Decent sound quality sound set up without amplifier, possible?

[palonmar]

I'm planning to make DIY project for my wife's 2013 Hyundai Accent sedan to improve it's sound quality. For the set-up, my plan is not to put more additional weight like amplifiers, sub woofer etc. Just a simple upgrade to good quality 2 DIN Head Unit and nice sounding separates. It has 4 stock speakers installed on four doors, which I don't know the size, maybe 4 incher only. I want a Sound Quality set up for that car and good sounding bass . I don't want to shell out more than 40K for that, is this possible? Please Help...

[red_one]

start with a 2DIN HU and separates for the front. you can keep the rear speakers. assuming Pioneer 2DIN HU + Pioneer 6.5" separates, you will spend around P20k including installation na.

some brands are more expensive than others so if you go with an exotic brand, expect to pay more.

since this is for wife's car, is she really into audio? if current sound setup is decent enough for her, why upgrade? unless you also use her car regularly.

[palonmar]

My wife is I can say is into audio already siguro kasi nahawa na rin sakin coz I'm a bit an audiophile. Even at home, I used to build my own sound system and not buying the whole package. Even my car sound set up was done by myself for LnC purposes. Because her car got only stock components, sound is too basic and lacking. Parang kapag nasanay ka nang manood ng mga high definition videos in Full HD screen, hahahanap-hanapin mo and you would not want watching less than that. I would like to set up her car sound system in a simple way and looks stock inside since she used to be listening RnB's, Pop etc. I have not tried installing without any amplifier and other add ons, will it suffice?

I'm eyeing to buy a 2 DIN Pioneer Model: AVHX5500BHS with 50Wx4 RMS here in abroad or kung meron satin at mas mura, dyan na lang ako bibili. May mga features na di ko naman magagamit sa Pinas kaya siguro medyo mahal ng konti sa ibang line up ng Pioneer. What seps you think will match that unit to meet my requirements? And the 2 speakers mounted on 2 rear doors, can that be used to put a 6 inch as a sub or mid bass for a good sounding bass?

[palonmar]

double post

[MXFX]

if you are ok with the current setup and just wanting a little bass, how about just adding a powered sub? it might be a cheaper option.

[jhnkvn]

Truthfully, the best budget 15k SQ I've heard will be on a secondhand 9887 + 5,000php speakers on active configuration with a 50hz cutoff on the midbass

SQ by itself compromises of three criterias. Sadly, most of us simply think of it as having good tonality. But it compromises of three things: imaging, staging, and tonality. Unless you plan on throwing a DSP, you can kiss imaging and staging goodbye. But in doing so, you'll be spending a lot more even if you go for a "budget" build.

So my recommendation will be quite simple on a 40,000php budget:
- Head unit (20k)
- Speakers (5k)
- Amplifier (10k)
- Subwoofer (5k)

Then extend a bit more for wirings,deadening, and other miscellaneous stuff. If you can get "packages", all the more better so you know what to budget for.

Your aim is to cover the entire sound frequency spectrum. From 40hz to 16khz. Your separates will handle the 80hz upwards while your subwoofer fills in the lows. Through experience, I would say your most immediate jump will be the speaker change.. and the inclusion of the subwoofer -- because nobody really hates bass.

If you're in need of trunk space, just make a small box. Even a 0.7-1cu.ft sealed box will sound better than an underseat subwoofer.

[palonmar]

Truthfully, the best budget 15k SQ I've heard will be on a secondhand 9887 + 5,000php speakers on active configuration with a 50hz cutoff on the midbass

SQ by itself compromises of three criterias. Sadly, most of us simply think of it as having good tonality. But it compromises of three things: imaging, staging, and tonality. Unless you plan on throwing a DSP, you can kiss imaging and staging goodbye. But in doing so, you'll be spending a lot more even if you go for a "budget" build.

So my recommendation will be quite simple on a 40,000php budget:
- Head unit (20k)
- Speakers (5k)
- Amplifier (10k)
- Subwoofer (5k)

Then extend a bit more for wirings,deadening, and other miscellaneous stuff. If you can get "packages", all the more better so you know what to budget for.

Your aim is to cover the entire sound frequency spectrum. From 40hz to 16khz. Your separates will handle the 80hz upwards while your subwoofer fills in the lows. Through experience, I would say your most immediate jump will be the speaker change.. and the inclusion of the subwoofer -- because nobody really hates bass.

If you're in need of trunk space, just make a small box. Even a 0.7-1cu.ft sealed box will sound better than an underseat subwoofer.

Yes that's what I wanted for that sound set up, a complete sound spectrum and hear what should be the outcome. Sadly, I still need an amplifier and a sub box in the trunk to make the job done, which makes her car a little bit hardcore... :-) I was thinking maybe what I want can be remedied by a good 2 DIN car stereo, good separates and another good midbass on the rear plus deadening the doors. I was also actually searching for underseat sub reviews, but some say, that it's like having none at all and really pathetic. I don't know how they sound like, since, it's only mounted on a tight box, having difficulty to breath and perform. How about the 2 speaker mounted on rear doors, what should I do with them if let say I have separates on the front, disconnect them or install mid bass speaker?

