Step 1 in audio....

[Quadcylla]

Okay I ripped a couple 12's outta some home speakers (supposedly good for 300 watts) and I'm ready to start building :).

I want to build a box for them. I want it to be removable for when I go to the track or need to carry something large in the trunk. I want to keep my back seats. So please give me tips on how to build one for a 92 Laser FWD for 2 12s.

I guess I want them to face the back but at what angle?
Does the box need to be held fast to the car so no vibrations occur or just so it won't move around?
What kind of wood should I use?
What should I use for carpeting... and should it be fastened with staples?


Next set of questions are for the amplification. Talking to a few people I'm thinking a 4 channel amp with built in or seperate crossover unit. I'm thinking 1 channel for each rear stock speaker (stock for now at least) and then 2 channels for the feed to the subs.
Or should I go 6 and double up each to the subs?
What kinda amplification should I look at... I'm not looking to compete just want to really feal that base.
Any brand name to stay away from?


Okay so now for the wiring... what kind of speaker wires do I want to run from the stereo to the amp and then from the amp to the speakers?
Any type of connector to use or not use?


Please help me out here guys as I'm just getting into the audio world. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Later....
Mike J

------------------
http://geocities.com/r337m0nk3y/dvv/asthanos.gif Quadcylla
92 Laser RS-T FWD

[ZBEEST]

Home speakers are generally 8 Ohm vs 4 Ohm for vehicles so you might want to wire them up in parallel to get a 4 Ohm load. You can then bridge two channels of the amp and get a little more power.
For 12" speakers a sealed enclosure will be the most forgiving design, especially if you don't know the Thiele small value parameters for the speakers. Build it with about 3 cubic ft of internal volume and use insulation to "Adjust" the volume to get the sound you like. A simple rectangular box will be the easiest to build. Use 3/4" MDF (medium density fibreboard), available at Home Depot, for construction. On all joins use wood glue and #6 2" wood screws. Make sure you pre drill the holes first for the screws or else it will split the wood. You can also get some good spray adhesive from there for putting the carpet on. 3M Vinyl glue holds up well in the heat.
Find an amp that you can use to expand your system with. A 4 channel that can be bridged would be good and if you can find one with internal crossovers so much the better. If it has speaker level inputs then you can connect directly to the rear speaker wires, if not then you will also need a hi to lo speaker level convertor. 4x50W should be fine, you can probably bridge two channels to produce 125W to the subs. Look at spending about $300 to get a decent 4 channel amp.

------------------
Chris Holmes
'91 Plymouth Laser RS Turbo
www.geocities.com/motorcity/speedway/5051 (http://www.geocities.com/motorcity/speedway/5051)
Turbo + Intercooler = The Replacement For Displacement

[Quest]

A general rule of thumb. If you run 200 watts to your subs, then you will need 200 watts to your highs. You may want to check out crutchfield. They are selling a very good Infinity Kappa 255a amp for 399.00. Infinity discontinued its amplifier line, but the amps are rock solid. They used to retail for about 899.00. The amp has built in crossovers and runs clean in a 5 channel application with 1x200 for the subs and 4x50 for the highs. Wiring the subs in parallel should give you approx 100 watts per sub which should be plenty. Also, in your case, since you want a portable system, I would suggest spending $80 on a prefabricated 3.0 cu box. Any stereo shop will have them. They come precarpeted. Also it is a bit easier than building one. to make things even easier, mount the amp to the back of the box and you are all done. It doesn't really matter what angle you point your subs. Bass is omnidirectional, meaning that you can point it in any direction and you will still hear it. As far a mounting the box... Of course this is the ideal situation, however since it sounds like portability is an issue, you can use bungy cords to hold the box in place. Hope this helps

[Quadcylla]

Thanks guys.

------------------
http://geocities.com/r337m0nk3y/dvv/asthanos.gif Quadcylla
92 Laser RS-T FWD

[Redsand187]

It would be best to build your own box. Remeber if you want a box that will last a long time use Liquid Nails© or any other consturtion chaulking. As far as angling the box, I wouldn't worrie about it. Also for bolting it down I personly would do it. But remeber it will take two people to remove the box then and one will have to crawl under your car, so if you remove it a lot your going to have to get used to it. I would go into the local stereo shop and get some "speaker termanals.) or "speaker cups" you mount them to your box and seal the hole so you can pass the wires through. As far as wire size I'd use 12 or ten gauge speaker wire, monster cable© is a great brand. As far as a amp it depnds on what you have to spend. If you want I can probably get you a good deal on some stuff just e-mail me. Redsand187@aol.com with the subject Stereo or something like that. If at all posible I would try to buy some subs you will notice a big diffence in sound.One last thing to remember is a amp installation kit will cost you like 40 bucks in town and you have to have one.