I disagree with a lot of the sentiments expressed here. I am a big proponent of leaving out the rear speakers. For a lot of people, the goal IS to recreate the sensation of sitting in a seat facing a live concert, with all of the sound coming from in front of you...I find it odd that one could say that is outdated. I think it is fine if you desire to have more sound, and you install rear speakers to help you accomplish that. Many people just want to be able to hear the music better, and if this works for them, great. However, I think that the rear speakers work as a band-aid for inadequate front speakers, or inadequate power to front speakers. A lot of people have posted about installing aftermarket speakers, which they connected to the stock deck. This is probably a fundamental problem, that you are not adequately powering the speakers. It is equivalent to installing a supercharger on your car, but not upgrading the fuel system or induction system to increase the ammount of fuel that the supercharger needs to work correctly. Additionally, many have referenced that the mid-woofers are ineffective since they are aiming at one's legs...well, aren't the rears firing directly into the backs of the seats? I don't have any experience with the speakers, but that is how it would seem to me...

I've said before, and I'll say again, if you have installed new front speakers, and are powering them to capacity with an amplifier (Don't believe those numbers like 45x4 on your headunit, that's peak power, not RMS), and still need more then perhaps rear speakers are for you. But you will ultimately get more volume from well-powered front speakers than four speakers powered by the headunit.

It comes down to each their own, but don't belittle or flame the guys who are telling you that rears are unnecesary...When I build my system when I get my S2000 in a year or two, it will consist of five speakers: a component system in front (Probably BA proseries, each side getting ~150-200 watts) and a subwoofer in the trunk. It will certainly be enough sound and rears will be superflous. However, if you feel you need rears, go for them, it's your car.

 

HondaGuy, I know what you're trying to say, EVERYBODY said it before Lucid tried it, once people had a chance to listen to it, we were all believers, even most of the diehards..
I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm assuming that the people putting this down have never heard it.

I upgraded my speakers, I put in a great amp to power them, it still wasn't what I wanted. The rears rounded out the system, to be exactly what I wanted.

I've spent more then my fair share on Home Audio equip. If I want truely great sound I sit in my living room, If I want decent sound, at volumes loud enough to be heard at 150kph, with the top down, and still clear enough to hear the lyrics, then I have the ideal system..

 

Include me in as a lucid's-setup-true-believer. I wanted to see how close to high quality I could get without an amp. The Alpine head unit I chose puts out 27 watts rms/ per channel, but two channels are wasted without rear speakers. Add lucid's speakers and I can hear clearly with the Alpine head unit turned up to two/thirds of max.

I have no doubt that a sub and some more watts would improve things more. No matter, Lucid's speakers have my vote of confidence.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by HondaGuy347
[B]I disagree with a lot of the sentiments expressed here.

 

Whoa, hey a fun conversation.

After way too much time spent on this site, I'd have to say that there can't be an S2K mod with a higher satisfaction rate than Lucid's rear panels.

If you've ever asked yourself, "Should I install rear speakers?" then the answer undoubtedly is "Yes!".

For me (and a small group of others) the thought never even occured. Yes, I've heard rear speaker installs in an S2000, as well as lots of other vehicles. Maybe it's just the way my ears are tuned, but I don't like it. It's not that having rear speakers in an S2000 is "wrong" - it's just a matter of preference. That one's preference is not in line with the ideals of the IASCA crowd, which for all intents and purposes is a world away, should not be a factor to Joe Average S2K Owner. A front and rear speaker setup, especially when driven off the head unit's power, is a very clean, easy, and space-conscious way to improve (beauty being in the ear of the beholder) the sound.

We "front speaker only" crowd might be best left to our world of unhacked rear panels, and only chime in with our often humility-deprived advice when Joe Average is interested in taking his system to the next level.

 

Hi everyone

I think the biggest problem with all the different posts is a very simple one. One group likes the back speakers and the others don't. What we should not be trying to do is to prove ourselves right. As already mentioned, each to his own. If you like sound coming from around you, no matter if this is acoustically wrong, then have the speakers installed otherwise leave them out. Fairly simple.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

 

this is an old thread, but the majority of customers I have like/love the system. Otherwise there would be no business for me.

Is it an off the wall crazy idea - no. BMW believe in the same concept for their Z3 cars as a factory installed speaker (same location behind the seat) similar type of car.

In roadsters you need it BECAUSE the road, engine, wind, tranny noise is just too overpowering and your sound stage is not what you would get in a touring coupe or sedan.

 

Here's my non-technical response. I got rear speakers and they definitely enhance the sound inside the cabin. Dont know about all the techno-bull---- I'm trying to decipher but they work for me, Period.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by DouglaS2000
[B]

You're correct that the rears, like the fronts, have some major imaging issues.

 

Yes im biased I created this. BUT no system is complete without it. Front staging is fine for a fixed roof quietier car that MOST car audio people work on. If this was a bad idea why did BMW put them in Z3s? To throw money away? Hardly, they too realized that working with an open top roadster is a different environment.

Yes i have a high end system, dual amps, components, cap etc. Driving front components with an amp alone is not enough. I have given my door speaker components alone 300W each. I wasn't amazed with doors alone.

It's beating a dead horse right now. The argument - does it work or not? is long gone at this point. Our sales numbers and notes of people fabricating this on their own speak the true story.



[QUOTE]Originally posted by HondaGuy347
[B]

Wow, this is an old thread, isn't it?