6.5" coax will fit w/spacer. would be hard to make component look good unless some fiberglassing is done.
Will a 6.5 round speaker fit...
In a '69 coupe kick panels? I don't mind cutting things up if I have to.
I want to install component speakers, so the 4x6 plate is out as an option.
Or would a 5.25 be alot easier?
I want to install component speakers, so the 4x6 plate is out as an option.
Or would a 5.25 be alot easier?
1 - 18 of 18 Posts
Yeah, I went with the 5.25, should be good enough.
I was thinking about doing that but kickpanels are a terrible place to put speakers honestly. A pair of 4" co-ax fit into the dash ahead of the driver and passenger pointing straight up is better than any kickpanel installation. Besides, they get in the way of your feet and can block the e-brake.
Interesting, I thought the kick panel or door were the ideal places to put speakers.I was thinking about doing that but kickpanels are a terrible place to put speakers honestly. A pair of 4" co-ax fit into the dash ahead of the driver and passenger pointing straight up is better than any kickpanel installation. Besides, they get in the way of your feet and can block the e-brake.
Anyone having problems with 5.25 speakers in their kick panels?
There has always been alot of debate about speaker placement. As a former audio installer I built several high end sound quality competition vehicles and they all used kick panel placement for the front stage speakers. One of my cars placed second in the world finals with the highest sound quality score in his class in 1999.
The main reason for putting speakers in the kick panels is in most cars that is the farthest away from the driver or passenger your can get them without major fabrication work. You are trying to equalize the lengths between the right and left speaker paths to your ears for a more realistic sound stage reproduction. The drawback to this placement is that foot placement does sometimes affect sound somewhat and the e-brake pedal can get in the way.
Putting speakers in the dash directly in front of you and your passenger is possibly the worst placement you can have for a speaker. The sound reflects directly off the windshield straight to your ears from the speaker in front of you totally destroying the stereo separation that is needed to gain any sort of decent sound. Don't do it!
Low in the doors is the next best place for speakers and usually works best for the casual listener. In a 1st gen Camaro the kickpanels work well and are an easy place to put speakers.
As a side note, if you are using separate midrange and tweeters it is usually best to keep them close together for better sound quality as opposed to putting them very far apart. I hope this helps you guys out somewhat.
Tim
The main reason for putting speakers in the kick panels is in most cars that is the farthest away from the driver or passenger your can get them without major fabrication work. You are trying to equalize the lengths between the right and left speaker paths to your ears for a more realistic sound stage reproduction. The drawback to this placement is that foot placement does sometimes affect sound somewhat and the e-brake pedal can get in the way.
Putting speakers in the dash directly in front of you and your passenger is possibly the worst placement you can have for a speaker. The sound reflects directly off the windshield straight to your ears from the speaker in front of you totally destroying the stereo separation that is needed to gain any sort of decent sound. Don't do it!
Low in the doors is the next best place for speakers and usually works best for the casual listener. In a 1st gen Camaro the kickpanels work well and are an easy place to put speakers.
As a side note, if you are using separate midrange and tweeters it is usually best to keep them close together for better sound quality as opposed to putting them very far apart. I hope this helps you guys out somewhat.
Tim
Tim, thanks for the reply.
I will be using component speakers in the kick panels, where is a good placement fot the tweeters and crossovers?
I will be using component speakers in the kick panels, where is a good placement fot the tweeters and crossovers?
Dean, If you have some sort of mount for the tweeter that lets you swivel them and fire them up and across toward the opposite passenger then mount them right beside your mids either above or toward the firewall even with the top of the mid. Try to avoid a placement that would be blocked by the e-brake pedal in the disengaged position. Highs are very directional and need to be fired close to on axis with your ears.
If you can't swivel them then try some different placements within approx. 6 inches of the mid and choose the one that sound best. Just use some tape or something on the back of the tweeters to temporarily place them and listen to some well recorded music that you are familiar with and pick a spot. Usually closer to you will not sound as good but that is not a hard and fast rule.
There are some other ways to go but they require more advanced electronics that will allow you to time align the arrival times of the sound.There is some really good speaker tech on the JL Audio website I recommend checking out. www.jlaudio.com
The crossovers can go pretty much anywhere you want to put them. If you are not going to display them then just stash them under the dash or one of the seats if you have room.
Let me know if you need anymore help and I will be glad to do what ever I can to help out.
Tim
If you can't swivel them then try some different placements within approx. 6 inches of the mid and choose the one that sound best. Just use some tape or something on the back of the tweeters to temporarily place them and listen to some well recorded music that you are familiar with and pick a spot. Usually closer to you will not sound as good but that is not a hard and fast rule.
There are some other ways to go but they require more advanced electronics that will allow you to time align the arrival times of the sound.There is some really good speaker tech on the JL Audio website I recommend checking out. www.jlaudio.com
The crossovers can go pretty much anywhere you want to put them. If you are not going to display them then just stash them under the dash or one of the seats if you have room.
Let me know if you need anymore help and I will be glad to do what ever I can to help out.
Tim
Thanks again Tim. I haven't received my speakers yet, I'll get back to you if I have more questions.
