Sound System Question for Gurus

[TigerNSX]

Hello,

First of all, I am sorry to bother you with silly questions, but I am really clueless about this field and no matter how many threads I read in this section, I get really confused.

My car currently does not have any sound system, i.e., no radio, no subwoofer in the passenger footwell. I just want to listen to something even if it does not have a mindblowing sound.

Question: I am planning to simply put a CD player and replace door speakers with aftermarket ones (and not putting subs at all).

1) Will I be able to hear decent sound from this setup?
2) If I were to do this, what sizes of speakers and what kind of amplifiers (in terms of wattage) would I need to run with the budget of $500?

Thank you.

 

[Malibu Rapper]

You can have decent sound with just that setup. The most basic thing you can do is install a CD player and power some coaxials off of that CD player. That will give you slightly better than most OEM quality sound depending on the deck and the speakers you choose. When I say most OEM, I think the stock NSX is pretty good and it would rival it but I think stock might have more low end.

You'll want 6.5" speakers for the doors and you'll have to fabricate baffles to mount them. I'd recommend buying the D'Ecosse speaker plates to save a lot of time and energy.

Then you'll need a head unit that has speaker outputs. Most do. The new Alpine series feature 18 watts of CEA compliant power which is good enough to power a set of coaxials. Kenwood and Pioneer units are nice, too. For MP3s, I would pick the Kenwood. If you are looking at MP3 capabilities, bring in a cd with a bunch of MP3s burned on it and test out the skipping, ff, folder, list management of the different units.

 

[TigerNSX]

Thank you.

Could I ask you some more questions to clarify if I understand you correctly?

The new Alpine series feature 18 watts of CEA compliant power which is good enough to power a set of coaxials.

Does this mean that I can simply buy something like "Alpine SPX-177R Component 2-Way 6.5" Speakers" and run them directly with any Apline head unit without using any additional amplifiers?

Thank you so much for your help.

 

[D'Ecosse]

I assume your $500 budget does not include the head / console rework cost.
Sure it's do-able - the more you spend on quality speakers, the less you will "miss" a sub - everyone gets hung up on having a sub but remember the stock system doesn't have one either!
You could even do a rudimentary system using a head with a built-in amp, (i.e. not having an external amp at all) but unlikely you will get enough power to drive quality speakers, especially components.
However, the Alpine CDA-9833 has 60W x 4 so you could potentially start with that and additionally even use the rear channels to drive a couple of small (5-1/4") co-ax fill's that would be relatively easy to mount in the traditional center & footwell locations.
You could add an external amp later if it's not to your expectations.
If you go external amp route, don't forget you need power cable install kit, speaker mounts, RCA cable, amp mount & speaker wires so account for all that in your costs.

 

[TigerNSX]

Alpine CDA-9833[/URL] has 60W x 4 so you could potentially start with that

So, with this head unit, I can run the components speakers without any amplifiers?

The new CDA-9853 has 50W x 4. Will this be powerful enough to run components withou any amplifiers, too?

Thank you so much.

 

[D'Ecosse]

See my post above - I was compling that while Malibu's & your response were going on - Malibu's recommendation is for lesser speaker if you're driving from the H/U amp is appropriate, as was mine that you would not get satisfactory results driving components.
The quoted H/U specs are actually peak power - less than half of that is RMS power; your probably need an external amp to drive those components, mimimum 50W RMS/ch or better maybe 75W +; you can try it but they will not really be able to push enough power to drive them effectively without clipping.

 

[TigerNSX]

See my post above - I was compling that while Malibu's & your response were going on - Malibu's recommendation is for lesser speaker if you're driving from the H/U amp is appropriate, as was mine that you would not get satisfactory results driving components.
The quoted H/U specs are actually peak power - less than half of that is RMS power; your probably need an external amp to drive those components, mimimum 50W RMS/ch or better maybe 75W +; you can try it but they will not really be able to push enough power to drive them effectively without clipping.

Got it!

Thank you so much for this!!

 

[Malibu Rapper]

Alpine USED to make these head units with a very powerful amplifier. They called it VDrive or something like that and the head unit had a separate power cable just for the amp. Those can power a set of components just fine. The newer head units comply with CEA guidelines so you know you are getting a true 18 watts RMS.

