Roadster radio/speakers/subwoofer ideas...

[bikermike]

So, no aux inpit on the old AM radio, right? So how would this gadget work?

It wouldn't work on an AM radio. If someone sunk money into a system with a head unit and/or amp in the last 20 years which has an aux input as a feature, this would be a cheap way to add Bluetooth without replacing existing equipment.

[Tomakze]

Wow, I forgot I started this thread... It has been 5 years! I am a far more experienced technician now. As for good stealthy solutions, several amplifier brands now make amps with built in bluetooth! No need for a head unit at all now. Keep the OEM radio for looks, and add an amp behind a seat or in the trunk. Then your phone becomes your head unit. Pretty cool stuff.

[bikermike]

If I were starting from scratch today I'd likely go with a new Bluetooth amp as well.

I used one of those $2 Bluetooth dongles on my daily driver and it does the trick to play music from my iPhone. I'll have to look at the newer stuff when I consider options for my Z.

[mlwebb]

Here is my solution. A Parts Express KAP-250 Bluetooth chip amp (Texas Instruments TPA3116d2). I'll have a power toggle switch, indicator light and volume knob on the console. This one is rated for 50 watts per channel, but real output more like 30 - depending on input voltage. They will run on 12v, but for full power higher voltage is good. The small heat sinked board is a 12 to 24v step up.

There is a thousand page thread at Diyaudio on these boards.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/class-d/ ... 2-amp.html

Michael

[shifty]

Be aware - that board wants 8-ohm speakers (home audio) rather than 4-ohm car stereo speakers!

[Tomakze]

If you run 4 ohm speakers with something designed for 8 ohms, it will crank out more power than it is rated for and overheat. Perhaps a better solution would be an aftermarket stereo like a Kenwood or a JVC, which both have apps you can use to control it with your phone. Again, you could hide it in the trunk or the glovebox or something, and still be able to control it. Really cool tech.

I haven't decided what I want to do for my 2000... I will either build a custom fiberglass dash and install a double DIN touch screen, or go for a completely stealthy look. I have a couple stock stereos in decent shape. If one is broken, I may gut it and install a bluetooth module , and make the oem volume knob control the volume of the amp... Either way, the car will have four speakers, a 5ch amp, and an 8" sub. I kinda have to since I do this for a living, haha!

[shifty]

You can find speakers such as the old Radio Shack Minimus - 8ohm, small sealed boxes that are easy to place in the car. They were also sold under other brands like RCA.

Also some of the outdoor home stereo speakers are 8ohm and can be mounted like car speakers - bit more expensive, though.

I'm using a similar board for a bluetooth speaker box project - it is plenty loud!

[mlwebb]

Leigh, those are 8 ohm speakers - Dayton designer series 5", Aurasound Whispers, and will add a couple of small 6 ohm Dayton tweeters. Most of the Dayton speakers come in either 4 or 8 ohm, and are a lot better sound for a lot less money than most car stereo speakers. About ten years ago I built some tower speakers (Jon Marsh's Modula MTM from Htguide.com) that had relatively inexpensive drivers and expensive crossovers. They are still on either side of the TV and sound terrific.
I have been trying to figure out crossovers for the car, but want to wire the Whispers and the tweeters in series, which with the woofers in parallel, would present roughly a 6 ohm load to the amp, which it should be fine with. But I think I need some software for the crossover calcs.
Michael

[Wade Hoagland]

Hey guys going to throw my 2c worth in there , just a quick heads up Dayton speakers purchase from a place called parts express , they are located just outside of Dayton Ohio.
1800 338 0531 call and get a catalog fantastic company to deal with.
And I came up with one that works out great. I located a new radio in glove on my 68.
It was a pain in butt to reach over and control levels ,so I took the remote and soldered a wire to extend the ir diode . I placed the new call it remote eye in the glove above unit
And located the remote where the ashtray is this was done by cutting the shape out of the insert to hold remote. It works great and super easy to use with Bluetooth and phone

[Toptech360]

I just finished up radio enhancement version 2.1 in my 1500 and thought i would share with the group.

I call it 2.1 because this is my second go around at a stereo system and because it is setup as a 2.1 speaker configuration. Thats right, finally added a sub to fill out the sound and it friggen thumps!

Added bonus: completely stand alone setup with exception of one single wire that is tapped for a key on voltage source to act as amplifier trigger on. That and it is a super stealthy completely reversible installation that required no drilling cutting or splicing into the vehicle.

Here is the powered subwoofer next to the factory speaker. It is rated 75 watts rms and 150 watt peak. By no means a head rattling bass maker but it really does a nice job of filling up the cabin space with a more full sound and bumps enough to make my garage doors buzz and vibrate when i was "testing" it.

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Next is the amplifier for the 2 speakers sitting on the package tray. This is a cool little class D amplifier, made by kenwood. It is 4 channel 45 watt rms (90w x2 channel bridged) that has built in Bluetooth. Plenty of power and yet draws very little current compared to many larger amplifiers.

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As alot of you know, the battery in a 1500 sits underneath the 3rd seat. This amp is small enough to fit in the same space along with the battery. Its simply velcroed to the back panel.

Subwoofer mounted in factory speaker location essentially hidden up under the dash on passenger side.

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Here is what it looks like with 3rd seat tilted up to reveal battery compartment with cover over battery

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Underneath the cover is the amplifier, battery, and a large relay designed to protect the battery from going dead. It also lets me electrically disconnect the battery with the push of a hidden button. Good theft deterrent and peace of mind knowing that the 54 year old wiring is safely unhooked when parked in the garage.

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The small relay on the left is used for controlling and powering on the 2 amplifiers. The switch on the right i added to allow me to switch just the amps on with no key in the ignition if i am wanting to sit somewhere with the engine/key in the off position and listen to music.

Last but not least the speakers on the package shelf. Something to note if someone else tries this amplifier out, is there are no crossover settings on the amp. Because of this i added a pair of 400hz "bass blockers" to the speakers to prevent low frequencys from getting to them. It basically allows you to turn it up louder without (or least with less) distortion.

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There you have it. I had fun installing this custom accessory and doing this little write up on it. Hope it may be helpful to some of you. Good sound can be had in a roadster!

[Lorna c]

I did some installing of a system and I just dropped a 12" sub in the trunk with the amp. and speakers Everywhere in the cab . where ever they would fit . and yes the back ones do get muffled with the top down which is most of the time ; but the others pick up where it gets stifled . good luck and remember your coil and alternator need to push . but wait your an installer so u know this . enjoy the tunes ! rock on .

[Toptech360]

Thanks Lorna. Ive go a pretty low output alternator but this setup draws maybe 8-15 amps so I should be ok.

[phong13]

I went the bluetooth speaker route. I got a big jambox and it works great.

[ct06033]

So just to contribute to this, i recently redid the sound in my car. I ended up with polk 6x9s in the rear wall since the PO had cut holes in it already.

I paired it with this amp: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UT ... UTF8&psc=1 Kenwood with bluetooth

I mounted it just behind the drivers seat and if you remove the ashtray, the remote fits pretty perfectly in that spot and I can close the door to hide the controls when not in use. So far, its been fantastic and sounds pretty decent. I will take some pics and post them next time I have a chance.

[Toptech360]

That's the same amp i am using. So small yet impressive power/sound output.