New Subs for Crap Car

[Full_Throttle]

Hey all,

I have this '96 Mercury Sable, which has a thing about being the roundest car possible. Everything is round. This includes the stereo system thing, the one where you put the cassette in and has the radio. (Be forewarned, I know nothing about cars.) I mention this because it means that I can't get a new sound system.

I love my bass-heavy music and I love to play it loud. A problem that I've noticed is that when I have my bass at full and I turn it up to a pretty high volume, the entire sound goes to shit. The bass is all muffled, the treble gets muddy, and it's just not enjoyable in the least. I'm thinking that it's either because my source isn't "pure" -- MP3 player via cassette converter -- or that my subwoofers are kind of crap.

Anyone know if I could solve my problem by installing new subs, and if so, which ones I should get?

Thanks in advance,
Full_Throttle

 

[darthbudge]

MP3 via cassette converters really lower the quality. So that is definately part of the problem, but a crappy sound system is also responsible.

I could be wrong, but I think to notice any improvement, you would need a new receiver and subs to notice any difference.

 

[QiG]

I hate to give you advice on this because there is nothing more annoying than people blasting crappy music, but consider that a 96 Mercury Sable was not designed to be a portable boom box. There's several things you can do to improve your sound:

1) Replace the factory head unit (radio). This will clean up the sound very noticeably. Don't worry about everything being round, there is most likely a mounting kit designed for your car that will solve this. When you get a head unit installed, and if you don't know what you're doing you should have someone else do it, they will have a mounting kit.

2) Subwoofers will help you out on the low end. For the love of God, don't get competition grade subs and drive around bumping club rap. A single 10" adds more than enough low end. I went with an infinity basslink several years ago because it had an internal amp (you'll need an amp if you get subs). It hits hard if I mess with it, but turned down it's just right. I don't need everyone listening to my trunk rattling or a massaging seat for people in the back of my car.

3) The last step would be to replace the factory speakers. Unless you buy a sound package with a new car, they notoriously use cheap speakers to cut costs during manufacturing.

Spend some time looking into car audio on the internet (Google will give 11ty billion search results) and figure out what you're looking for in the end. Don't be afraid to go to electronics stores and mess with their displays. And if I see you driving down the street ghetto bumping, I will be throwing pennies at your car

 

[Full_Throttle]

I just have to respond to the post above this: bass heavy != club rap. Boris, Amon Amarth, Earth, other metal, Led Zep, Deep Purple, Sabbath, etc etc.

But yeah, where would I find a way of installing a standard head unit into a circular slot?

 

[Quillion]

[quote name='Full_Throttle']I just have to respond to the post above this: bass heavy != club rap. Boris, Amon Amarth, Earth, other metal, Led Zep, Deep Purple, Sabbath, etc etc.

But yeah, where would I find a way of installing a standard head unit into a circular slot?[/quote]
http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/autoinfo/autoinfo.asp?lp=/app/Car/MyCar.aspx

If you insist on doing it yourself. It's not really that hard, They'll give you step by step directions.

 

[snakelda]

If you use Crutchfield,I can refer you and you get $20 off your first order of $200 (which is basically anything in the Audio department).PM me if you really want to do it.

 

[Cracka]

you can put a new cd player in, theres a dash kit for literally almost every car made. Get a new cd player, amp, and subs. Turn bass to 0 or lower, turn treble up all the way. Thus your speakers will be playing all your highs and mids and not the bass, and your subs will be playing all the bass. Problem solved.

 

[Quillion]

[quote name='Cracka']you can put a new cd player in, theres a dash kit for literally almost every car made. Get a new cd player, amp, and subs. Turn bass to 0 or lower, turn treble up all the way. Thus your speakers will be playing all your highs and mids and not the bass, and your subs will be playing all the bass. Problem solved.[/quote]
Proper crossovers in the sub box and on the speakers can handle that much better than the EQ in the head unit.