Hey guys,

Sorry this is a little long but I'm new to the electronics section. I've had my S2000 for 3 years, its an '05 with 11k miles. Basically that stock system just isn't cutting it. Any song with bass in it sounds terrible. What I'm looking to do is to basically make my music sound more "full" and I want to be able to hear it on the highway with the top down. I'm not looking to break the bank on this, I just want to do what it takes to get better sound. I've been searching this forum for quite a while now trying to take in as much info as possible. With my engineering mind set, I'm trying to understand all my options before jumping in to it. Here is my plan:

I'm thinking about getting some 2-way speakers for the front, a 10" sub in the trunk well, and an amp to power both the speakers and the sub. The speakers I was looking at are the Alpine Type S, with this sub. The plan is to have this Alpine amp power the speakers with 2 channels, and put the rear 2 channels to the sub. I know I'm not maxing things out, but I'm hoping this will be good enough for my needs.

Please let me know if I'm buying junk. I understand you get what you pay for, but I'm not looking for unbelievably great sound. this car is a convertible and I just want my music to sound better / be a little louder. I currently have my ipod hooked up to the factory head unit as well. Thanks in advance for all your help.

 

good plan, except consider components for the doors instead of 2-ways.

 

i want to replace my door speakers but unfornately all the speakers sound the same same to me just about in the little sound rooms at sound advice.. i have an alpine HU and want a good amp/speaker set up too but know little and am now even more lost with all this reading.. amps crossovers equalizers yadayadayada.. these salesmen sure wanna sell me half the store

 

Right, component speakers would be ideal (which I would want to mount the tweeters in the stock locations), but will I really notice that big of a difference? I guess with my setup, would the aftermarket tweeters be a great improvement?

 

anyone?

 

Aftermarket tweeters will make a big difference. I would get components.

jman, are you listening to music that you have, or are you listening to the radio/cds there? I always bring some music that I'm familiar with and switch between two pairs back and forth to compare. Bring several different types of music and listen to songs that you are focusing on something. (I found most of these on a mix CD that happened to work as a good demo)

Brian McKnight - Anytime, good bass and piano, so gives you two things to compare
LIT - My Own Worst Enemy, compare midbass from the kick drum and electric guitars
Verve - Bittersweet Symphony, there's some good violin that is in the background in a lot of the song and will sound different on different speakers
Then, Dave Mathews, John Mayer, or something like that for some good acoustic guitar--these are usually good recordings too.

Anyhow, those are what I use a lot, and I just focus on one or two things in each song to compare. Listen to as much as you can, and then make your decision.

I'm sure others have their demo stuff, and it obviously should be stuff you are familiar with, so one persons list may not work for you. Good luck.

 

I actually have a set of Kenwood tweeters that came with my car. They definitely project the upper range and they have a built in crossover network so only the higher frequencies go to the speaker.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.js...oductId=2948577

When I took my head unit apart, these tweeters were just spliced into the left and right output channels of the harness. It seemed like a simple enough install. Probably the hardest part is actually running the wires.

The tweeters were mounted right on the A pillar with 2 holes being drilled into the plastic with some self-tapping screws holding the tweeters in place.

I'm actually am upgrading my stock system as well with the same goals as you in mind. Something fairly economical, but with decent enough sound. Here's my list of goodies:
Pioneer DEHP400UB Head Unit ~$130-$180 (easily bought online for 130)
Alpine Type E 10" Speaker: ~$55 online
Alpine PDX 4.150 Amplifier: ~$300-$350 on eBay. $360 from online retailers.
Infinity Reference 6022i 6.5" Door Speakers: ~$50 online

The minimum prices are fairly realistic as long as one has some time to hang out for deals to pop up here and there online. $535 for a full setup? Not too shabby, just missing wiring, woofer box, and installation costs.

Also I would really recommend upgrading the head unit. The one I got has ipod control, aux in, usb for paying mp3s from thumb drives and external unit control to retain the stock dash controls. Not bad for $130 online. You'd have to spend about another $20-$30 on a wiring harness and $80-$100 on the harness for dash controls which would put your headunit cost at ~$240 if you installed it yourself.

 

i took a cd with me and i guess you need to have an ear for it cuz to me aside from a tiny bit of distortion here and there it all sounded the same.. i will give it another go though..

 

ok first... components are a must for the s2000... you can try installing the coaxial (2way ) speakers... but you'll be hearing more of a muffled sound... rather than clear...

2nd thing.. you'll probably be better off spending the money on 2-2channel amps... rather than 1-4 channel amp... the subwoofer you showed... calles for a minimum of 250 watts... which is going to be pretty hard to obtain usuing that small 4-channel amp... a few bucks more you can get two amps... for slightly more...

3rd thing... try searching around for prices and stuff... www.ikesound.com / www.etronics.com will save you tons of money on equipment... crutchfield is wayy over priced... try one of those two websites...and the money your spending on the type s components.. you could probably get type R which are 10x better... and you'll have a better bass response....

ikesound.com
1...alpine type r 6.5" components --- $80
2...alpine type r 10" subwoofer ---$90
etronics.com
3...alpine MRP-M500 subwoofer amp --$140
4...alpine MRP-F300 2/3/4 channel amp--$140

that set up... will be pretty cost efficient... as well as sound pretty decent... any other info get back at me ... or pm me for any other questions... more than willing to help

 

Thats great info NFRS2K83, thanks. Couple things though. The $80 for component type r's is only for the coax. I didn't even see them on ikesound. They are on etronics for $143. Everything else you suggested looks great. If you had to pick sub or speakers, which would you suggest? I'm assuming speakers? If so, should I get the amp as well? Or wait to amp them up when I put in the sub?

I've also tried searching and haven't found a good thread on certain spots to dynamat. People usually say they did the trunk, or the entire door. Obviously thats the best way but are there certain spots where you need to start? Or is it more of install it and then turn the volume up to see? Thanks in advance for all your help.