I want to replace the PO's Clarion CD receiver and pair of unidentified 4x6" speakers in the stock panels that were installed in February 2000. I've searched and read through threads and received some helpful PM answers from Illinois' very own aircooledboy(Chris).
I know a lot about bass amplifiers; the rub, however, is that I mean the ones into which one plugs a bass guitar. When it comes to car audio, I've always pretty much stuck with stock.

I wanted to share my plan and hopefully flesh out some details. Feel free to tear it to shreds. I don't want to cut holes for door speakers. I don't want to install a power amp or powered sub or cut holes for door speakers or do anything that involves significant alteration. Also, it must meet standard CSOB914 budgetary limitations. So with that in mind I've picked out a few items.

My thoughts are to first replace the speakers. I figure I'll go with the ubiquitous Morphenspectra speaker pods. My question for these is: do I go with the 50W Blaupunkt 6.5" speakers he offers or should I pick something else?

Maybe I'll get lucky and the Clarion head will prove sufficient with just the new speakers? If not, the head I like is the Pioneer DEH-P2900MP(link). It's iPod-compatible (in case my wife ever lets me near the family iPod), but its main appeal to me is that it "enables you to connect the rear speaker leads directly to a small subwoofer without an external amplifier." Seems perfect for a 914 with only 2 speakers.

Then, there's the subwoofer, if the new speakers and head aren't enough. The Pioneer can handle a dual voice coil subwoofer wired in parallel for 2 ohms. Since nobody seems to be producing footwell subwoofers, and I don't want to cut up my original center console, I'm wondering if there's enough room inside the center console to hide a Bazooka BT6024DVC 6" Subwoofer Tube(link)? It's dimensions are 6-7/8"W x 18-3/8"L x 8-1/4"H. Does anybody know if there's that much room in there? Or maybe I can stash it behind a seat if need be.

So for under $325, I'd think this an adequate sound solution? Whaddya think?

I don't think there's anywhere enough room in the center console for the subwoofer, but have you considered the subwoofer enclosure that uses the passenger side footboard to mount a small subwoofer? I think that it's also a Morphenspectra design.

I got his speaker pods as well for my car, and I think that's the best solution. I also want to replace my head unit so I can plug in my iPod, but I'm hoping to find one that allows me to charge it as well (ie that uses the connector at the bottom of the iPod). A while ago, I also got some Bass Shakers that I am considering trying to fit to allow us to feel the bass if not hear it.

Have fun with your project.

I'm thinking it would be quite a squeeze to get that in space behind the guages, but you might could tilt it at an odd angle- low toward the front and high up into the console.

I CSOBed with a SPARKOMATIC (suppress your envy) that sits between the seats. I took the top off the center cushion- now it just velcros to the sub cabinet which was almost identical in size and shape ( and even color- black) as the center storage box. Behind the seats are waterproof marine speakers in aluminum boxes from JC Whitney - another powerhouse of audiophile marketing. You don't wanna know about the head unit. But the best part is it is OK that I never turn it on!

I like Bazooka subs but you definitely can't fit one in the console. I think the best place for one (or a custom enclosure is up under the dash). You could probably strap one under the dash above the passenger's feet.

Well here's my sound system plan, still pretty non-invasive. First off- there is the subwoofer encloser/speaker custom made for the passenger footwell. Runs about $110. Not bad for a sub, let alone made 914 specific.

Second- my door panels already have speaker holes. I will be 'updating' the speakers. As a rule- no speaker with less than a 6" cone can reproduce the full audio spectrum accurately. Small boom boxes fake it by running filters and audio exciters to make them sound deep- but there will always be frequencies missing with any speaker smaller then 6". I will also be going 100w minimum on the speakers.

Third- I will also have speakers in the normal 914 speaker grills. I got some Kenwood 5x7 150watts. Normally the grills are intended for 4x6 speakers- but again that size cone is just a bit too small. With a slight modification to the grill (a narrow slit cut in the top) 5x7's fit perfect.

Lastly I will use a 4 way Sony Explode CD player head unit which I already have ($90) . I'll need to get an adequate sub amp for the fifth speaker. I may need to upgrade the coil to provide adequate juice.

Yeah it will cost a little bit but not too much. I scored some nice original grills with the kenwoods installed for $25. 4 speakers plus a sub- run by a normal car Cd player with the typical 'front and back' channels will sound really nice in the small 914. The goal with audio is to use as many square inches of speaker as possible. That way you get to lower the volume, less distortion, and you're still pushing more air and making a fuller sound. But then again, I'm a sound engineer and this is what I do. Other opinions may vary.

These footwell subs are available somewhere? I swear the only ones I've seen were one-offs. That sub solution would definitely be my preference!

Do you think that Pioneer will be powerful enough to skip an amp for the subwoofer?

Don't know where to find Morphenspectra... but I have seen them buy it new/now on ebay a few times over the past few months. They're very cool- exact same shape as the weird foam block in the passenger footwell, with a bass port and everything. If anyone else knows where to find morphenspectra... let us know.

And I think you'll need a seperate amp for a sub. Subs require a cross over- a ciruit which splits the low frequencies out and sends them to the sub amp.