[jhnkvn]

Won't happen. With rear speakers, you can reinforce the midbass output by a couple of decibels but that's it. Unless you do something about your passive crossover's filter of the typical 80hz, you won't hear anything much below that.

My personal take is that unless you can cover 50hz with enough output, you'll still need a subwoofer for your low-end duties.

Since you're a bit more advanced in your audio than our typical newbies, this is what I'll recommend if you want a no-frills idea: just get 2-DIN head unit and wire the speakers without the passive crossover. Then cross your midbass lower than 80hz. Something like 63hz with a EQ boost on the 50-60hz will do nicely.

For protection, tell your installer to install a capacitor on the tweeter. This is for precaution in case a full-signal gets blasted to it. The passive filtering of the crossover will make sure you won't end up with a fried tweeter. Something like 33uF cap is enough. And since you're crossing it lower, your cone travel will be longer.. so don't pump up the volume. Then again, you won't have enough juice on tap to really pump up the volume so... yeah, this is a feasible route.

Still, I recommend completing the sound spectrum first. If you're not that fussy about head units, then buy something cheaper.. like a 1DIN head unit and use the spare to cover the budget.

Something like the 19,000php Dominations Buddy package isn't bad truthfully since it comes with wirings, "free" deadening, and a subwoofer box: https://www.facebook.com/mach2audio/...type=3&theater

But madami din naman mga ganyan packages around Banawe if you wanna know. A lot of them simply mix and match after all. Firland, Targa, Ryan Audio, etc.

P.S. For the rear speakers, if you have enough channels.. well there's not much of problem having them play. You can always use the head unit's fader settings if you want to "mute" them anyway. I will suggest leaving them stock and using the funds for something else.

P.S. #2 If you're near Banawe or QC area, PM me if you want an audition on what SQ in car audio has to offer ;) although I'm not fully tuned right now (kinda messed with settings and all), it's still very much presentable as a competition car.

[palonmar]

So what I'll do is to buy head unit here as a start since a good 2 DIN head unit is a bit more expensive there. It's also offers more adjustments and a 4 volts output just in case the need for amplifier really needed to meet my demand. All the rest of the equipment will be purchased sa Pinas para malaman na rin kung ano bagay sa kanyang set-up. Maybe I could stretch a bit more budget on my planned set up if needed kasi pwede naman :-) Sometimes, I came to think that this little addiction of mine to good sounding sound system cost me some of my hard earned money :-D Even at home, my set up already cost around 350k, but that is ok, satisfied naman ako. But that set up cost nothing compared to those who got deep pockets and hard cored Audiophiles.

On my vacation, I'll visit one shop in banawe for audition. Maybe I will have no time doing the project on my own since I got only a month and will be busy with many things. I,m kinda intrigued with the Dominations brand of audio equipments as you mentioned them in your previous post. Sounding good as you say, I'll give it a try para maiba naman sa mga nakasanayang brand. Any good shops you can recommend na ok?

[jhnkvn]

Sa Banawe,

For some reason, I'm really liking the work on Miko's AutoIntensity lately.

Aside from him, the usual shops of Nogs' Candyshop which churns out ICE installs day by day is also well-known... neighboring JetCar also does good installs. In Araneta Avenue, there's Jeff Tan's Araneta Car Accessories. Truthfully, madami sa Banawe ang gumagawa ng installs.. I'd say pick your choice nalang on which shop owner "pleases" you.

[falken]

Sir jhnkvn, could you recommend a decent DSP for me? My setup is a 9887 HU, Mrp f356 flex 5 channel amp & infinity kappa perfect 5.1 seps. TIA.

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[joms]

Since wife mo ang gagamit then i think mas impt ang bells and whistles instead of actually sound quality. Dont get me wrong im not saying na zero sound quality gawin mo. What i just want to say is invest more sa head unit wherein pwedeng i link yung ipod/ipad/iphone, yung may TV/video, etc. I think mas mag e enjoy sya dito. Unless of course talagang audiophile yung wife mo. In that case, invest a lot in speakers. Note that speaker upgrade gives you the best SQ. The old rule of thumb actually is to spend 50% of your budget on your speakers.

Anyway, again, if wife mo gagamit i recommend this:

Headunit = 15T (Pioneer with lots of gadgets/cool stuff)
Speakers = 15T (2-way separates)
Amp = 10T (4x channel kung kaya for flexibility) - if you can find a class D (yung newer amps and not the old one) mas ok eto kasi mas mataas ang watts na mabibigay sayo. (bigger watts/dollar). Audiophiles will strike this suggestion though as Class A/B will sound better than a class D in general but heck, we are working around a budget so i'd go for a higher wattage amp which sounds decent than a low watt amp that will sound a very little bit better. Mas friendly pa sa alternator ang class D.

yung subs saka na pag may budget ka na ulit. You can use the stock rear speakers and just adjust the fader to fronts upto max setting then bring it back around 2 to 3 notches. This will give it some rear fill. This is not the audiophile route though but since wife mo naman ang gagamit and hindi naman sya siguro ganun ka particular, the rear fill will make the music sound bigger and fatter (at the expense of the singers voice being pulled back). Don't mention it nalang sa kanya para hindi nya mapansin yung location ng singer.

