Car Audio recommendations

AgentG

AgentG

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I'm thinking of upgrading the sound system in my Suzuki Alto SZ-L (you can tell I'm a canon user!)

It seems that the car only has the dashboard speakers. I plan to get speakers for each of the four doors, but have no experience in doing it myself or have any idea what to get.

Any recommendations of brands to look at or companies in South Wales that can do it for me? I'm not looking for the best of the best (can't afford it) but would like something decent.
 
AgentG said:
I'm thinking of upgrading the sound system in my Suzuki Alto SZ-L (you can tell I'm a canon user!)

It seems that the car only has the dashboard speakers. I plan to get speakers for each of the four doors, but have no experience in doing it myself or have any idea what to get.

Any recommendations of brands to look at or companies in South Wales that can do it for me? I'm not looking for the best of the best (can't afford it) but would like something decent.
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Hi

You need to see if there are any spaces for speakers in the door panels - if not, then you are into cutting the panels to make speakers fit and then it's a case of where and what room is available, behind the door panel to accommodate the speaker. If it does have spaces, this will determine what size speakers will fit directly, without too much hassle.

There are lots of speakers to choose from, pioneer, Kenwood, jvc, infinity etc etc.

First thing to do is see if there are spaces, then look online and see if there are any car audio shops near you - south Wales is a bit of a big place :-), they should be able to help in more specific detail.
 
I can't recommend any companies for yo uas I'm over the other side of the country :lol:

What sort of money are you willing to spend here?

You would probably be better getting 2 "better" speakers for the front doors and running them off an amp as opposed to 4 cheaper speakers.

Also, the installation can make a huge difference i.e. if they're mounted in MDF baffles and you deaden the door you will get a lot better sound :)
 
There are spaces in each door already for speakers, it's too wet outside to go out and measure them right now though.

The budget is not set at the moment as I have no idea what everything costs, some research still to do. Based on what little info I know at the moment I'd estimate a rough budget of £200 - £300. I don't need the people in the next village to hear my music.

Thanks for the replies so far!
 
For that sort of money you could get a decent little 4 channel amp http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/jbl-gt5-a604e.html speakers is a little more difficult as I don't know what size you would need but something along the lines of these http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/alpine-spg-17c2.html would go well with that amp.

You'd need a wiring kit like this http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/aut-pc4-27cca-autoleads-8awg-wiring-kit.html and if you're using a factory fit head unit an RCA converter http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/pacsoem4-four-channel-converter.html

Alternatively you could just upgrade the speaker but you might end up disappointed as after market speakers tend to need 30WRMS+ to drive them and factory stereos generally only produce 10-15WRMS at best.
 
I'm already pre-shrunk, but don't want to take any chances!

Thanks for the help guys, will try and find out the speaker sizes.
 
There was a break in the rain. If I've measured right I'm looking for speakers around 5.5 inches.
 
Russ77 said:
You would probably be better getting 2 "better" speakers for the front doors and running them off an amp as opposed to 4 cheaper speakers.
Click to expand...

Do this!

Also see if you can get mdf speaker mounts for the front door speakers.

The best company i have used in South Wales is Uplands- based in Swansea and Cardiff, very neat install.

I've also used Moving Sounds in Newport, but the bloke i knew there has left, and the manager has been a bit unhelpful...
 
Go to sonic frontiers. Pay them some money and be amazed.
Lee is one of the best in the business and what he can do is amazing.
I spent ages and loads trying to do it myself before learning my lesson. He has 2 or 3 demo vehicles to give some idea of what he can do, and is a true fan of music so be prepared to spend some time. and then some dosh.....
 
car audio can be even more of a money pit than photography, I went looking for a replacement for a blown 4inch dash speaker, and am now on my third install :)
Ive heard lots of good things about Lee at Sonic Frontiers, I'd say try him but leave your credit card at home.
The other things mentioned, such as mdf mounting and sound deadening, can make a huge difference.
 
I just had a look at sonic frontier and that's way out of my price range. If I had the money I'd go with one of the packages though!

Anybody have experiences using halfords for car audio?
 
yes. Ok to buy stuff from but I wouldnt let them take a spanner to my car even if they did it for free.
As I'm way up north I'm not too up installers in Wales, but you could pop across to talk audio and see if there is anyone else who may be able to help in your area
 
Talk audio is indeed the place to go !
As for Lee at sonic, he does other work too, and the experts do say that about 85% of a good sound in a car is down to the install....
 
Sonic Frontiers gets a vote from me, he did my car and i came 2nd at the national EMMA competition.

Failing that, audioconcepts in cardiff are very much worth a shout (used these as well as Lee). They do many levels of audio so should have something in your price range.
 
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