Need Advice on 3way setup

[audiophyle_247 2]

Vehicle is a 00 Audi S4.

Front doors have a 1" tweeter up top next to the door handle, and a 4" speaker down low near the base.

Rear doors have a 6.5" speaker at the base, & no tweeter.

I am considering the Focal 165A3 3way component setup. Found Here

(Or any other recommendations around that price)

This would perfectly replace the worthless Bose speakers that are near death, as they are the same exact sizes.

My concern is having the 6.5" of the 3way in the rear doors, an integral part of the system opposed to being just rear fill. The car is not very big, and my front seats are generally always back all the way (I'm tall).

This basically puts them down almost right below my ears, not really that far behind me. I am aware that lower freq is more omnidirectional,

but am unsure what freq this begins to become noticeable, and if it would be in this location.

I am not a die hard SQ junky, but pretty close for the most part.

Looking for advice on if I should go this route, or feedback from anyone who has done a similar setup spread between the front & rear doors.

[Sir-Lancelot 216]

I would vote no on the midbass in the rear.

Do you have any room in the front door? Maybe even in the kick.

[Julian 641]

We're having a Group Buy on our SSA store for Bravox and Bravox is supposed to be the Brazilian Focal. Bravox Group Buy CS603CF for $509 great price.

[audiophyle_247 2]

Too bad that ended today @ noon, those are some killer prices!

I would vote no on the midbass in the rear.

Do you have any room in the front door? Maybe even in the kick.

Any reason on the vote for "no"?

Not mine, but this is what the panels look like.

There is no room on the door without a lot of custom work, and I dont have the time for any large projects.

[Kanaworm$ 292]

Have you thought about going with a larger mid driver in a 2-way set up?

[j-roadtatts 1,129]

Does the 6.5 Bose play fullrange or midbass?

Are you going to run passive or active?

[REVpuggie 23]

consider something like this : doorboard Audi A4

stuff like that can be found in the parts where i live like here : audioshop

you could also look for the doorboard fabricators : Jehnert , Poket or PM .

[audiophyle_247 2]

The door has no inner door skin, and the speakers mount to the door panels. The largest I can fit with minor modification (zero exterior panel mod) is a 5.25", which I have considered. I worry though, because having the larger woofer I will need to space it back farther from the grill, whereas a 4" could be mounted right up tight to the grill which I believe would color the sound less. These door panels are very solid, they ARE the sound insulation from road noise and this car is the quietest inside that I have ever owned.

The rear 6.5's in the Bose is more midbass than full range, but does play kind of high. There are some vocals, but very little.

With the fader forward a little & the higher frequencies eq'd out in the rear (hidden within the oem radio), the staging is actually pretty good with a solid lower end.

This is what gave me the idea with the 3ways. As it is there is a decent amount of overlap between the fronts & rears, and I can kind of fix it with the eq, with an actual 3way there should be much less overlap, and when setup actively I should be able to tune that Xover point low enough that the staging is not negatively impacted. Or so I believe.

I am just unsure what will happen with better speakers, because the Bose system does weird things. Even though I can get these to sound pretty decent this way, there is no guarantee better speakers will have the same result.

I recently picked up a PG ti900.7 amp, and plan to eventually run everything actively. The setup above would be great since I could use the Xover right away & switch to active when I can. I have a carPC I will be installing soon enough, and am still learning what my best option would be for achieving active control.

But that is another topic.

Bassmaster, Is that just a board wrapped & mounted to the door panel? What about the pocket along the bottom that runs behind the board? It looks like a large chunk of the door would need to be cut out for the woofer. Interesting idea, and it does look pretty cool.

I am more than capable to make custom pods or even modify the door panel to be exactly what I want, but with school & work I have absolutely zero free time right now, and what little I do have I prefer to spend with my 6mo old son. Eventually I will, but for now (& while the car sits at school for long periods of time) I want to keep things as stealth & oem looking as possible.

[///M5 2,833]

This would perfectly replace the worthless Bose speakers that are near death, as they are the same exact sizes.

My concern is having the 6.5" of the 3way in the rear doors, an integral part of the system opposed to being just rear fill. The car is not very big, and my front seats are generally always back all the way (I'm tall).

This basically puts them down almost right below my ears, not really that far behind me. I am aware that lower freq is more omnidirectional,

but am unsure what freq this begins to become noticeable, and if it would be in this location.

I am not a die hard SQ junky, but pretty close for the most part.

Looking for advice on if I should go this route, or feedback from anyone who has done a similar setup spread between the front & rear doors.

Definitely NOT a good idea. It will completely defeat the purpose of a 3 way, you should find a way to get everything up front.

[///M5 2,833]

The door has no inner door skin, and the speakers mount to the door panels. The largest I can fit with minor modification (zero exterior panel mod) is a 5.25", which I have considered. I worry though, because having the larger woofer I will need to space it back farther from the grill, whereas a 4" could be mounted right up tight to the grill which I believe would color the sound less. These door panels are very solid, they ARE the sound insulation from road noise and this car is the quietest inside that I have ever owned.

The rear 6.5's in the Bose is more midbass than full range, but does play kind of high. There are some vocals, but very little.

With the fader forward a little & the higher frequencies eq'd out in the rear (hidden within the oem radio), the staging is actually pretty good with a solid lower end.