Using a set of good components, you will lose some power due to the inefficient passive crossovers. That's why I recommend coaxials, I don't like to see components being run off of head units but it can be done. I wouldn't recommend anything less than 25 watts RMS to do it though. Also remember that with most components, you will have to mount the tweeter separate from the midrange. That can complicate your install.

A decent quality set of coaxials will run you around $100. You don't have to worry about mounting the tweeters. Best of all, most of them were designed in mind to run off of head units and some can give you good bottom end.

Like D'Ecosse mentioned, you will have to rework the dash. There used to be this picture on the net somewhere of the original dash trim unmodified. Someone stuck a piece of ABS behind and mounted the stereo. It doesn't look really nice (not as bad as one would think either) but it was functional. You can buy ABS trim panels with a precut DIN opening and easily trim it to work in this fashion. You would just score the DIN trim panel with a razor blade, break off some edges, and hotmelt it against the original trim panel. If you have trouble finding one of these pieces I can pick one up for you. I'll try to dig up that picture of the head unit mounted like this.

It doesn't sound like you want to go all out and drop serious cash into this so that's why I'm making these suggestions. You can easily read through the rest of these posts in the forum to find the best way rig up a stereo system.

Head unit - $300
Coaxials - $100
Speaker plates - $85
ABS Panel - $10
Wiring kit - $10

 

[TigerNSX]

Dear Malibu Rapper,

Thank you so much for your help and time to explain this to me.
I now understand things more clearly.

At first, I did not understand the difference between components and "coaxials". Now, I understand that what the difference is (coaxials have tweeters attached on them).

I already have Dali Carbon Fiber Radio Delete center console. So, I suppose that I can install the head unit just by cutting a hole.

Once again, thank you so much.

 

[specrtd]

anyone know of a good quality speaker for in between the seats? It's only like a 5inch speaker right? Any good ones out there if you want to keep the oem look and can fit something in there without modifying?

 

[Briank]

It's only like a 5inch speaker right?

It's about a 2" speaker and it is driven off the same amp that powers the foot well sub so putting in a bigger speaker is really not an option with the stock setup.

 

[specrtd]

so has anyone put a somewhat larger speaker in between the seats and still kept the speaker cover on? Like a custom one? Any ideas of speakers that would fit without much custom work, or is it pretty much impossible?

 

[Malibu Rapper]

I thought the speaker was closer to 3.5" or 4". Regardless, there's no point in replacing that speaker as from an audiophile point of view, it's a no no. One good use for it might be as a navigation speaker. Other than that, you take it out and you won't miss it at all.

 

[Ashik]

i got 6 by 9 on doors and amps behind driver seat.and everything stock :smile:

 

[ocnsxer]

if you have a budget of $500 for your system...it is not worth spending your money, your stock system will sound better....for a decent system for an nsx will run you $1500 dollars and up for you to start noticing a difference in sound quality, from a stock system and a aftermarket...being the car it is your labor on building this system i would estimate it will be around $400. thats having a proffesional stereo shop work on it. ....that will just include modifying your original stereo kit, installing front speakers, and stereo. one thing to remember it is an nsx make the car appreciate in value and not depreciate........by the way nice nsx malibu rapper good job mine will be in the works this week......thanks for stopping by.. i will update you guys with the mods that i will be doing.....

 

[robr]

i dont entirely agree with the above about $500 not being worth spending... for $500 what i'd do is shop around for a used amp like an xtant x603 which can be had for under $200 (this site usually has decent gear for sale: http://forum.elitecaraudio.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=4 ), a pair of used separates for another couple hundred or less, keep the stock head unit, and spend the extra on wiring, mounting plates (d'ecosse has nice ones, or you can take a stock NSX door speaker enclosure, take it apart, trace one onto plywood and jigsaw yourself one in a half hour, not nearly as nice, but quick and inexpensive).

edit: oops, reread that he has no head unit. in that case i might consider watching the for sale forum here and seeing if you can just pick up a stock system for a few hundred bucks.