Hey,

I recently purchased a 1980 Camaro Berlinetta 4.4L V8

Basically it came with the original deck but it's fussy.

The cassette player and radio both work only for a short period of time and randomly.

I'm basically looking at a new deck this is the one I'm looking to get.

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/kenwood-kenwood-in-dash-car-deck-with-bluetooth-kdc-bt948u-kdc-bt948hd/10164342.aspx?path=bc19d1769cfdd332ab5dbfe4f549e20aen02

Now, the hard question. I want to be able to run this deck with brand new speakers and amps and a sub.

What do I have to do to my car, I've read some threads and they suggested buying a new alternator and such..

What alternator fits my car? Like if I go to the junkyard what am I looking for?

I'm using my Haynes Manual as guidance since this is my first car haha.

This is how you build a system in my opinion.
#1. Choose your speakers.
#2. Choose your amps that match the power output you desire for those speakers.
#3. Choose your subwoofer (as well as where you're mounting it)
#4. Choose your subwoofers amplifier.

STOP - Now you determine how many amps (power) you need to run these amplifiers.
Next:
#5. Find an alternator that can handle the added power draw to the system.
#6. Find a main deck/head unit that does what you want and buy that.

Then you select the power wires, RCA cables (I prefer shielded), and amp fuse holders you will place by the battery. Then you rip everything out and install it. With amplifiers, most people put them in the trunk, and run the speaker wires forward from them. So it's the opposite of factory. You will not use any of your factory stereo wiring if you build a nice system.

What alternator ?? I'd suggest a 140amp CS130. It's a different plug.
But you can buy or make one. Guys sell them on Ebay for $140, and that's where I got mine.

Or .....
You can go the cheap route and just buy a new head unit and install it.
Call it a day.

Sporadic radio function is usually caused by a poor connection to your power or ground circuits.
(It may be internal to the radio too.)

Nice head unit but you will have to cut the dash to mount it.

Aces has some pretty good tips there.

Speakers: Polk MM691 6x9 3 Way Speakers

http://www.crutchfield.ca/Polk_Mobile_Monitor_MM691_6_x_9_3_way_Speakers_p/107mm691.htm

For Front Speakers I was deciding whether or not to get the dual voicecoils as the 4x10 Is that a good option?

I really don't want to cut up my dash or do too much since I know I won't want to.
I might want tweeters in the A-Pillar if that's an easy enough job but I really don't want to lose sound quality. What's my best option right now?

I found a shaft style Pioneer head unit on eBay and I use a cassette adapter with an MP3 player when I want to listen to personal favs.

I started with a pair of 6x9s.
Then... I added a little bit. :crazy:

http://i56.tinypic.com/2wbx6dk.jpg

No cutting was involved and I only drilled one hole for the power cable back to the amp. (Battery is still under the hood.)

There's a hundred ways to do this.
I just happen to have a map of my system with a key to the various components and a couple of notes.

Many ideas have been covered in this topic of the board. Poke around a while and see what you find. ;)

There's a member here designing kick panels for component speakers too.

[QUOTE=SeriousBronze]
I'm basically looking at a new deck this is the one I'm looking to get.

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/kenwood-kenwood-in-dash-car-deck-with-bluetooth-kdc-bt948u-kdc-bt948hd/10164342.aspx?path=bc19d1769cfdd332ab5dbfe4f549e20aen02

QUOTE]


That KDC-BT948HD deck is as cheap as $216 just by searching google.
Why pay $300?

Get the largest AMP stock alternator is an easy swap.
Is it enough? depends on how big the amps are.

Just because an amp says it is 1200 watts,,, Be careful how they measure. Continuous power, Average, or RMS power means the amp can put out whatever number watts from a frequency range (20-20k) with less than a % of distortion. In all honesty P= I x E rules.
E is 12 volts
I is amperes (current)
P is power as in watts.

The fuse on a 1200 watt amp at 100% efficiency (impossible) needs a 100 amp fuse.
Amps can be 50% or better in efficiency so a 150-200 watt fuse would indicate the company selling the amp is honest.

If all you have is a 30,40 or 60 watt fuses in the amp claiming 1200 watts, they are simply lying to you.

Buy speakers that sound good to you,,, and you won't know that until they are installed and playing. Each car interior and ears are different.

Speaker makers are bigger liars on wattage than amp makers. A 250 watt 6x9 can rarely handle over 35 watts RMS.

