I got the Focals today. Hope they are worth it.

Where should i have them place the tweeters? Has anyone compared locations?

 

ideally, you want to put them as close to the woofers a possible. only problem is that your knee or the passenger's knee will block the sound. you can try kick panels or putting them in the a-pillar.

 

I have the 165W Utopia's in my S2000 and tested the tweeter placement by sticking them on the a-pillars, high mounted on the doors and next to the midrange before deciding on flush mounting them next to the midrange. I think they offer superb off-axis listening and if you mount them too high up in the car you could lose imaging if they are too far from the other speaker and worse still end up with an overly bright sound. Its a question you can best answer by trying this yourself, the tweeters come with a pretty long cable so you can move them around the car a fair bit and see what suits your ear best - and before you chop up those expensive door panels

Oh yeah, they are well worth it IMO

Tif

 

I put my Focal tweeters in the A-pillars...they kinda look cool there too. I didn't want to cut a hole in the door panel AND run more wires through there. I have everything hooked up but haven't turned it on yet because I don't want to think about trying to re-wire from my alpine to the pac to the harness. But, I'm excited to test em out.

 

My Boston Acoustics are a bit bright....I didn't want them in the A-pillar but also did not want to cut a hole in the door. You could never even tell these are installed unless you look for them. The plastic is soft...the right size drill bit and a few minutes of careful drilling to clean out the holes and you have a stealth mounting spot. I made a custom metal bracket to attach to the tweeter pod mount...This works well since there is a screw by this area....drill a hole in the bracket, slide the screw through...and there you have it.

You might ask...how does it sound? I think this setup works very well with the Bostons which are known for their brightness. Also, if you want a stealth install, this is the way to go.

 

KaCee - you have my award for the cleanest stealth tweeter install! I wish I had seen that before I mounted my tweeters

Fantastic work!

 

I am using a set of eclipse tweeters that seem a bit bright when mounted in the A pillars. I'm thinking of buying new A pillars and moving to the location you used, thanks

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by KaCee
[B]You might ask...how does it sound?

 

Wow. That is a very impressive install. The best I have seen.

I was heavily considering going neat the door handle.. I saw someone do that. But, the install guy said it is TOO SOFT and will move over a long period of time.

My leg does not block that area too much.

BUT... aren't you supposed to angle them towards you? Or.. do you point the to the opposite side?

Finally, I returned my Focals for fear they are too brignt.. I think I am going with the Boston Pros.

But let's keep this an install post.

DO MOST PEOPLE AGREE THAT THIS INSTALL IS THE BEST WAY TO GO?

THANKS

 

I spent about 2 hours over the weekend rigging up various tweeters in the car in a variety of locations using some masking tape to secure them. The test wasn't great but definately good enough to hear for weird reflections, imaging/time problems, and blockage from limbs, etc. I tried the following:

1) Upper A-pillar - too bright + imaging problems. drivers side = way too close to driver.
2) Lower A-Pillar - still too bright + still imaging problems, although less severe than 1
3) kickpanel of drivers door & missing glove box area of passenger side (that roundish lip under the dash) - this was ok, but the passenger side was unobstructed compared to the drivers side. Image distances were pretty good though.
4) both kickpanels. This is a definate option. I could do a setup that would not be obstructed by my leg, the only issue is that behind the drivers side is the fuse box. I didnt really investigate how big an issue this would be. This location offered the best imaging but will require tweeters with quite good off axis response.
5) both door panels by the woofer. Seemed like a good compromise to me. Not very obstructed plus better imaging than a-pillars.

BTW- I like that stealth install - I may do the same with my ribbons if I decide on that route. This will also simplify wiring as compared to two separate locations for the tweeters and woofers.