Here we come to the end. The cable must be insulated using corrugation. In general, advertising and nothing more. We put a microphone and measure this same SPL level on a signal that is up to 80 hertz. I managed to buy a car after half a year, but as for me, this is a good result, and it’s not about the car, my life has changed, I naturally quit my job, and I have more free time for myself and my family. Installing Acoustics in a Car with Your Own Hands from Sergei Zaitsev In this case, you can come to the salon and ask for a Dynaudio circuit, for example. The reproduced frequency range is the frequency band in which the acoustics reproduce sound.
The advantage of such a system is ease of installation, the disadvantage is the lack of a “stereo image”, the inability to determine the location of the performer, etc. The method for selecting an acoustic cable differs from the selection rules for electrical wiring. I started looking for different ways to make money on the Internet. This is how our senses - vision and hearing - are structured and interconnected.
Having dismantled the casing, you can start pulling the wires. Front connection, part 1
Which ones are better to put
The choice of speakers for a car radio should take into account the needs of the car owner. There are several options. The appropriate location of the device will depend on the size and type (for example, it is better to place speakers in the door or on the back shelf).
- Home speakers. Such devices must be connected to the dashboard via a digital input.
- Portable speaker. It is most often connected via Bluetooth.
- Powerful acoustic speakers for cars. For demanding audiophiles, these are the best speakers that provide spacious, clear sound.
How to strengthen
During installation, it is necessary to carefully strengthen the speakers, since the sound quality and duration of operation of the device directly depends on this.
Preparing to install speakers on the rear shelf
The speaker without design, when we hold it in our hands, has practically no bass. It becomes audible only when installed in a certain design - a door or a rear shelf. Moreover, simply screwed to a tin, the speaker will not sound correctly and beautifully. It must be firmly fixed to the panel.
To unlock a speaker's potential—indeed, the more expensive a speaker is, the harder it is to unlock its potential—you need to invest time and effort into preparing the seat.
Noise and vibration insulation
The speaker emits in two directions: front and rear. Rear radiation is parasitic for the listener, so the installer must prevent the rear wave from reaching the listener. He needs to separate the trunk volume from the passenger compartment as well as possible thanks to proper sound insulation.
For this purpose, a vibration and noise absorber is used. The installer’s task is to process the shelf as best as possible so that only the speaker, or rather its front side, produces sounds. It should not play along and rattle, and the wires should not ring.
Podiums
The factory metal of the machine is not intended for mounting speakers with a good magnetic system.
In addition, it often has an uneven surface. To create the necessary conditions for installing the speakers, a rigid podium is screwed to it.
Where and how to install
Before you begin, you should select a suitable installation location. Some car models have niches for placing speakers. This fact makes the task easier. If the location for the speakers is not prepared by the manufacturer, then you need to choose it yourself.
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It is recommended to install the front pair of speakers in the car on the outermost sections of the dashboard. Another suitable option is the front door housing. In this case, not only high sound quality is achieved, but also the most reliable fixation of the device. To install speakers in doors, measure the diameter of the speaker and cut a hole for it in the door trim.
The rear pair of speakers is most often placed on the floor in the luggage compartment. However, it will require some work to achieve good sound. The standard trunk shelf is removed, and an acoustic podium with speakers is installed in its place.
Wiring issue
When installing wiring, there are several important rules to consider.
- If there are no specialized holes in the doors for pulling wires through, you will have to drill them yourself.
- The wire should not pass through metal and plastic without protection. For safety reasons, it is recommended to use spacer rings. They are fixed on the inside and prevent contact of the wiring with the casing.
- The cable to the head unit should be laid under the interior trim. The best option is to secure the cable from the speakers to the main wiring using electrical tape.
Wire marking
Most speaker systems are equipped with a set of cables that have colored insulation. Thus, FR (front right speaker) is marked in gray, FL (front left speaker) is marked in white. The wires for the rear speakers are similarly different. For the right rear (RR) use purple insulation, for the left (RL) - green. The cable on “-” has the same insulation color as on “+”, but is supplemented with a black stripe.
If the wires for connecting the speakers have all the insulation in the same color, the cable must be marked. This will allow you to connect the speakers to the radio in your car quickly and correctly.
Connection diagram
After the cables have been laid and labeled (if necessary), you should proceed to connecting the acoustics to the head unit. To connect the speakers to the car radio, make sure that there is no short circuit to the body. To do this, check the wiring using a multimeter.
The next step is to check the impedance of the speakers themselves. The norm is 4 ohms. If there are no discrepancies with these parameters, you can begin connecting the cable. Each receiver should include a circuit diagram, so installation will not take much time.
