sceptre 0 Posted January 19, 2010 Hello I am working on as tight a budget as I can get away with and would like to produce a bassier cleaner sound. I want the car to appear normal but have the sound system of a chaved up saxo. My plan is to: a. buy a better radio with a built in amp (it must be cheap!!! and have a black, normal looking face) b. install some extra bassy speakers into the rear pillars c. install some extra bassy speakers into the front doors will this plan work? and does anyone know what I should be buying??? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrSarty 90 1 Cars Posted January 20, 2010 (edited) will this plan work? No. Go read some of the few threads in this ICE related section as you'll see that installation is the secret. There is no magic product or brand, and certainly not for peanuts. One make of speaker will really not make anymore bass in the same mounting hole as another, unless it handles a lot more power and you can put more power into it. Speakers that genuinely handle more power cost a lot more money, and you would have to upgrade the mountings to help them work properly. And real power comes from a separate amplifier, which is difficult to do on a budget too and requires some installation skills. THE way to make a real difference, is install a sub box/amp combo in the boot, turn the 'loudness' circuit/function off on your new head unit, and either carry on with the OE speakers or install some £50 upgrades. That's the simple answer to your question. Put a sub box with amp in. The Saxo chav sound can however be achieved by some 6x9 speakers in a decent MDF parcel shelf, although it won't be as good as a proper sub box system. Edited January 20, 2010 by DrSarty Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Simes 248 2 Cars Posted January 20, 2010 In summary Replace door speakers for better ones - drive them with an amp Sub box and amp in the rear. Get the best head unit you can afford. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chrisj21 2 Posted January 20, 2010 (edited) This is a very good read. Click Also i'll just ad, you have to carefull with the speakers you can have behind the original speaker grilles as i have found out recently, don't buy anything the protrudes to much as you won't get the grilles back on. Chris Edited January 20, 2010 by chrisj21 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr_exe 1 Posted January 20, 2010 In experience the sound system of a chavved up saxo is lots of distortion, the sound of rattling plastic trim and the most awful s*ite polluting the locality. All done with a ripspeed head unit with 1.5inch tv screen. Most importantly don't forget the Alpine graphic in the back window. Seriously i've found a good head unit (quality not gimmicks being the key) with front a rear pre-outs, driving a good 4 channel amp, driving a pair of front speakers, and the two other channels driving a sub plenty good enough. If you can't afford to do it all at one go then don't worry and buy a bit at a time when funds allow rather than buying a lot of poor quality stuff in one go. Also pay attention to the wiring and use the best quality cabling you can. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sceptre 0 Posted January 23, 2010 Cheers guys for all your responses! Ok well I don't have much money at all so I set myself a budget of £40 and started looking for a decent set of 6x9s. But I stumbled on the a great ebay find and just won it for £10!!! Its 2 kenwood 6976 6x9s mounted into a professional acoustic 205 parcel shelf with an acoustic stealth cloth so the speakers are not visible from the top of the shelf! I'd been looking at these acoustic shelves and they are at least £50 each brand new and the speakers are plenty good enough to make a nicer sound. I'm really really happy with this ebay win, please feel free to tell me if its s*ite Ok next question for you guys, and this really shows how little knowledge I have on sound systems! Should I keep the rear speakers attached rather than just taking their wires and plugging them into the new ones? What are my options for wiring these new speakers??? I don't really want to rip my car up to get the new wires in? Could I split the wires at the back??? Thanks again for all your replies so far!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Masekwm 2 Posted January 23, 2010 Halfords are selling off their speaker cable for £1 a metre, go and buy loads and save yourself a lot of money Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boombang 2 Posted January 23, 2010 If you want a good head unit but not bothered about iPod, I've got an Alpine CD MP3 unit that was very high end a few years back but pre-dates the aux input / iPod cable of newer units. Has a far better internal amp than most too, will happily drive a set of components off it. Give me a PM if interested and I'll get more details. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sceptre 0 Posted January 26, 2010 OK, so now what it appears I need is the cheapest high wattage head unit possible!!! Anyone know of any units or brands to watch out for??? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrSarty 90 1 Cars Posted January 26, 2010 OK, so now what it appears I need is the cheapest high wattage head unit possible!!! Anyone know of any units or brands to watch out for??? If you buy cheap you'll get crap. Spending about 100quid will get you an MP3 compatible (possibly iPod too) head unit with enough power for your needs. This is for a new unit of a recognised brand such as Sony or Kenwood. Naturally, you may be able to find one second hand for less. High numbers is NOT always best. