Audio Systems

[Mike]

Hey Mike, I'm gonna load a bunch into the Audio Systems file.

Nice pics Dave... saw them in the gallery. I really like the kick panel speakers... nice work!

m

[fixitman]

Fixitman..... What do you have in mind?

I was just interested in how/where our members were stalling audio systems. After seeing and reading about these hi tech systems, I'm feeling rather "period correct" at best, dated is a more accurate discription. In prep for the trimmer, I attached my brand new, early '80's speakers to the rear side panels and tail light access panels this week. These were state of the art back in the day, young men. ADS 320i speakers, separate tweeters and woofers with crossovers; ADS P80 stereo amp with a mega 40 watts per channel. All operated by a Nakamichi TD-500 tuner/cassette deck. The amp is installed under the passanger seat and the cross overs under the drivers seat.

A simple system by today's standards but nicely integrated.

Thanks for the photos.

Fixitman

[Oiluj]

Mine's not in yet, but I've got a Sony DEH-2000MP in-dash AM/FM/CD w/ MP3 player input. It's kinda "low-end", but given the acoustics of the Z and that I really prefer the sound of the engine, it will be just fine.

Have some decent 5-1/4" co-axial speakers for the rears, (in the orginal locations), and plan to install some 4" coaxials in the front kick panel area. Will be fabricating new kick panels from masonite & vinyl to hold the front speakers.

[matria]

I hope it is OK for a follow-up question.

Can anyone post any pictures of how they mounted their stereo? Specificly mounting in a 260-280. Pictures of how and where you attached to stereo body.

Thanks,

Skip Dawson

[Duffman]

I like what Dave (Zs-ondabrain) has done in creating a kick panel casing for his front speakers. Also, am interested in seeing what Julio creates to put in speakers in the kick panel. There is very little space behind the kick panel, requiring some kind of spacer, even for a 4" speaker. Will be interested in seeing the finished product, as well as any other ideas out there that don't require butchering the door panel!

[Jeff G 78]

I hope it is OK for a follow-up question.

Can anyone post any pictures of how they mounted their stereo? Specificly mounting in a 260-280. Pictures of how and where you attached to stereo body.

Thanks,

Skip Dawson

Skip,

I don't have any pics, but it's really pretty straight forward. You VERY CAREFULLY cut the two post opening in the console to be the correct size for the DIN sleeve that comes with the stereo. I used a cut off wheel on a die grinder. A dremel with a cutoff wheel works too. Once the hole is cut, slide the sleeve into the console and bend the tabs to hold it in place. It holds very well and doesn't require any kind of additional support.

After attaching the wiring to the car, reinstall the console and finally slide the head unit into the DIN sleeve.

[TomoHawk]

Dave (Zs-ondabrain) --

With all the audio stuff you have, where do you put the people??

Can 4-inch speakers really handle enough sound by themselves? I had to put in some cheapie radio-junk 4 inchers in the factory spots for the previous radio, but they will "pop" with significant bass notes. Upgrade to some better 4-inchers?

thxZ

[Jeff G 78]

Can 4-inch speakers really handle enough sound by themselves? I had to put in some cheapie radio-junk 4 inchers in the factory spots for the previous radio, but they will "pop" with significant bass notes. Upgrade to some better 4-inchers?

thxZ

I bought Boston Accoustics 4" speakers and they sound ok with my very good head unit and amps. I will add the MSA speaker box and 6x9's which should make it MUCH better. With the 4" speakers alone, I can hear it okay with the windows up, but it's useless on the highway with the windows down.

[TomoHawk]

The 4 inch speakers stay in the car, so if I need to leave the rear boxes in the garage, like for a car show. I can still have some music, but not too loud. I usually connect the rear boxes for most driving.

The only issue I would see with 4 inch speakers would be that the multi-way speakers might stick out too far for the cover panels to go on, unless you were able to put the plastic grilles on over the top.

thxZ

[Zs-ondabrain]

Tom,

I use the internal cross-over in the head-unit as well as the on-board cross-over on the amp to control the frequency that the 4", 5 1/4" and 6.5" speakers get.

That's the beauty of the Pioneer head units. They have speaker and subwoofer controls in the audio menu. I can turn the subs on or off, control their frequency and level and the internal cross-over allows me to determine the amount of lows that go into the small speakers.

In your case, I would get a small 8" amplified bass tube for your Z. You run a small power wire to it then ground the unit as well. Then run a set of RCA's or speaker wires to it (from the head or directly from the speakers) for signal. This will give the system that "Low end" that it needs and that you've been trying to reproduce with your 4" speakers.Then you can install some non polarized capacitors (about 4.7 Uf or 47? can't really remember) onto the 4" speakers (+) wires and this will eliminate the lows from them.

The bass tube has an internal cross over that will block out the hi's. The bass tubes usually have a "Quick disconnect" plug which will allow you to easily remove the tube when needed. So basically, the 4" speakers are for the hi's and the tube is for the lows. You can't rely on 4" or ANY small speaker to reproduce the low ends needed for a decent sounding system.

As for your first question, on the roof..... Kinda like a San Francisco police car, "Pull Overrrrrr"

I'll be doing a full picture type write-up on the install on the 260Z when I get to that point. As I've never done a 260Z stereo system, it should prove interesting and educational all at the same time. I'll be running new signal and speaker wires from the head unit to the rear in line with the OEM wiring. I'll also be running new antenna control wires, hatch pop wires, hatch pin (alarm) wires and anything else I think of between now and then.

Dave.

By the way, the less low end that the 4" speakers are trying to reproduce, the louder they will go without distorting.

Edited November 2, 2008 by Zs-ondabrain

[ktm]

I like what Dave (Zs-ondabrain) has done in creating a kick panel casing for his front speakers. Also, am interested in seeing what Julio creates to put in speakers in the kick panel. There is very little space behind the kick panel, requiring some kind of spacer, even for a 4" speaker. Will be interested in seeing the finished product, as well as any other ideas out there that don't require butchering the door panel!

Did you not see my photos?

As for Dave's suggestion on blocking lows to 4-in. speakers, do a quick Google search regarding capacitor crossovers. You can size the capacitor to block out the unwanted frequencies. You want the 4-in. speakers to pick up some lows, but not the really low frequencies that the subwoofer would handle.

Edited November 2, 2008 by ktm

[TomoHawk]

There's no room for any bass tube in my car, and the speaker boxes do a good job on low frequencies, and I have absolutely no wish to complicate the wiring in my car after spending several years correcting things, so I will just try some better 4-inch speekers in the factory locations.

I will leave the subwoofers to the younger crowd. The only thing behind the seats is luggage and a gallon of water.

thxZ

Edited November 2, 2008 by TomoHawk