A guy at best buy told me...
A guy at best buy told me...
Hey guys, my first post here, just want to say that this site is very informative and I appreciate it greatly. But on to the question. I just got an 01 civic ex coupe and i want to install a stereo in it, So being that i work at best buy, i went to our car audio dept and asked what the best thing for me to do to my car. He told me to get really good component speakers for the front and amp them and then get a 10in sub and amp it, and not to worry aobut the rear speakrs seeing that I mainly listen to rock music. His theory was "do you go to a concert and listen with your back to the stage? No you dont, so why have rear speakers when you have a sub." I thought this was kinda weird, It makes sense, but why not get some good 6x9's and amp them along with the sub and the front speakers. Does anyone have input on this... I want extremely clear and crisp sound, and not metal rattling bass sound. I want good clean bass when needed but I am looking for extremely clear mids and highs. Let me know what you guys think.
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i'm not audio expert, but it seems right to me. I switched out my fronts and rears and amped them. The thing is the rear seems to drown out the front sounds, even though i'm sitting in the front and i have the gain on the front higher. I had to put my front gains to 50% and my rear gain to zero to make it so i can hear the sound more from the front.
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Ok if you want any sound quality replace your front speakers. Dont worry about the back unless you have lots of people sitting back there. When you adjust the fade on the speakers the rear are just fill, and the clarity will mostly be from up front. One thing though, you can have very very nice speakers for cheap hooked up directly to the head unit with no external amp and sound amazing. Thats how I have my Eclipse speakers; running off my Clarion HU.
As for the sup, thats a whole nother question. Getting 1, 2, etc. subs depends on what you want and how much you have to spend. If you want anything really good dont buy subs or amps at best buy. Stick to JL audio, crossfire, exlipse, or mayeb even kicker, and Infinity. Those brands are very safe and all their products are good.
Tell us how much you are willing to spend and we can help you out.
Also note; stay away from sony and other cheap brands for everything car audio, or you will be disapointed.
As for the sup, thats a whole nother question. Getting 1, 2, etc. subs depends on what you want and how much you have to spend. If you want anything really good dont buy subs or amps at best buy. Stick to JL audio, crossfire, exlipse, or mayeb even kicker, and Infinity. Those brands are very safe and all their products are good.
Tell us how much you are willing to spend and we can help you out.
Also note; stay away from sony and other cheap brands for everything car audio, or you will be disapointed.
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Alpine's subs are nice, but aimed more for Sound Quality than sheer volume. So they arent the loudest things, but alpine's speakers and subs are VERY clear.
Originally Posted by diskreet
Alpine's subs are nice, but aimed more for Sound Quality than sheer volume. So they arent the loudest things, but alpine's speakers and subs are VERY clear.
It was in an RSX..maybe thats why..that car seem to keep in the sound very nice.
i hate to say it but the guy at best buy sounds like he knows what hes talking about. with a good set of components in the front, you won't need rear fill. plus, why would you want to hear music coming from behind you? even your bass from the sub should sound like its coming from in front of you. you will get a lot of different opinions because it is all about personal preference. one word of advise...just go with whatever you like.
I agree with Diskreet Honda Sales. The best way to get clear sound is to go with component speakers in the front. Mean a mid in the door and a tweeter up a little higher near the pillar. That way you get a good seperation of highs and mids upfront. The addition of a sub in the back is great. As stated before the rear speakers can stay stock as they only just fill in a bit. Now,..if you have no concern for $$$, then you can crazy and also replace the rears and also add highs in the back and get an incredibly clear sound with the proper crossover and amp equipment.
Just my $.02
Just my $.02
I'll explain to you what the difference between having rear fill and not and let you decide what to do.
The issue here is staging. What you are trying to do is get the stage to be eye level and as far in front of you as possible. Idealy, you want' the sound to appear as though it's coming from your hood but at eye level. You also want your stage to be broad and wide and be imaged properly from left to right. You can check your imaging and staging with certain imaging and staging tracks found on Iasca discs or whatever. Or, you could simply use high quality recordings you are familar with. basically the most prevelant pros and cons about rear fill is this
Pro - It provides ambient sound, effectively increasing the broadness of your stage. Making your stage appear fuller.
