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Upgrading the speakers and adding more boom; 2010 Honda Insight
Topic Started: Nov 30 2009, 11:51 AM (3,641 Views)
Cobb
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Yeah, its a Honda, but its the same theory for any car.

I could max out the radio in this car at 40 on the volume knob and it wasnt that loud and the bass faded as you cranked it. Since most cars have basic speakers, that was my first upgrade. A new radio is the second upgrade, but no one made an adapter at this time.

So, I removed a speaker from the car and looked for the most power I can get in the same size, 6.5 inch 180- watts. Go to a stereo store so you can test the speakers as they all sound different. The wattage you see on the package is peak, operating is a quarter of that.

I used the stock speaker frame after I destroyed the oem speaker to mount it and cut a quarter inch off the new speaker ring and soldered up the conectors. I then ran wires from the rear speakers to the back for inputs for the amp. Yeah some head units have rca plugs, but not Honda for this car.

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Oem speaker.

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Woohoo, it worked and was clearer, cleaner in sound, but still lacked bass at higher levels. I had purchased a class d mono amp for bass, but it was too muddy, so exchanged it for a sony xpode 700 watt. I was going to amp all 4 speakers as to why went with 4 channel and it had a wider fq response.

Got a 8 inch sub box with speakers at pepboys and used my jump starter thing to power the amp. I used an 8 guage wire kit for the amp to test it, then got a 4 guage to power it from the car.

The size of the sub box was limited by my cargo, a rolling walker

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Test setup. Yeah, the pepboys original speakers lasted 7 minutes, so they were replaced with the largest 8 inch I could find jbl804s. I then got the largest cap I could get for 100 bucks, a 10 farad unit.

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Fits with the walker.

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Added the cap and hooked it to the cars battery and it sucked down the voltage to 11 volts. So,in goes the second battery in the rear next to the hybrid battery. I used a battery box, 2 hold downs and cut up part of the foam cargo liner for it to fit. I used a group 27 marine battery.

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Added fuse blocks to hook every together and hooked everything up. I hooked the batttery in the rear to the single electrode side, the car to one side with a fuse, then the cap to the other side which leads to the amp. This way I can remove one fuse to disconnect the cap which also disconnects the amp. The other fuse if removed disconnects the car from the battery in the back. So I can run it from the rear battery only or hook the rear battery to the front one without the upgrade.

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2 weeks after enjoying my set I start to have my amp cut out and over heat. The pepboys box had a broken center divider. I decided after no luck finding an 8 inch vented or sealed box I made a new box.

Sealed gives more punch over wide fq range. Open gives more vibration over a narrower range. A band pass gives a unbelievable punch at one fq and everything else is muddy.

I got a calculator online and enter my speaker specs on the sheet I saved and built it to dimensions. If I was better at wood working I would of tried to copy the previous box. I then used a ton ok screws with predrilled holes and a lot of glue.

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Now, I want more. Do I add 2 more speakers since its a 4 channel or start over?
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Cobb
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I still have some issues withthe amp clipping and cutting out after 45 minutes from over heating. I bought a used alpine m450 amp and used it. It didnt go quite as loud, but at full volume for 45 minutes it was still cool to the touch.

So, bought another vented box and yup, got the same distortion at low volumes. Blah, not my thing.

Bought a small band pass online and tried it. Wow. Not bad. The bass is similar to the sealed box, but up toa certain fq it gets louder and louder, then away from that it gets quieter again.

Kind of interesting as its a big box divided in 2. The front of the box is plexi glass and is how the speaker is installed from the front. The front is sealed. THe back half has 2 ports and is open to the atmosphere.

It came with a generic 400 watt speaker, going to replace it with one of my jbl 804s to test it good, then use my second speaker as a sealed box.

What do you think?

Yeah, looking up a sonotube too.
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Cobb
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Tried another vented or ported box, 43 bucks on ebay, free shipping. The original speakers rattled at really, really low volume, so switched the 8s out for my jbl 804s. It allowed more volume, but not as much as my sealed box before rattling, so bought a pyle bandpass box from ebay for 56 bucks, free shipping. I liked the band pass, so I axed one of my 2 speaker chambers on my original boxes. I was going to use the bandpass and a sealed box.

The red/blue speaker was in it, the grey n black one is the jbl I replaced it with.

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Band pass box. It has a sealed chamber in the front, ported in the back. At first it was really narrow for mid bass frequencys and rattled a bit on other bass. I knew my jbl 804 had a better response, but maybe the box was narrow in its response? Seems with the oem speaker it hit one note hard, rest light if not distorted.

