So let's say you were buying a vehicle...

[greenflames10 0]

...and one of the main deciding factors was that it has to have a lot of potential for a very good sound stage. Probably something that a lot of you have thought about.

What would it be? SUV? Hatchback car? Small? Big? Medium? Oh and it has to be decently quick and cool looking, manual, and around $5.5K used.

Since my truck is so unreliable, I'm throwing in the towel and buying something else. Plus everyone who has a standard cab S-10 knows exactly how hard it is to get good sound going in it. I'm planning on doing barely anything on the outside save for some window tint, and doing a very clean, very stealthy install. No bling, no flair. No fancy speaker grilles or bright neons/LED's. A completely "sleeper" system that sounds really good.

Plans:

Front stage:

Either some eclipse components, DIY Dayton/ Audax 2-way upgradable to active 3-way later on down the line, or the Polk SR components

Rear fill:

Whatever coaxials match for the back, for fill purposes only. If oval speakers are anywhere in the car, i'm adapting round drivers to fit.

Source:

Eclipse CD4000 or my current pioneer premier 580mp

Amplification:

Eclipse XD4000 4 channel and XD1000 mono or polk 500.1 and 400.4 (any input on the 500.1 would be great, word on the street is that they're comparable to the JL 500/1)

Subwoofer(s):

Polk SR 10" ported in ~2 cubes tuned to 32Hz.

Deadening:

Sound deadening out the ass.

Wiring:

Big 3 upgrade if needed. Tsunami wiring, whatever gauge I deem necessary.

Any input on this is appreciated.

Edited May 14, 2007 by greenflames10

[JimJ 11]

A VW Beetle would be very, very hard to beat for pure staging potential...not sure if it meets your "decently quick" criteria, but it'd probably be faster than your S-10 stock

[greenflames10 0]

A VW Beetle would be very, very hard to beat for pure staging potential...not sure if it meets your "decently quick" criteria, but it'd probably be faster than your S-10 stock

Oh i know this firsthand... I got my ass handed to me by a turbo beetle, i'm not even gonna pretend like it didn't happen.

Somebody told me an older CRX is very good for staging also...which leads me to believe that hatchback compacts are the way to go. I'll be on the lookout. What about something like a 4th gen camaro/firebird? How would the angle of the back glass affect the bass response/imaging? Thanks for the help.

[dopey 0]

Look at station wagons. Usually lower cost used. Lots of space for multiple subs. Reasonably quick.

[JimJ 11]

If he's looking at a vehicle with staging a primary concern, I doubt where the substage goes is really important

Besides, new Beetles have enough room to stuff a sub up in the dash somewhere...which is ideal anyway.

[///M5 2,833]

An E34 BMW 535i would be a super reliable, fun to drive and just begs for a 3way diy front stage.

[dopey 0]

If he's looking at a vehicle with staging a primary concern, I doubt where the substage goes is really important

Besides, new Beetles have enough room to stuff a sub up in the dash somewhere...which is ideal anyway.

Having owned a new beetle, I would NOT own another one. It took the accident in stride, but there were so many near misses that it just scared me to have my wife in it everyday. People just don't pay attention to you in a bug. They cut you off, pull out in front of you, and are basically blind to you.

[audio-neon 34]

i really enjoyed the turbo beetle while i was in canada.