I bought the components above.

Yesterday night I installed one door. The woofer is about 62 mm deep. I made first time 40 MDF rings that were not deep enough so I moved to 45mm.

The tweater sounds way better that the stock one. It's not comparable. I could try to wire it to the -3db pin to see the difference in that case.

I can not say the same about the bass. The bass seems to be even worse than the original speaker. The wiring is correct. I used home speaker wires that are about the same thickness as those of electrical devices.

The woofers seem to distorsionate at the same level ( the stock and the infinity ). I would expect better performance from the infinity speaker which is deeper and bigger and better brand. Everybody who installed infinity's say that they make huge difference.

My head unit is a Pioneer that made huge difference even on the stock speakers.

Could it be because my system now is not ballanced? I mean I still have the stock components on one door and the new ones on the other. I tested them using the ballance feature of the head-unit. Infinity has much better tweater, bass about the same and with reverbs.

I need some help here.

I think they are underpowered mate. You need a small amp and miracles will happen! The Infinities are a brilliant speaker, quite bright and really quite bassy, for the money they can't be beaten.

What headunit are you running them off? Do you have an amp?

HTH

No amplifier. The head-unit is a DEH 3700 mp which produces enough power for me so I was not going to buy an amp for it.

Hmmm. Well I found that the Infinities need a lot of juice, but the improvements are worth it.

I recommend a small 2 channel amp (Something like a second hand Genesis profile 2 amp - circa

Ok power I guess is something else. Still there has to be much improvement without the amp. I know that the HU at high volume can make them vibrate even if they have lots more power than the HU can actualy produce, but I guess there has to be something wrong with the setup. I can feel great improvement from the tweater, but not so much from the woofer.

I recommend a small 2 channel

Couldn't agree more - I have a cheap amp - 49 quid 2 channel Mutant one, and the sound quality difference with my normal HU and the Infinitys is incredible.

Well worth it.

Akebono,

Professional car audio systems and speakers like those of Infinity, Earthquake and Alpine, manufacture their products to work at a load of 4 ohms. Standard setups by car manufacturers work at 16 ohms. Higher resistance. That's why the maximum output level is so low in a standard setup.

I think your distortion comes in because of the two different loads your headunit is working with. Once you get the other door fixed up, it should disappear. You will notice a MASSIVE difference in level and quality of sound. The standards were good at low levels, but that's all.

Like has already been mentioned, if you use an amp for all your speakers, it would give you even better quality. Hoever, the headunit is good enough too, I'm using the head unit to drive my speakers and amp for my sub and the max level is already twice as high as the first setup I had. All has to do with the impedance with the speakers, and pro car audio manufacturers manufacture them to work at a load of 4 ohms.

What setup do you have in your car currently?

I've set also the other door now. Muuuch better. Tweaters are loud, I like them. I could set them to -3db. Do you think that setting them at nominal power will make them die sooner ? Should I better move them to -3db?

I have minimal setup: HU Pioneer 3700 and the Infinity set on the front doors. That is all. I know the HU is not professional but it's good enough, improvement of quality was amazing even with the stock speakers from the previous HU (kenwood). You were right, the improvement was noticeable with both doors connected. Due to lack of time I could only set one door when I posted first time.

As far as I know the HU uses 4ohms also for each channel. The HU has 4 channels and a preamp but I'm using only two channels on the front.

I have some sound deadening but it's no tar. Now I have vibrations from the door pannels. I've inserted isolation between the pannel and the door card but still at higher 3/4 volume I have vibrations. I'm thinking of something like a tar foil backed with aluminium. It's like dynamat but not that expensive.

Hey dude,

If you feel the tweeters are harsh on your ears, then minimise it by 3dB. Myself I leave everything flat, including bass. Sometimes I'll put up the bass by 3 dB but that's pretty much it.

You should consider getting rear speakers for your car. It will make a big difference, try and get 6x9 coaxials. Because the acoustics of the Fabia are sooooooooooo good (before I installed my sub I had 25Hz coming out of my 6x9 coaxials in the rear simply because of the acoustics) you will notice an increase in the bass response in the car. And THEN when you install a sub, it sounds outstanding!

Insulation? Aluminium? Foil? Na ah. Foam. Foam deadens sound. Try and get your hands on the type of foam (polyurethane foam) you would find in a loudspeaker cabinet.

