VH_COMMODORE
Cool!!, i finally got to my car after all of the rest, now this baby
i know like the back of my hand(not that i've ever studied my hand that
much, but you know what i mean). She is an '81 VH, 3.3litre(engine modified
slightly) , metalic green in colour, thick green interior. The interior
and the paint were really the only reason i bought her, the original engine
was pretty dead, and the fact that it was a 2.8litre didnt help any. So
i chucked in a 3.3litre, weber carb, bigger cam, valves, lifters, torque
converter, extractors, 2 and a 1/4 exhaust. Anyway, onto the music.
Originally the car only had the original A.M radio, with a pair of
ten watt 6X6's in the parcel shelf. And i have no idea what the piece of
crap speaker in the dash was(it looked to be about 6X2"?), but it didnt
take long to pretty much destroy it totally.
The Head Unit
Click
HERE for a larger pic.
The head unit is a KenwoodKRC-332, its nothing too flash but it does the
job pretty well. It comes with most of the standard features available, like the
treble and bass boost, balance left and right channel, tape player features like noise
reduction, auto reverse and stuff like that, nothing too fancy at all.
It has a maximum output power of 35watts x 4channels, the bass
only goes as low as about 100Hz, and the treble is about 10kHz max output.
The operating voltage is 14.4volts(it will operate between 11-16volts
too).
With a detachable face, anti theft frame, and the rest of the system,
i have no reason at the present time to even think about a new head unit.
One drawback i can give though, is the fact it only has 1 set of RCA output
jacks, but a pair of Stinger spliters fixed that problem quick smart.
The C.D Player
The C.D player is also Kenwood,
it holds 10 C.D's (10stack) in the magazine maximum. I got it second hand,
dirt cheap off my brother ( thanks brother!! ) when he got his new head
unit C.D player. Apart from the picture and the model number, i cant really
tell you any more about it.
The Front Speakers
Click HERE for a larger pic.
At the front of the car i have a pair of Impulse Kicker 6.2i splits, they were
cheap, and all i could afford at the time, but they certainly do the job of filling
my cabin with crisp clear sound waves. They perform really well for the price i got
them for, am i am not thinking of updating them until they cause me any trouble.
The tweeters found a snuggly little home in the airvents, and the woofers fit
sweetly in the kick panels. Their peak power is rated at 150watts, i would like to
have some rated a little higher, but they are doing a great job at the moment.
The crossovers sit under the carpet under the front passenger seat at the moment,
just until i find a good place to put them where they are easily accessed.
The Rear Speakers
THE SUBWOOFERS
Click HERE for a larger pic.
Probably the most fun speaker of them,
all is the "subwoofer", it gives the most hearable (and feelable for that matter)
difference in volume you can get. Subs give your music the body its usually lacking
in most systems without them.
For those who dont know what they are or do, they give out a really low bass sound,
usually between 20Hz-150Hz(20Hz is about the cut off for human hearing). I'm sure
you would seen a car drive past you with a deep booming sound coming from within, the
car itself nearly bouncing with the music, the number plate furiously shaking like its
a highrise building in L.A during its 10+earthquake its predicted to get, the driver
making use of the flashing lights on police and other emergency vehicles(there is
no way the driver would hear the siren over the royal rumble coming from within
their vehicle). These are the people who have a subwoffer or two. I dont want you
to think the only reason to get a subwoofer is to attract attention, these people
who you see in their nearly bouncing cars are being quite inconsiderate to others,
sometimes it cant be helped(because bass that low goes straight through everything),
but dont go out to buy a sub for others to listen too, you are getting it for YOU!!
to listen to. Subs are also great for literally overpowering the subsonic road noise
you cant stand. Take heed though, you will soon find out where you cars interior and
exterior trims and stuff arn't too secure, basically anything that isnt secure, will
rattle with a subwoofer.
Anyway.....I have tried a few combinations with subwoofers, i had a ported box with a
10inch sub at first, then i had the ports extended up into the parcel shelf. After that
i had one behind the arm rest in my back seat, then i had three behind the backseat,
then i had three in a sealed box, the different responses to bass were amazing in the different positions. Finally i
made my current bass maker, i have two Earthquake HP12's in a sealed box, each has its own
chamber with about 2cubicfeet of air in each. The subs themselves have a rubber surround
which is a lot stronger, and longer lasting than the foam tpye material used in some.
