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?

[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. ;-)

[jhnkvn]

For the definition of my "Decent sound quality", for me it's like a sound quality that will suits my sound preference. ;-)

This piqued my interest actually on what are you running at home? You see, I've been in all branches of audio - from professional studios, home, cars, and head-fi so you see me from Tsikot, to Kotseaudioclub, to Pinoydvd, and Headphiles

Here's the lowdown kasi dito. Unlike in a home where you have relatively fixed walls and in head-fi where your IEM/headphone acts much like your room, the car interior itself shapes the very sound you hear. This is why a speaker that sounds good in your car might sound bad in mine. You could say subjectivity here is off-the-charts compared to the other fields which are more controlled.

This is why a DSP is important is because it gives you the tools to mold your sound to cover for your environment. Through this sound processing, I can make a Focal sound quite like a Dynaudio.. it won't be a pure 100%.. but you can tailor it to something like tonality of Dynaudio.

It's more of the challenge that's why I'm more into car audio than any other field. But I wouldn't consider myself a lightweight in the others either. Haha.

[jhnkvn]

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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Your head unit is more than capable enough. If you find it lacking, sa tuning lang yan

[falken]

Your head unit is more than capable enough. If you find it lacking, sa tuning lang yan

Thanks, time for me to start tinkering with it again.

[joms]

Thanks, time for me to start tinkering with it again.

I can still remember the time nung unang lumabas yung 9887.... it was expensive compared to the other units but the SQ was really worth it. Pati yung EQ/TA/xover controls kasi nya ok na.

jhnkvn - into home audio ka din pala. ako ayoko nang pumasok sa home audio kasi sobrang gastos haha. (home video nalang ako) My dad though is into home audio and i just listen to his system if ever (jadis-conradjohnson-b&w801-etc)

Actually one of the reasons why i don't pursue car audio that much anymore is because wala pa din akong naririnig na car audio that can go anywhere near the setup of my dad. Nakaka inis. I tried to get near it pero wala talaga, sobrang layo. Siguro sa tone, transparency and separation pwede pa pero when it comes to depth, imaging, soundstage, extension, wala na. Gusto ko kasi yung singer nasa harap ng windshild mo around 1 full car away. At best, what i've heard is nasa harapan lang ng bumper mo yung singer. (and thats only 1 part of it. yung stage width din sa car audio is limited to the apillars, no extension beyond that, if ever man, very slight lang and shallow)

[palonmar]

*jhnkvn - For the 3 sound signatures, since I used to listen to different music genre, depends on the time of the day. In the morning, I used to listen to some punchy and with lots of beat musics like Dance, RnB's and Pop. At the end of the day, if I have time, usually listening to some blues and warm musics,with the likes of Norah Jones etc. which is truly immersive and relaxing.

As for my planned audio set-up, with kids around during the travel and sometimes alone driving, a bright and neutral setting should be okay for her.

[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?

[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.