Hmm, foam. I know polyurethane foam like that used to seal windows. Is that you are talking about? How do you apply it? Do you paste it on the door card? How thick? Everyone here is talking about dynamat and tar foil. Polyurethane is much cheaper and easyer to use, i think. Would it stick to the bare metal?

Regarding rear speakers. 6x9 would not fit fabia. I have a combi and I can use maximum 4x6. The hatchback can use max 4x4" ( 10x10 cm ).

Regardint tweaters i like them on full. I use +5 for bass and +4 for tweaters from the HU and in the crossover everything is on 0. Anyway I could only dimm the tweaters form the crossovers to -3db. My only concern was that theese settings could dammage the speakers too soon. It should not since they are 90W RMS and they are good brand.

Hmm' date=' foam. I know polyurethane foam like that used to seal windows. Is that you are talking about? How do you apply it? Do you paste it on the door card? How thick? Everyone here is talking about dynamat and tar foil. Polyurethane is much cheaper and easyer to use, i think. Would it stick to the bare metal?

Regarding rear speakers. 6x9 would not fit fabia. I have a combi and I can use maximum 4x6. The hatchback can use max 4x4" ( 10x10 cm).

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Dude, I have 6x9s in my rear end (yeah come on everyone have a laugh). They DO fit.

Polyurethane needs a special adhesive to work on metal surfaces, but I can't remember what it's called. Pretty strong stuff, and heat resistant. Speaking of heat resistant, try and get hold of the glue manufacturers use to attach the woofer dome to the cone of a normal loudspeaker. THAT stuff is very strong.

Dude, I have 6x9s in my rear end (yeah come on everyone have a laugh). They DO fit.

Hmm, interesting. I believe you, but did you install them in the speaker special place or did you make some special modification to insert those? I see you have a hatchback, and the hatchback normaly can use only 10x10cm.

Polyurethane needs a special adhesive to work on metal surfaces, but I can't remember what it's called. Pretty strong stuff, and heat resistant. Speaking of heat resistant, try and get hold of the glue manufacturers use to attach the woofer dome to the cone of a normal loudspeaker. THAT stuff is very strong.

Do you have any pictures regarding the polyurethane foam? So how do you apply it? How is it compared to dynamat and tar foils? Is the polyurethane that used for window instalation or is it something special for cars?

Could you give me some more details please? Many many questions, I know .

Akebono...

I have searched and searched everywhere online to try and get you decent images of polyurethane, but these are all I could get...

This kind of foam is used for insulation and damping in professional speaker cabinets like concert line array systems, and also it is used somewhat for room treatment. It is excellent absorption material. At 2 inches thick it is more than sufficient damping material. No idea on the price, but I don't think it would cost much really. If you plan to use it in your car as a custom install, you can either fix it in with polyurethane glue, or you can just 'stuff' it

However if you're going for Dynamat, that's the better direction. Dynamat are specialists in this field, and they will probably be using polyurethane foam, but like I said, they are specialists. Go to them. They will be able to find those modes, the resonant frequencies that goes on within your car that causes certain parts of it to resonate (vibrate) and eliminate those with their expertise. Think of it as acoustic treatment of a professional recording studio, only this time it's on wheels.They should also be able to eliminate panel rattles if ever the case come up. As a result, you will get good clear sound and any type of music you listen to will be done so with enjoyment.

Go to them dude, it is strongly advised to follow specialists. If you don't want to spend the money, then at least try and 'steal' advice on how they do their stuff. Go there and make enquiries, but watch what they do so you learn and you can try and put it to practice with your ride.

As far as my rear speakers are concerned, I haven't used the provisional 'cabinets', because I din't want to install tiny speakers. I went for the F6x9 Earthquakes and had them installed onto the rear bootboard behind the rear seats. They fit perfectly, but support is needed underneath the board (where the neons are) because the speakers are heavy enough to cause the board to collapse over time. Also in the attached pictures are photos of the new F6.5R Earthquake coaxials in replacement of the stock woofers. Bear in mind, I still have the stock tweeters working, because they are an excellent set.

One thing I have noticed with this new setup I have when I play with the fade option in the headunit is:

1) The front speakers response covers the high-mids and high frequencies of the audible spectrum, starting from about 700Hz and ending somewhere (according to specs) 25kHz. The human ear can hear upto 17-18kHz, so you can imagine how clear the sound is up front.

2) The rear speakers cover the low mids and the sub the lows, starting below 700Hz down to about 25Hz.

