Minor Audio Advice

Post by **millerman** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 9:19 pm

Radios are getting complicated!

Which is the best radio/single cd player for a Minor?

I have various speakers:
2 Pioneer at 40 watts each
2 Volvo at 25 watts each
4 Metro, type(?) DRC 8436, 22 EN 9004, what is the wattage of these speakers?.

I want to use 4 speakers and listen to mainly voice broadcasts, so is it as simple as totalling the speaker wattage and finding a radio that matches? In which case how much tolerance is between the speaker wattage and the radio output wattage?

When that is explained has anyone a suitable radio/cd for sale?

Cheers

Post by **TerryG** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 10:16 pm

its all down to personal preforence. in one of my mogs i have an old kenwood 558RA, 2x 5" speakers in the front panels and some crappy ones stuck on the rear shelf. In the other i have some customised stereo speakers on the front parcle shelf and a JVC CD Tuner cheapo from halfords.

Post by **bigginger** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 10:37 pm

As far as I remember, the player doesn't care much about the wattage of the speakers, what matters is that they exceed the wattage of the amp, or they will blow. The resistance (Ohms) of the speakers does matter, and the total resistance changes with whether they are wired in series or parallel - most likely that will be entirely dependent on the wiring of the amp itself, it only gets importamt if you start running 4 speakers from 2 speaker outputs. If this turns out to be the case, either Google it or come back for more advice - I'm k***ckered, and can't remember off the top of my head how it changes according to wiring - don't want to get it wrong.

Post by **moggyminor16** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 11:03 pm

for a nice simply way to get an good sound is to get and radio that has more than 25 watt out put per chanle ( means all the the speaker cable will have more than the normal out pot to the spearkers )
then if you duble the out pot on the radio this will be fine no need for any amps or cross overs all the stuff boy racers pay lot for when its not needed
the two 25 watt put in the front facing back at aslight angle up wards .the 40 watt at the rear facing up and a slight angle forward the car . if your after bass then if you have a traveller gut the wood and put the bigger ones straight into the foor this making the boot under the wood a big bass box ,or cut the holes under the rear seats in the metal yet again big bass box but for what you need i would just use if you can get them them old wedge shaped spaeker boxes for bothe front and rear ,thats waht im using then the 6 x 9 300 watt in the floor in boot ,
i hope this has helped you out if not email me ill draw you a goos pich

Post by **bigginger** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 11:36 pm

Hmm - not sure you're interested in Bass Bins and hole cutting in floors for speech based radio (!). I'd have said your best bet would be to scout out Halfords (or wherever) and just see what they've got going cheap, they seem to be doing a lot of JVC stuff at the mo for around (I think) the £40 mark, which is more than adequate and will have advice and instructions re. speakers with it. Ask them if you can have a look at the instructions before you buy, and see if it'll run 4 speakers OK. Don't believe a word the sales person says about audio kit, and that applies to Dixons, Richer sounds and any other high street outlet, RTFM! I've heard some astonishingly bad advice, and of occasion downright lies in those kind of places.

Post by **Cam** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 12:33 am

Virtually any radio/CD player will be fine and buy one according to your needs/budget.

Don't worry about series/parallel connection or anything else!! The radio/Cd player will have 2 or 4 speaker wire pairs labelled left and right and front and back (for the 4 speaker systems). Just connect a speaker to those wires. Car systems are 4 Ohm impedance and the radio/CD will be that and so should the speakers if they are out of cars.

Basically you can connect a 4000 watt system to a 4 watt speaker and it will be fine as long as you don't turn it up too much!

Just connect whichever speakers give you the best sound. Also bear in mind that the speakers work best when in a box (or pod) and not the cone lying on a shelf.

Post by **MrA.Series** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 10:47 am

So, what terminal on the regulator/fusebox should I use for a clean power free for a radio (positive earth car with positive earth equipment).

Post by **bigginger** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 11:59 am

Cam wrote:Virtually any radio/CD player will be fine and buy one according to your needs/budget.