I've posted this before, but for the budget-minded, it bears repeating. Get whatever you think is the best speaker pair for the stock boxes (or door holes, if they are already cut), or buy the bigger boxes and speakers off eBay. Then augment them with some of the home-audio speakers that are narrow enough to serve well behind the seats, unless both driver and passenger are really tall. Just wire them up to the two rear channel outputs of your stereo (unless you have a vintage 2-channel AM-FM). That way the l-r and f-r faders will allow you to balance it. Several decent models are available used from time to time (visit once a week) at the bigger thrift shops (Salvation Army, Goodwill, etc), and might show up on eBay, esp if you put them on your watch-list there: The KLH 943 PL is about 3 1/2 inches high, feeding sound out that narrow side. Fine behind any but a tallest driver. The Aiwa SX-C is about 5" deep, and has a bass reflex port out the front. I use the narrower KLH behind the passenger seat, because at 5 ft. 8 in., my seat leaves room for the bigger Aiwa. In both cases, direct the output end of the enclosure up, or toward the doors. They make a HUGE difference in your audio, and the cost is 5 or ten bucks a speaker at the Goodwill, maybe twice that on the Bay. No doubt visits to thrifts will show you other models that are also narrow-- just avoid those with the business end on the wide face, which would put the sound into the seat back or the firewall! Unless some of you have super silent exhaust systems (mine's a throaty Bursche), this level of quality is sufficient in the listening environment you're attempting to fill. Want a quieter mid-engine sports car for better audio? Get a Boxter (but at 750 pounds more, it won't corner as well as youre 914, and it costs more than the Goodwill speakers).

His ID here is morph(link to profile). Ebay store is here . Also, there's a thread in Member Vendors forum. I had the impression that he wasn't offering the footwell subs, but I will certainly confirm this.


That's why I like the Pioneer heads. From my understanding. they have a built-in crossover (with adjustable cut-off frequency) and let you reassign the rear speaker outputs to subwoofer output. That circuit will go down to 2 ohms in this mode to allow you to run a dual voice coil sub in parallel.


Nearly home audio speakers are 8 ohms (some are 6 ohm) which will effectively cut the output wattage in half. I'll take a look at some just in case.


Thanks for the suggestions!

This was made by one of the guys here, one of the more trick setups IMO.
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Yeah, I saw that very nice setup when reading through threads dug up when searching for stereo, audio, subwoofer, and the like. Unfortunately, that is way beyond my abilities. Lots of skills on my "to learn" list before I get to fiberglassing! I would prefer to have something entirely hidden behind the carpet.

here's mine.

http://web.media.mit.edu/~ladyada/make/minty/index.html

Do you mean like this?

My car stereo company designed this lil beauty 4 years ago and has been replicated numerous times since then.

mine from morph looks alot like this one but the grill is flush and the floor carpet covers the box so you dont see it.

Here is mine!

Jeff

gtgyyu

Ok, I have my Pioneer head unit from Crutchfield. (I got it and a TomTom One GPS for $17.88 shipped thanks to skillful internet shopping.)

The point of this head is that, besides the green LED display, it allows you to use the (useless to us) rear speaker output to drive a dual voicecoil subwoofer.

Yesterday morning I got my Morphenspectra speaker panels with 6 1/2" Blaupunkts and my passenger footwell subwoofer with 6 1/2" dual voicecoil Pioneer sub speaker. (An 8" sub would've been my preference but this should be sufficient for my goal.)

I presently have a Clarion head that I believe is DIN. I think I need a DIN tool to remove it and also to install the new one? Is this 99 cent DIN tool from ebay(link) ok for this? Or is that a FLAPS type of item?

I'd like to get this done before Garold's Red Arrow Ramble this Saturday in case anyone wants to see and hear the setup. I know I want to.

What's the model? A think you can download the manuals from the Clarion web site.

It's a Clarion DRB4375 from ~1997. I just checked Clarion's site but their docs only go back to 2005 products. I have the owner's guide but not the installation guide.

My suggestion to you Dan is pickup a real nice powerful head unit that wont skip and is Ipodable like an Alpine. Yes there are tons of head units out there, but my experience is I have always been satisfied with the Alpine Stuff ( Always cheaper on Ebay than Best Buy). Get the Morphs speaker pods and a pair of nice medium priced 6.5 Alpine speakers for them. The low end Alpines are a little to bright sounding to me.
See how you like it, and if you want to add you can always continue on with the sub's.

The 6.5's offer a pretty good punch on there own.

I went way overboard with my system I have a Alpine head unit with 2 Alpine Amps driving a pair of 6.5's, 5.25's, and 2- 8" Quart subs.

If it wasn't for my teenage daughter wanting to crank it up to feel the thump, thump I think the 6.5's would of been sufficient...

Chappy,
I now have my components:
Head: Pioneer DEH-P2900MP CD receiver with MP3/WMA playback and input for iPod
Speakers: Morph speaker pods with Blaupunkts
Sub: Morph footwell sub enclosure with 6.5" dual voicecoil Pioneer

Also, I'm planning to use some leftover MonsterCable speaker wire.

I've never removed/installed a stereo in a car (my 914 is a world of firsts for me!) so I just want to make sure I have an idea before I dive in and the instructions mention I need a DIN tool, but maybe I don't?

I had a 6.5 bazooka tube just in front of the passenger seat (so the passenger's legs would go over it). I'm taking it out though and just using the 6.5" kit from Morph...I also made a speaker box that replaces the center pad that houses 2 3.5" up-firing speakers (this helps a lot on open-top driving). Besides, I rarely turn the stereo on anyway, usually have it off to listen for new rattles and if the engine sounds 'right'.