Decent sound quality sound set up without amplifier, possible?

**palonmar** · June 21st, 2014 03:48 AM

I'm planning to make DIY project for my wife's 2013 Hyundai Accent sedan to improve it's sound quality. For the set-up, my plan is not to put more additional weight like amplifiers, sub woofer etc. Just a simple upgrade to good quality 2 DIN Head Unit and nice sounding separates. It has 4 stock speakers installed on four doors, which I don't know the size, maybe 4 incher only. I want a Sound Quality set up for that car and good sounding bass . I don't want to shell out more than 40K for that, is this possible? Please Help...

**red_one** · June 21st, 2014 09:26 AM

start with a 2DIN HU and separates for the front. you can keep the rear speakers. assuming Pioneer 2DIN HU + Pioneer 6.5" separates, you will spend around P20k including installation na.

some brands are more expensive than others so if you go with an exotic brand, expect to pay more.

since this is for wife's car, is she really into audio? if current sound setup is decent enough for her, why upgrade? unless you also use her car regularly.

**palonmar** · June 22nd, 2014 01:52 AM

My wife is I can say is into audio already siguro kasi nahawa na rin sakin coz I'm a bit an audiophile. Even at home, I used to build my own sound system and not buying the whole package. Even my car sound set up was done by myself for LnC purposes. Because her car got only stock components, sound is too basic and lacking. Parang kapag nasanay ka nang manood ng mga high definition videos in Full HD screen, hahahanap-hanapin mo and you would not want watching less than that. I would like to set up her car sound system in a simple way and looks stock inside since she used to be listening RnB's, Pop etc. I have not tried installing without any amplifier and other add ons, will it suffice?

I'm eyeing to buy a 2 DIN Pioneer Model: AVHX5500BHS with 50Wx4 RMS here in abroad or kung meron satin at mas mura, dyan na lang ako bibili. May mga features na di ko naman magagamit sa Pinas kaya siguro medyo mahal ng konti sa ibang line up ng Pioneer. What seps you think will match that unit to meet my requirements? And the 2 speakers mounted on 2 rear doors, can that be used to put a 6 inch as a sub or mid bass for a good sounding bass?

**palonmar** · June 22nd, 2014 01:53 AM

double post

**MXFX** · June 22nd, 2014 02:23 AM

if you are ok with the current setup and just wanting a little bass, how about just adding a powered sub? it might be a cheaper option.

**jhnkvn** · June 22nd, 2014 02:39 AM

Truthfully, the best budget 15k SQ I've heard will be on a secondhand 9887 + 5,000php speakers on active configuration with a 50hz cutoff on the midbass

SQ by itself compromises of three criterias. Sadly, most of us simply think of it as having good tonality. But it compromises of three things: imaging, staging, and tonality. Unless you plan on throwing a DSP, you can kiss imaging and staging goodbye. But in doing so, you'll be spending a lot more even if you go for a "budget" build.

So my recommendation will be quite simple on a 40,000php budget:
- Head unit (20k)
- Speakers (5k)
- Amplifier (10k)
- Subwoofer (5k)

Then extend a bit more for wirings,deadening, and other miscellaneous stuff. If you can get "packages", all the more better so you know what to budget for.

Your aim is to cover the entire sound frequency spectrum. From 40hz to 16khz. Your separates will handle the 80hz upwards while your subwoofer fills in the lows. Through experience, I would say your most immediate jump will be the speaker change.. and the inclusion of the subwoofer -- because nobody really hates bass.

If you're in need of trunk space, just make a small box. Even a 0.7-1cu.ft sealed box will sound better than an underseat subwoofer.

**palonmar** · June 22nd, 2014 03:54 AM

Originally Posted by jhnkvn

Truthfully, the best budget 15k SQ I've heard will be on a secondhand 9887 + 5,000php speakers on active configuration with a 50hz cutoff on the midbass

SQ by itself compromises of three criterias. Sadly, most of us simply think of it as having good tonality. But it compromises of three things: imaging, staging, and tonality. Unless you plan on throwing a DSP, you can kiss imaging and staging goodbye. But in doing so, you'll be spending a lot more even if you go for a "budget" build.

