97 Olds Ninety Eight Regency. Needs music.

[Drewet88]

I have a 87 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Regency, I want to put a nice system in it considering it came with a tape player. But I'm new to nice audio set ups, all I use to do is throw some subs in da back on a cheap amp and call it a system but its not to good when all you hear is bass no words to the music. So all I really want to know is everything I'm going to need.

I wanted to build my own enclosure but I don't know what kind or size subs I want/need. I'm open to suggestions.

Also I heard about something called kick panels but I have no idea what they are. So if anyone could fill me in it would really be appreciated.

Also if pisses me off when people brag about their systems but all that really happens is their trunk rattles, how do I prevent that?

And if their is anything else I can or should do let me know.
Thanks in advance.

[dave92cherokee]

The first thing that you're going to need will be a good head unit I recommend Alpine as they are reasonably priced and extremely reliable. Next you will need to replace the factory speakers in your car in that model they are in 3 locations the dashboard, front doors and rear deck. Speakers will be in the rear deck and in the dash OR door, the rear deck can use 6x9, 6 1/2, or 5 1/4. The front doors can use 5 1/4, 6 1/2, or 6 3/4. The dash speakers use 3 1/2. To get the best sound replaced the rear deck with 6x9 and the front door with 6 1/2 and I recommend 2 or 3 way speakers for both as they have tweeters built in to produce higher notes for the words. But beware the 6x9 in the rear deck with subs in the deck will be blown out the minute you turn the sub up to bump. I recommend finding a friend that has a pair of 6x9's in one of those little boxes on the rear deck and see if you can borrow just the box for a few minutes and see if it will fit under the 6x9 in the rear deck of your car to protect them from the sub air pressure. If it does fit then buy a pair of the boxes and when you are installing the speakers in the rear deck use 1" wood screws that way they will go through the holes in the deck and screw into the box then just make sure that it's sealed up around the metal good(getting a can of that great stuff expanding foam insulation is perfect for the job). Then the only thing left would be the amp and subs but here is where the saying you get what you pay for really comes into play, don't go cheap as they will go out very quickly. The size depends on what music you listen to if it's rock then I suggest 10's as they have a tighter response and 12's if it's rap to produce the lower notes or if you want really low and loud go 15. Kick panels are nice as they angle the speakers that would be in the bottom corners of the doors towards the driver but they are not available for your vehicle as far as I know. And finally to stop that annoying rattle on the back. It's not the trunk that's rattling unless you have something loose it's the license plat vibrating the cheap way to fix it is to cut a small piece of household carpet and put between the plat and car but to do it right dynamat has a license plate kit that does exactly what is needed to stop the noise. If you need any more help with ideas or designing the entire system drop me an email and I'll see what I can do for ya.
[email protected]

[Drewet88]

So. The 6X9's would blow if I put them in and put in subs without a sort of protective box. None of my friends would have the protective box because they all have trucks. Mostly pick ups with no subs.
I was thinking about 12's and I wanted to make my own enclosure with the see through glass but I saw on another post that it scratches easily and shouldn't be made by beginers.
I was going to try and measure my trunk so it could fit perfectly in the back and have 2 12's facin up and 1 facin towards the passengers. I don't know the possibilities of that happening plus someone said I should "port" the box. What is it and is it an easy/good thing to do?
Also another forum said you should have a amp for your subs and another amp for your speakers in the car???How would you do that?

[vinnym86]

ported enclosures are harder to calculate and harder to build, and they take up more space. they are, however, more efficient than a sealed enclosure. the olds must have a large trunkspace, if im not mistaken, so porting 1 12 won't be a problem. 2 12's, maybe... it also depends on the type of sound you want out of your subs.

rattling: invest in sound deadening. dynamat, second skin, phat mat, eDead... it all works really well.

amps: if you get a nice set of speakers, you want to take full advantage of them by amping them. most 2 channel or 4 channel amp would work great. fo your subs, you want more powerful amps. usually its recomended you use class D amps, though any amp would do as long as its powerful enough to handle the draw from your subs. there are a lot of specs to look at before determining what amp to buy, i suggest some research at www.bcae1.com

[Drewet88]

Originally Posted by vinnym86

ported enclosures are harder to calculate and harder to build, and they take up more space. they are, however, more efficient than a sealed enclosure. the olds must have a large trunkspace, if im not mistaken, so porting 1 12 won't be a problem. 2 12's, maybe... it also depends on the type of sound you want out of your subs.

rattling: invest in sound deadening. dynamat, second skin, phat mat, eDead... it all works really well.

amps: if you get a nice set of speakers, you want to take full advantage of them by amping them. most 2 channel or 4 channel amp would work great. fo your subs, you want more powerful amps. usually its recomended you use class D amps, though any amp would do as long as its powerful enough to handle the draw from your subs. there are a lot of specs to look at before determining what amp to buy, i suggest some research at www.bcae1.com

Well I just want my music to be clear, crisp, and to have nice bass.
I'm not going to try and port the box because I don't really know what I'm doing, I thought it would be easy.
I really wanted 3 12's so I could have one or two facing up and one or two facing me.
But I think I may just do two because I don't really know what I'm doing and someone said if I build the box wrong the subs can blow the subs and split the box.
I am going to invest in some dynamat for sure.
Do I put in in the box or line my trunk and other places with it?
I still don't understand how I amp my voice speakers but I'll figure it out. Will I need two different amps or can I just buy one really good one.

