Total Number Of Speakers Running = Ideal Setup
 

Hello,

Ok, I've heard arguments FOR and AGAINST the following 2 theories in regards to: The ideal speaker set-up for the Blazer -->

1. Replacing all factory speakers is ideal - more speakers = better sound DUH!

2. Too many speakers can actually hurt the overall sound quality. 2 of the speakers should be removed - for good.

I know that the factory speaker set up (excluding my sub, listed last) is as follows (2003 model):

Front:

Dash - 4x6 (2)
Door - 6.5 (2)

Rear:

Side Panel - 6x9 (2)
Cargo - 12" Sub (1)

Currently, the only factory speakers that have not been replaced are the two 6.5" door speakers. Should I just take out the 6.5's/unplug them? Or should I have replaced those first, followed by removing the factory 6x9's altogether??

In your opinion, what is the ideal # of speakers needed for the Blazer? So far, I am in the "Replace All" camp, but not by a big margin, by any means. My setup sounds fine now, with all speakers running, including the two factory 6.5's in the doors. I'm thinking, replacing those will almost be like the "finishing touch" in the audio dept. for me :D

Thoughts?

Ideal speakers from experance consist of; a componant 6 1/2 kit, mids mounted in the stock door location with at least sound dampning around the baffle pieces; tweeters mounted in dash either aimed at driver or aimed at windshield (trial for phase) and lastly a 12 inch woofer. If you are under 20 yearsof age add two more woffers.

Those proponants of multiple speakers either dont hear very well or like to impress the uninformed. Or they have spent about three months with a pulse generator and FFT software.

Thats one more vote for the less = better debate!

*sigh*

But you do make valid points. Luckily, i didnt get very high quality 6x9s, so wont be an issue...

Thanks

I wouldnt call that luck. Yup worst of both worlds.

Music was made to be listened to in front of you.
So adding speakers to the rear (anything but a sub for bass) is useless.
Get yourself a good set of components and an amp to power them and enjoy the music.

if you have people riding in the back seat often, You CAN leave those speakers in, and hooked up, just change the fading on the deck.

Sooooo.....overall census here is to:


take out the rear 6x9s, and replace the door speakers, correct??


If anyone gets bored enough, feel free to post any suggestions on what brand/model of 6.5s I should be considering....


Thansks a bunch! lol


:icon_party:

Well that depends.... price limit.... do you want to run an amp? (suggest it)
a bit more into it than just slapping some speakers into the stock locations and expecting something amazing.

component 6.5s in the front with an amp is best IMO. front stage only, then your sub stage can be set up based on taste. Mines loud, LOL

Infinity Kappa with Alpine amp is what I chose. Put the xovers in the kick panels. Took a little while to get the tweeters phased correctly. With a JL 13 flat sub and another Alpine amp. Good price/performance ratio.

Ha! I'm a guitar player in a band, 99% of the music comes from behind me!

Seriously, music should immerse you, surround you completely. So I'm all for 2 in dash, 4 in the doors, and sub in the rear.

How often does your band play in a blazer?

Properly done the music WILL immerse you with only a pair of stereo speakers. Multiple sources for the music to come from all in different locations aiming in different directions only degrades from that and is a proven fact.

To get that kind of quality from the speakers does require forethought, planning and more often than not a fair deal of custom fabrication to get the proper placement, axial response, etc. and then there's choosing the proper speakers to use for the proper application along with the processing necessary to make it all work like it should.

That being said it's more than most people are willing to put into their sound system but luckily a happy medium can usually be had without nearly so much money or work to complete. The use of proper sound deadening materials, solid baffles to which the woofers should mount, proper placement and phase alignment of the tweeters, active crossovers, EQ and digital time alignment can do miracles for most component sets that are out there. With the installation done right a $100 set of components can sound better than an $800 set that's just tossed into the factory locations with no regard to the quality of the installation itself.

A decent set of components, a moderately rated external amplifier, some solid baffles, a little sound deadening and some creative work with the tweeters can go a LONG way to making great sounding front stage. If you really want to get great sound with a little more elbow grease and a few extra items you can buy separate speakers for a fraction of the cost of components, add some good processing power and a great installation and people would think you spent over a grand on your speaker system. It all comes down to how much work you can/are willing to do and how much money you can/are willing to spend and just how important getting the perfect sound (to you) is.

For example I'm much more of a SQ nut than most. I'm working on rebuilding my front stage right now utilizing 3" full range drivers aimed on axis with 8" dedicated midbass in the doors and my 10" sub in the rear. The testing I've done so far with this type of setup has yielded sound quality that leaves everyone I've showed it off to so far speechless. They find reason after reason to try song after song and afterwards I get comments on how they are hearing every nuance and little detail in the music, how the sound stage seems to encompass them and how clear it is when it's pushed to their listening limits. All that with some cheap 6.5" woofers and some $13 full range speakers on a $150 HU that has the processing power to make it work and a few small amps. When I'm done with it though it will (hopefully) be a masterpiece of SQ, at least how I like listening to it.