In effect, I have a four-way system in my car, covering the whole audible frequency spectrum. It sounds OUTSTANDING dude. The vocals are CRYSTAL clear and the sound overall is very ear-friendly, even at high levels.

If you're going for a full upgrade, please take this post with you and they'll know what to do to give you absolutely amazing sound.

I hope I've been of some help to you. Don't hesitate to ask me anymore questions if you so need them answered.

Thanks man for the the post. It's complete. Now I understand how you've fitted the 6x9s .

Regarding the damping I already have something like polyurethane stuffed bettween the door card and the pannel but I still have vibrations. I'll try the tar foil like aquaseal and the stame stuffing and I think that will be ok. Thanks again for the info.

The vibrations are from the resonant frequencies. You really need to treat it if you wanna complete get rid of them. Try and get it done by someone who knows some theory on acoustics, the results will be ten times better.

Otherwise, you can just stick in some thick solid foams under the door cards. Just make sure it doesn't get in the way of your window!

I think I will try the aquaseal on the door card. I mean the inner one, that holds the speaker. That metal sheet is too thin and vibrates like crazy. The aquaseal beeing heavy tar with aluminium foil should eliminate vibrations. Maybe two layers where it vibrates most, that should make the bass better. Now that is all i need to make the system sound full. The tweaters are awsome but bass I cannot have that much yet because of vibrations.

I think I will try the aquaseal on the door card. I mean the inner one, that holds the speaker. That metal sheet is too thin and vibrates like crazy. The aquaseal beeing heavy tar with aluminium foil should eliminate vibrations. Maybe two layers where it vibrates most, that should make the bass better. Now that is all i need to make the system sound full. The tweaters are awsome but bass I cannot have that much yet because of vibrations.

I've used four layers of flashing tape on the inner silver panel and the same again on the outer skin. Maybe a little OTT and the door is now rock solid. Bass is so much cleaner now.

Yes I think I've ment flashing tape not aquaseal. I know what it is but I wrote the name wrong. It is a tar sandwich between two aluminium foils.

I want to apply it on the inner side only, I don't want to get the window off and all.

I have the MDF spacers already mounted. Do you think I should take them off and place flashing tape also underneath them, or it could be ok if I place the flashing tape arround them and all over the silver panel?

It should be fine placing the tape just all around the panel. Now when you say panel I hope you don't mean the speaker magnet.

It should be fine placing the tape just all around the panel. Now when you say panel I hope you don't mean the speaker magnet.

... no, surely not.

One other issue is that the OEM grill of the door card seems to be too close to the speaker and it vibrates, If I could only move it 2 mm from the speaker it would be solved. Cutting down on the spacers in no option unfortunately. I'm thinking of using some isoprene-sponge stuff rigns over what's left of the MDFs to touch the door card. Maybe when the flashing tape will be on the movement of the speaker would not touch the OEM grill any more.

Flashing tape is in place! Added it to the front/back of the woofer pannel and the inside of the door face, although the door already has something there from the manufacturer.

The improvement is amazing. Much more bass, much deeper. The panel is hard as a rock now.

I still have a problem though, at very low freq the door-trim vibrates. It may be that the MDF rings are touching the trim. Maybe they are too wide and they touch the place where the door pocket begins, because in that area there's not much place to play.

Here are also some pictures, in fact it's the same picture just with a detail. I know it does not look very nice, but this is not about looks.

I think I know what's bothering me. It's not the MDF that touches the grill, it's the grill's spokes that vibrate. I have some deep bass test tunes, and on those the spokes vibrate continuously making the crazy sound of a cooling fan touching a paper. At realy low freqs is a bzzzzzzzzzz that drives me crazy.

Any suggestions, besides cutting out the spokes?

Ok, found it! Now I'm happy. It was the original polystirene shock absorber thingy stuck to the back of the panel to isolate the stock speaker frame from hitting the pannel. That one got in touch with the wooker membrane and made the horrible noise. It's unbelievable how much noise did that bring. Now it's perfect.

Thanks again for your suggestions.

I was thinking also about mounting something to fill out the back of the car, nothing heavy, no subs no amps, just some midtones there. I was thinking about mounting the stock front woofers in the side pockets of the trunk. Does anyone know the parameters of the stock speakers? I mean output, freqs, things I cannot measure.

The combi has a roller covering the trunk so I guess sound can be heared from that.

What do you think about this ideea?