Speaker installation is a Piece-O-Cake... OR, DO's and Don'ts
Sep 03 '00
Lets say you're in my shoes. You have a car, a tape deck or CD player, one really trashed speaker, and not much money. The deck is the most important part, after that, its all about getting the sound you're looking for. I'm going to assume you aren't interested in installing an AMP or sub woofers. Where's the fun in that you ask? Well, you can still get some pretty strong sound if you get your speakers just right.
A basic over-view of what to do.
First thing you need to do is buy the speakers. Most people suggest spending lots of money on brand names for good sound. I've spent $20 on a SET of Pyramid 6X9 Speakers from e-bay, and $10 for a set of 6 1/2 speakers. Lets put you in my shoes again, and install those bad boys.
You pull open your new box, set out your mounting screws and unravel the speaker wire. Go step by step and take it carefully. First thing you do is decide where you're going to put these. I put my 6X9s in the back, and mounted the 6 1/2s on my doors.
Now you know where they're going, lets get them there. Pull your deck part way out. Now wire up your speaker wires. If you have four channels, then hook one wire into each channel. If not, put two on each. No need to bother soldering it, just use wire crimps and caps. Once you got the wire hooked in, hide them under the dash and put the deck back in. Now you have four ends to hook your speakers into. Let put on some speakers.
Start in the back. If you haven't already, cut some holes above your back seat that are slightly smaller than the speaker. Now hid the wires and run them to the holes. (You can stash wires under floor plates, in the side panels, and behind the back seat. Be creative, just don't let the wires show!) As a finishing step, hook in the speakers, place them in the hole (Make sure the leads don't touch metal, and if they do, use electrical tape.) Now simply screw the speakers in place, and attach your speaker guard. Do the same thing for the front speakers, and there it is.
Do's
Do go through all the trouble of removing panels, and unscrewing anything that you can hide wire in. you don't want people to trip over your new install and yank the wiring out.
Do Start carving your speaker holes small, then work from the center out until the hole fits the speaker just right. Keep sizing until its perfect.
Do Detatch your battery cable before touching your deck. Just a little disclaimer. If there is electricity around, and anything touches that shouldn't, you could ruin a perfectly good deck or have a shock of your lifetime.
Do Use your speaker guards. I know there are lots of really cool looking speakers that look better without the mess, but wait until someone bumps into it and turns it into a worthless pile of torn cardboard.
Don'ts
Don't Leave the speakers half way out of the holes, or fail to mount them at all. They will sound absolutely awful. That's the whole reason behind a woofer box. Without that box, those 12" monsters sound pretty bad. I just recently mounted my 6X9 speakers and the difference was incredible. I get the same kind of Bass my brother does with his AMP and 8" subs, and all it cost me was $20 and an hour of labor.
Don't Pull anything funny. You know what I mean. Don't pull up your back seat and mount your 15" sub woofers underneath. It may be pretty cool, and your passengers will love it for about 30 seconds, so please. Spare your friends the "Ultra Sonic Enema" they get for riding in your back seat. Other fancy wiring just makes things complicated, and give you more things that can break down and go wrong. Keep it simple.
Don't Get an AMP unless you really need it. Try the 6X9s first. If that's not enough bass, then go with an AMP and subs. My car sounds fine with just the 6X9s, but I'm going to put in some 12" subs, mainly as an attention getter.
Don't Test your new speakers by cranking the volume to max. When you start getting that crackling noise, it means the volume is to high for quality sound. It also means that if you turn it up, you could destroy your speakers. If you want bigger sound, get bigger speakers that can handle it.
That's about all there is to it. Its pretty easy stuff for anyone who knows how to strip a wire.
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MDragon53
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Member: Nick LaPrell
Location: Tucson, Arizona
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