Subwoofers in a cruiser mopar
My '69 Valiant has an old-school Kenwood KRC-2001 dual-shaft cassette deck (I had an Alpine 7307 but I hate auto-eject), the same Kenwood KGC-4042A "baby" EQ @rumblefish360 posted (glove box), and an Alpine DHA-S690 DVD changer under the seat run through the head unit via an Alpine CRA-667RF FM modulator. Noisemakers are a custom-made dual-channel dash speaker and Infinity 2-way 6x9s (I forget the model) under the rear deck. The previous owner had cut the package tray, so I used the garbage Audiovox grilles he'd installed to hide the better speakers. I haven't decided on a sub yet (probably an Infinity 100.9W, DVC), but amplification comes from two vintage Nakamichi amplifiers: PA-350 for the speakers and PA-300II for the sub.
Now, 290 total watts doesn't seem like much, but as a former installer I can tell you it's not total watts, it's signal-to-noise ratio and total harmonic distortion that make all the difference in sustainable volume. S/N on the Nak amps is better than 108db and THD is less than .001% (thank you Nelson Pass). It will play louder than almost anyone would want. If you like to listen to actual music, there's never need for more than one subwoofer; a 12" will hit a little lower than a 10" but anything larger is outside the range of anything but pipe-organ music--doesn't seem your style.
Yes, I still listen to cassettes (well-made ones sound far better than you think; store-bought prerecorded ones always sucked) but if the mood strikes, I can put a Bluetooth adapter in the cassette deck. The DHA-S690 holds six DVDs' worth of MP3s (almost 29GB) that have all been level-matched so volume isn't all over the place and there's no native clipping, which is common with MP3s (everyone tries to maximize volume at the expense of sound quality). I don't stream, because every streaming service sucks.
The only thing visible from outside the car is the nowadays-pathetic-looking dual-shaft head unit. The same model got stolen out of my '79 300 back in '89, along with all my tapes.
This system is just a quickie and pales in comparison with what'll end up in my Challenger. I have more vintage Alpine & Nakamichi gear than one man should (40 decks, 50-some amps, 11 EQs, etc.). Why all the vintage stuff? One, it still works 30+ years later, which current stuff won't. Two, old made-in-Japan class AB amps sound far better than almost anything made today. Three, they at least sorta-look right, and today's head units all have way too much happening with gaudy displays, color-changing buttons, etc. I just want clean, clear, loud, sometimes very loud, music.
As a few quick asides:
Any speaker cone that will be exposed to sunlight should be covered with grille cloth to minimize UV damage.
Avoid speakers with foam surrounds; they'll break down very quickly (couple of years) despite sounding awesome initially.
If your enclosure is not specifically built using your sub's Thiele-Small parameters, you're leaving low-end extension, volume, or both on the table.
A few shots of my home-grown dash speaker, made using the original flange, scrap metal, grille cloth and hand-picked drivers:
Yeah, I dinged one dustcap messing around.
I glued black grille cloth to the original adapter bracket to provide some UV protection:
Then I bolted it together and added some closed-cell foam gasket material to isolate back waves from front:
Using the original flange and hanger meant it fit perfectly, and the sun can beat down through the windshield all it wants with minimal effect on the drivers.
My '69 Valiant has an old-school Kenwood KRC-2001 dual-shaft cassette deck (I had an Alpine 7307 but I hate auto-eject), the same Kenwood KGC-4042A "baby" EQ @rumblefish360 posted (glove box), and an Alpine DHA-S690 DVD changer under the seat run through the head unit via an Alpine CRA-667RF FM modulator. Noisemakers are a custom-made dual-channel dash speaker and Infinity 2-way 6x9s (I forget the model) under the rear deck. The previous owner had cut the package tray, so I used the garbage Audiovox grilles he'd installed to hide the better speakers. I haven't decided on a sub yet (probably an Infinity 100.9W, DVC), but amplification comes from two vintage Nakamichi amplifiers: PA-350 for the speakers and PA-300II for the sub.
Now, 290 total watts doesn't seem like much, but as a former installer I can tell you it's not total watts, it's signal-to-noise ratio and total harmonic distortion that make all the difference in sustainable volume. S/N on the Nak amps is better than 108db and THD is less than .001% (thank you Nelson Pass). It will play louder than almost anyone would want. If you like to listen to actual music, there's never need for more than one subwoofer; a 12" will hit a little lower than a 10" but anything larger is outside the range of anything but pipe-organ music--doesn't seem your style.
Yes, I still listen to cassettes (well-made ones sound far better than you think; store-bought prerecorded ones always sucked) but if the mood strikes, I can put a Bluetooth adapter in the cassette deck. The DHA-S690 holds six DVDs' worth of MP3s (almost 29GB) that have all been level-matched so volume isn't all over the place and there's no native clipping, which is common with MP3s (everyone tries to maximize volume at the expense of sound quality). I don't stream, because every streaming service sucks.
The only thing visible from outside the car is the nowadays-pathetic-looking dual-shaft head unit. The same model got stolen out of my '79 300 back in '89, along with all my tapes.
This system is just a quickie and pales in comparison with what'll end up in my Challenger. I have more vintage Alpine & Nakamichi gear than one man should (40 decks, 50-some amps, 11 EQs, etc.). Why all the vintage stuff? One, it still works 30+ years later, which current stuff won't. Two, old made-in-Japan class AB amps sound far better than almost anything made today. Three, they at least sorta-look right, and today's head units all have way too much happening with gaudy displays, color-changing buttons, etc. I just want clean, clear, loud, sometimes very loud, music.
As a few quick asides:
Any speaker cone that will be exposed to sunlight should be covered with grille cloth to minimize UV damage.
Avoid speakers with foam surrounds; they'll break down very quickly (couple of years) despite sounding awesome initially.
If your enclosure is not specifically built using your sub's Thiele-Small parameters, you're leaving low-end extension, volume, or both on the table.
A few shots of my home-grown dash speaker, made using the original flange, scrap metal, grille cloth and hand-picked drivers:
Yeah, I dinged one dustcap messing around.
I glued black grille cloth to the original adapter bracket to provide some UV protection:
Then I bolted it together and added some closed-cell foam gasket material to isolate back waves from front:
Using the original flange and hanger meant it fit perfectly, and the sun can beat down through the windshield all it wants with minimal effect on the drivers.