Note: If you are planning to go into sound off's, get the foam stuff, you usually get a
higher SPL(Sound Pressure Level) outta them, they will probably be stuffed at the end of the day though).
The subs are rated at 300watts RMS each and are 12inches in diameter(hence hp-12's).
The following shots were my first attempt at getting good bass.(the film was crossed processed tranny, so the colour and contrast is wild)
Click HERE for a larger pic.
THE REAR 3WAY SPEAKERS
Also at the back i have a pair of 6x9" JVC 3way speakers, i was a bit hesistant at first
by the brand, i though what do JVC(who make video players) know about speakers for a car,
but boy was i wrong. These babies really crank, the bass they produce is outstanding for a 3way
speaker, the distortion is pretty much non existant,they mid and high range output are a credit to JVC
and the best thing of all is that they were quite cheap to buy. I really though i was getting jibbed
when the dude said these are good, i though it was one of those "what you really need is a johnson speaker",
(johnson=just to make a sale), but to my surprise they are really good. Their max rated input is about 150watts,
not that i need to feed them that much though.
Amplifiers
The most expensive and probably the most important piece of car audio equipment you are likely to purchase, although you can
get some amps pretty cheap, they are likely to be very low power outputting chunks of metal. One good guide is if they
are in a locked glass case, or under the counter, basically anywhere where suspicious looking, long haired hoods cant
get their wandering hands on them without asking, the pile of amps stacked close to the door are for these guys, the amps
themselves usually look ok, they have a huge power rating, and are cheap as chips, but if
something looks too good to be true it usually is, and in this case it certainly is.
These amps are usually....well....crap!!!, they give out nowhere near the power the say, the components inside are
usually of dubious quality, and the manufacturer's details are somewhat vague(if there are any details given at all).
Basically these are for the impulse buyers, theives, and they make a good destraction for ram raiders. Basically what i am
saying is you get what you pay for, dont go out and pay heaps for speakers and a head unit and them skimp when it comes to
the amp.
Amps come with numerous features, some have 2channels, some have 4channels, you can get ones with 8 channels even. Most come with
some sort of crossover or filter, and other cool stuff to play around with to get a sound the way you like it.
Click HERE for a larger pic.
At the moment i am running a Pheonix Gold QX2350 2channel amp to my subwoofers. It has all the usual
stuff you find on most amps around, its got built-in crossovers, an adjustable Bass boost +15dB, overload and protection
circuitry, and it cames with 24Kt gold plated connectors. The amp itself is very swish looking, and i packs a good punch
powerwise. Its not the most powerful you can get but sometimes the most powerful isnt the best choice depending on the other
components in the system, you dont want the bass to drown out all your other speakers is what i'm saying. This amp has made
me a very happy music listener, it has just the right amount of power for my system, it looks great with its chrome
finish, and it didnt cost the earth to buy.
(p.s it was one of the ones locked up in the glass case)
Capactitor
Click HERE for a larger pic.
A Capacitor is sort of like another battery, it is connected between the amp and the battery and stores power from the battery.
Its a lot better than the battery for supplying power to to amp because it is designed to draw and store power very quickly,
that power can be easily and very quickly discharged or recharged. Basically a car battery is not designed to run a big
sterio system that draws a lot of power, it is really only for starting the car. Sometimes your amplifiers cannot draw
enough current to output the max power load they are designed for, resulting from this is a drop in power to your speakers,
hence volume drop. Sometimes the drop is not noticeable, depending on the music you listen too, or the amount of amps you have
running. Music with heaps of bass requires a lot of power to be fed to the amp and onto the subs, a normal car battery simply cannot
supply this current needed for any length of time, here is where a capacitor is needed. A capacitor can(at a guess) fully
discharge and recharge in about 1/1000 of a second, meaning that your subs wont start to die if the beat picks up or the
bass kick in for a long period.
The capacitor i am running is a half farrod capacitor, you can get 1 farrod capacitors if you really need heaps of power
constantly supplied to the speakers.
WANRING!!!!....Just a bit of a warning, if you are connecting up a capacitor, please make sure you know how to do it right!,
these things can go BOOM!!!! literally, if they are hooked up wrong. So talk to a tech dude or your local installer about how to do it.
BELOW IS A ROUGH DRAWING OF MY SYSTEM(SORRY THE WRITING IS BRIGHT GREEN, I STUFFED UP.....P.S THE BLUE AND YELLOW LINES ARE RCA PLUGS).