O and what should I make the box out of. I kinda want to make the face of the box out of something see through, plexiglass or cheap plastic.

Can anyone give me some advice on building a box. I'm going to search through the archives for a tutorial also.
Thanks.

[vinnym86]

bad idea. quality is better than quantity. don't go with 3 twelves, especially if you don't know what you're doing, like you said. if anything, get 2 at most, and seal them in their own chamber, not one large sealed box for both of them. bad box building won't blow your subs, it'll just make them sound like crap. also, if anything, fire those subs away from you.

Use dynamat on your trunk, and anywhere else that rattles, like doors.

i HIGHLY suggest you read some relevant chapters on www.bcae1.com, and if after some research, you still think "you don't know what you're doing", get it professionally installed, cuz its better spending money to have it installed rather than spending money on replacing components due to ignorance.

[Drewet88]

I read the info at www.bcae1.com and it helped.
By not knowing what I was doing I meant box building wise but I found some helpful info on the forums.
I know how to put in a cd player and how to hook up speakers.
I just never built a box before and I didn't want it to sould like crap.
I also don't understand hooking up tweeters and mid-range to an amp, I thought it was only for subs.
Right before I read your post I was thinking about doing 2 12's at the most because I don't want excessive bass I just want some nice crisp bass.
3 would be to much because my cousing has 2 15's and that pisses off the entire neighborhood at night.

So yea all I really still need help with is building the box, besides trying to figure out how to wire up my speakers to an amp.

O and I am going to also build boxes for my 6X9's in the back so they wont blow when I put in my subs.

[vinnym86]

someone here would be glad to help you with a box design. they usually charge $10 but will give you the plan, measurements, list of materials, etc, etc. all you gotta do is go out, buy supplies, and build it.

read chapter 110 on bcae1 and towards the bottom it gives you basic instructions on how to build a proper box out of mdf.

i'm not gonna look for the chapter about amps, i don't have time, but that chapter should explain everything you'll ever need to know about amps, so it won't confuse you when it comes time to hook up your system. just a quick lesson, subs are drivers that need power to operate. tweeters are drivers that need power to operate. one is just a hell of a lot smaller, but doesn't mean it doesn't need power. a lot of people run their components through their headunit, which has a built in amp. its not that powerful, however, so if you want to take full advantage of your component's capabilities, you amp them. i seriously suggest you understand how to wire a multi-amp system, what other components you need like a distribution block, how to beef up your electrical system, etc. before you go out and buy one. after you get that, we'll be glad to help you out shopping for a proper amp, and any help you may need in installation.

[Drewet88]

Thaks for the site now that I read it I see how I really have to think this through.
I though I was just going to build a lil box put my subs in it and have nice music.
I finally got my basic idea.
I'm going to have help from someone with experience so it should be okay. I'm going to do 2 12's, 2 amps with forced air cooling, I'm going to amp up my speakers, and build boxes for my 6X9's.

So is it okay if my subs are built in their own chambers but a the box is still w whole?

Now I just have to find a good place to buy the products, any suggestions.

[germanyt]

Originally Posted by Drewet88

So. The 6X9's would blow if I put them in and put in subs without a sort of protective box. None of my friends would have the protective box because they all have trucks. Mostly pick ups with no subs.
I was thinking about 12's and I wanted to make my own enclosure with the see through glass but I saw on another post that it scratches easily and shouldn't be made by beginers.
I was going to try and measure my trunk so it could fit perfectly in the back and have 2 12's facin up and 1 facin towards the passengers. I don't know the possibilities of that happening plus someone said I should "port" the box. What is it and is it an easy/good thing to do?
Also another forum said you should have a amp for your subs and another amp for your speakers in the car???How would you do that?

actually this is true, the air movement of the subs will not allow the deck speakers to move like they are supposed to. i tore up a pair of pioneer 6x9s with two twelves. i have a question about this. im putting 2 15s in my trunk with right around 3000wrms. will covering the bottom of my infinity 6x9s with sound deadener be sufficient to keep them from damage? i was thinking about making a little foam box to go over them and sealing the box by laying deadener over the under side of the deck and covering the foam. actually, since im glassing the enclosure i could probably have the back of the box fit over them so they are sealed off.

[vinnym86]

yeah, one box, two seperate, sealed, airtight chambers. depending on the total q of the driver, if you go sealed, should be around 1.5-2cu.ft. per 12" driver.

[Drewet88]

Well now I have another question.
I bought a distributer to power my two amps. Now I want to hook my amps up to my head unit. But my head unit only has RCA cables capable for holding one amp.
Will a RCA cable splitter work?
If I'm using one amp for my voice speakers how do I hook up the speakers to the head unit and the amp.
Someone told me I just have to hook da amp up to the head unit throught the RCA cables and the speakers just to the amp, is that true?