I have read many of the threads concerning rear speaker placement. Lucids threads have provided many good comments. I am getting ready to upgrade my stereo, and the professional installer is questioning the 4" behind the seats. He doesn't fell they will contribute much to the overall quality of the sound. Question: For those of you that have added the rear speakers, Have they really improved the quality of the stereo? and Would you do it again? Which speaker did you use? Do you get much bass? Help GaToR

 

Yes the do work. Night and day difference. Make sure the shop doesn't butcher the panels. Its a precision placement and cut.

 

If you want additional bass you probably won't be satified by just adding a pair of rear speakers or separates. Bass shakers or sub woofers will be the solution for you.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by lucid
[B]Yes the do work.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Gators1
[B]the professional installer is questioning the 4" behind the seats.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by K_A_Witt
[B]
I guess part of what's worrying me is people saying that they can hear the radio at speed when they couldn't before.

 

The feedback has been good on the impact of the rear speakers. For those of you that have installed the rears behind the seats, do the speakers focus on midrange and bass primarily. I can't image highs thru the seat. I would like to hear more from those that have the install. thanks GaToR

 

A "proper" stereo image should always sound like the musicians are playing in front of you... If you keep the stock front speakers and add high quality amplified rear speakers, the image will be from behind you. I decided to go to great length to make sure my front image was the best it could be and didn't even consider rear-fill (which would be very functional in my system since I have a surround processor).

However, everyone has different tastes for where their music comes from and how it sounds. PLUS, Lucid's rear-speaker mod is very simple, clean, and extremely inexpensive to undo...

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Gators1
[B]The feedback has been good on the impact of the rear speakers. For those of you that have installed the rears behind the seats, do the speakers focus on midrange and bass primarily.

 

Yes. The rear speakers make a huge difference, in several ways. Just talking about it, most people are unsure-to-negative about this but if you read all of the posts (starting with lucid) from owners who have actually installed them I don't think you will find A SINGLE NEGATIVE REPORT. Keep talking about it, you will definitely talk yourself out of it. Actually try it, you will be sorry you waited so long!

Thanks Lucid!

I have the stock head unit, no amp, no subwoofer. Three-way JBLs in the door.

I put in Polk EX2540 components (4" midrange, 3/4" tweeter, crossovers). I am currently playing around with different tweeter locations since high frequencies are so directional. The tweeters have three different mounting options, so I have lots of choices. I literally have been taping the tweeters all over the place back there, getting into each of the seats, fiddling with balance and fader, etc. It is really a challenge and I'm afraid it's going to be impossible to get PERFECT sound.

Shaner is absolutely correct. In typical installations you might want it to sound as if you were within a few rows of the performance, dead center, stage in front of you. In a perfect acoustic environment you can acheive this, along with lots of other effects.

That "paradigm" of sound (god I hate that word) might be changing though. Sometimes you want it to sound like you are in a stadium, sometimes you might want it to sound like the band is in your living room, sometimes you may wish for the sound of a recording studio. You might wish to be ON the stage, facing the crowd, with the band BEHIND you. Why not occasionally make your living room stereo sound like you are cruising at 90 mph in your S2000? Anyone who has played around with EFX has a taste of what can be done with sound/environmental effects.

But disregarding the changing definition of "perfect" sound, the bigger problem is, the S2000 is not a perfect acoustic environment. It is not even a CONSTANT acoustic environment. It is a convertible with limited interior space (limited speaker locations, distances), very different passenger and driver positioning relative to the speakers, and a car that is loud when you have the top up, and a different kind of loud when the top is down. The road noise changes with speed and type of road (winding mountain road, freeway, etc.)

With rear speakers all you have to do to see the difference is start with the fader full forward. Okay, sounds pretty good. Now slowly fade toward rear. Wow! I think "fill" is the correct word to describe the effect. At the proper fader position there is not a movement of the "Stage" from front to back, there is just a much more COMPLEX stage. Keep fading to the rear and you feel like you are on the stage in the middle of the band. Fade all the way back and it sounds like you have small speakers behind the seats of a pickup truck (you can go too far you know...)

Okay, that was parked. Now drive fast. With the fader to the front as you pick up speed you start to lose music, and different parts of the music disappear at different times--bass, vocals, etc. Fade to the rear and you regain some of those missing frequencies. It doesn't sound like a recording studio, but you can hear music, voices and even feel that little mid trying to kick you in the back a little. The main thing for me is I don't lose voices as I drive faster, and I get reasonably good-quality sound when the world is sppeding by outside my door. I can still hear good stereo effects with lots of road noise.

It's not a concert hall, but I have gained something I didn't have before.

No amp, stock head unit. Not bad...

Rear speakers DO make a difference, and that difference is a significant improvement.

Now where to put those tweeters...


The mids come through, over, around the seats. The highs come over or around the seats. I can "shine" the passenger tweeter directly at the driver ear and vice versa, so the highs don't have to go through anything.

There is no bass to speak of. I can feel mids, but not really bass. Probably need a subwoofer for that.


[QUOTE]Originally posted by shaner
[B]A "proper" stereo image should always sound like the musicians are playing in front of you...