[dona83]

In the next two months I'm gonna upgrade my car speakers. I want to do all this without resorting to a subwoofer. I'm just basically gonna do this in two stages, the first is to replace my front 4" JBL GTO coaxials with Hertz 1" tweeters, 4" mid-range woofer, and 6 1/2" woofer all brought together on a three way crossover. ( http://www.hertzaudiovideo.com/ ) These are awesome speakers from Italy, my friend got her car fixed up with these and they sound absolutely amazing even from deck power. However I'm likely gonna throw an amplifier into the mix just to make full use of the power the speakers can handle. On the back I have Earthquake 5 1/4" coaxials which I'll probably keep for now as they are still a very, very decent pair of speakers and just get them on the amp as well. Vexel told me last night on ehmac chat that if I want sub-bass I need a subwoofer. The woofer I'm looking at can handle frequencies down to 40Hz, not quite as low as the 20Hz most subs are rated at but pretty close.

On a Ford Fusion I rented awhile back on business the sound system in there was absolutely spectacular without a subwoofer, like it was just totally bumpin. I'm thinking three factors, great speakers, a great amplifier, and plenty of insulation. My car being a 91 Toyota Corolla I'm missing plenty of insulation. Would that Dynomat stuff help? I just don't want a sub, I don't need to annoy the entire block or neighbourhood to enjoy my music, and my trunk is already reeeeally tiny and it's already a struggle getting my hockey goalie gear in there without a sub taking up at least a cubic foot of space in there. Thoughts?

 

[dona83]

I already know ASL to talk to my three deaf friends thanks. Got so much ear wax anyway lol, TMI?

I don't listen to music that loud anyway, I get a headache after a few minutes, I often tone down the ear ringing treble because if I can hear it a bit I'm fine. Fine percussions and strings get distorted at a high volume anyway. I just want just enough bass so I can hear and feel it over road noise and vibration. If I insulate the car a bit, wouldn't it allow me to turn down the volume and still hear the music clear? I just want clear -- not loud -- sound.

Nice deck btw, do you have the iPod connector with that? Actually I want Sirius satelite radio more than anything, there's way too much stuff out there I'd be spending thousands a month at the iTunes store just to try to keep up. $14.99/mo is a better deal... and my iPod is for my personal collection for the stuff I do buy.

 

[dona83]

Just to update everyone I indeed got my Hertz ESK-163S 3 way components... I installed the two tweeters and two mid ranges right off the bat and I just finished installing one of the woofers and the other still has its enclosure under construction but almost done. Took me three hours of labour or so to build the first one, then I bought a cheap $20 power jigsaw at Canadian Tire and wow did that ever make a difference. So far it sounds really wonderful. Coupled with my new Pioneer DEH 1900 deck (because I lost my old deck's faceplate and just could not find it) it just sounds so much better even before the upgrade due to the better amp. (4x50W MOS-FET, compared to the 4x40W that was in my Panasonic before). Not only does hip hop music sound great, I'm really starting to appreciate contemporary vocal and jazz music for my drives. And I haven't even installed the final woofer yet.

My 91 Corolla's totally pimpin now, in near mint condition in and out and now with a wicked 8 speaker sound system. Haha. The car still has a lot of years left out of it so I figured if I improve its creature comforts a bit, it'll lessen my urge to buy a brand new car.