Audio system recommendations...

[DDS]

For Bell or anyone else...

I want to install a good system in my 914, ideally putting a removeable sub under the dash where the console would go if I had one, and speakers in the doors.
Would you recommend this approach, and if so what reasonably priced components would you specify? I would build the sub enclosure myself. Space is obviously the challenge here.

BTW- I am an audio guy outside of my car, (vintage Quad tube gear and lots of other stuff) but don't have audiophile pretensions in a noisy envirnment like a 914. Also, for me the sub is to fill in and add some balance and bottom to the music, not to serve as some sort of hormone-charged pubescent mating call. (the bright yellow 914 will serve well enough for that...) ;-)

Many TIA.

[BenI]

I did what you want to do and I think it turned out really well. I got an 8" Kicker Solo that only requires a .33 ft^3 closed box. I roughly copied the design of a late model consel for this one, and even had room for a change tray in the top. I got 4x6" (I think, whatever the stock speakers were) and put them in the speaker panals. These needed a little modification to fit the larger sized speaker and magnet. I used 1/4" plywood over the grill. This let me mount larger diameter speakers and cleared the magnet. I covered them with acoustical cloth and you don't even notice the mod. I also threw some tweeters up on the corners of the top dash to improve sound. I use a 600W amp to power the system and have no trouble hearing my music. My amp and 12-disc changer are mounted on the vertical piece in the front trunk that seperates the cargo area from the gas tank.

[paulhagedorn]

I have speakers in the doors, a cd-changer up front, and a Sony head unit.
The speakers in the stock position are two-way JBL's, the speakers in the doors are Infinity Kappa's. I really think it sounds good with just this. If you like the boom-boom, then a sub is definitely needed, but with speakers in the doors, there is enough space behind for it to create enough bass.

[JRust]

I have 6 1/2 in the doors & they give decent all around sound but not quite good enough. So I started brainstorming where to fit a sub. The 1st place I thought of was my center console. I allready had a good 10" sub & wanted to utilize that. In taking out my center console I knew that wouldn't work without building a knew center console that was wider & stretched into the passenger seat side about 2 inches. That was the plan until I pulled out my carpet to fix rusted floor pan. At the feet of the passenger there is a fairly large foam piece under the carpet. Check it out on yours, I assume all are like this. It is just there to make the floor nice & even for your feet. Using that foam as a mold I started a fiberglass box. I'm done with it & it give's great bottom to your sound. So the back 1/2 is fiberglass meeting the front half of medodite(something like that spelling). I'll post pic's later this week. It does sticke out about 4" farther than the original foot rest. It take some leg room of passenger side but not alot. This was a concern of mine but I fit comfortably. I also made it easy to take in & out as needed. I think a good 8" would fit perfectly without sacrificing leg room. I'm thrilled with mine though!!! sorry this is so long

[bell]

can someone post a pic of what the factory center console looks like, i'm not real familiar with it. i've done things like this before with great success but a pic will let me brainstorm

bell
85'911 targa

[Joe Bob]

Here ya go....

[Jim Smolka]

For me, the best music system in a 914 is a flat 6

[Joe Ricard]

Boy wants a system in his car. Don't think he will hear it over the whompin stompin 4 banger. Almost requires ear plugs think a little sound deading is in order.

[DDS]

The stereo is for when I'm waiting for the tow truck. ;-)

[Rouser]

bell: Here's a (translated) French 914 site for the dimensions to build your own Center Console.

Just convert the measurements from millimeters-to-inches and you're all set to go.

[bell]

thanks for the link, now i know what to deal with.
if you wanted to build a center console you will be able to put a 6.5" woofer on either sides of the console.
you will need to ofset them so the magnets don't interfere with each other. and you will NEED so use as strong as a 6.5 as your budget will permit (150-200watts).
a good amp with a 200 watt mono rating will work nice and most all amps have sub xovers nowadays which you will need.
you may be able to modify your stock console but that will require some fiberglassing and reinforcing to withstand the pressure.
if you start from scratch i would use 1/2" and 3/4" mdf for the wood. the stronger you can make/reinforce the box the tighter it will sound and the woofers will last longer.
the internal volume for the 6.5's will be around 1/4-1/3cubic foot, it's a little small and depending on what brand, the resonance of the box will be between 80-200hz if it's built solidly with no leaks.
being the car is a "targa" you won't hear the REALLY low bass anyway, this setup will provide you with strong lower midbass and tight snare drums.
i did something similar in a friends VW and it worked suprisingly well. you can always add small amounts of fiberfill to the box to help lower the resonance if you want the bass to "be lower" but this is more a fine tune method then adding more airspace.

i run a single 10" under the hood of my 911 and it's very nice and keeps up with my components while cranking. the 6.5's may work nicely but i always like to have a minimum of a 10" for sub duties.
i hope this gives you some ideas.

bell
85'911 targa

[Kevin Powers]

if your interior door panels are not already ruined why would you want to carve them up for speakers? the cost of replacing them would probably be greater than the speaker price. chances are without careful placement and speaker selection instalation will require cutting the door itself. yikes.it might be best to adapt the stock enclosures.

