Components and door speakers

[njonl]

I'm in the market for a new stereo system. I'm not sure if I want to run a sub but I will figure out later so right now I am concentrating on new speakers. I am leaning towards using the infiniti speakers. My question is if I want to use the infinity kappa component's in kick panels, do I need to keep my door speakers or do I need to eliminate them ? I was thinking about it and I don't know how much sense it makes to have components down in the kick panels pointing up and then having door speakers in their path. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks,

-Nick

 

[Z3PR]

Pre-made kick panel enclosures like Q-forms are designed too aim the speakers for best sound quality.

 

[chevyin]

As suggested above, kick panel mounting is designed to optimize speaker placement in a not so stereo friendly environment. Basically, it pushes the speakers as far in front of you as possible, to minimize differences in lengths of each to your ear (called equalizing path lengths). This eliminates any other factory designed and inferior mounting locations... like doors, dashes and pillars.

That is strictly speaking in terms of mids and highs. Many people who go to kickpanels use the doors for dedicated midbass drivers, and there are some who use atenuated tweeters on dashes or pillars to raise the sound stage... but I doubt you're wanting that added complexity and expense. Generally speaking, when you go with kicks, you ditch the rest. Adding more speakers in the front stage playing the same frequencies from different locations will only blur the imaging. Now if you just want it loud and dont really care how it 'images', then ya just put speakers any place they'll fit. But if that were you, I doubt you'd be running kick panels, so Im guessing you want some sound quality here... just use the kicks. Just make sure you get some good strong component speakers whose tweeters are designed for on-axis response, and you'll be golden.

 

[MrArmyAnt]

As suggested above, kick panel mounting is designed to optimize speaker placement in a not so stereo friendly environment. Basically, it pushes the speakers as far in front of you as possible, to minimize differences in lengths of each to your ear (called equalizing path lengths). This eliminates any other factory designed and inferior mounting locations... like doors, dashes and pillars.

That is strictly speaking in terms of mids and highs. Many people who go to kickpanels use the doors for dedicated midbass drivers, and there are some who use atenuated tweeters on dashes or pillars to raise the sound stage... but I doubt you're wanting that added complexity and expense. Generally speaking, when you go with kicks, you ditch the rest. Adding more speakers in the front stage playing the same frequencies from different locations will only blur the imaging. Now if you just want it loud and dont really care how it 'images', then ya just put speakers any place they'll fit. But if that were you, I doubt you'd be running kick panels, so Im guessing you want some sound quality here... just use the kicks. Just make sure you get some good strong component speakers whose tweeters are designed for on-axis response, and you'll be golden.

Actually doubling components can cause the frequency and air movement to cancel eachother out and not be nearly as loud.

 

[chevyin]

Actually doubling components can cause the frequency and air movement to cancel eachother out and not be nearly as loud.

Only at certain frequencies, and if the speakers playing the same freqs are not mounted in-line laterally to your ears. Many home systems have used multiple speaker arrays successfully for mids and highs for many years, its all in the implimentation.

But yes, generally speaking the average DIY'er wont acheive this perfection, much less in a car/truck. Usually the best advice is to keep the system as simple as possible, one driver per frequency band, per channel. If you want/need more output, there are other ways to acheive this besides lining up speakers.

In an ideal world, a stereo signal would only be reproduced by 2 speakers, one for the left and one for the right, full range. But today's technology does not allow us to build a single driver that will play from 20hz to 20khz flat and with any real authority. So we divide the frequency bands between woofers and tweeters, we compromise to get the best performance in the real world, which leads to other compromises like crossovers.

 

[MrArmyAnt]

Only at certain frequencies, and if the speakers playing the same freqs are not mounted in-line laterally to your ears. Many home systems have used multiple speaker arrays successfully for mids and highs for many years, its all in the implimentation.

But yes, generally speaking the average DIY'er wont acheive this perfection, much less in a car/truck. Usually the best advice is to keep the system as simple as possible, one driver per frequency band, per channel. If you want/need more output, there are other ways to acheive this besides lining up speakers.

In an ideal world, a stereo signal would only be reproduced by 2 speakers, one for the left and one for the right, full range. But today's technology does not allow us to build a single driver that will play from 20hz to 20khz flat and with any real authority. So we divide the frequency bands between woofers and tweeters, we compromise to get the best performance in the real world, which leads to other compromises like crossovers.

Crossovers are evil.

 

[chevyin]

A necessary evil.

 

[MrArmyAnt]

A necessary evil.

Unless we put 4 ft x 8 ft electrostats in our car with 10,000 watts

 

[chevyin]

Good luck with that. And good luck keeping them working properly in such a harsh environment. Electrostats are nice, but they are relatively frail also. Oh, and huge.