[red_one]

many nice suggestions were posted, though the original question remains..

Decent sound quality sound set up without amplifier, possible?

in truth, the answer actually depends on the TS himself, i.e. what is his definition of "decent sound quality". but because the TS has P40k to spare, i think whatever upgrade he decides will be an improvement over stock. just a matter of deciding what brand/model to get.

i say again start with a good HU and front speakers. and then continue on the rear speakers. if sound is still not decent enough, then time to add that Amp.

[palonmar]

Thanks for the inputs mga ka-tsikot and I really appreciate your suggestions. I was actually planning to buy a nice 2 DIN Head Unit with DVD player as a part of an upgrade preferably a Pioneer. Dami na kasi dito sa forum nagsasabi na maganda sound quality ng Pioneer compared to other brands at dami pang features. I was actually thinking of buying a good sounding separates for my planned set up since wala ngang amplifier which maybe can be remedied by that. Last night I was googling about the "Focal separates" and I'm planning to buy it there sa Pinas kahit entry level lang kasi maganda daw ang sound quality non.I end up searching in Sulit and found the product there at mura. Did some thorough searching and then later on I found out that they are fakes and looks the same as real ones. The thing is, the product model ng Focal seps na binebenta don't even being produced by Focal anymore. Siguro marami na rin nagkalat na ganyan sa market natin, even Morels which I was also eyeing, have fakes na rin. I got no idea if kahit sa mga audio shops sa Banawe binebenta yan. Pero for now iwas muna ako sa mga brands na yon lalo na at satin binebenta.

Since I can still stretch my budget more than 40k if needed to my intended set up, just like sir jhnkvn said, audition muna, so there's no regrets di ba? If adding an amplifier is needed para di ako masyadong mapamahal and achieve the sound quality, I go for that.. For the definition of my "Decent sound quality", for me it's like a sound quality that will suits my sound preference. ;-)

[H3JRVILLAMOR]

*TS, sir pa hitch po sa thread.

Ask ko lang po mga I.C.E. gurus, maganda po ba kalalabasan ng sound quality if seperates sa front at coax sa likod ang gagawin ko sa stock HU ng car ko? Thanks po.

[red_one]

Ask ko lang po mga I.C.E. gurus, maganda po ba kalalabasan ng sound quality if seperates sa front at coax sa likod ang gagawin ko sa stock HU ng car ko? Thanks po.

nope. hindi maganda unless you suppress the tweeter output of the coax. recommended is separates sa front at mid-bass drivers only sa likod, or subwoofer.

pag may tweeters sa likod, masisira ang stereo imaging.

Stereo imaging is an audio jargon term used for the aspect of sound recording and reproduction concerning the perceived spatial locations of the sound source(s), both laterally and in depth. An image is considered to be good if the location of the performers can be clearly located; the image is considered to be poor if the location of the performers is difficult to locate.

[H3JRVILLAMOR]

nope. hindi maganda unless you suppress the tweeter output of the coax. recommended is separates sa front at mid-bass drivers only sa likod, or subwoofer.

pag may tweeters sa likod, masisira ang stereo imaging.

^sir pasensya kung medyo makulit ako.newbie po talga ako sa car sounds.^_^ pede ba coax na lang ang ipalit sa front speakers?

[H3JRVILLAMOR]

Sorry double post.✌️✌️✌️

[red_one]

^sir pasensya kung medyo makulit ako.newbie po talga ako sa car sounds.^_^ pede ba coax na lang ang ipalit sa front speakers?

yes, pwede ang coax sa fronts.

ang advantage lang ng separates is you can control placement of tweeter. maganda kasi nasa bandang taas ang tweeter, almost ear level. ang woofer naman is okay na sa baba since bass (low frequency audio) is non-directional.

[joms]

^sir pasensya kung medyo makulit ako.newbie po talga ako sa car sounds.^_^ pede ba coax na lang ang ipalit sa front speakers?

Pwedeng coax pre but i do not recommend it at all. Malaking bagay na ang tweeters mo nasa dash/a-pillar or somewhere higher. Generally, it will make your sound stage bigger. The difference is very very prominent. Mas gusto ko pang tumunog ang mediaocre 2-way separates with no amp kaysa sa amped coax na located way down sa doors. Kahit mas mahal pa yung coax unit kaysa sa seps.

In short, get a 2-way seps. Forget about the coax.

For rears naman, don't use coax as the high frequencies will just pull the imaging to the back. Ang habol mo nga magka depth sa fronts mo (windshield area). But if you're into video only, then heck just use what you have for rears, may it be coax or not.

Another reason i can think when to use coax sa rears is if ang habol mo eh mapansin ng tao sa parking lot. Opening your doors and turning the volume up will make all your doors sing...