More newbie questions

[olivia1993]

Hi everyone,

I'm just wondering exactly what speakers would I need to buy for my '93 festiva? What kind of sub would work well and surround sound kind of thing?

thanks

[Powerstiva]

4" in front and back
6.5" IIRC for the door mounts if you cut holes for them on the doorcards
and I have a 12" kenwood underpowered with a 250watt amp in the back of mine but I only have drove around with it for a day or two before I blew my clutch in December and haven't drove it since

[Bert]

Hi everyone,
I'm just wondering exactly what speakers would I need to buy for my '93 festiva? What kind of sub would work well and surround sound kind of thing?
thanks

You are becoming inspired (I suspect), and so far have proudly admitted to driving a 20 year old Ford/Mazda/Kia car. Concentrate on keeping it going and never mind the BS sound system racket that everyone else (but not old codgers like me) is trying to sell you on.
You want to reliably get from A to B, or are vibes more important? Modern cars tend have better sound systems already built in and if "noise" is more important to you, then buying something newer may be the cheapest easiest way to go.
May sound entirely weird to you but the motor sound of a carefully and thoughtfully prepared BPT-swapped Festy incites some of us to even seek out 'OEM radio delete' panels.

[Safety Guy]

One idea I've thought about is that some years of Miata have speakers in the seat head restraints. I have no idea if that would be worth it, but then I'm not a "stereo system" kinda guy. I rarely listen to the radio, but one day I'll put in a decent (to me) CD player/radio and a pair of better speakers.

Maybe someone who knows about the seat speakers can address how nice they are?

Karl

[Bert]

One idea I've thought about is that some years of Miata have speakers in the seat head restraints. I have no idea if that would be worth it, but then I'm not a "stereo system" kinda guy. I rarely listen to the radio, but one day I'll put in a decent (to me) CD player/radio and a pair of better speakers.

Maybe someone who knows about the seat speakers can address how nice they are?

Karl

My first Festy had the OEM 4 speaker sound system. I still have it and I think it is still OK except that the OEM Ford radio in it gave out very early on. Before that car goes to the dump (this summer) I will certainly not be tossing that stuff out, and maybe figuring on installing the rear speakers in one of my others. The connection wires are all there in every Festy I look at or take apart.

[TorqueEffect]

Even the $20 4" Boss brand speakers blow the factory speakers out of the water quality wise.

Nothing worse than speakers with cardboard cones, and that is what the factory speakers have.

[Aaronbrook37]

Even the $20 4" Boss brand speakers blow the factory speakers out of the water quality wise.

Nothing worse than speakers with cardboard cones, and that is what the factory speakers have.

Agreed. Those dash speakers should be one of the first upgrades that a Festiva owner makes to an otherwise original car.

[Skrapbob]

Pick a head unit with USB input and AUX input, then you can play from your phone or mp3 player, if that's what you like. My Pioneer headunit also picks up HD radio, and I love it! It's great for (extra stations with commercial free) music if you live in a well populated area where free HD is broadcast. I bought my pioneer head unit for $90 refurbished on the bay.
Four quality 4 inch used speakers can buy had off the bay also. Be sure to get low profile tweeters to fit behind the factory grills, front and rear.
The subwoofer will depend on how much money and space you want to take up in your car. It can get quite expensive. I use an Infinity Basslink, but would probably go with a low profile underseat unit if I was to replace it.
Be careful who hears your system if you don't want your vehicle broken into, and a loud booming woofer is a target for thieves IMO.
I have less than $400 in my stereo, but I would bet it sounds better than the factory system in all but the most expensive vehicles available today.

[olivia1993]

Thanks for your input, everyone.

I actually invested about $500 in speakers and a deck with USB and AUX imports in september. And Bert, I'm 17. It's not just "noise" it's really fun to be able to play my music loudly with my friends. My friend said he could get me a sub for pretty cheap, I just really need to know what kind to get and I'd like more than one person's advice. Would an underseat one be as good?

[FestYboy]

olivia, take what i give with a grain of salt (i've been doing audio for well over 15 yrs). if you want loud, that's easy and can be done with nearly anything, but it'll sound like poop.

if you want to HEAR your music (all of it), a set of component speakers is where you want to go. idealy, the FEWER the number of speakers you have, the better it will sound.

what i'm getting at is 1 sub (8-10" crossed at 150-180Hz is all you'll ever need for a cabin the size of a festy) and a pair of 5.25" kick panel placed components (crossed over at 200-250Hz but possibly slightly higher and at a minimum of 12dB/oct). the sub shouldn't ever see the low end of the vocal range, the vocals should all come from the mid-basses of the component set. there should be no rear speakers. if you find that the sound stage needs to be raised, i suggest an additional pair of attenuated 1" tweets placed on the dash facing the windshield (crossed at 1800-2000Hz if it's possible).

[olivia1993]

FestYboy,

Thanks so much for all that information! Unfortunately, I don't really know what any of that means. Should I just take that to my mechanic and ask him if it's easy or possible to do for my car? Also, do you know how much all of that would cost?

[Bert]

You definitely get the full gamut of opinions on here. I'm no sound system nut or guru but Festyboy's advice makes sense to me. Not so much the specifications but the advice to keep the number of speakers to a minimum, and to buy quality stuff. Most of us have had to endure waiting at traffic lights next to clowns with cars that shake and rattle with over-sized boom boxes on board.

[Safety Guy]

Olivia, just remember how easy it is to break into our cars. Go to a meet and see how many fellow Festivians' Festiva keys will open yours. Because of that, I personally would not keep anything of much value in one of my cars unless there are other locking systems in place.

Put in a nice sound system, then maybe a car alarm, along with your power windows and so forth. You're adding cost, weight, complexity, thief appeal and increasing the possibility of something going wrong. Now consider the twenty+ year old wiring you have.

When I get a better stereo system, it will be an "upgrade," but nothing that stands out to thieves and it won't cost me more than $100, if that.

Just things to consider. I work security at a university and hearing tales of $1000 mountain bikes stolen off campus, along with other tales of unlocked doors, doors and windows left open, etc. have informed my crime prevention sense. As soon as word gets round you have $500 plus invested in your sound system, you become a target. Your friends may not be crooks, but the folks they talk to may be, or talk to people who do know crooks. IMO, better to have a tolerable >$100 radio than to lose a <$500 one that has left damage to your car that will cost even more time, money and effort to fix.

Karl

[TominMO]

I konkur with Karl. A coat hanger can open a Festy door in seconds. I'd just buy four good 4" speakers for the stock locations; that way they are not noticeable. And my radio would be a detachable-faceplate style so I could take the faceplate with me.

[FestYboy]

FestYboy,

Thanks so much for all that information! Unfortunately, I don't really know what any of that means. Should I just take that to my mechanic and ask him if it's easy or possible to do for my car? Also, do you know how much all of that would cost?

a regular mechanic won't know much about good audio (unless he does it as a hobby), you should contact a local stereo shop and see what they can do for you.

all of what i mentioned can be hidden in plain sight if done correctly (except maybe the tweets on the dash but no one cares about tweets). the one thing i would be concerned about is the head unit and placement of the amp for the sub.... both should be an out of sight, out of mind kinda thing.