Car Audio, Teach Me About...

[Plecostomus]

Ok, so I've come to discover the audio system in this van is 11 kinds of fail, possibly 27 or more.

Anyway. It's got the Chrysler Infinity radio/tape-deck, Infinity speakers and serious electrical issues.

The left rear speaker is missing totally, the left side of the system doesn't make ANY sound out of the front speaker.

The right side the front speaker is buzzy/raspy. The back speaker is muffled like it's under a pillow.

On top of that there are two speakers in the dash that sound... well... like basic Chrysler speakers. My techno doesn't reproduce on them very well.



Time to gut and start over. Problem is, I know nothing about car audio. More or less I'm looking in the cheap to inexpensive range of parts, prob'ly want to spend less than $300 on the whole project.

Any pointers or brand names would be welcome!

 

[Kommander]

If you're just replacing speakers, that's fairly simple, assuming your van uses standard speaker sizes. If not, you'll probably have to cut the holes bigger. There's some screws and two wires. Remove the old speakers, cut the wires, attach the wires to the new speaker, and screw the new speaker down. The buzz and muffled sound probably means the speakers are blown and the wiring is probably fine.

If you want to spend $300 or less, Sony Xplode speakers sound pretty good and aren't too expensive. I had them in my old car and they sounded pretty good.

 

[Captain Ice]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the fact that you have no sound at all out of the left front means that you've lost the left channel of your amp.

As Kommander states, Sony is a good choice in speakers. They are also a good choice in receivers.

In my Escort, I had a Sony head unit, Sony CD changer, JBL speakers in all four corners, a pioneer amp for the sub, and a Kicker sub. When I went loking for speakers, the JBLs sounded as good or better than everything except the Infinitis that were twice their price

For $300, I would go with a basic Sony head unit and 4 JBL speakers and call it good. Word to the wise, before you go traipsing into Best Buy and buying from them, go around your area and look at the independent stereo shops. When I was in the marker with the Escort, I found a shop that had a nuber of last year's model head units out on a table on clearance sale. I scored my Sony head unit NIB for $200. It had been marked down from $350 and the only difference between it and the new model was one button. I scored similar deals on the speakers, but had to find someplace else to install them (and run wires for the rears).

 

[Bloodwhiner]

$300 isn't a great deal to spend.. mail order will be your friend but you'll have to do the install yourself or at least skip the pro installers.

I'd bypass Sony unless you find it on a clearance sale. You pay for the name.

Make sure you get what you need - do you play MP3 cd's? Cassettes? ipod? Not all players do all things.

Research a bit, Crutchfield is good for that but their prices can be a bit high.

 

[Kommander]

I'd bypass Sony unless you find it on a clearance sale. You pay for the name.

Sony Xplod speakers are fairly inexpensive. In my old car I had two 6x9s in the back, 6.5s in the doors, and 3.5s in the dash. All together they cost me about $160. After a quick look at Amazon I found all six speakers for less than that.

I'm not sure how that set up would work with a van, but it was awesome in a car. To give an idea of how it sounded, people refused to believe I didn't have any subwoofers until I opened the trunk and showed them there was no speakerbox in there.

This was with the original head unit too. Even with the volume and bass turned all the way up, the speakers could handle more. So, with a new head unit the set up would probably be more than adequate for a van, and still come in at less than $300.

 

[Plecostomus]

Cool. I may end up replacing the head unit, the wiring appears to be sound so I think the fault may lie in the steering circuit for the speakers. I get the front speakers to work with the stick all the way up, nothing from the back left and nothing from the sides.

Tomorrow I'm going to try a tone generator, send signals down the wires and make sounds at the speakers.

 

[SeerSGB]

Remember: Big bass speaker under the wife's seat, and some Barry White

 

[Plecostomus]

Remember: Big bass speaker under the wife's seat, and some Barry White

She hates Barry White.

Extra beepy super processed techno on the other hand...

 

[NCC1701]

I'm not sure how that set up would work with a van, but it was awesome in a car. To give an idea of how it sounded, people refused to believe I didn't have any subwoofers until I opened the trunk and showed them there was no speakerbox in there.

Yeah, 6x9s go pretty nuts if you don't want to go to the trouble of getting an amp and sub combo, a friend of mine has - amped, of course - 6x9s in the back and it sounds as good as my Xplod 5x7s in the doors and sub and amp in the boot

 

[FordSVT]

My techno doesn't reproduce on them very well.

That might be your problem right there. I think they have a cure for that now.

 

[Plecostomus]

My techno doesn't reproduce on them very well.

That might be your problem right there. I think they have a cure for that now.

Oh? Do tell.

 

[farmkid]

Someone mentioned Crutchfield. Seriously, go check them out. If you buy from them, you also get customized installation instructions for your vehicle and any wiring harnesses/mounting kits you will need--all at no extra cost. Depending on the vehicle, that can save you a lot of money. Their higher prices might be worth it.

As for your specific vehicle, something to keep in mind is that your system is a little different from the ordinary. I'm no expert in car audio, but I did have a '96 Caravan with the Infinity system, and that system does things a little different. Your van is a little older, as I remember, but I'm guessing the sound system is similar. The speakers are 2 ohm rather than the standard 4 ohm, and the speakers have an amp built in. So there is an extra power wire going from the head unit to the speakers. It shouldn't be a problem if you're replacing the head unit and the speakers, but if you only replace part of the system, you might have to do something different to deal with that.