Sound system?

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MopaR&D

MopaR&D

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Hey guys, I'm trying to get a good idea about sound systems for my '70 Duster. I believe at one time it had the factory AM radio because of the hole in the dash, but there's nothing in there now. I want to put in a decent sound system this summer to have some tunes for a road trip to LA I might be taking with my buds... So, what all do I need for a "normal" sound system (don't need mega-ricer-bass or top-notch clarity)?
How many speakers should I shoot for?
Do I need an amp/subwoofer (how necessary are they?)?
I would also like to play CD's and at least have an aux. input for my MP3-player.
And finally, about how much would it all cost?
 
cd player wont fit in your stock radio location unless you cut the hole wider to accomidate a cd player. If you dont want to cut a hole you could always mount one under the dash or in the glove box. I have a alpine cd player (previouse owner put it in), and two pioneer 6x9s in the rear trey. sounds great.
 
If you can find a shaft dial stero, make sure it is a high powered one. Even if you do not like it loud. The loudness is controled by the knob like the gas pedal by the foot. LOL. The more power you have on tap the better. For clarity reasons.

Speaker wise, the rear deck are 6 X 9's. The doors can handle a decent size round speaker and I would highly recomend it if you do not mid cutting the panel. I still yet have to get there, the door speakers, myself.

The larger the door speaker, the easier it is to reproduce low tones and keep it clear sounding. It adds to a fullness of sound with more speakers.

Running an amp is a catch 22 with the older cars. You'll need to up the Alt. amp capcity to keep the lights on and the amp functioning correctly. Otherwise, you end up with tunes cracking up and sound pulseing like the flashers/signals do.

I currently have a old Clarion (840RT model) as a head unit. An old Radio Shack amp (100 X 100 watts) powering Sony 6 X 9 expoldes. It's enough to make your ears ring. But the only thing I do not like about it is that the sound is only behind you.. (In addition that when you come to a stop, the sound degrades and pules along with dimming head lights and slower than slow blinkers.)

Newer din styled steros can be glove box mounted or under the dash with a plastic adapter that I have seen around. I allways see them when I'm out of state (New York) and sorry to say, I do not know where to get them.
Cutting of the dash can be a bear. The dash metal is thick. But I have seen some very good jobs when done right.


As far as price goes, it is totallly dependent on how far you want to go. Click here: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-NPdClSVTqFR/ for a peak at "stuff" and then you can shop around on line and locally.
 
Well, I don't really mind cutting up the dash (I think my Dremel could do it) for a head unit. I do have decent-sized holes in the door structures for speakers, and I did notice holes in the trunk for above the back seat. So then 4 speakers, each in those positions would be good enough? I just wanted to make sure because you always hear about new cars having those crazy 13-speaker setups with subs from the factory. Oh, and I don't need a sub, right?
 
If you get speakers that have a good bass response you wont need a sub. In my commuter car (not my Duster) I have some infinity reference speakers with a cheap alpine head unit. It has TONS of bass. You would swear I had a kickin sub if you heard it yourself. So if you pick the speakers well, you wont need a sub. I find reading the reviews on the speakers at crutchfield will help find the good ones in your price range. Heck, if once you install and adjust everything, if there isnt enough bass, you can always add a amp and sub later.
 
If you like a great bass note, then a sub would do you right. The 6 X 9's have a decent bass note. But a sub woofer can get it to slam!

In my '79 Magnum, I have the speakers in the door and rear shelf. (AKA package tray or under it actually.)
I run a 10 inch sub. I have to keep the sub toned down. I also run 3 amps. No problem with the Alt. keeping up at idle.

I have a 150 watt amp to the sub. I think it Poineer in a home made box.
100 X 2 watts to the rear deck 5 X 7's. Infinity KAPPA's with matching amp. @ 2 ohms.
90 X 2 to the 5-1/4 door speakers. An old Pioneer amp @ 4 ohms. I forget the speaker brand. I have had them nearly forever along with the Pioneer amp. Maybe, 13 years. Still kicks!

I also run an older Kenwood EQ that has the abilty to divide all this up.