Lol...

The point he was trying to make (im guessing) is that when you set it up in this fashion, it actually sounds as if the band is playing in his blazer, which seems to make sense.

Great post altoncustomtech. A couple questions:

When you mention sound deadening, what are baffles exactly? Padding/foam that is sandwiched between the speaker and box maybe??

Also, do you have the two 8" midbass speakers located in the rear, where the 6x9s are originally?? Either way more detail would be much appreciated!

Thanks again. You basically answered any questions i had and i'm not confused anymore!

No not exactly Haters. I was poking fun at a professional musican. Mostly that his performance is intended for his audiance and not personal consumption. When I see musicians in their personal space they are facing each other. Again thats why the mixing console is in the audiance.

But to respond directly to your post above, there are two schools of thought. The first is 'they are here' vs 'you are there'. I subscribe to the latter. Pretty hard to get a concet grand in the back of the Blazer. Maybe I need a roof basket.

Sound deadening is a system of materials used to help eliminate resonances, rattles, and to help block outside noises. I could explain it all here however that would take a lot of time and reading. I would suggest visiting Sound Deadener Showdown because all the best information on the subject can be found there.

A baffle is simply the surface/panel that a speaker is mounted to. A flimsy/flexible baffle is bad for quality music reproduction. It can cause resonances, distortions, color the sound and affects the output due to the loss of acoustic energy. Solid baffles help give stronger bass output and clean up the midrange.

Here's an example of the factory baffle in our trucks.

https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1389505159


Here's a picture of the heavy duty custom baffles I built for the components in my '01 Jimmy

https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1389505159


The 8" dedicated midbasses will be installed in the factory locations in new baffles mounted to the front doors. While there are 6x9's in the rear of my truck they're not used or even hooked up and never will be while I own it.

The 3" full range speakers will play from about 250hz on up giving a single point source for the majority of frequencies. They will be installed in custom fiberglass pods that will be mounted to the sail panels of the door panel and aimed directly on axis, or simply directly at the driver (me).

The 8" dedicated midbasses will play from about 300hz down to 60hz. Those frequencies are not directional and with the proper processing (EQ, digital time alignment,etc.) it will sound as though the bass is coming from the 3"ers.

Lastly the 10" sub will handle from 60hz down. I've been playing with this setup for several weeks now with the 3"ers mounted in temporary enclosures and using the mids from my component set as the dedicated midbasses for now with spectacular results. My music has never sounded so full and alive. I really can't wait to try out the better 3"ers I bought and feel just how awesome the 8's do with the midbasses duties.

@Alton: The stock baffels have an angled front and your mdf baffels dont. How do you compensate? How is the door panel angled?

Thanks for the detailed explanation. So you are putting 8" speakers in the doors, correct?? Sounds like it will be a very nice system once complete. Make sure to keep peeps updated!

LeWhite, the angle on the factory baffle is for it to "mate" up close to the factory grill on the door card. With the grill cut out of the door card and the baffle going through it there's no NEED for it to have any angles. I did install them with a thick weatherstrip foam under them and it accomplishes two things. First it helps to decouple the baffle from the sheet metal to help with resonances. Second it let me fidget with the angle ever so slightly to make sure the baffle was just right for the door card to go back on.

CB4H, yeah there will be 8" drivers in the doors when it's done. YW for the detailed explanation and thanks I'm hoping it turns out as good as the goals I've set for it.

Are the 3"full range Fosdex by chance?
How much furthur out are the 8" than the 6.5"? There is a window track back there.
Man those are BIG bolts in the baffel!

Actually the 3"ers are Founteks. The FE85 was the first ones I got for testing and they're amazing. I have a pair of the FR89EX's for the permanent installation. I know a guy who used some of the Fostex 3"ers in his Honda and really likes them. I tried the Founteks because they were easier to find and get my hands on.

When the 8's are installed they won't be sticking out any farther than the 6.5's. I'm going to use the same style three layers of 3/4" MDF to build the baffle for the 8's. Yes the window track is back there but won't be any issue for the way I'm going to be doing this. There's room for the 8 to fit between the front of the door card and the pocket with minimal cutting needed, only around the circumference of the rings for the baffle. I will be posting up every step of how I do it in the build log. I could post it here in the audio section as well if you think people would like to get an idea of how to do that task. If you think fitting the baffles for 8's is a trick wait until you see how I build .45cuft (estimated) ported enclosures in the doors. :D

The bolts are either 5/16" or 3/8", I can't remember which now without looking. They might be a little overkill for the job but that's a very small bit of extra money to spend for the peace of mind knowing I will NEVER have any issues with the hardware that's mounting the baffles, lol.