Hi guys
Ive just purchased a Mitsubishi Lancer(aka Mirage) 1991
and it does not have door speakers
its factory location is in the dash

For a decent sound setup..where should i place the speakers?
i was thinking of the A-pillar or kick panel

I prefer the A-pillar but some people say it sound terrible!?!


My setup is:
Avic F900BT
Pioneer DEQ-7600 DSP
1 pair of Hertz HSK 130 Components for mid and high
1 Absolute 150wrms 8" Subwoofer
Pioneer GM-2200 bridge (sub)
Pioneer GM-X944 in 2channel Stereo mode (components)

If i place it in the A-pillar..where should it face? each other? or the driver/passenger?

 

kick panel would allow lager midrange in a component set and is easier to get good sound from compared to the a pillar or dash location (can be done but requires a lot more effort).

 

place is a bit limited for kick panel
it will be too close to the pedal/ can even block it =x

in A-pillar the tweeter and midrange will be at the same place, so better soundstage right?
and ill put a dash mat to minimize reflection

Now the mids/tweet where should it be pointed to? on axis or off?

Sry am a bit of a noob :$

 

the best practice is to try to have left and right speakers the same distance from your ears. that means that kick panels are ideal. Problem with that is this brings your sound stage down way too low.

my suggestion, put your tweeters in the a-pillars, aimed toward the center of the car, and your mids in the kick panels. if you can, build fiberglass kicks to get them the right shape to avoid stuff like the pedals and floor pats.

 

^^that would be best if you can do it. if you're stuck with pillar mount then before you lock them down you can try positioning at different angles and aiming to different location to decide what sounds best (time alignment can help in this regard quite a bit). I had a helluva time doing this in my last car as I had a 3 way set up with door mounted mid bass, A pillar mids and tweets in pods...took a long time to get it right and honestly I'm not sure it was better that the 2 way system I went from before in the same car with mid in door and tweet in sail panel. The experience was fun though!

 

if i put the mid in the kick panel..another problem is time alignment will delay the tweeter and woofer by the same amount because am going passive
the woofer n tweeter if put together sound better right but if its in the kick panel it will sing to my foot :P

to me the best solution is the A-pillar but ive not done that setup before and some say it sound like crap :x

what to you guys think of off axis woofer and on axis tweeter in the A-pillar..dash mat to reduce reflection and TA?

 

well you are experiencing what we all have to, the car is a horrible environment for audio. not only do you have close quarters and power restrictions, but you have lots of reflective surfaces, and stuff in the way (center console, steering wheel, door stuff).

One solution that i havnt seen used in years is to put the mid and tweeter in the kick panel. then add ambient tweeters in the a-pillar to bring the sound stage up. wen ive done it i have had the best luck aiming the tweeters at the windshield. they reflect off and eliminate the ability to locate exactly where they are.

remember, the higher the frequency the easier it is to locate the speaker.

I have also done a center channel speaker, hooked up to an audio control model 11. it really helps the sound stage, but is arguably cheating.

 

you're just going to have to experiment with placement to get the aiming and locations...there is just no way around it. every car is different. try making some small enclosures or pods with the same volume as your final mounting and attach flexible steel strap to the back and start trying angles and positioning. do the same with tweeter or use a pivot mount (ball and socket) to adjust angles....and make sure you make lots of notes and measurements.

 

I would suggest using the smallest possible midrange if you're considering mounting them I to your A pillar. This is just from a safety point of view. 4" is the maximum I would suggest but smaller would be easier to work with. You can easily pick up a very good set of midrange speakers for less than $100.
As far as Aiming speakers is concerned, I personally start off with the speakers aiming directly at me and pull them inward towards each other until I find a happy medium. The more on axis the better the frequency response will be in general. Reflections are at a premium when you use A pillars so be prepared for it.
In general, I would say pillar mounting offers more advantages than disadvantages. The biggest being fewer obstructions between you and the speaker. But surprisingly stage height isn't one of the advantages (to a point). Our brains and ears have trouble decerning height because our ears are on the side of our head not on the top and bottom.