Brand name stuff is usually better stuff, and a bit more honest in their power ratings.

Thing is, start with a decent HU, like you have chosen, a good pair of 6x9's pay attention to db per watt with out an amp as a more efficient speaker is louder with fewer watts. and then build from there.
If you find yourself cranking the bass on just the HU and speakers, you need stop that as you are asking the HU to put out 10x the power on power hungry bass notes. Get an amp and subs that'll handle the bass with the tone controls set in their centered position. You can then add bass blockers to the 6x9's to keep them from distorting a loud levels.

I'd look into some pods that'll bolt to the door for front speakers. Your door panels can handle them.

Here's my crazy idea after pondering it through during work.

If I want an ample sound stage what better could it be if it was close but yet not too close to my ears? like say here.

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/9121/1980camaromod.png (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/219/1980camaromod.png/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

Would that be the best spot if I'm looking for the best sound coming from my speakers? LOL

I'm not sure if it'll just blow my ears off though.

And then at the same time keep my Front 4x10 with a dual voicecoil?

That would make it 5.1 But It would also help the imaging a bit since I'm using the speakers so close to me.

As well as maybe put the tweeters near the a-pillar or keep it where the circle is.

In car audio (or in any audio experience) the best place for good sound stage is to have the speakers as equal in distance from your head as possible, and as far forward as possible. That's very difficult to accomplish in a car.

In a home stereo, you're anywhere from 12-15 feet from the speakers. Let's say one speaker is 14 feet away and one is 15 feet away. That's only a 6.7% difference in distance from your head. You'd be hard pressed to notice a difference between that and if both speakers where 15 ft away.

In car audio with door speakers, one speaker will be about 2 feet from your head, while the other one will be 6 ft. That's a 66.7% difference. Time alignment for a good center stage will require additional equipment.

The alternative is placing the speakers in the kick panels. While still not as good as a home audio system (as far as speaker placement), it's gets you closer.

The one speaker goes from 2 ft from your head to ~4 feet. The other goes from 6 ft to ~7. Now your looking at a 33% difference in distance. Still far from prefect, but a lot better than 67%. ;)

There is no set distance for all home theaters. Just about everyone's will be different.
It's based on the size of the room and the speakers themselves. I have seen many
home theater setups where the rear speakers are literally right behind the listening
positions. That's exactly where mine are located, but this is also a 5.1 system.

http://www.hometheatersetup.org/
http://www.hometheatersetup.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/home-theater.jpg


Would that be the best spot if I'm looking for the best sound coming from my speakers? LOL
Ask yourself this.....
For the past 3 decades where have manufacturers put the majority of front speakers???
In the lower door panels. ;) Your location seems high to me. I'd go in the lower front
section of the door panel like most vehicles today have it.

4th gen Camaro
http://www.honolulustreetsmagazine.com/images/classifiedphotos/camaro-door.jpg
5th gen Camaro
http://www.carid.com/images/chrome-accessories/acc/ACC-101015.jpg
1985 Corvette
http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images/4/472/41/38677520066_large.jpg
C6 Corvette's.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4100/4875633192_552a3e4056.jpg

Ok thanks, that's what I needed to know I guess I'm going with the door panel speakers then.

Should I still keep the idea of the 4x10 Dual voicecoil at the front if I have 2 door speakers? Would it affect the sound staging at all or does it sound better to just have the front and rear speakers only?

We're not talking about a 5.1 system. We're talking about car audio. I only used the home audio system as an example because it's what most people are comfortably familiar with.

True, there is no "set distance" as far as how far the speakers are away from the listening position, but the distance should be about equal as far as LEFT and RIGHT. That's my point. The distance should be as close as possible to being equal. Unless, of course, you have a head unit or device that can calibrate the timing so the sound reaches the listening position at the same time. Not many people do, in the car audio world. Those types of head units and/or devices are quite a bit more expensive than the average consumer is willing to spend.

Regardless, the OP's question was about sound stage. In a car, the best speaker position has been the kick panels 99% of the time for reasons I stated above. Using stock placement of factory stereos is a terrible example. The manufactures' main goal is less expensive speakers, less expensive modifications to the interior (read "less engineering"), and providing the most amount of legroom. Firing the speakers into the side of the passengers' legs does not produce the best sound stage.

BTW, I vaguely remember, at one time, you using Crutchfield as a source for some of your audio knowledge.
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-IAKtjzH6evP/learn/learningcenter/car/speakers_imaging_soundstage.html