Car stereo MOD and what kind of speakers?

[Wagonqueen_Truc]

want to put in a good quality car stereo into my TC. What kind of speakers will work? Should I put in car speakers of home entertainment speakers? Is there a compatibility factor?

[wa8yxm]

Speakers have some specifications.

Frequency range: Normal hearing is from around 20-30 HZ low to 10-20,000 high, Mine is abnormal since I did not ruin it as a teen I can still hear above 15,000 HZ. You want as much of this range as you can get.

The radio has a "Watts per channel" speakers should be able to handle the total watts per channel, but not more than about 2x that.. If you have say 100 watt speakers (I DO) and a 10 watt radio without an amplifier, You wont be able to hear it (I have an amplifier).

Finally there is the impedance If the radio is rated for 4 ohms you want either 4-ohm or TWO 8 Ohm speakers in parallel. (And properly phased)

Other ratings on the radio. = you get to do the arithmetic.

Home or Car.. Does not matter, no difference in the speaker, However a well designed HOME speaker will be mounted in a well designed HOUSING that maximizes the performance of the speaker.. Auto speakers may well be identical to the one in the box.. but no box.

[srt20]

Most all mid end and up speakers are going to be poly cones and poly is waterproof. Pretty much the only difference in marine grade audio and regular is the coating on the exposed wires and connections. Yet "marine grade" typically cost much more. It's up to you if the extra cost is worth it or not.

Having said that, I have a kick butt sound system in my Polaris Rzr. It's a side by side atv if you didn't know. Anyway it gets mud, snow, rain, dust, and gets pressure washed. I have 4 marine grade 6.5" speakers and one 8" subwoofer. The sub is not marine grade, but is in a sealed enclosure. I don't recall the brand of the 6.5 speakers, but the sub is a Powerbass. They are all pushed by a Powerbass class D 1280 watt digital amp. I needed a very efficient amp because the charging system in RZR's are terrible. But this would also come in very handy for RVers that boondock. The system doesn't need near the battery power that good systems of even 5 years ago needed. Yet will still give you hearing loss if you desire, while having no distortion.
Anyway, I'm not saying Powerbass is the be all end all, but it is an excellent bang for your buck.

The biggest mistake most people make is not have the proper watt speakers to the amp.

[Wagonqueen_Truc]

Ended up getting JBL marine speakers. Even though they will be inside the T C, I was worried about condensation and such when the unit sits idle. What do you think about a subwoofer?

[KD4UPL]

Auto soun systems are normally 4 ohm speakers. Home systems normally have 8 ohm speakers. If you hook i ohm speakers to a 4 ohm car stereo you will sacrifice power and thus volume. If you connect 4 ohm car speakers to a stereo designed for 8 ohms you may damage the amp.

[danager]

When choosing speakers, you need to keep n mind the type of stereo/amp running them. Car audio speakers are going to be 4ohm load and home are 8ohm. Car audio will typically be a bit shallower, and be made from materials that are okay to use in the elements. Even speakers inside of an RV will benefit from polypropelene (or similar) construction. Outdoor speakers should be marine speakers. Weatherproof construction and a good seal between the speaker and the mounting surface.

If you like quality audio, I would recommend Infinity. They are a part of Kardon Industries - Harmon Kardon, JBL, Infinity, Crown. Great sound quality for the money. As for a stereo, I like the offerings from Alpine. These radios do draw a lot of current, not good for running off of battery power. Alpine also offered a small in-line amp for their stereos, doubling the power to up to 4 speakers. Power = clarity.

[Wagonqueen_Truc]

RoyB wrote:
I guess that was pointed to me. The weather proof speakers sound great. These were already installed but if I was adding them I probably would have separated themmore that the few inches shown here. The JENSEN car radio sounds great and being a CAR RADIO always gets great reception with the simple car radio antenna...

ADDED NOTE: I also added speaker covers on back of the speakers behind the outside wall. This was a cabinet area and I thought I needed to insulate it more from cool outside air. I guess they call these speakers marine speakers. They are 5-6 inches in DIA...

Roy Ken

thanks... I guess you could call me a music (sound) snob. Growing up my dad always had the "best of the best" when it came to quality systems and speakers (in his car and his house) Our house would rumble with sounds of Roy Orbison, Engelbert Humperdink, and the Mama & Papas (just a few of his favorite compilations) It was nothing for him to sink 1000's into his equipment. Now here I am wanting something that is going to sound good, but almost zero knowledge about what to buy... any and all opinions is appreciated.

[RoyB]

I guess that was pointed to me. The weather proof speakers sound great. These were already installed but if I was adding them I probably would have separated themmore that the few inches shown here. The JENSEN car radio sounds great and being a CAR RADIO always gets great reception with the simple car radio antenna...

ADDED NOTE: I also added speaker covers on back of the speakers behind the outside wall. This was a cabinet area and I thought I needed to insulate it more from cool outside air. I guess they call these speakers marine speakers. They are 5-6 inches in DIA...

Roy Ken

[Wagonqueen_Truc]

how do they sound?

[RoyB]

My OFF-ROAD POPUP has the car stereo unit in it. The JENSEN Car Radio front-back fade setup is for stereo speakers inside the POPUP and outside the POPUP. Thats pretty neat having Stereo speakers on the patio side outside wall under the awning. It has weather proof speakers on the outside...


I did another mod to the wiring of the CAR RADIO unit. As you are probably aware it will have the 12VDC lead as well as an IGNITION 12VDC wire to hook up. I used a RADIO SHACK Lever Slide Switch for the hot ignition lead 12VDC wire. This way I can leave the radio turned on and use the slide switch like when you turn the key ignition ON and OFF. This saves your radio PUSH BUTTON channel selections so you don't have to go setup all the channels again everytime you turn it on. You can see the lever switch to the right of the radio here.


When i pack up for transport I will turn the radio off with its ON-OFF switch but after we setup at the camp ground then I use the ignition Lever switch to turn it on and off.

Roy Ken