Car Audio Questions

[HighLatency]

Hi Guys,

I've got a 1998 2.0L 5-speed New Beetle and the cheap aftermarket radio decided to call it quits. I've decided to upgrade my audio system, but need some advice.

First off I will be installing a headunit that does not have an internal amplifier. Currently the only component of the audio system that is not stock was the aftermarket head unit which I will be replacing.

I'm only going to be powering the speakers (ie - no additional subwoofer) and I want to use a 4 channel amp. I was looking at the Alpine PDX-4.100 due to it's small form factor, but have concerns that it may output to much power (100 Watts RMS per channel). I have this same headunit installed in another car being powered by a old Phoenix Gold Tantrum 400.4 (50 Watts RMS per channel) and it sounded great through the cars factory speakers.

My main concern is the speakers... obviously 100 Watts RMS per channel is to much for the factory speakers (By the way, what is the maximum RMS that you can feed the factory speakers?) and from what I've seen I would have to move to component speakers if I was pushing 100 Watts RMS to all 4 channels. I'm not sure that I want to hack up the car to install the tweeters and external crossovers.

What do you think I should do? Should I go for a less powerful amp and install full range speakers all around or take the time and money to install components all around and drive them with the Alpine PDX-4.100?

How bad would the component installation be? I've never installed a set of component speakers...

[Toad]

Well, i have a Clarion HX-D10 (un-amped hu) with an audiobahn 4601 amp (75x4 rms), but i also used audiobahn speakers. It sounded really f'n awesome for just audiobahn speakers. I'd get better speakers before getting a speaker amp, but some cheaper aftermarket speakers will sound better with a nice amp compared to more pricey speakers with an hu's built in amp.

The only thing that sucks is that Audiobahn's ABF series of speakers are long gone discontinued, but they are awesome for the price, and can handle insame power.

[Eriksbug]

100 watts a channel should work great. Its not the power that typically blows a speaker, usually its lack of power coupled with cranking it up. See when you have less power, as soon as you turn it up it starts to distort because they're isn't enough power to keep a tight control on the speakers so they distort and blow. With good power(like 100 watts) the amp will have more control over the speaker and therefore will have less distortion so its less likely to blow. If your not gonna get a sub, I strongly suggest using at least 100 watts per channel. As far as speakers go, every speaker sounds different and everyones tastes are also different. I suggest you listen to as many brands of speaks as you can and find out what you like.make sure they work well with the amp you choose(when you hear them ask how many watts the amp is they're using). Start with a good amp, then when you can afford it upgrade the speaks. You should be able to mount the tweeter right in front of the mid if you use a aluminum rod to mount them on. That way you don't have to hack up anything. The x-overs can go under the dash.Check out cdt audio's braxial components to get an idea of what I mean about the tweeter mounts.

[HighLatency]

So it would be ok to upgrade my amp first and just run the factory speakers until I decide what speakers I'm going to go with? I was under the impression that the amp would overpower / damage the factory speakers.

The CDT Audio Braxial Components looked interesting, I had never seen them before. That would make installing a set of component speakers up front a lot easier and like you said I wouldn't have to hack up the car... Do they sell a bracket that will work on other speakers or can you only buy theirs?

You've got me thinking about going with an Alpine PDX-4.150 (150W X 4) rather than the PDX-4.100 now.

I'm still a little confused about how to wire in the external crossovers. Does my 98 already have existing factory crossovers since I have tweeters in the a-pillar?

[Toad]

If you don't have monsoon, the crossovers are built into the speakers.

[HighLatency]

So then the wiring from the headunit goes to the crossover built into the front speakers, and then from the speaker to the tweeter in the a-pillar?

I should pull my door trim off and look...

[Toad]

I'm not really posotive on that, i know that the woofers have crossovers in them to keep the high frequencies out, but hte tweeters also have a small bass blocker on the side of them too. weather full range sound is coming out of the wiring in the a-pillar, i canot tell you, because i never tested it.

[afinley]

in non monsoon beetles, there are two sets of wires coming off the pin for the FL and FR speakers. one goes to the tweeter, with its inline xover, and one goes to the woofer, also with an inline xover.

[southeastcustomz]

You can easily bypass the inline filter with a little bit of wire and a soldering gun.

Powerwise, the 100x4 would be just fine...but its always better to have more power on hand.
I have done a ton of systems with a good 50x4 amp. Not all amps are created equal..but the PDX's definitely put out the power.

greg

[HighLatency]

I had another question - where are you guys mounting your inline fuse on the amp power wire that comes off the battery? In previous installs I've always put this fuse on the firewall in the engine bay, but I don't see a good mounting spot.

I've decided to go with a PDX4.100 with Alpine SPR-17C's in the rear and Alpine SPR-17S's in the front.

I picked up a service manual to aid in the dash / trim removal and I'm planning on purchasing all the wiring I'll need in the next week or two...

[beetletdi]

You may want to look into Pioneer Premier TS-C720PRS components. They have gotten excellent reviews:

http://www.caraudiomag.com/testrepor...er_ts_c720prs/

and at www.diymobileaudio.com.