This is what gave me the idea with the 3ways. As it is there is a decent amount of overlap between the fronts & rears, and I can kind of fix it with the eq, with an actual 3way there should be much less overlap, and when setup actively I should be able to tune that Xover point low enough that the staging is not negatively impacted. Or so I believe.

I am just unsure what will happen with better speakers, because the Bose system does weird things. Even though I can get these to sound pretty decent this way, there is no guarantee better speakers will have the same result.

I recently picked up a PG ti900.7 amp, and plan to eventually run everything actively. The setup above would be great since I could use the Xover right away & switch to active when I can. I have a carPC I will be installing soon enough, and am still learning what my best option would be for achieving active control.

But that is another topic.

Bassmaster, Is that just a board wrapped & mounted to the door panel? What about the pocket along the bottom that runs behind the board? It looks like a large chunk of the door would need to be cut out for the woofer. Interesting idea, and it does look pretty cool.

I am more than capable to make custom pods or even modify the door panel to be exactly what I want, but with school & work I have absolutely zero free time right now, and what little I do have I prefer to spend with my 6mo old son. Eventually I will, but for now (& while the car sits at school for long periods of time) I want to keep things as stealth & oem looking as possible.

The S4 is not quiet. I've driven a few of them as an RS4 is on my laundry lists of things that I might pick up in the next few months.

If you are going to run active DO NOT buy an off the shelf component set, no need to make the compromises associated with them. On top of that, personally I think that Focal set sounds like something that costs 1/10th of what they charge.

Mounting to the door card isn't a good idea, no matter how stiff you think they are. (they aren't btw) Instead you either need to get into that car and really do some work or get ready to not really improve what you already have. I'll be the first to say I don't really like the Bose system in there, but at the same time they spent a lot of time and engineering work to maximize its effectiveness in its install which to beat means you need to improve the install more than anything. If you aren't willing to build baffles, cut the door card and so on I wouldn't really expect much of a gain.

Although I'd agree on spending time with your 6mo old son.

I have a question for you. I am 6'7" and fit in the RS4 easily, but also have a toddler (15mo). How does the car seat fit behind you?

[Notorious97200 339]

Don't bother yourself with a 3 way set up.

Try to install a 5.25" comonent set correctly. It is not too hard to make some "spacer rings" (is that the good word ? lol) for the speaker.

Use some deadening material for that door and a good set of speakers.

If you want to go active forget the component set, and look for a pair of 5.25 mids and a pair of tweeters. It will be more than enough for you.

The Focal CA series are not so good speakers for the high price you will pay. Unless you go at least for the K series, forget Focal.

The Bravox deal has ended, sure ? Ask the ssa store.

Listen to M5 : he knows his sh...!

[audiophyle_247 2]

I will probably steer away from the 3ways then, as I dont have the real estate available. 5.25" 2way will have to work.

& I know ///m5 knows his ish, I pm'd him asking for his advice.

The S4 is not quiet. I've driven a few of them as an RS4 is on my laundry lists of things that I might pick up in the next few months.

If you are going to run active DO NOT buy an off the shelf component set, no need to make the compromises associated with them. On top of that, personally I think that Focal set sounds like something that costs 1/10th of what they charge.

Mounting to the door card isn't a good idea, no matter how stiff you think they are. (they aren't btw) Instead you either need to get into that car and really do some work or get ready to not really improve what you already have. I'll be the first to say I don't really like the Bose system in there, but at the same time they spent a lot of time and engineering work to maximize its effectiveness in its install which to beat means you need to improve the install more than anything. If you aren't willing to build baffles, cut the door card and so on I wouldn't really expect much of a gain.

Although I'd agree on spending time with your 6mo old son.

I have a question for you. I am 6'7" and fit in the RS4 easily, but also have a toddler (15mo). How does the car seat fit behind you?

Its the "quietest" car inside Ive ever owned, and compared to my last it is pretty damn quiet for me. lol

The Bose system is mediocre at best, and worse now that the speakers are old.

The entire door frame is open, and parts of the door card actually push into the door cavity. I will have to really look around, but I dont think I can build a baffle across the door frame (even localized to only where the woofer will be) and still get the door card to attach right. I am pretty sure I will have to end up reinforcing the door card, or build panels onto the door card. I will look around for my own components, forgetting the Focals.

How does the car seat fit behind me? Easily, it doesnt. lol

I have my son in a rear facing car seat, and its huge. He sits on the pass side & the front seat is pretty far forward. It doesnt affect my comfort at all, but anyone over 6' wont fit comfortably in the pass seat.

Once I can go with a forward facing seat it shouldnt be much of an issue anymore.

[///M5 2,833]

The S4 was the "noisiest" car I have driven that I am looking at. Of course, I am only looking at high-end cars so that threshold is still rather high. Either way, its a great car

I haven't pulled the door on one, nor seen a major install. Without really seeing the inside of the cavity it is tough to determine really what you can and cannot do. Have you found any pictures online of anyone who has done anything to one? The A4 should be the same as well and someone has to have put something at least in one of those. As you know, I hate to give generic solutions when something specific would be more appropriate. Knowing really what we could fit would really help.

Bummer on the car seat, I sort of figured. It is the smallest vehicle I am considering and you pretty much just summed up and confirmed my concern. I need a family car that is still fun. That could have meant keeping the 1991, but I have a really hard time doing anything to possibly mar that car in anyway and a babyseat is a quick way of helping that happen.