I've been getting a bunch of emails asking if/how they can add my rear speaker panels without replacing the OEM Stock head unit. Even though I don't like the stock head unit, theres a demand so I'll fill it.

What I'm going to do is build an interface harness to that will go between the stereo and the car. Everything will function as is but yield 4 extra lines for the rear speakers. The mute button will only function for the front speaks.

All pins will be mapped out correctly, wires soldered and the rear speaker lines will be soldered and left at lenth to be trimmed at the rear panels. It will be a no brainer and completely reversible. No cuts, fuss or damage.

I can sell this harness for $40 or do a bundle with rear speaker panels. Please drop me an email if you're interested.

Any derivative discussions on this will be in the electronics or for sale forum.

 

Lucid,

I installed the rear tweeters today: awesome. The staging is so far superior to the fronts with the tweeters in the stock position it's not even a fair comparison.

When I had my system first installed (by the Audio Connection in Towson, Maryland) I had a set of A-pillars already prepared for the tweeters. They talked me out of it, saying it would mess up the staging. How wrong they were, and what rank amateurs! When I tore out their install, I found no soldered connections, cheap crimp jobs, and generally shoddy work everywhere. I wired in a new five channel amp, soldered all the connections, cabled everything properly, and generally made the install up to the standards they should have met for the $1,000 plus installation cost. A rip off of the highest order!. Are you listening Audio Connection? I wouldn't recommend you to anyone.

Now I have to move the front tweeters into the A-pillars. With them there, the staging will be right and I'll finally be happy.

Thanks for getting me on to this idea, Lucid.

 

If I were you Rick I'd complain to that place. Seriously. Talk to their management about the shoddy job they did.

I'm not particularly a fan of Mickey Mousing with imaging, other than doing it as "properly" as possible with kick panels, but hey, if it sounds better, cool beans.

 

I think the problem with the kick panel mounting of the tweeters is that the frequencies they put out just get absorbed (or blocked by the driver's leg). The Beethoven piano sonatas, for example, now sound much better with rear tweeters, because all the overtones and resonances of the piano emerge, whereas they were just muddled with only the door location. I suppose if you're listening to thundering rock music, it hardly matters, but I want to hear subtlety. I know this is a difficult task with a roadster, and all the more difficult with this one, but the rear mid-ranges and tweeters definitely make a huge difference.

You're right Siper. With this car I think you have to disregard all of the conventional widsom about speaker and tweeter mounting points and experiment till you have a sound that works with the ear -- and to the hell with theory.

 

Rick, Great going. I'm happy to see someone at least tried the rear tweeters! Which brand did you end up using and how are they angled?


This is what I'm using :




Its such a notable difference! Definately do the front ones as well!

Its sickening that a "pro audio" shop would take shortcuts like that. Im a solder kind of person, do it once, do it right and nothing comes apart down the road.