Mk 2 Audio setup

[Ananokki]

Hey guys,
 Just picked up my first golf two days ago.. I can't see myself owning another car! The one issue I'm facing now is the audio. It's currently standard, which consists of the passenger side speakers crackling all over the shot. So I'm looking to install my own complete setup however having never ventured into the world of car audio I feel a bit overwhelmed.
 
I'm looking at spending around £600 but would obviously be more partial to spending less if I don't need to fork out more! I've read that the way to go will be 6 x 4's, 12" sub, amp and head unit. Would there be any specific units that would be recommended? Also, tweeters, would they be worth installing as well?

Thanks for any advice!

[dragonfly]

Been covered many times but you're looking at components at the front and a sub in the boot all running off an amp. 4x6 speakers in the shelf supports are optional if you want a little rear fill.

If you get small tweeters - experiment with them by moving them around (on the a-pillar trim, original dash housing, on the door mirror trim etc) until they sound good to you.

Best thing to do is have a listen to some speakers. Does the £600 include the price of a new headunit?

[orangejuice]

i use to run a sony black 50*4 watt headunit with kenwood 6-9s in the parcel shelf, some small sony speakers which fitted nicely in the dash covers either side & a vibe black 12" sub with a built in amp & it sounded the dogs bits. the hole setup cost me £850 but that was 4 years ago so cost should of come down by now. Make sure if you get a high powered amp to buy a quality wiring kit, i blew up 2 amps due to a cheap £30 kit from halfords. vibe do a good wiring kit for about £80.

[B-chi]

Wiring depends on current draw frOm your amps. 300wrms amp wont need a 0awg wiring kit thats good for 3000wrms, waste of funds. Personally I'd say go second hand as you get my boom for your buck.

How often do you sit in the back? For me rear speakers are a waste of money but personal preference.

What sort of music do you listen to?

Installation is key as crap equip installed well can sound amazing where as a five grand set of compa taped to the door run off a HU will sound gash.

Why 6x4s?

Why a 12" sub, not a 10" or 15"?

[Ananokki]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I listen to mostly drum and bass, ambient and trance music. Regarding the 6 x 4's and the 12" sub, it was just based of other peoples recommendations and those two came up most often so other than that I have no reason as to why I went with them. Good point regarding the sitting in the back though, I would rather spend more money on getting the sound perfect in the front.

[B-chi]

A lot of people like putting speakers in the rear though.

I've never gone to a concert and turned around so my back is facing the stage lol.

You a cd man or mp3 kinda guy?

I personally wouldn't go 6x4 but depends. If there the standard fronts and you don't fancy changing size then 6x4s it is but they limit you on choice.

Personally I find 6inch comps to be best. What's the standard size in a mk2?

12inch is a good "safe size" for a sub. It can drop but still retain a descent punch.

For something like trance, fast racey bassline. I reckon a 10inch would be better. Or 12" in a sealed enclosure. Should punch nice, won't drop as much as a ported but will be accurate and hard. trance hasn't got massive amounts of low end in it.

Also consider sound deadening at the very least on the doors behind the front speakers if in the door.

Get yaself on caraudiosecurity or caraudiodirect to have a look at what's out there. Sorry if it's a bit jibberish I've got a cracking head.

Also if your will to experiment a bit try different locations to see how they sound. I've Been moving my tweeters around for the past month pretty much.

[Ananokki]

Well I have been given a 15" sub for free, so I guess I will see how that goes and if it doesn't quite do it for me then I'm not at a loss by buying a 10/12". I believe the door speakers are 5.25's so looking at putting some comps in there and putting the tweeters in the dash and see how that pans out. Is the sound deadening somewhat easy? Bearing in mind, the whole audio setup seems pretty daunting currently but I'm sure it'll be easier than I think when i get hands on!

I'm an MP3 kinda guy purely because I don't like the thought of lugging vast amounts of CD's around with me.

[B-chi]

Cool.

So 5inch comps. Loads to choose from.

15" awesome. May be a bit boomy for your musical taste but try it in a smallish sealed enclosure. See how you like the sound and go from there.

Sound deadening is easy mate. Clean the area, then just stick the deadening to where you want it to go.

This is good now.

You've got a shopping list now. What sub do you have?

Mp3 HU
5.25inxh comps
Amp for comps
Sound deadening for the doors
Depending on sub, an amp to power it
Wire kit depending on amp power

If you can try (when you've got the comps) the tweeters on the a pillars.

[Ananokki]

Just recieved a few bits from my friend; hopefully they could be put to good use. Amp; sony xm-3040f. Sub - pioneer ts-w121spl (believe its 12" infact) and also a pair of infinity kappa 652.7i's. The sound deadening sounds dead easy so will look into that.

[B-chi]

Cool.

The speakers are co-ax so tweeter is built onto the cone. They're rated at 75w.

Amp is 4ch so can bridge that to give 2x90w. Perfect for the infinitys.

The sub is 750w so I'd look for upto 1000w @ 2ohm mono.

You'll need a HU with at least 2 preouts.

If your likely to upgrade in the future when the bass bug gets you I'd go for 0awg power cable.