[bell]

i do agree with that, i stuck with 5.25" in the doors of my 911 so no cutting would be required. but the concept of building a second center console would be a good example on not destroying the "original"car.
my enclosure under the hood is also able to be removed and the car back to 100% stock in less than 20 minutes if ever needed.
heres a pic of under my hood. the trim panels will be replaced with smooth rounded fiberglass ones that will be painted gran prix white, whenever i get the, done.


bell
85'911 targa

[DDS]

It's a good point about the doors Kevin, but mine are being reupholstered anyway (very close to stock) to match the seats, also my car is a '73 appearance group 1.7 that is now a built 2.0, has glass flares and GT and rocker stiffening, plus a welded-in bulkhead 6 mount, timing hole in the firewall, aftermarket front swaybar and non-stock factory rear, SC suspension, and was 5-bolt and rusty when I bought it, so while the car will be like new, so it will never be 'original' anyway. Sooooooooooooo, It will never be a concours queen. Cutting the (thus far uncut) door panels will be a fairly minor sacrelige. I don't have those plastic speaker boxes anyway.
I had been thinking of putting a layer of epoxy and 'glass cloth on the lower third of the door panel and clamping it flat to dry (It has curled a bit), then laminating some thin, stiff plywood where the speaker would mount. I won't cut the doors, but may have to shim the speakers inward to allow clearance for the magnets - jsut guessing at this point. Going with a sub will allow smaller door speakers I hope.

bell, can you recommend a brand of subwoofer? Do you deal with Madisound?

WRT the console/sub idea, if building from scratch the enclosure could probably be made lager by intruding an inch or two into the passenger footwell. I have 3 911 gauges already mounted on a bracket under the dash, and hte whole thing could make a fairly tidy install. Sounds like a tech article maybe.
The other sub design I had thought of was a wedge-shaped deal behind the passenger's seat.
Thanks for all the input - it's great to be thinking of things like stereos and tires after a grimy year of rust, bushings, hoses paint, sealer and the like.
But I can babble...

[illco99]

I have one JL W6 10in sub in a center consol I made. It fits pretty good I just tilted it slightly to the right so I had room to reach my gas pedal. Use .5 to .75 inch Medium desity fiber wood. I've built alot of boxes and I feel it sounds the best. Also make sure you use the right air space.I'm taking mine out and putting 3 10's under the hood.

[GregS]

Rouser, thanks very much for the link to the console construction article. It gets kind of tiring being 15 minutes or an hour or a half a day late when a console comes up for sale somewhere! Thanks again.

[Bee Jay]

I did what JRUST is doing about a year ago. My sub woofer took no leg room from the passenger, but I used a Kicker 6" sub woofer speaker. I have JBL plates in the stock location, and Kenwood 6 1/2" separates in the door and vent window panel I built. I mounted the amp for the speakers and the amp for the woofer and the cd changer in the front trunk. Sounds real good. Here are some pictures.
http://pelicanparts.com/swapmeet_pics/GermanAutoFest-01/Pic468.jpg
http://pelicanparts.com/swapmeet_pics/GermanAutoFest-01/Pic470.jpg
http://pelicanparts.com/swapmeet_pics/GermanAutoFest-01/Pic464.jpg
http://pelicanparts.com/swapmeet_pics/GermanAutoFest-01/Pic487.jpg
http://pelicanparts.com/swapmeet_pics/GermanAutoFest-01/Pic486.jpg
http://pelicanparts.com/swapmeet_pics/GermanAutoFest-01/Pic444.jpg
http://pelicanparts.com/swapmeet_pics/GermanAutoFest-01/Pic430.jpg

[bell]

DDS......the jl's work nicely, the w-6's can handle more power but the w0's are cheaper and will work fine with 100-200 clean watts. you don't want to overdraw the current capabilities in porsches so not going too big on the power will not hurt anything (i'm running 1 sony 50x2 and 1 50x4, max draw is 30amps average is 15amps).
i like some of the footwell boxes i've seen but i prefer the sub under the hood, having the sub firing into a "closed" area will create a makeshift bandpass box and can increase efficiancy.
my sub is a crossfire bmf10 (got it free ). the rockfords and orions are nice but they can't take too much abuse, most name brand subs today are of very nice quality as long as you stay away from the pyramids/hollywood/jbl.
just make sure when building an enclosure it is calculated properly for that woofer, this is where most mistakes are made when building/choosing a box. the difference can be night and day.

my .02
bell
85'911 targa

[DDS]

Thanks for the great thread! I will search on JLs - I will verify the mfr's parameters for speaker construction - hopefully - I have built speakers before using MDF and biscuit joints - tapered quarter wave tubes actually, (kind of a folded horn/transmission line hybrid) driven by a flea powered single ended tube. I know how critical design can be! (and that's all I know about it...) The mfr probably has specs WRT port sizing and enclosure volume and I can handle the non-resonant construction part. As you suggest, I'll probably go with as small a rig as I can get away with to minimize electrical load, weight and cost.
THanks again.

[sweater914]

hey joe tell the kid he doesn't need a system at the moment, he needs to concentrate on driving before you introduce distractions on the instrument panel, beside he won't be able to ear the radio without some real power, just a thought