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sceptre 0 Posted January 26, 2010 High numbers is NOT always best. Ah... see I've just been looking at the cheapest 4x50Watt units, I've found one for £35 which I am very tempted by. To be honest I don't care too much about whether its cassette/cd/radio/mp3/auxin/dvd. The one I have now is just cassette, CD would be appreciated but not required. I may end up buying one of these gay plasticy silvery things and end up having to paint it black myself!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boombang 2 Posted January 26, 2010 Hi, invisible Boombang posting here. This is the unit I have http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews7385.html Wouldn't be after stupid money for it either - £50 plus postage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Veero 1 Posted January 26, 2010 My 205 is so noisy and rattly I can't see the point in spending big ££ on a stereo (or install if I'm being trendy). I am running an Alpine iPod control HU with some bog Sony speakers and for me it's fine but an audiophile might get into the car and start criticising things straight off. Now whilst I do like my clear music (all my MP3 rips are the highest bitrate the software will do) the 205 is hardly a symphony hall, I can appreciate some people can justify spending lots of money on their ICE (what an effing gay acronym) I just can't. To be honest you could get reasonable sound from a middle of the road headunit, but I would expect for £35-60 new you are going to end up with a s*itter, maybe even with dancing blue flashing lights and 'Ripspeed' printed on it somewhere. At least fork out on a semi-decent headunit at the very minimum. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GLPoomobile 958 Posted January 26, 2010 All I've managed to learn from this topic is how to play crap quality sounds as loud as possible Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sceptre 0 Posted January 26, 2010 All I've managed to learn from this topic is how to play crap quality sounds as loud as possible Haha totally what I'm attempting to achieve. Argh Oh NO! The acoustic parcel shelf just arrived and it doesnt have the bits that stick out at the back of the shelf to sit it into the mountings! Haha plus it weighs a ton. The boot lid will never stay up on its own now!!! So ok, i've set a budget for the unit, £30 and I want at least 4x45! Any help. (I know the volume nob will fall off the first time I go over a bump and the quality will be s*it) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrSarty 90 1 Cars Posted January 26, 2010 (edited) FFS Sceptre, go shopping for yourself and look! And did you expect a medium density fibreboard (MDF) shelf to be light? You've had some good advice in here; please take it. Boomer (Alex): I'll have your head unit matey. PM me details and we'll do it. Edited January 26, 2010 by DrSarty Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sceptre 0 Posted January 28, 2010 OK more serious question now: Does anyone have an audio wiring diagram for a 205 WITH REAR SPEAKERS??? My haynes only has it with the two door speakers. All I need to know is the wire numbers for the two original rear speakers!!! I'm trying to work out which is positive and which is negative without removing the rear speakers! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paul_13 212 1 Cars Posted January 28, 2010 (edited) Does it matter for the +ve/-ve on speakers, in my experience they have always worked either way I plug them in. Have a look on the main site: Here Then click on articles on the top toolbar, then scroll down to basic 205 ICE installation. It shows where the rear speakers are. Edited January 28, 2010 by Paul_13 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lan 24 1 Cars Posted January 28, 2010 OK more serious question now: Does anyone have an audio wiring diagram for a 205 WITH REAR SPEAKERS??? My haynes only has it with the two door speakers. All I need to know is the wire numbers for the two original rear speakers!!! I'm trying to work out which is positive and which is negative without removing the rear speakers! honestly, you really shouldn't need a wiring diag to work out that (no offence) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lan 24 1 Cars Posted January 28, 2010 Does it matter for speakers, in my experience they have always work either way I plug them. yeah reverse polarity makes the sound all wrong, especially in the case of a decent home setup Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
richsmells 2 Posted January 28, 2010 Does it matter for the +ve/-ve on speakers, in my experience they have always worked either way I plug them in. Yes, they'll be out of phase if not! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paul_13 212 1 Cars Posted January 28, 2010 Oops! I was wrong Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chuckyd 0 Posted February 3, 2010 red pos black neg? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrSarty 90 1 Cars Posted February 3, 2010 red pos black neg? Most likely yes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
