I.c.e Advice Please

[omega 82]

my mrs has a206 gti and wants a better sound system as shes a zumba instructor,now we not going mad as the car needs to carry 4 people and the shopping

so the plan is

new 50w head unit to power front speakers

a stelth shelf with a pair of 6x9speakers with a amp to power them

another amp to power the rear speakers

all speakers we be uprated and still fit in there orginal places

thought of 2 small amps as I can bolt them to the shelf and they don't use fans so will work upside down or is a single amp better?

only looking at about 40 watts per speaker

all advice welcome

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

I'd have thought a decent 50w head unit with a pair of 6x9's would probably be good enough without having to mess about with amps?

[Anthony 1,002]

I'm not an ICE expert by any means, but what I do know is that generally speaking, you want to improve the source and front speakers first and foremost, and then normally add a small sub to fill in the lower notes and allow the main speakers to work without having to over-exert themselves playing bass.

 

In my opinion, amping the existing rear speakers and adding 6x9's is not the way to go - although granted, 6x9's will add some bass.

 

Personally, I would do the following (in order):

 

Headunit

Improved front speakers, using the fader to not over-drive the standard rears

Small sub (and amp)

Sound deadening

Amp for front speakers (rears will be fine off the headunit)

 

That's basically how my 306 is done and it sounds pretty reasonable to my ears

[GLPoomobile 958]

my mrs has a206 gti and wants a better sound system as shes a zumba instructor

Just out of interest, how many clients can she fit in her 206 per class?

 

 

 

[GilesW 41]

Does she teach Zumba in her car???

Booooo. Beaten to it. lol

[jeremy 70]

Have you considered a powered sub under the drivers/passengers seat. I used an Alpine SWD1600 in my old Disco with very good results, the only problem is it is about 10 to 15 mm to high to go under a 205 GTI seat, but may fit under a 206 seat. Then perhaps as others have said upgrade the HU, possibly with upgraded oe fit speakers too.

[omega 82]

Just out of interest, how many clients can she fit in her 206 per class?

 

 

 

 

just one

and what a work out it was

[omega 82]

I'm not an ICE expert by any means, but what I do know is that generally speaking, you want to improve the source and front speakers first and foremost, and then normally add a small sub to fill in the lower notes and allow the main speakers to work without having to over-exert themselves playing bass.

 

In my opinion, amping the existing rear speakers and adding 6x9's is not the way to go - although granted, 6x9's will add some bass.

 

Personally, I would do the following (in order):

 

Headunit

Improved front speakers, using the fader to not over-drive the standard rears

Small sub (and amp)

Sound deadening

Amp for front speakers (rears will be fine off the headunit)

 

That's basically how my 306 is done and it sounds pretty reasonable to my ears

 

why amp for the front speakers and not the rear?

[johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars]

For front speakers, I highly recommend these:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380185033221?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

 

(ignore the fact that the company name makes them sound chavtastic)

 

I've recommended these over and over and love them in my car. They also do 6" and 4" like these and if you like bass, they do the most powerful 6x9s you can buy. And you wont need a sub with those buggers in! trust me! (you will need a hefty amp or two smaller ones)

[MikeC 10]

Standard head unit is actually quite a good quality unit. Made by clarion in most cases, and the sound output chip is the same as most clarion aftermarket headunits.

Sound is really just down to the surface area of the speaker, and how much free space that is located behind it.

All it does is push air really. Keep it simple, if you change the speakers, uprate the cable.

Normally speakers with tweeters does the trick in the front. 6x9's are good (i use them myself) but normally require to be installed on the parcel shelf.

You can get a head unit (alpine) tuned for optimal sound at most specialists, and even have a sensor to detect increased noise which inturn increases volume automatically (Like in some VAG units)

The more dough you pump in, the better system you get at the end of the day, with rare exceptions.

[omega 82]

For front speakers, I highly recommend these:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380185033221?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

 

(ignore the fact that the company name makes them sound chavtastic)

 

I've recommended these over and over and love them in my car. They also do 6" and 4" like these and if you like bass, they do the most powerful 6x9s you can buy. And you wont need a sub with those buggers in! trust me! (you will need a hefty amp or two smaller ones)

 

they look good

will have to see if I have the space to fit them

thanks

[johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars]

Yeah the magnets are hefty, but fit in 205 doors, so I would've thought theyd be ok in most cars. KKeeping the original grill is an issue though

[Furyblade_Lee 2]

Johnny you seem to know your onions. I am looking at a simple Pioneer / Pure head unit with I think 4x100W output. Can you reccomend a pair of front speakers to go with this and fit 205 doors but keep the original speaker grills? Dont want to add amps etc. to keep weight down. Thanks.

[MikeC 10]

Alpine custom fit speakers should help.

[Furyblade_Lee 2]

Cheers!

[Anthony 1,002]

205 front door speakers are quite straight forward, and most 13cm (5 1/4") speakers will fit - just make sure that the tweeter (if it's a 2 or 3 way speaker rather than componants) doesn't protrude too far otherwise it'll foul on the grill.

 

205 rear speakers are much more of a pain fitment wise, as you've not got much depth behind the speaker, the hole is slightly smaller than the fronts and thus some 13cm speakers won't fit, and the grill again won't allow speakers with any notable tweeter protrusion.

 

why amp for the front speakers and not the rear?

Do you go to a concert and listen with your back to the stage?

 

Front speakers are what you hear the clearest and are what place the soundstage in front of you.

 

Rears on the other hand many would argue are not needed at all, although I personally think that they're useful for "filling" the sound somewhat - particularly at the lower end of the sound spectrum - and, in terms of aging Peugeots, helping to drown out / distract you from the inevitable rattles

[MikeC 10]

"in terms of aging Peugeots, helping to drown out / distract you from the inevitable rattles "

 

That is so true Anthony.

I did get the Alpine custom speakers for the rear and they fit lovely, not too deep.

[amusingadam 6 1 Cars]

now i have only made a few loud set-ups in my time but i always preferred an alpine head unit around 50w per channel with at least 3 pre outs one mainly for the sub, and the other to just for the amps.

My set up was simple a 12inch vibe sub in the boot with its own built in amp pair of high grade 6x9 and no £20 don't count as high grade 4 door speakers always found pioneer to be fairly clear for mid leavel cost i always ran bass blockers on my door speakers to eliminate the farting you get when your head unit cant cope with them let the 6x9's run on a 500w amp split channel of course 250 per side, no voice through the sub thats what the 6x9's are for and pleanty of time setting it up off the head-unit and amps would give you a system and half for not that much £££££

[johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars]

Just a little thing I'd like to add- since this topic started, I got the itch to have a play around with my set up, and have now fitted the aforementioned 'theloudest' 13cm speakers in the rear speaker holes! (bare in mind I'm modifying the plastic trim around that area anyway, but thats another story) they do just about fit in the standard hole, but I've bought some 9mm mdf rings to mount them a bit more solidly.

 

Now before everybody jumps in about the rears not doing a lot back there, feel free to have a listen to mine

 

But the main reason Ive put them there is to use them as hi-mids/tweeters for when my theloudest 6x9s (in a stealth shelf) go back in. as they did come with some seperate tweeters, but I had a bit of a mare trying to mount them and they ended up swinging about on their wires in the boot for months and thus destroying them

 

And a point I dont think I made before; sound deadening, sound deadening, and sound deadening!

[amusingadam 6 1 Cars]

Couldn't agree more, the main speakers weather it be front door or rear are as important you cant run a load of bass with just your door acting as your treble just doesn't sound balanced