Don't worry about series/parallel connection or anything else!! The radio/Cd player will have 2 or 4 speaker wire pairs labelled left and right and front and back (for the 4 speaker systems).

Agreed. I used the term 'resistance' instead of 'impedance', in an effort not to confuse, BTW. The issue only starts to matter when you're wiring up something like a 4x12 for a valve guitar amp with a set output impedance...

Post by **Onne** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 12:52 pm

MrA.Series wrote:So, what terminal on the regulator/fusebox should I use for a clean power free for a radio (positive earth car with positive earth equipment).

Isn't this a problem? Normal cars all being neg? I heard stories of radios blowing up

Post by **bigginger** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 1:52 pm

Yes. You'll need to convert to -ve earth.
a

Post by **Onne** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 2:20 pm

This would'have been obvious I guess. My car was converted during resto

Post by **Cam** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 4:26 pm

MrA.Series wrote:So, what terminal on the regulator/fusebox should I use for a clean power free for a radio (positive earth car with positive earth equipment).

Well, that depends on if you need the unit to be on with or without the ignition. A quick glance at the wiring diagram or a quick prod with the multimeter will set you straight!

Bigginger wrote:Agreed. I used the term 'resistance' instead of 'impedance', in an effort not to confuse, BTW. The issue only starts to matter when you're wiring up something like a 4x12 for a valve guitar amp with a set output impedance...

Sorry Andrew I was not being pedantic, it's just that I'm just more used to the term impedance as I work in communication systems research.

Impedance matching is straight forward generally as long as everything is labelled

Post by **bigginger** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 4:44 pm

Wasn't implying you were, don't worry - I thought quite hard about whether to use it or not, 'sall!

Post by **Cam** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 5:14 pm

Oh good. Didn't want you getting the wrong idea!

Post by **les** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 9:27 pm

Which is the best radio/single cd player for a Minor?

Possibly the Pioneer deh1600r

Post by **MrA.Series** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 11:28 am

Cam wrote:
MrA.Series wrote:So, what terminal on the regulator/fusebox should I use for a clean power free for a radio (positive earth car with positive earth equipment).
Well, that depends on if you need the unit to be on with or without the ignition. A quick glance at the wiring diagram or a quick prod with the multimeter will set you straight!

I'd like it to operate regardless of the ignition, but protected from huge currents, connecting it after the fusebox mabey? Where does everyone else tap a 'clean' feed from to run radios and such?

Post by **TerryG** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 1:33 pm

I have mine run from the top of the fuse box with an in-line 3a fuse. You could fit a 12v zenner diode (I’m sure somebody will correct my spelling) that will restrict voltage flow to 12v if that is what you are concerned about. I had a Kenwood head unit in my mog before I fitted an alternator (negative earth though) just wired in, no extra fuses or anything so that it had the pre-ignition feed to keep the radio presets and the post-ignition feed to make it turn on. All taken direct from the fuse box

Post by **millerman** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:52 pm

Thanks everyone for your replies with the minimum of jargon!

It seems all my speakers have an impedance of 4 ohms.

If anyone comes across a Volvo 340 then the speakers in the front doors have a wedge shape mount which can be easily removed to fit in the scuttle card under the glove box on a minor which will angle the speaker into the car interior.

After looking at prices of second hand car audio in the local Ad Trader it would seem the best to buy new, can anyone recommend a dealer who trades on the net?

Post by **les** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 9:09 pm

Car Audio Direct look ok, but have not had any dealings with them.

Post by **millerman** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 9:53 pm

To continue:
Have purchased JVC-KDS71R from www.audio66.com for £69-98 which seems a £30 saving over Halfords. Company has a telephone contact whereas Car Audio had no phone contact. Ordered 10.30pm 16 March and delivered 2.30pm 18 March so I was pleased with the service!
Question!
Neg and positive connections on speakers, which is which and how are they identified?
I know someone will have the answer!