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Yeah, switched it out with my 8 and man, it was a tight fit. Boy the response opened up and packed the sealed chamber with poly fill. Boy, it hits harder on all frequencys and at one its really loud. THe alpine m450 amp is almost 400 watts, but I cant get it to cut out or clip, so it stays. THe sony does a lot of strange things, so it goes.

More wires n mess as I try to use the alpine m450 asthe new amp and retire the sony
I have a spot behind the hybrid battery in the silver metal box. I took a spall piece of mdf to mount the cap and fuses to one side, alpine on the other and stuff it between both battery boxes. Still a slight hump in the rear cargo area, but less mess. The tan board is what I kept and mounted the alpine to the back side of it.

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Final setup? Naw, got a 8 inch sono tube on the way. After testing its going to have 2 4 ohm speaker in parallel for 2 ohm operating. I can rattle the jbl with the alpine, so going to use both speakers. Either 2 band pass boxes or the band pass and tube or bandpass n sealed.

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Edited by Cobb, Jan 9 2010, 11:54 PM.
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Bad Bent
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Facetious Educated Donkey

Gee, that looks like fun! :rocker

Short video with audio?
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metro_fiend
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where Geos come to die

I agree, lets see a video
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LoudGeo


don't mix and match enclosure types for the same drivers, in the same setup. i wish you were closer to me, i would build you a box out of scraps for free. (that would be much better than the prefabs)
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Cobb
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Yeah, I wished you or I live closer too. Id love some specs and am learning how to saw wood. At least this pyle gives me a way to see one hands on. Just strange how the rear is ported vs the front when I see home made band pass boxes online people made vs pre fab.

Yeah, its a jbl 804 with an alpine m450 amp. I want to feel my guts rattle. With this single setup the initial beat does that for a fraction of a second, then it vibrates the mirrors like the old setup.

Ill see how the sonotube works before I mix or match. The guys at work are betting a sealed and band pass would give me what i want.
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Cobb
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Or



Any sketches Loudgeo for the jbl 804? Waiting on a 2 ft sono tube from the ups man to test.

Cant say I love the band pass, it does distorte a bit, but I am working with 1 vs both subs like my sealed box or vented I had. I think 2 band passes or a larger one ill give me what I am looking for, the idea of 2 tubes would give me more cargo space, than a big box in the back. Not that I wouldnt want something like that for show purposes just not everyday.

I met a guy at work who is letting his setup go, its a 2 alpine type e 12s in a bandpass box withe an alpine 450 watt amp. Is 150 fair? Its a monster box, however the amp looks like an m450, like what I already have, so I could use an amp a speaker. He said its louder than he ever needed and needs the money and room more and out grew the bass.

I was thinking of using the speakers in a monster bandpass for shows, then use the sono tubes or a different bandpass for daily use with my 8s.
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LoudGeo


imho the alpines are not worth it. give me some dimensions and ill see what i can come up with for ya.
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Cobb
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Did some cleaning and went to a smaller gel cell battery as the lead acid one was boiling over, here is the rear uncovered

Boil over mess.

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Almost fits, had to cut back some carpet and cut a notch for the terminals

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covered up, cap, amp and fuses on same board. alpine m450 amp

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diff of the stock sonotube speaker and jbl 804

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Fill tube with poly fill for more bang.

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VIDEO TIME

sonotube



bandpass



BOTH



This knocks the socks off all the above with same amp.

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Edited by Cobb, Jan 16 2010, 11:20 PM.
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Cobb
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I finally got around to resealing the speakers with weather stripping in the sealed box and filled the space with poly fill.



Man, o Man..... It can rattle anything and everything, but it does not give you the ringing in your head like it did at first.

Sure a good way to clear the voices from the angry customers I hear 8+ hours a day.

Second best is the band pass with poly fill and jbl 804 8 inch and pyle box. That you can feel through the steering wheel when it hits.
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Cobb
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Now I got some more storage, remote control more stations as my oem radio only got 6 stations.





Edited by Cobb, Apr 3 2010, 11:20 PM.
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Cobb
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I was at a show and decided to try the full volume. Interesting to see them flex, wobble, and wiggle like jelly. Seems they are out of phase when infact they are being powered an 1 alpine m450 amp and the speakers are in parallel to the amp.



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zippy
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that wobbling of the speaker cones could very well destroy the subs....if you can, take the box apart and put a baffle in the separate the subs from each other. they look like they are fighting each other, but not out of phase...i dont remember the term for it, but i would separate them. just my input.....
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Cobb
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It is a dual chamber box. I added poly fll and it makes it hit harder. This was at full volume, so maybe I need to turn it back?
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