Opinions on my planned 12-speaker setup for new 2006 civic

i'll definitely have to give both the RF and MB's a listen then :) it's good to have some other speakers to compare to, i'd have no idea which one fits where (in the product/quality line that is)

is there a good website somewhere that has price listings? or is it a case of physically shopping around? i know i'd have to anyway to audition the speakers, but if i can find a reasonably accurate price list somewhere it'll help me narrow down what i look for.

also jace, the links you posted before for taking apart the civic doors, there seems to be quite a difference with the aus model and i can't figure out how to remove the door panel - do you have any tips? (or anyone else for that matter?)

In my experience, the prices you get from catalogues or on websites is very different to what they'll tell you if you go in store. For example, the telephone price that Lifestyle gave me on the Boston Pro60 (some bloody kickass speakers) was $1100, but then they said they'd negotiate it down to $900 since I was also getting them to install it for me- but then, I ended up going for the subwoofer option. I'll wait until later in the year and then go for some pro speakers perhaps.

Also if you go to Lifestyle (I know I promote them alot- but they did a great job; various ppl have complimented my engine bay on the clean/professionalism of their install), they have a listening room which is really good to listen to. It's alot better than the ones in JB/Strathfield which are quite open air- this one is designed for listening to high quality music. Bear in mind though that the subwoofers there sound considerably louder than they will in real life when you're driving because for one, there's road noise/car noise, and secondly, in a car, there's alot more things in between you and the subwoofer than in the room (where it's just there).

Another thing you can do is look up American prices on those sites which list prices from various retailers but bear in mind, their discounted prices will be about the same as our heavily discounted prices because alot of these things are produced locally for them so it's much cheaper to begin with.

As for the taking apart the Civic doors- sorry, I can't find much info for you. I only stumbled upon that when I was finding info about the 8th gen Civic. IMO you might want to consider getting it professionally done since the car is so new and under warranty- not to mention there's a good chance you could screw it up since this car seems quite advanced with the integrated dash and all (nb. this is a n00b's overly cautious opinion here).

Oh and one more thing, in terms of quality line... check out the brochures for the different brands. I'm not sure about Boston (but I'm sure they have a brochure) but RF and MB have pretty nice brochures and you can pretty much tell which ones are where in the price line... for example in MB, the Discus is the last thing mentioned in the brochure and at the bottom of the table of comparison (and also has the worst specs) so I'm inclined to think they're the cheapest (which they are); and similarly, the RF stuff, the further back in the brochure they are, I think the cheaper they are (you can also see the specs declining). Also, for RF, "Punch" stuff tends to be the common/cheaper one, whereas 'Power" is the really expensive gear. Can't confirm any of these details, but this is based on logical assumptions based on placement in brochure (they wouldn't put the cheapest up front?) and observations. MB also always says that the speakers use technology which was first pioneered in their premium line; so I'm guessing that indicates the Premium lines are superior to the Discus, etc...

Btw I picked up the brochures from Lifestyle but I think you can find 'em online too on the respective websites.

well i found info for taking apart not just the civic's doors, but pretty much the whole car! there's more than enough info in the official accessory installation instructions which you can find at collegehillshonda.com :)

it's for the american version of the car, but it would be largely the same i imagine. this find has been a godsend for me since now i know how to literally get under the carpet of my car to do some full-body sound deadening!

wrt sound system, it looks like i'll have to head down to lifestyle sometime on the weekend, they obviously know what they're doing and i'd be happy to buy stuff from them... although i might try to install the stuff myself. more satisfaction that way :) (although could be more drama if i stuff it up)

i think you should also try Doran pro audio in bankstown, they would do good stuff and are pretty good on prices, and have a much larger range compared to lifestyle store,
don't get me wrong, lifestyle store are good as well (i bought a punch RF stage 1 sub) but they mainly sell RF, and just a few other brands, whereas doran has a nice wide selection.

And yes try those mb quarts very nice sound.

Yeh they seem to focus on RF (judging by their workshop and posters!), but they also have most of the MB and BA range I think... there's barely any of the cheap stuff though (ie. not many Sony, Pioneer, Clarion, etc...).

Btw integraz- how do you find the P1? I'm starting to wonder if I should've spent an extra $100 on the P2 >< ... the P1 is good, but the soundproofness of my Civic stops the P1 from being heard outside much (hooked up to a P4004 with rating of 98+ RMS per chan).

well p1 sounds alright, i know for a fact that they need a really big sealed box something like 90-100L sealed or something near free air, yes i know thats huge even for sealed, but thats what they prefer for an "optimum" box ( using sub box program)

However going against what i just said, i put mine in a 50L ported box tuned to 33Hz ( the box is for a pioneer 306c) , and its in a starlet so its hatch, and therfore goes louder than sedans anyway. cause it directly shootin in the cabin.

Um how many watss are u putting through the sub? Are channels 3 & 4, bridged? and are channels 1 and 2 for the front speakers?

ive got ~180wrms, and its loud ( enough to make my rear view useless), it can go louder with maybe 300WRMS but i wouldnt put any more. And yes i believe you should've gone with just and extra 100 for p2, much different sub.

But all in all the p1 aint that bad, i reckon if you are putting onli around 200WRMS it is a very efficient sub, even though it has an effiency for 86db?
Well comparing with the pioneer 306c.


philz

Edit: looked at amp specs i think its 200wrms bridged, and on the birth sheet it should be more? so i assume thats more than enough for the sub.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JaCe

... the P1 is good, but the soundproofness of my Civic stops the P1 from being heard outside much...

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are you referring to the stock level of soundproofing, or did you have aftermarket soundproofing done?

Hey ive got 8 speakers in my car not including tweeters
2 6" splits in each door and 2 6" 2ways in each rear quaters
i have got the pioneer in dash unit wiht 5.1 surround output
i considerd hooking it up to a small centre speaker but its a waste as it only works when playing dvd's and not with normal music

i also used alot of deadoning
sprayed on fron the doors badkwards stripped the whole interior
added about 30kg's to the car
and inside the doors I used the stick on mat type

I'm using chan 1 & 2 bridged for the sub- but at 98w rms each, that's nearly 200watts going to the P1. It's good enough I think; but P2 probably would be alot louder? *shrugs*

And I'm talking just stock Civic.. like with the doors all shut, windows up, boot lid shut, etc... not that much noise escapes (in comparison to our Mazda and Daihatsu). Of course it's got nothing on the silence from the BMW and Benz... but, it's surprisingly good. Although me being the ricer wannabe I am- this might not be such a good thing!

NB. Take into account that the P1 isn't that loud.

Back on topic (sorry for double post but.. wanted to bump this);

Does it count as 11 speakers if say... you have a normal Civic with 4 speakers (no tweeters). Then you replace the 2 front speakers with speakers with twin tweeters (ie. effectively 6 speakers incl. 4 tweeters), and replace rear ones with components (ie. effectively 4 speakers incl. 2 tweeters), and then add a subwoofer?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JaCe

Does it count as 11 speakers if say... you have a normal Civic with 4 speakers (no tweeters). Then you replace the 2 front speakers with speakers with twin tweeters (ie. effectively 6 speakers incl. 4 tweeters), and replace rear ones with components (ie. effectively 4 speakers incl. 2 tweeters), and then add a subwoofer?

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i think so. that's the way lexus counts their speakers :)

well it depends on HOW U Count how many speakers in there, i wouldn't count the tweeters, but every single manufacture seems to count tweeters... welll they are speakers. LOL

If i had a system i would tell someone, i have ie/ 4 speakers and two tweeters.