Suitcase stereo question for audiophiles about tweeter place

[uglydog56]

Working on a 65 euro here with radio delete plate.

I'm putting together a suitcase stereo. I have all the components, and am laying them out before I start building the box. I'm going straight off the ipod (through the iSimple adaptor and volume knob setup) to a 3-channel amp that powers an 8" sub and 2- 5 1/4" component speakers. I didn't end up with the largest suitcase in the world, but I want to stay with it as it wooden framed but cloth sided. I can build off the sides and keep my speakers hidden but still hear them relatively clear.

I'm considering putting the tweeters flush mount on the top. Will they sound okay bouncing off the rear glass like that, or am I overthinking, or do I need to put them facing forward, or do they need to be up front? I'd like to keep the speakers all in the suitcase, but I bought decent speakers, so I want to get all the sound quality out of them I can.

Thanks for your time!

[Wayne S. Johnson]

Direct sound path is the best, but bouncing off the rear glass should work also. You will want to use a level control with the tweeter crossover network to achieve the correct sound level. The tweeter must have at least capacitor in series to prevent damage, they can not take low frequency or the coil will be burned out or damaged.

Your speaker specifications will dictate the crossover network frequency. Here is an example of a 2 way crossover.
http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-xo2w-3k-2-way-speaker-crossover-3000-hz--260-144

If you use a sup woofer you will need a 3 way crossover.

See additional speaker configuration pictures in my 6 Volt power amplifier AD on THE SAMBA.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=796241
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[panicman]

Let us know what you do, and take pictures. I'll be watching this thread
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[uglydog56]

Thank you, Wayne for the quick reply. My component speakers (polk db5251) came with crossovers, which have a switch on the side for -3db, 0, +3db to the tweeters. Hopefully that is adequate. The amp (a Lanzar RDA753D, please don't judge) has LPF for the sub and a HPF for the front channels, both at 12db/octave. I plan on setting the LPF to 125ish and the HPF to slightly below that. The mid's range is supposed to be 53hz - 23khz, the sub (Rockford Fosgate p2d2- 39 to 250hz.

I am converted to 12v.

Panic, I've got you covered!

[Wayne S. Johnson]

The components look great. The speaker enclosure is a critical aspect of the sound quality. Have you considered building an enclosure?

Here are a few links on the subject:
http://thespeakerguys.blogspot.com/2008/03/how-port-on-speaker-works.html
http://www.diyaudioandvideo.com/Calculator/SpeakerBoxEnclosure/
http://www.diyaudioandvideo.com/Tutorial/DesignBuildSpeakerBox/
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Speaker+Port+d...ORM=VRDGAR
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[Miklo]

Be sure your Beetles rear seat strap is in good order!

My suitcase stereo always wants to fly forward when braking hard... I added another suitcase to take up the extra room back there.

Those thing can be quite heavy... build it as lightweight as you can if possible. My only real suggestion.
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'55 Type1 "Ozma"
'66 Type1 "Charlotte" RIP
Antelope Valley's Mobile Air-Cooled Guru

[uglydog56]

Wayne, believe it or not, I'm building a speaker enclosure out of MDF inside my suitcase based on the info on that very website! Small sealed box recommended size by R-F is .2-.3 cf with .23 being ideal.

Doug, I'm going to engineer some sort of subtle hook for the handle of the suitcase. My back seat folds forward under hard braking already!

[uglydog56]

Photos of progress thus far as requested.

Here is the suitcase I am using:

I peeled the vinyl lining out of the inside so the sound and air can move. Here it's in progress:

Here is the iSimple ipod-to-rca adaptor installed in the car. I tapped into the dome light power so I would be able to charge the ipod all the time. I put the ipod plug in the glovebox so it could be hidden when not in use. The rca out goes to a volume control placed unobtrusively under the dash, then to the linear amplifier box to boost the ipod signal. I have to split the rca to send input to subwoofer and speakers, so I put in the linear amplifier. If you were just powering a 2 channel amp and a couple of speakers, or perhaps one of those dual voice coil speakers that go in the stock location, I don't think you'd need the amplifier.
adaptor is green arrow; line amplifier is red arrow:

Here is volume control under dash. Second knob on right is subwoofer level; that's just a feature of my amp that I'll probably never adjust after I get it dialed in.

ipod plug (and aux plug for android users) in glovebox:

Here is inside of suitcase. The upper is the subwoofer box, the tweeter crossovers are mounted to the side of it. Sub is an 8" Rockford Fosgate punch; mids/tweets are Polk audio db5251's.

This pic shows the amp (on the left) and the crossovers for the mids/tweeters all wired up. I'm using a Lanzar amp, which isn't the best, but this ain't no show car. Should be enough to push the speakers I have.

Here's the rca and power coming out the bottom of the suitcase. I plan on leaning the suitcase back to point the speakers up somewhat. These will be hidden under a mat. 4 gage wire is probably overkill for this application, but the first rule of overkill is YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH OVERKILL!

Unfortunately I ran out of real estate and had to put one tweeter out where it's visible. I had some brown exterior paint for a home project, and carefully painted the exposed tweeter to kind of minimize it visually.

iNot a perfect color match, but it's what I had laying around. I cleaned up around the edges of that tweeter, I promise it looks better than that picture shows it.

Here it sits, waiting for silicone in subwoofer box to cure so speakers can be installed:

Tomorrow I will post pics of the finished product, hopefully installed in the car!

[mmm5mMattiH]

Interesting setup you have there. I tried to search these kind of sound systems few months then, but didn`t find any.
So I decided to plan my own.
Here´s a short video. Sorry it´s made in finnish, but I think you guys get the idea.


Link

[uglydog56]

Matt, your setup is super cool! Haha your 65 is the exact same color and interior as mine, only yours is pretty and mine is ragged.

Here is my suitcase with speakers installed:

Here it is installed in the car:

From the back window (which I need to clean it appears):

Initial sound results were subpar. The sub wouldn't fire, and I only had one mid working. I might have said a swear. However, it wasn't a big deal as I found a disconnected rca cable which fixed all the problems.

Now, it was better. But still just a bit disappointing. Well, it was just a suitcase stereo, right? It just seemed a bit tinny, kind of like an old hi-fi. So, as I was cleaning up tools, I realized the line amplifier wasn't hooked up. I plugged that in, and whammo! I was the obnoxious neighbor everyone hates! That thing cranks! I did have to use the eq on the ipod to tailor the sound just a bit, it still had just a touch too much mid. The speaker knob is really touchy now, it will make my wife's ears bleed! I definitely think the line amplifier is necessary to get everything out of the amp and speakers. Really digging it, highly recommend the suitcase stereo!