The easiest way to connect the speakers to the radio in your car is using ISO connectors. If they are not provided in the standard radio, you can purchase a separate ISO adapter. With its help, you can quickly replace devices in the future.
Front
If the wires have multi-colored insulation, connecting them will be easy. The front speakers have light-colored cables:
If there are no markings, you can check the speakers as follows. A finger battery (AA or AAA) is connected to each wire for a short time. The speaker connected to this wire will begin to make a squeaking sound. This will allow you to connect the front speakers correctly.
You can also use a battery to identify plus and minus.
When the diffuser moves upward, positive polarity can be determined.
Rear
When connecting the speakers to the radio, you need to remember: the rear speaker cables have dark insulation:
- purple (for the right device);
- green (for the left).
If markings are not provided, you can, as in the case of the front pair, check by connecting to a AA battery. Each wire must be correctly connected from the speakers to the head unit into the connector provided for this purpose. After this, the connection of the rear speakers to the radio can be considered complete.
Home speakers
Some car owners are wondering how to install pop or household speakers from a music center. Theoretically, such a connection of speakers is possible, but there are a number of nuances.
- The quality of the sound produced will be lower than with car speakers. This is explained by the fact that household speakers are designed for use in open spaces.
- The voltage on these devices is different from the voltage on car devices, so a conversion will be required.
With an active system on the power supply board, it is necessary to find the points at which voltage is supplied to the amplifier. In these places the device is powered by a battery. As for the connection diagram to the head unit, it can be different:
- directly from the radio;
- through a power amplifier.
Amplifier
Connecting an amplifier will increase the volume and sound quality. A cable from the head unit and a power wire (it comes from the battery) are connected to the amplifier. The next step is connecting the speakers. When using a bridge circuit, one channel is connected to “-”, the other to the load terminal “+”.
How to connect 6 speakers
Experts emphasize the fact that the sound quality in a car largely depends on the power and capabilities of the speakers in the car, and not on their quantity. Meanwhile, many car enthusiasts are wondering whether it is possible to connect 3 or 4 pairs of speakers to the radio.
To solve this problem you will need to purchase an amplifier with 4 outputs.
Portable speaker
Instead of a radio, you can use a portable speaker that connects to a smartphone or any other gadget via Bluetooth. This device is widely used among car owners. The list of its advantages includes a relatively low cost, no need to connect to the car system, and the ability to use it not only in the car, but also in any other place.
The only drawback of a portable speaker is that the sound quality often does not reach the level of specialized speaker systems consisting of an amplifier, speakers and subwoofers.
So, the time has come to replace the speakers in the car. How to do this, and what do you need to know for this? You definitely need to understand the number of speakers you are replacing, their size, the power that the tape recorder or amplifier will provide (when installed), and the desired power rating of the speakers. It would also be good to understand where to connect which ones.
How to connect?
What does car acoustics consist of?
A car audio system is more than just a radio and a few speakers. It consists of a group of devices, the choice, location and installation rules of which determine the sound quality. Let's consider the main elements of the system:
Crossover (pass filter)
This is a special device for dividing sound into several bands. In appearance, a crossover is a compact box that is mounted in the circuit between the speakers and the amplifier. Depending on the design, crossovers are made passive or active.
Crossover for acoustics
Amplifier
When purchasing this device, consider what functions the device will have. If a radio is needed to create a general background and listen to the news, then spending money on an amplifier for a car is pointless. When the task is to obtain high-quality and powerful sound, you cannot do without a special device.
Acoustic amplifier
When choosing an amplifier, consider the following parameters: power (must be at least 100 watts), interior volume and available acoustics. If you install a 100 W amplifier with 10-15 W speakers, then the latter will not “live” for long. The very first attempt to increase the volume will damage the diffuser, which cannot be restored. The amplifier power should be 10-15% less than the same parameter for the subwoofer and speakers.
Coaxial or component
Choosing the right speakers is not that easy. There are currently two types of car speakers in use: coaxial and component. Coaxial speakers include several speakers at once, the so-called strips. There are two-, three- and even four-way speakers. Component speakers are designed to reproduce only a certain segment of frequencies: low, high or medium.
Let’s make a reservation right away that the price tag between coaxial and component speakers varies very, very much; component speakers belong to HI-FI and HI-END equipment and are expensive, and also require a professional amplifier (possibly more than one) and competent installation. Moreover, the location of such speakers in the car is of no small importance for the overall sound quality.
External acoustic screen
pros
- Using the external option, we can give the screen a unique design.
- The screen size can be increased. By attaching the speaker well to the large screen, we can dampen the resonance of the speaker frame. This will help make the sound clearer.