Con - It can very easily pull your stage back behind your head, thus creating the illusiion you are at a concert with your back turned.
That's where the analogy the guy as BB used is from even though he probably doesn't know that he's just resighting what he's heard and been told. Now, whether or not you decide to have rear fill is purely personal preference. You will here lots of people say "Majority of world SQ champions do not have rear fill in thier cars", well, albeit that might be true, but the difference is, most world class competitors spend countless hours and dollars making sure their stages are broad and full from the front end. The reason a lot of regular joes like to use rear fill is because it allows them to broaden thier stage while using the stock front locations, no tuning, no eqs, no processing, etc. Again though, its' preference. I personally like rear fill and I know how to use it right. I am usually able to broaden a stage with it and stil keep the stage right in front where it belongs. Sometimes, I have found certain speakers in certain cars don't take too kindly to it, so I abandon the rears and use a front-only setup. Ther reason it doens't cost much to go for rear fill is because the best speakers are usually smaller, full range speakers or regular coaxials like 5.25" or 4". Not components as the tweeter provides slightly too much pull backwards on the stage. Also, amplification is usually cheap or free considering that part of using rear fill effectively is making sure it has very little power - one can usually use the Head Unit to power rear fill in a budget situation. The right amount of power for you rear fill is when you have it so that sitting in your front seat, your rear speakers are just barely detectable, and the stage sounds slightly broader in the front when the rears are on. Bottom line = It's preference.
BTW, Stay with a single 10" sub for rock.
The issue here is staging. What you are trying to do is get the stage to be eye level and as far in front of you as possible. Idealy, you want' the sound to appear as though it's coming from your hood but at eye level. You also want your stage to be broad and wide and be imaged properly from left to right. You can check your imaging and staging with certain imaging and staging tracks found on Iasca discs or whatever. Or, you could simply use high quality recordings you are familar with. basically the most prevelant pros and cons about rear fill is this
Pro - It provides ambient sound, effectively increasing the broadness of your stage. Making your stage appear fuller.
Con - It can very easily pull your stage back behind your head, thus creating the illusiion you are at a concert with your back turned.
That's where the analogy the guy as BB used is from even though he probably doesn't know that he's just resighting what he's heard and been told. Now, whether or not you decide to have rear fill is purely personal preference. You will here lots of people say "Majority of world SQ champions do not have rear fill in thier cars", well, albeit that might be true, but the difference is, most world class competitors spend countless hours and dollars making sure their stages are broad and full from the front end. The reason a lot of regular joes like to use rear fill is because it allows them to broaden thier stage while using the stock front locations, no tuning, no eqs, no processing, etc. Again though, its' preference. I personally like rear fill and I know how to use it right. I am usually able to broaden a stage with it and stil keep the stage right in front where it belongs. Sometimes, I have found certain speakers in certain cars don't take too kindly to it, so I abandon the rears and use a front-only setup. Ther reason it doens't cost much to go for rear fill is because the best speakers are usually smaller, full range speakers or regular coaxials like 5.25" or 4". Not components as the tweeter provides slightly too much pull backwards on the stage. Also, amplification is usually cheap or free considering that part of using rear fill effectively is making sure it has very little power - one can usually use the Head Unit to power rear fill in a budget situation. The right amount of power for you rear fill is when you have it so that sitting in your front seat, your rear speakers are just barely detectable, and the stage sounds slightly broader in the front when the rears are on. Bottom line = It's preference.
BTW, Stay with a single 10" sub for rock.
Originally Posted by c.nightmare
I agree with Diskreet Honda Sales. The best way to get clear sound is to go with component speakers in the front. Mean a mid in the door and a tweeter up a little higher near the pillar. That way you get a good seperation of highs and mids upfront. The addition of a sub in the back is great. As stated before the rear speakers can stay stock as they only just fill in a bit. Now,..if you have no concern for $$$, then you can crazy and also replace the rears and also add highs in the back and get an incredibly clear sound with the proper crossover and amp equipment.