The EQ has slide levers for controling the front speakers independently of the rear speakers and it also has a sub. woofer out put that has a sliding level out put (Louder or softer in volume) but no cross over point. I did that with the head unit to a degree. A seprate unit sould be installed in this set up, and a slide lever for the fader. The head unit can take care of most of it by itself. But I do not like the results that much. The EQ is much better and quicker to reach out and adjust for not so good CD recordings.

The head unit is a Sony Explode with multi preset EQ settings. The rock and explode settings are used mostly though the rest sound good for what there ment for, it just dosen't get played with me. Jazz, Hall, concert etc....
 
Arron makes a good point.

You also can get a single amp to run it all if you want. But they do get pricey.

I really like the Infinitys.
 
For some awesome sound quality speakers, I'd recommend some Phoenix Gold RSD 6.5" (or any size you want/can fit).

You can get them on Ebay for $65 shipped, (Ebay Link Here) and will out perform ANY off the shelf speaker you'll find, ie- Sony, Pioneer, infinity. I've owned all of them in the past in various cars, all were decent speakers, but the Phoenix Gold's I got for my Barracuda far surpass anything I've bought yet,and I spent less money.

They have Excellent Bass, Near Perfect mid-range, and clear but not painful high's. The Vocals are Crisp, and sound very lifelike.

Just remember to put in some sound deadener behind the doors if you install speakers there. They reverberate horribly without it and really screw up the mids/lows.

Just my two cents!
 
Okay, so I need 4 good speakers and an amp for each pair of speakers?
 
not exactly, If the head unit has enough power per channel (40 or 50 watts) that should be good enough to give you enough sound to blow out your passengers, but if you want a little thump, a single 8" in the trunk behind the seat is not such a bad idea.

I have:
pioneer cd player 40 watts per channel with sub outputs and aux input,
el cheapo 50 watt 2 channel amp hooked to 2 8" subs in the trunk, 2 6X9 speakers in the rear deck and an oem replacement speaker from autozone ( 4x6 ) in the front dash.
and it's loud enough to upset the wife and shake the rearview mirror
:headbang:
 
just my .02 if your going for a new cd/radio head unit make sure you get one with the MP3 jacks. Makes hooking up an ipod/zune a snap. As for speakers i would go with 2 6" by 9" in the back and two 3" in the doors and maybe even 2 2" hidden by the dash.
 
MOPEkidD-3 said:
Okay, so I need 4 good speakers and an amp for each pair of speakers?
Click to expand...

Playeroneup is on it. What you need, as a basic set up is;

1; Head unit. The stero you choose should have a high power rateing. This is more likely not a problem since most are about 40 to 50 watts a channel these days. The more powerful the head unit in watts, the less likely you'll not need an amp.

2; New speakers, a quality name brand is better than a Pep Boy's special or Auto Zone deal. I have had Pioneer, Kenwoods, Sony's, Blau's, Infinity and there Kappa series as well. In this area, it also pays to spend alittle.

And the possible #3; An amp. These get pricey sometimes. The more watts, and more features in the amp, the more they cost. But it is sooooo worth it when doing a system.
Often, the amp OOTB will not come with a set of cables to wire it up for power, ground or the RCA cables for sound transfer from the stero to the amp. This can be purchased seperately if needed.
Some amps they (Crutchfeild or other places) sell/make can have hook up for the front, rear and sub woofer speaker all built into one amp for ease of this whole deal. Like I said, alittle pricey, but it is worth it.

OH, more power the better even if you don't use it.

When your at Crutchfeild.com, look at the descriptions and whats included with the amp in the box and call them up to ask questions. Crutchfeild is an excellent place for begineers to deal with. Some people will allways say I got it cheaper here or there, like car parts, but it has allways been a pleasure in working with them when I have purcahsed from them.
(Food for thought)

Lastly, perhaps a trip to radio shack for some wire, crimps, heat shrink, tie wraps and a wire stripper/crimper.
 