- The acoustic screen can be installed at an angle, which will help provide better localization of sound images.
Minuses
- Manufacturing becomes more complicated, requiring a lot of time and material.
- If we work without knowledge, then insufficient speaker back pressure can lead to significant sound degradation or cause damage to the speaker.
Do you need an amplifier?
We will not go into the features of amplifiers. Let's just consider what it gives and whether it is possible to do without it. An amplifier is primarily needed to increase the output power of the head unit. The inscriptions on the box of the 4x50 W radio tape recorder are true, but only partially; the manufacturer in bright advertising shows the peak power of the device, but in fact there are three powers - nominal, maximum and peak.
Peak power is what the tape recorder is capable of producing at the limit of its capabilities, for a short period of time, with sensitive overheating of the built-in amplifier. We are interested in the rated power - this is something between peak and idle during a song change, the power that the radio delivers most of the time.
The power ratio between the speakers and the amplifier will allow you to choose them correctly for each other. The rated power of the radio is significantly lower than the peak power and an amplifier is required for the full sound of good speakers. But speakers also have their own maximum power, and a powerful amplifier will most likely burn out weak acoustics very quickly. For car acoustics, a 30% power reserve in front of the amplifier is preferable. For example, if the amplifier provides 100 W per channel, then speakers are desirable at 140 W.
It turns out that a good head unit, for example a top-end Pioneer, will handle medium-power speakers without an amplifier, but if you need to make powerful speakers play, you will have to install an amplifier.
Internal acoustic screen
Advantages
- The screen installed under the door facing material does not interfere with its original appearance.
- If the screen is not visible, then it will be easier to make it, since you do not need to worry about the beauty of the design.
- The speakers are located entirely inside the door, do not create additional interference and will work more reliably.
Flaws
- If the loudspeaker is hidden under the casing, then in itself it looks unsightly.
- Since you can't increase the size of the screen, it will be light and there won't be enough punch in the bass.
- It is difficult to change the angle of the speaker, the sound may lose the uniformity of frequency balance, and at the same time the localization of musical images is disrupted.
How to install larger speakers
The car has standard seats for speakers. But what if you need to install larger speakers? This problem can be encountered when installing speakers in car doors. For high-quality installation, special podiums are used, which are purchased ready-made or made for a specific car model and speaker size.
Podiums help speakers sound better due to the extra volume they provide and allow you to install the right size speakers. Sometimes podiums are also installed on the rear parcel shelf of a car, but this is done mainly to improve sound quality.
Types of car acoustics
Today there are two types of speaker systems on the market:
- Coaxial acoustics are made in the form of speakers. It consists of 2-3 speakers of different frequencies. The main advantage of the technology is ease of installation. There is no need to drill anything or make additional holes in the panels. But due to the desire to simplify the design, the main drawback of such systems “comes to light” - low quality of workmanship. But there is no certainty here. If you choose acoustics from a well-known brand and at an affordable price, then the design and quality will be excellent. The main thing when choosing is to pay attention to the technical characteristics, material and workmanship of the speaker base.
This is what coaxial car speakers look like
This is what component acoustics looks like
But there are also advantages - with proper installation, you can achieve purity and maximum sound power. The main thing is to pay attention to the sensitivity and power of the device. An important issue is the dimensions of the speakers, which should look good in the interior of the cabin.
Number of speakers in the car
Should you put 2 speakers or 4 speakers in your car, or maybe 6? The purity of sound is determined by the quality of the speakers, not their quantity. Many car owners are limited to two mid-frequency component speakers in the front doors and tweeters on the pillars, while a subwoofer is placed in the back, which plays low frequencies. Thus, the entire spectrum of sound in the car is revealed.
Also popular is the option of installing 4 coaxial speakers, 2-3 way in the front doors, 3-4 way in the rear parcel shelf. The number of speakers that can be installed is limited only by the size of the car and the desire of its owner. At various car audio competitions you can see cars with dozens of speakers installed throughout the car. 2 speakers in the front doors may well be enough for you, it all depends on your musical preferences.
What to do when replacing standard speakers in the rear parcel shelf
- New seat. Factory speakers usually come with plastic housings. When replacing them, the seat is also removed. To create something new, podiums are used - transition rings made of plastic or wood;
- Processing the shelf. The plastic from which the shelf is made also matters. Nowadays, manufacturers save on its thickness, so the shelf is highly susceptible to vibrations. When installing a more powerful speaker than the factory one, it is not the speaker that starts playing, but the plastic. You need to immediately prepare the shelf to get rid of extraneous sounds.
Each time the installation takes place individually, but it never ends with unscrewing the old speaker and screwing in a new one. At least minimal preparation is required.