So my recommendation will be quite simple on a 40,000php budget:
- Head unit (20k)
- Speakers (5k)
- Amplifier (10k)
- Subwoofer (5k)

Then extend a bit more for wirings,deadening, and other miscellaneous stuff. If you can get "packages", all the more better so you know what to budget for.

Your aim is to cover the entire sound frequency spectrum. From 40hz to 16khz. Your separates will handle the 80hz upwards while your subwoofer fills in the lows. Through experience, I would say your most immediate jump will be the speaker change.. and the inclusion of the subwoofer -- because nobody really hates bass.

If you're in need of trunk space, just make a small box. Even a 0.7-1cu.ft sealed box will sound better than an underseat subwoofer.

Yes that's what I wanted for that sound set up, a complete sound spectrum and hear what should be the outcome. Sadly, I still need an amplifier and a sub box in the trunk to make the job done, which makes her car a little bit hardcore... :-) I was thinking maybe what I want can be remedied by a good 2 DIN car stereo, good separates and another good midbass on the rear plus deadening the doors. I was also actually searching for underseat sub reviews, but some say, that it's like having none at all and really pathetic. I don't know how they sound like, since, it's only mounted on a tight box, having difficulty to breath and perform. How about the 2 speaker mounted on rear doors, what should I do with them if let say I have separates on the front, disconnect them or install mid bass speaker?

**falken** · June 24th, 2014 11:13 AM

Sir jhnkvn, could you recommend a decent DSP for me? My setup is a 9887 HU, Mrp f356 flex 5 channel amp & infinity kappa perfect 5.1 seps. TIA.

Posted via Tsikot Mobile App

**joms** · June 24th, 2014 11:45 AM

Since wife mo ang gagamit then i think mas impt ang bells and whistles instead of actually sound quality. Dont get me wrong im not saying na zero sound quality gawin mo. What i just want to say is invest more sa head unit wherein pwedeng i link yung ipod/ipad/iphone, yung may TV/video, etc. I think mas mag e enjoy sya dito. Unless of course talagang audiophile yung wife mo. In that case, invest a lot in speakers. Note that speaker upgrade gives you the best SQ. The old rule of thumb actually is to spend 50% of your budget on your speakers.

Anyway, again, if wife mo gagamit i recommend this:

Headunit = 15T (Pioneer with lots of gadgets/cool stuff)
Speakers = 15T (2-way separates)
Amp = 10T (4x channel kung kaya for flexibility) - if you can find a class D (yung newer amps and not the old one) mas ok eto kasi mas mataas ang watts na mabibigay sayo. (bigger watts/dollar). Audiophiles will strike this suggestion though as Class A/B will sound better than a class D in general but heck, we are working around a budget so i'd go for a higher wattage amp which sounds decent than a low watt amp that will sound a very little bit better. Mas friendly pa sa alternator ang class D.

yung subs saka na pag may budget ka na ulit. You can use the stock rear speakers and just adjust the fader to fronts upto max setting then bring it back around 2 to 3 notches. This will give it some rear fill. This is not the audiophile route though but since wife mo naman ang gagamit and hindi naman sya siguro ganun ka particular, the rear fill will make the music sound bigger and fatter (at the expense of the singers voice being pulled back). Don't mention it nalang sa kanya para hindi nya mapansin yung location ng singer.

**red_one** · June 24th, 2014 04:06 PM

many nice suggestions were posted, though the original question remains..

Decent sound quality sound set up without amplifier, possible?

in truth, the answer actually depends on the TS himself, i.e. what is his definition of "decent sound quality". but because the TS has P40k to spare, i think whatever upgrade he decides will be an improvement over stock. just a matter of deciding what brand/model to get.

i say again start with a good HU and front speakers. and then continue on the rear speakers. if sound is still not decent enough, then time to add that Amp.