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I can sum this all up into one word.

INSTALL!.

Almost all brand name equipment out there is good and reliable and can sound great. It's all in the install. I've recently heard a 4" BOSS coaxial. the same kind on ebay for $8 sound utterly fanastic. I've heard a set of JL audio 6.5XR components sound like absolute dirt.

By Installation I don't just mean what screws you used. It's what enclosure is used, how much sound deadening is used. How much care is taken into speaker placement. Unless you plan on Competing in Sound quality or SPL at the Trailer Queen level your car will never be High Fidelity or the loudest car out there.

A Good installation in a car with a stick interior can only hope to be a good mid-fidelity car. Too many people rely so much on BRand names that it's just not even funny. Most people don't even know what Imaging is. Most people actually prefer their music with some distortion in it.

If your worried about a brand and what costs more and what sounds best. It's all in the installation. Taking some Rainbow Pro Series components and just slapping them into unsealed and un deadened doors won't sound all that good at all. Taking some Low end Kenwood speakers and sealing up the doors and deadening them will probably sound a whole lot better.

20% Is equipment and the car. As for which HU sound the best. or is better. Unless your car has a perfect installtion in an acoustically perfect car. Chances are your not going tot ell a lick a of difference in a car.

Testing a Bunch f HU's from Jensen to a CDX C90 on an Oscillospope and an RTA the sound differences were so minimal that the human ear can't pick it up.. The only differences are in the output stages as to which HU is more susceptible to induced noise.

There are sound differences between the units. slightly difference response charts, but all +/- 3db's throught he sound spectrum so it's all linear.

80% Install!!!!

 
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amen brother.

 
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so maybe my the stock system isnt so bad.. just add some deadening and seal the speakers a lil more and they will sound noticeably better?

 
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Well there are exceptions like when the 20% equipment thing is like a 1% The Stock speakers can be made to sound allright at low-mid volume if you build a proper crossover network for them(Install)

but the HU is pure garbage distorts at like 1/4 volume.

Pretty much all aftermarket equipment is pretty decent though.. Relibility and features are really the 2 only factors that make much of a difference

 
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ever see a DIY for sealing speakers in the doors of our civics?

there doesn't seem to be much room to play around with between the back of he speaker and the window.

anybody interested in doing a DIY on this topic?

 
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Just covering the holes in the door panel with a deadening mat. or even duct tape can do to isolate the front and rear sound waves.

 
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i think you should of used "pics of bewbies within!" for the topic of this thread, cuz A LOT of people need see this and that title would make more people read it. excellent post!

 
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it really is not that hard, if u dont have the money for dynamat or fatmat (any of the expensive products) then go to walmart and get a bag or two of poly-fill and cram that stuff into the doors to seal it up a bit. The bags cost like 3 bucks and use a pencil to shove the material in. Poly-fill is the same stuff grandma uses to fill her balnkets and teddi bears for yah!!! It is cheap and temporary but u can tell a difference.

GREAT POST AND YOU ARE RIGHT INSTALL IS 80% or more of a good sounding system!

 
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Perfect Post and very well said..... Great job....

 
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You can get foam speaker baffles for about $10-$12 a pair which work pretty nice when sealing up the door speakers. Most are pretty deep but becuse they are foam the window just drop down into them without a problem. Thats what I have in my front doors and they make a world of difference.

 
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the foam baffles suck donkey *******...

they offer about .11cu.ft of airspace for a speaker intended to be run free air.. this is not good. By sealing the doors I mean covering all the holes in the door with a sound deadening mat!!!

 
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What about using sound deading spray? I used the 3M stuff and sprayed the whole trunk...works good IMO and is only like $6 a spray can at Wal-Mart. Used about 4 for the whole trunk.

 
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so, about sealing the doors! I just recently started doing it... and I was wondering what you do about that BIG hole in the lower left (or righ for right door)? On the plastic, there's this big thing of foam on there... did you just rip it off/shave it? or made a hole for it to in the sound deadening?

 
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I been waiting a long while for someone to ask that one ...

Cut out the OEM plastic pocket that goes in there and stick your deadening matt onto that.

 
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My Alpine Type R components have sick midbass with the foam baffles and not too much without them and my doors have 2 layers of fatmat with only holes for the plastic clips.

 
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hey, thanks!
i wanted to save this for later