[Mk2 Generic] RE: Smallest bass speaker

[pnjmcc]

Hi All,

Is there such a thing as a small base speaker and if so does anyone have any recomendations on what the smallest base speaker size is that still gives good base ?

I wanted to fit them in to the stock location and replace the std toyota stuff but keep the std grill covering them?

I have also thought about fitting two speakers in each enclosure would there be any benefit.

Apologies if these are dum a$$ questions but I dont know a great deal about ICE equipment.

Regards
PaulM
92 G-Ltd.

[michael]

Bass

6" is generally the smallest sub that actually gives any bass - Focal used to do them, I think JBL still do, JL Audio definately do... others will too.

It won't blow you away but at the end of the day you don't need a large speaker in the MR2 to do that, a properly set up 6.5" component speaker setup can sound spot on without help from anything else.

It's a small car not a nightclub

[pnjmcc]

It's a small car not a nightclub

PMSL

Great quote

Thanks mate, I will see what info I can find on them.

REgards
PaulM
92 G-Ltd.

[jmachling]

Just another opinion!

I've just installed some Alpine SPR-17LS components in the doors of my Rev 3 MR2. I really like the sound and they are plenty loud enough (350W peak, 70W RMS) with a very good bass extension. They work down to 35Hz, so no real need for a sub.

Not the easiest to fit (involves using spacers and trimming the door card) but only took me acouple of hours.

I picked them up for around £80 from an ebay shop - www.budgetcaraudio.co.uk It's the cheapest place I could find them.

[skytek]

Are you running those off an amp or directly from the head unit? I have two phoenix gold component speakers in my doors running off a 200 watt sony head unit and I'm getting absolutely no bass. It's nice and clear but sounds like crap cos it's so weak, despite having the bass set to max on th ehead unit. If I get an amp will that make a difference or will I need subs?

[jmachling]

I have my Alpines running off a 200w headunit (4x50w output) - they aren't loud enough to disturb the population, but they're fine for me.

I am no ICE expert (although I know a fair bit about music technology and acoustics in general) and don't know the Phoenix speakers you're talking about, so don't treat what I have to say as gospel or good practice. Here are a couple of things that may be affecting the performance of your speakers, though.

Wattage is a figure that needs to have other factors taken into account. Watts RMS is the useful figure - this is the 'still sounds good' figure. Peak or Peak Music Power Output (PMPO) are slightly misleading. Yes, the speakers will handle that many watts, but they won't sound too good while they're doing it!

The other thing to take into acount is impedance (measured in Ohms). Car speakers tend to be rated at 4 Ohms as far as I can tell, as are most amps and headunits. The lower the impedance of the speaker, the more watts it will be able to deliver for a given input HOWEVER, this can only be done with a matched amp/headunit. Running speakers with too low an impedance for the amp will potentially damage the amp. You can run 8 Ohm speakers on a 4 Ohm amp/headunit and they'll just sound quieter than their 4 Ohm counterparts, just don't try it the other way around!

Also, I think the 200W rating on your headunit is also misleading - this is probably the total power output (i.e. 4 channels of 50w) so won't be as loud as a 200W stereo amp (2 channels of 100w) or a 200w monobloc amp (1 channel of 200w).

In terms of frequency response, healthy human ears can hear frequencies between 20Hz (very very low) and 20KHz (very very high), so the closer a speaker can get to reproducing this range, the better it should sound. Most decent bass as far as music is concerned can go down to around the 22.5Hz mark (the lowest note on most pianos) and sometimes below (if dance music is your thing) although the chances of a component speaker getting down this far is quite remote.

I'm always wary of speaker manufacturers unless they state the tolerance (i.e. + or - 3 dB) as as speaker with a ruler flat response graph (+-1dB) will sound very different from a speaker who's frequency response is stated with a +- 6dB tolerance.

The chances are, your speakers don't have a great bass response, and are being driven by a headunit without a great deal of power. Check the specs of your speakers. If they don't have a good frequency response low down, then adding an amp will only make them louder, not bassier.

If you want big slamming bass, my opinion is that a separate amplified sub is the way to go. This takes the duty off the head unit of providing the power draining bass frequencies and allows it to concentrate it's power output on the higher and less power hungry frequencies. I've heard good reports of teh Alpine SWD-1600. Again, it's not going to produce enough grunt to shake any panels loose, but it's small and should help reinforce the bass end.

Not sure that makes a whole lot of sense, but I hope it helps!

John.

[paul port]

It's a small car not a nightclub

PMSL

Great quote

Thanks mate, I will see what info I can find on them.

REgards
PaulM
92 G-Ltd.

JL Audio - 6w0 << Still a current model 6"
Focal Utopia 5ws << No Longer listed 5" Probably the only one that can realistically work in an enclosure small enough to go in the stock location. I have Two, they aren’t going to blow your eardrums though…. Consider 8” minimum for pounding your back.

Paul