2 ways.
Amplification: Mcintosh MC444 4 channel to mids and highs. Zapco 350 2 channel to 6.5 doors. Zapco 350 2 channel to subs.

The best part is how stock this will all look. I have full leather, so I don't like the idea of major mods.

I have MB Quart Qs in my BMW 5er daily driver. The specs show the Focals as way more efficient. I think the ear test yields the same result.

SPR

Nice. that will be a sick system. I can't wait to see the pictures. You must take some pics of the install when it occurs, before, during, after, always fun I would opt for something different in the bass department but to each their own. Have you seen the cusom enclosures that go between the rear and forward seats? That might be a happy medium, but maybe not. How do those 136k's fit in the rears? also I thought 136k's were componenets with 5 1/4ers. no?

Edward Kay

I am 6 foot 4 inches. I keep the driver's seat all of the way back, so that type of box does not work too well. I looked into it. Also, I want the option to put an adult behind the passenger seat every now and then if needed in a serious pinch. The only other real option is to pull out the driver's side leather child seat and build a custom enclosure with Porsche carpeting in its place. I thought it might obscure my factory rear speaker openings on the one side in addition to changing the factory look. Without footwell or radical mods, I settled on the 4 5 inch idea. I know it is unconventional, but I heard the same thing from several hi-end Focal dealers/stereo shops. 5 1/4, 5 3/8.. I can't remember. I do know they fit though. I thought I might lose balance and sound fullness without an equally hi-end rear fill speaker setup, so I added the 136ks to the order list last minute.

SPR

Interesting. I have heard that they fit as well, but was surprised as the stock speakers are 4" components etc. Have you seen the rear shelf boxes that are noted in previous posts as well? They are nice and should not interfere with the seat adjustment. I am 6 ft. also and there is no room behing my seat either, so I am going to build an enclosure to mimic the same size as the bose sub.

Edward Kay

Rear shelf for a cabriolet?

SPR

ah yes. Well have you checked into the sub enclosure that is built into the center console? I was reading something about that. Sorry, I forgot you said it was a cab.

JayM

Here's what I did in (to?) my cab (and appologies in advance for not knowing how to post multiple pictures in the same post). The parts list:

Focal 5.25" 3-way Platinums (polykevlar) in the doors (this requires a custom enclosure)
Focal 4" and tweeter speakers in the dash (this required custom adapter plates)
Focal 4" 2-ways in the rear (sides)
ARC Audio 5 channel amp. 4X45 watts plus 1X110
A pair of Image Dynamics 10" 2 ohm voice coil subs (also required custom enclosure where the rear seat-ettes were intended to go)
Pioneer DVD-based NAV system
Pioneer 7" motorized LCD & master A/V controller

Here is the dash with the screen tucked away

<img src="http://a9.cpimg.com/image/97/0D/17237399-ddf9-028001E0-.jpg" alt=" - " />

JayM

And with the screen out

<img src="http://a0.cpimg.com/image/98/0D/17237400-6b28-028001E0-.jpg" alt=" - " />

JayM

One of the door speakers

<img src="http://a2.cpimg.com/image/40/6D/16113472-c7eb-028001E0-.jpg" alt=" - " />