new sound system - advice

jonners_gti · Post by **jonners_gti** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 3:36 pm

hi all

i'm thinking about installing a new system in my gti. i'm not too bothered about massive base and i need my boot space anyway so a sub is a no no really.

i was thinking about a new head unit and some new speakers in the front to improve quality a bit. as i will lose the cd changer i thought a dvd would be best. i've found this one on CAD, whats everyone think:

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/jvc-kdavx11-p-5779.html

also some new speakers, whats the difference between coaxial and componenets? from what ive read on CAD coaxials dont need an amp whereas components usually do. would these be ok with the new head unit and no amp:

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/alpine- ... -5663.html

i'm not very clued up on these things so feel free to point ou the obvious!

thanks for the help

h4r1s · Post by **h4r1s** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 5:26 pm

the speakers won't make much of a difference since they will just be running from the headunit, i would advise you to just to keep standard speakers with that headunit. Since the type r speakers will be underpowered and won't sound much better than standard speakers.

jonners_gti · Post by **jonners_gti** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 9:28 am

would i need an amp to get the best out of them then?

would there be much difference from the standard speakers?

thanks

h4r1s · Post by **h4r1s** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 11:31 am

well since the speakers are an higher rms (about 100rms isn't it?), you will need more power to get them moving to their full potential, so you would need to get an amp ideally to get the better sound out of them. I wanted to do exactly the same as you are asking, just wanted a decent headunit with some uprated speakers, but was told that sound quality wouldn't improve much without an amp. And yeah once you amp them, they will sound way better than standard speakers

EDIT: forgot to mention that components give much better sound quality, so go for them if i was you. Components basically include a tweeter and crossover usually while coaxials are just the actual speaker i think anyway.

Hope that helps mate,

Haris

jonners_gti · Post by **jonners_gti** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 3:02 pm

cheers mate.

will have a think about it.

anyone else got any advice?

colour_concept · Post by **colour_concept** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 6:34 pm

dont bother with component spkrs unless your thinking of getting some high end ones - you wont really notice much difference... and the high end ones will need to be amped anyway.

the h/u has a high-pass filter so this will allow you to crank up the volume and avoid distortion as the speakers wont be playing frequencies they cant handle...

but for the bass youll need a sub - any average/decent one will do.

jonners_gti · Post by **jonners_gti** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 10:18 pm

colour_concept wrote:dont bother with component spkrs unless your thinking of getting some high end ones - you wont really notice much difference... and the high end ones will need to be amped anyway.

the h/u has a high-pass filter so this will allow you to crank up the volume and avoid distortion as the speakers wont be playing frequencies they cant handle...

but for the bass youll need a sub - any average/decent one will do.

so your saying just keep the standard speakers?

Post by **Josh_PoloGTi** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 8:52 am

VAG speakers aren't actually that bad...

I amped my Fabia vRS speakers for over a year and they took the power and sounded pretty good.

Tim_GTi · Post by **Tim_GTi** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 5:18 pm

aftermarket components can still run off an aftermarket HU without being amped fine.

They just sound alot better amped, and can then reach there maximum potential

like josh said though, the OEM speakers are actually quite good, so unless you have big plans on ICE upgrades, i'd stick with the original speakers and just get a nice beefy headunit

Hardcore · Post by **Hardcore** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 5:40 pm

one more tip. if your not very good with wiring stuff up. buy co-aoxial speakers.

basically all it is is where the tweeter is fixed in with the subb driver. other wise you get a cross over box. not hard at all to wire up. but hard to find places to put it and hide wires in your car.

im running vibe coaoxial speakers off my head unit. no amp. sounds good still

then get some nice 6x9's. although not many people want to cut holes in there parcel shelf, but you can buy boxes to fit them in. would be advised to amp these.

basically its alll about how much you are willing to spend. if your fitting them yourself, its not hard and youll get plenty of help from here, saving you about Â£40.

withought bieng cheeky ..give us a rough price of what your spending, and well give you better advice

-shane

david burton · Post by **david burton** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 6:45 pm

standard speakers running from a powerful HU would sound better than coaxials at the bottom of the door.

if the tweeter is any lower than chest level and not in line of sight you just won't get any decent sound staging.

there really isn't much point in replacing the VW setup for coaxials. you'll get more volume but that's the only thing.

I'd also deter you from getting 6x9s unless all you want is a loud system and nothing else.

jonners_gti · Post by **jonners_gti** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 7:42 pm

thanks for the help guys.

think i'll just buy a good new head unit for the moment then i can always upgrade the speakers etc later on.

just another quick question. is there anywhere else to put a sub other than the boot (need my boot space for cricket bag!)? i read somewhere that tim was considering putting 8" subs where the back speakers are mounted, is this possible?

david burton · Post by **david burton** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 8:50 pm

it's only limited by your imagination. you could even get some 8" subs in the front door I'm guessing.

footwells are an option. but have you considered raising the boot floor and putting a false floor in?

david burton · Post by **david burton** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 8:51 pm

and last but not least - you could make your own moulded fibreglass install for the boot and use one side of the boot. this has enough volume for a 8 or 10 inch sub and would only take up about 2" of boot if you're clever about how you do it.

h4r1s · Post by **h4r1s** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 9:25 pm

david burton wrote:and last but not least - you could make your own moulded fibreglass install for the boot and use one side of the boot. this has enough volume for a 8 or 10 inch sub and would only take up about 2" of boot if you're clever about how you do it.

how would you go about making the custom install yourself then? i have been trying to look for custom boxes but i can't find any