2
In a '69 coupe kick panels? I don't mind cutting things up if I have to.
I want to install component speakers, so the 4x6 plate is out as an option.
Or would a 5.25 be alot easier?
I put some 6" round speakers in the kick panel area you're talking about. I made a "plate" out of hardboard, then attached a "spacer ring" made of mdf board, covered with resin-soaked flannel, then covered with interior carpet material.
The passenger side was the easiest to install,,, the driver's side needed the e-brake pedal temporarily removed to install the speaker.
here is a picture of the original design I made for the mounting plate..... I had wanted them spaced out and aimed towards the seats. That design didn't work due to clearance issues. I finally went with a "flat" mount ring on the mounting plate (as shown above).
That is exactly what I'm talking about Blown69RS. That looks really good in the picture and was not overly hard to do. You could go one step further and actually mold the panels into the kick panels and make them look like one piece but I see nothing wrong with what you did and you gain some sound quality by using a larger speaker that can play down a little lower. :thumbsup:
Blown69RS,
How is the clearance to the park brake pedal? I would assume that you have to be careful when setting the park brake so that your foot doesn't contact the spaker grill?
Paul :beers:
How is the clearance to the park brake pedal? I would assume that you have to be careful when setting the park brake so that your foot doesn't contact the spaker grill?
Paul :beers:
clearance?? slim to none. I'd say 1/16" of an inch at most. The speaker and the plate aren't the real culprits, it's the slight projection of the grill cover itself that get's close to being in the way. The mounting plate could be shaved a little to give it more room, but I doubt you'd end up with much more than 1/4" total.... I rarely use the park brake anyways....Blown69RS,
How is the clearance to the park brake pedal? I would assume that you have to be careful when setting the park brake so that your foot doesn't contact the spaker grill?
Paul :beers:
Wow! Your saying the worst place is right in front on the dash? I suggested there because some of the windshield frequency loss can be fixed with an eq which would match the rear as they do the same thing. I was considering a system that does time / distance corrections according to the drivers head, of course the passenger would have about the same quality (or worse) as the rear seat passengers. Pioneer and Alpine both make receivers that do that. I guess it is really close to your head but having speakers in a high location would give a better soundstage and wouldn't require a powerful speaker to do it, whats wrong with that?
I know the only place to put larger speakers is the kickpanel or door but the ebrake is not the only problem, the drivers own legs block a good deal of sound, a lot more than the small amount of loss from a glass reflection loss.
I know the only place to put larger speakers is the kickpanel or door but the ebrake is not the only problem, the drivers own legs block a good deal of sound, a lot more than the small amount of loss from a glass reflection loss.
Check out this thread by JimM with his kickpanle speaker install
http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=71510
I bought the parts to do this, but car is in the body shop.
http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=71510
I bought the parts to do this, but car is in the body shop.
Sweetblue, The main reason for not putting speakers in the dash is not sound loss but the alteration of sound. Any time you reflect sound off of a hard surface such as glass you get a lot of change in sound. Usually this shows up in the higher frequencies as a very harsh sound and this totally alters how the music sounds. The other reason is one that I mentioned earlier. You totally loose any stereo separation you might have and you would only hear one speaker.
Now if you use time alignment you may be able to adjust for one listening position but this is terrible for any other positions. The kick panel area is a great compromise for both seats and for anyone that doesn't have, need, or want to use time alignment. I actually have one of the Pioneer Premier head units that does Time alignment in my car but I am still using kick panel locations for my speakers. The time alignment is just to adjust for the arrival times of the sounds from different sets of speakers such as from the subwoofers vs. the midranges. Time alignment can't fix bad speaker placement just as an equalizer can't fix bad sound. They are only tools to help work with what you have now. I hope this helps clear things up a bit.
Tim
Now if you use time alignment you may be able to adjust for one listening position but this is terrible for any other positions. The kick panel area is a great compromise for both seats and for anyone that doesn't have, need, or want to use time alignment. I actually have one of the Pioneer Premier head units that does Time alignment in my car but I am still using kick panel locations for my speakers. The time alignment is just to adjust for the arrival times of the sounds from different sets of speakers such as from the subwoofers vs. the midranges. Time alignment can't fix bad speaker placement just as an equalizer can't fix bad sound. They are only tools to help work with what you have now. I hope this helps clear things up a bit.
Tim
Ok thanks Tim! Your right now that I think about it, I don't want passengers to have horrible sound. The 6.5's in the floor vent area looks nice but I don't have ac. I was planning a 5.25 angled install into the front of the kickpanels, no ebrake problems so I can angle them as much as I want. I'm thinking of setting them so the corner of the magnet snugs into the hole that was made for 3x4's. I don't think I can duplicate the black plastic molded look so I was thinking of making fiberglass ones then painting them silver so it would be all black interior, silver ring then either black or silver speaker grills which would match my steering wheel and shifter.
Sounds like that would look really nice. I personally lean toward a stealth look where you don't tend to notice or see the speakers but I have seen some really nice installs that made use of highlights such as the ones you mentioned. Good luck and post some pics when your done.
Tim
Tim
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