They run around $250 for a pair.

You may also want to consider mounting the rear speakers in the hatch cover. Tom Nousaine--formerly of Car Stereo Review, did testing of various locations for rear speakers and this was determined as the best choice. Tom's an audiophile who has tested many, many car audio speakers and is an authority on the subject.

At $500 for two pair, you're probably around $350 more than two sets of coaxials--but, if you can afford it, this may be the way to go if you really enjoy listening to music.

If you will not have a sub, there are head units by Panasonic and Kenwood which feature SRS "WOW" and Circle Surround which have a feature called TruBass. It is an electronic processing which makes the speakers sound as though they can go one octave lower than their rated output. SRS is the real deal with processing. Also, if you get SRS "WOW", the Sound Retrieval System processing is very nice; it adds a spaciousness and dimension to the sound which makes it sound more vibrant and alive. Most people do not know about this, so they don't know any better. Having heard it myself, I would not do without it. Www.srslabs.com has a list of car audio receivers which have their processing. They also have audio samples with Christina Aguilera.

Good luck with your system!

[Eriksbug]

Originally Posted by HighLatency

I had another question - where are you guys mounting your inline fuse on the amp power wire that comes off the battery? In previous installs I've always put this fuse on the firewall in the engine bay, but I don't see a good mounting spot.

I've decided to go with a PDX4.100 with Alpine SPR-17C's in the rear and Alpine SPR-17S's in the front.

I picked up a service manual to aid in the dash / trim removal and I'm planning on purchasing all the wiring I'll need in the next week or two...

Make SURE that you install the fuse within 18" of the battery! Otherwise you can have a accidental ground and start a fire. Definately don't want that. I don't think you can buy that tweeter mount by itself from cdt but it shouldn't be hard to make though. The stock speaks have cheap capacitors on them to keep the wrong frquency's from getting to the speaker anfd blowing it. If you keep your stock speaks for a while DON'T take the caps out or you'll blow your speaks. If you get aftermarket speaks, typically the x-over is pretty small and you can just double sided tape it to the bottom of the dash or mount them in the compartment on the top of the dash(center compartment under plastic trim piece above heater vents) 150 watts per channel is not too much.(that's what I run with cdt hd 3 ways in the front) if your gonna run that kinda power though and no sub, make sure you use apropriate size speaker wire. You would not believe what a difference this makes. Use at least 4 gauge for the power and ground wires to the amp(has to be the same size for both) and use at least 14 gauge for the speaks and preferably 12 gauge. When your not using a sub the bigger wire really helps to get the most bass out of your door speaks. Hope this helps. I don't check the forum that often so if you have any specific ?s just leave me a message in my inbox and I'll get right back to you. E....

[HighLatency]

I'm almost done with the install now... =)

I went with a new streetwires battery terminal that had an integrated fuse since I didn't see a good place to mount an inline fuse:
http://www.mitekfactoryoutlet.com/imgsrvr/BC2PF.JPG

I ran the 4 gauge power wire through the holes in the firewall under the driver side dash panels, then along the driverside door, under the kickplate and then under the rear seat.

I hooked up the 4 gauge ground wire to the ground in the trunk on the drivers side.

I ran my RCA outputs, 12 gauge speaker wire, and amp remote line down the sides of the center console and then under the rear seats.

I'm getting ready to test everything before putting the car all back together, but I need to wire in a switch to turn on and off the headunit. (My personal preference is to manually turn on the headunit after the car is already cranked.)

I want to purchase another rear defroster switch to replace my fake switch and then use it to turn on and off my headunit. Does anyone know where I can find the wiring diagram for the rear defrost switch? I'm not sure what pins I need to connect to and I can't seem to find this information in the service manaual.

[southeastcustomz]

If you have access to a multi meter you can definitely find out what contacts are what on the switch.

I am working on mine in the next two weeks and can tell you then

[guitardude5]

That's a cool looking battery terminal. I was wondering if you've got any pics of your install so far.

[HighLatency]

Originally Posted by southeastcustomz

If you have access to a multi meter you can definitely find out what contacts are what on the switch.

I am working on mine in the next two weeks and can tell you then

I was thinking about this yesterday - I do have a multimeter but it's been awhile since I've used it. Can't I check the resistance and / or continuity across pins when the switch is enabled and disabled to see what pins the circuit is completed on when the switch is enabled?

guitardude,
I've been meaning to take some pictures. My point and shoot digi cam just died on me, but I could take some pics with my Nikon D40x.

[guitardude5]

Originally Posted by HighLatency

guitardude,
I've been meaning to take some pictures. My point and shoot digi cam just died on me, but I could take some pics with my Nikon D40x.

Well I guess that would be OK . I just hope the quality is as good

[HighLatency]

Still no install pictures, but just an FYI - I checked for continuity across the rear defogger switch while the switch was enabled and found pins 3 & 5 and 3 & 6 had continuity. I'm using pin 3 for the 12v switched ignition input from the factory radio harness and pin 6 for the output to my headunits 12v switched ignition input.

The switch works great, I can crank the car and then turn on both the headunit and the amp using the rear defogger switch.