Okay, here's the system I came up with on Crutchfield. A pair of Kenwood 4" speakers for the doors, a pair of Pioneer 6x9" speakers for the rear panel, a Pioneer CD/MP3 + input jack head unit, a Profile 4-channel amp (for the sub and the 6x9" speakers), and a Bazooka tube-style 6" subwoofer. Whole thing came to $490 though, so I'm not sure if I might try to cut some corners once I start having a budget.
 
If you can get 5-1/4's in the front doors, do them or 6-1/2's.

Try not to cut any corners on anything. The smaller speakers will be drowned out by the 6 x9's and hard to balance out.
 
I just installed a sound system last weekend. I got the JVC KDS14 head unit for ~$49 at Wal Mart, wit some Pioneer 6x9 for the back deck. I'm a little trepidatious about cutting up my door panels so I'm going to cut up some donor kick panels and get some 5" component speakers with the 2" tweeters for the dash. I also got a power amped antenna that goes in the trunk (or anywhere) and ditched my factory antenna.
As far as cutting the dash, it's easy with a dremel. Unlike the old days when we hacked it in with a sawzall blade and made a mess.
 
Okay, 72dustyer's post got me thinking. What if I hooked up the amp to the sub and full-range 6x9" speakers in the back, then got some 5-1/4" component woofers for the lower doors and put the tweeters in the dash where the factory radio speaker used to go?
 
You could do that. Whats powering the door speakers? The head unit? That would be OK to do.
 
Yeah, I think the head unit would have to handle the door speakers, cuz I don't really want to spend extra on a 6-channel amp (or a separate 2-channel). The speakers are rated 2-35 watts RMS, so I think the head unit should be fine.

A "pause-and-reflect" question, will a nice sound system increase my Duster's value a decent amount?
 
72dustyer said:
I just installed a sound system last weekend. I got the JVC KDS14 head unit for ~$49 at Wal Mart, wit some Pioneer 6x9 for the back deck. I'm a little trepidatious about cutting up my door panels so I'm going to cut up some donor kick panels and get some 5" component speakers with the 2" tweeters for the dash. I also got a power amped antenna that goes in the trunk (or anywhere) and ditched my factory antenna.
As far as cutting the dash, it's easy with a dremel. Unlike the old days when we hacked it in with a sawzall blade and made a mess.
Click to expand...

This is my basic plan too.
I've got a line on a cheap, but decent Alpine HU, some cheap, but good Infinity Reference 5 and 1/4s, and some cheap, but decent Alpine Type S 6x9s.
I'll be cutting the dash, putting in the HU there, putting the 5 and 1/4s into the kick panels and then the 6x9s in the rear shelf...
All together, it should make for a decent, under $120 system.
No amp or subs, but I'll do that down the road.
For now I just want music...

My only issue is that the radio harness is just a bundle of wires hanging there...
Gonna be fun to figure out them all! :angry7:
 
sneke_eyez said:
My only issue is that the radio harness is just a bundle of wires hanging there...
Gonna be fun to figure out them all! :angry7:
Click to expand...

Go right around it and just wire in the system to a keyed on hot wire and if a memory wire is needed, a constant live like the cig. lighter.
 
MOPEkidD-3 said:
Wait, what exactly are the kick panels?
Click to expand...

The kicj panels are ruffly triangle or square in shape.

There located at your feet in front of the door under the dash.

Theres limited room for magnet size behind the panels due to strucure (SP!) beems, wires and depth. This can be a very shallow area and also the reason I recomended the door panels.

The area of the door panel on the drivers door would be the lower left corner. You should have lots of room.
 
rumblefish360 said:
The kicj panels are ruffly triangle or square in shape.

There located at your feet in front of the door under the dash.

Theres limited room for magnet size behind the panels due to strucure (SP!) beems, wires and depth. This can be a very shallow area and also the reason I recomended the door panels.

The area of the door panel on the drivers door would be the lower left corner. You should have lots of room.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the doors were where I was thinking of putting them anyway. Would it be bad at all if I got the front woofer/tweeter components and head unit put in first, then put in the rear speakers + amp + sub put in later (for financial reasons)? How would it sound if I did that?
 
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