Speaker placement

[GaryW]

I know we should be listening to the engine but I have gone and fitted a radio/cd player for while I'm stuck in traffic jams :-)
Can anyone suggest a suitable mounting point for some speakers in the Berli? Current options are:
a) Somewhere in the footwell although drivers side is a little tight
b) Under the dash somewhere but again drivers side doesn't look promising
c) Under the rear seat but this would require cutting throught the tub and I'm a bit wary of this

Any other ideas please?

Thanks

Gary

[gaddbrose]

Re: Speaker placement

Hi Gary, try the doors, I have one in each door, and the sound reproduction is satisfacory, one drawback is that the lead to the speakers is quite thin, and because of the door being opened and closed at regular intervals , this wire tends to fatigue and fail, although it's not too much trouble to repair.

[macdonald.dm]

Re: Speaker placement

Hi Gary.

For my ICE, installing the speakers is as far as I got...

I used a pair of 3-way speakers in pods (so fully self-contained) and fitted them under the 'lip' of the rear seats. The bottom of the rear seat has an overhang (around 4"?) that fully covered the speakers so that the front grills are just slightly in from the front edge and can't be seen. I regularly carry two l'il uns in the rear and their feet don't interfere with the speakers at all. Do your rear seats have this 'overhang'?

(In case it could be of interest to anyone, my plan for the rest of my ICE - for security reasons - is to install a MOSFET power amp behind my lower dash where it'll be completely hidden, with the connection cable coming through to the front. All I need to do is carry around a small personal radio/CD/MP3 player and plug it in when needed. In the case of an MP3 player, it could actually be smaller and easier to carry than a car stereo removable 'face', will be a useful item on its own, and will leave the car looking as though there is no sound system there at all - hopefully a good deterent. I've bought all the bits, but haven't fitted it yet - it's all part of a new dash build!)

[macdonald.dm]

Re: Speaker placement

Another speaker location - which I almost went for - is in the footwells, over the transmission tunnel. I'm planning to box this in all the way to the bulkhead, with a decorative lower dash panel on the front. I'd considered installing the speakers in the sides of this 'boxing', one aiming sideways into each footwell - plenty of space I think.

I settled on the rear location as I thought it would be a better direction for the sound to come from, and it was VERY easy to fit; no cutting, just unscrew front of speaker pods, screw through back of pods into the ply panel under the seat, and re-fit speaker fronts.

If your speakers are un-boxed, you could maybe consider making up simple ply/MDF housings for them? I've NO idea on the possible acoustic success of this approach tho'...

[Dane_Rescueman]

Re: Speaker placement

I have 100mm speakers flush mounted in the doors.
The cable is encased in spyrolux and so far I have had no breakages.
Trouble is, that due to my nice side exhaust system, sound quality becomes superfluous with the hood down!

[GaryW]

Re: Speaker placement

Thanks everyone! Some nice ideas here. Dane - I did look at the door option and I was concerned about fouling the window guides - where did you fit them? Any chance of posting a photo please?

[Dane_Rescueman]

Re: Speaker placement

Hi Gary,
I have some photos here. The speakers are average quality Panasonic flush mount types. The outside diameter is 120mm.
The speaker itself just about 100mm.
Beware that there are a few rattly rods etc in the door which you will need to cover with foam or suchlike.
Cheers

[Dane_Rescueman]

Re: Speaker placement

Gary,
My second picture was rejected !
I have jiggled it about a bit and so hopefully it will be accepted this time.

[GaryW]

Re: Speaker placement

Thanks Dane. I must admit to being very nervous about cutting into the doors at the moment (still quite new to this kit car lark). I think I'm going to try them surface mount under the lip of the back seat and see how that goes. However I have saved you piccys in case I have a change of heart later to give me some guidance on positioning. Thanks again for taking the time to post the photos.