Just my $.02
Just my $.02
First off, larger seperation of the speakers that play your lows and your highs in the front is generally a bad thing and not a good thing. Installation location which allows you to keep these speakers relatively close together is far superior but I don't want to go into that here.
Second, putting highs in the rear will not help the clarity of your sound whatesoever, all it will do is pull your stage back considerably and throw off the staging of your system, thus impeding your Sound Quality immensely.
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amazing!! ...everyone always says how the people at BB and CC don't know what they are talking about, but this guy gave you some sound advice!!
I bet if you didn't work at BB, he would have tried to sell you some 6 by 9s, 4 Audiobahn 12''s, and five LA Bolt series amps for everything!!
I bet if you didn't work at BB, he would have tried to sell you some 6 by 9s, 4 Audiobahn 12''s, and five LA Bolt series amps for everything!!
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Unfortunately he gave you some worthy advice and now I don't get to crap on this thread 
It sounds like he might know what he is doing, so maybe enlist him as your system designer and you might come out with something sounding pretty good

It sounds like he might know what he is doing, so maybe enlist him as your system designer and you might come out with something sounding pretty good
Originally Posted by c.nightmare
I agree with Diskreet Honda Sales. The best way to get clear sound is to go with component speakers in the front. Mean a mid in the door and a tweeter up a little higher near the pillar. That way you get a good seperation of highs and mids upfront. The addition of a sub in the back is great. As stated before the rear speakers can stay stock as they only just fill in a bit. Now,..if you have no concern for $$$, then you can crazy and also replace the rears and also add highs in the back and get an incredibly clear sound with the proper crossover and amp equipment.
Just my $.02
Just my $.02
Originally Posted by fonto
explain why?
Originally Posted by c.nightmare
OK, no problem.
I bow out gracefully to your better knowledge.
I bow out gracefully to your better knowledge.

Originally Posted by fonto
amazing!! ...everyone always says how the people at BB and CC don't know what they are talking about, but this guy gave you some sound advice!!
I bet if you didn't work at BB, he would have tried to sell you some 6 by 9s, 4 Audiobahn 12''s, and five LA Bolt series amps for everything!!

I bet if you didn't work at BB, he would have tried to sell you some 6 by 9s, 4 Audiobahn 12''s, and five LA Bolt series amps for everything!!

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help. I will talk more with this guy and maybe have him design my system for me as well. Thanks for teh quick responses. And for my fellow BB employees out there...528 HOME OF THE GREAT.
My setup is simple yet sounds really good for my liking. I listen to nothing but rock music and i agree, I want something clear and solid coming out of my speakers. All i have is stock speakers in the front and eclipse 6x9's in the back amped. I also have 1 10" RF sub. I adjust it to where the front is a little louder than the rear, making the sound full and bright. Not loud but very very clear IMO...
Originally Posted by J187
No dude, please don't bow out. These forums are made for everyone. I wan't to hear your opinion just as much as I want to express my own. I disagreed with you is all, doesn't mean I'm right or that I don't want you to share your opinion. Don't take it like that at all. Stay in the discussion, learn some things and teach some things too.
HEHE. YES! Totally!
HEHE. YES! Totally!
You ever notice how something said in typing sometimes doesn't have the same tone as if you actually said it verbally. I'm not upset.
In my opinion, your explanation sounded much more sound and on a higher technical level, so I felt yours held more ground. The bowing out thing was just a bit of humor that again, doesn't always come out the same in type.
Its all good!
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i agree with the best buy person. If you have a sub, you don't need rears (or leave the stocks in there if you want and fade front. If you're like me and ONLY have speakers (no sub), then you need rears for most of the bass.
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wow the title of this topic made me come in ready to laugh.. you disapointed me..!! ****
but yeah teh frotns are wut i ampe din my car.. i amped my stock fronts (haha i know) but the sound was hella better
but yeah teh frotns are wut i ampe din my car.. i amped my stock fronts (haha i know) but the sound was hella better



