Speaker questions for a +2

[SprogBarnes]

Hi All,
I'm getting my radio converted at vast expense by Tadpole radio so that it'll be 'original' but with Bluetooth, FM, handsfree etc and controlled via the original looking Philips radio.
Anyway, the next thing I need to do is make sure I can get my money's worth via the speakers!
- Can anyone tell me what depth is available between the parcel shelf and the fuel tank?
- Has anyone added 6x9" speakers?
- Has anyone added tweeters under the heater grills?
- Can anyone recommend a good speaker set?

Thanks!

[stugilmour]

I can't recall the exact depth available at the parcel shelf, but I figured most 6" x 9" speakers would be too deep. At a guess, it is less than 1 1/2" or 2" from parcel shelf to the top of the gas tank.

IIRC I used 4" x 6" with Euro screw spacing? I had to oval the screw holes slightly to fit the stock grilles which are an unusual size, but it all worked out once tightened up from the back of the grille. Suggest running the speaker wires down the opposite side of the car from the main loom.

I installed 6" x 9" three-way speakers in the front of the car. I cut through the fibreglass kick panels. There is tons of depth in the side rail plenum (the open volume between the outer fender, interior kick panel, and the removable panels on the rear face of the front wheel wells). I think the speakers I used were 3 1/8" deep. Although the plenum stays dry if you seal the access panels, I used foam speaker baffles like these to prevent any damage or drafts. Figure this location would be 'reasonably reversible' by re-glassing the kick panel and replacing the carpet.

https://www.crutchfield.ca/ProductDetai ... de=237XT92

Felt no need to mount tweeters remotely as the car is pretty noisy at the best. I have remote mounted tweeters in the Esprit and M6 but didn't see the need in the Plus 2.

Overall the sound quality is OK. Largely rely on the front speakers for volume, rear for a bit of fill.

HTH

Stu

[john.p.clegg]

Stu
"I installed 6" x 9" three-way speakers in the front of the car. I cut through the fibreglass kick panels. There is tons of depth in the side rail plenum "
Please be careful,this area is stressed and scuttle shake may be a problem,I had to re-enforce my cut-outs.

John

[jono]

Who needs a radio when you've got a twin cam to listen too

PS: I fitted some speakers to mine when I re made the parcel shelf and I recall there is very little depth to play with

[SprogBarnes]

Thanks for the input everyone and thanks Stu for the depth measurement, really not a lot of room to play with.

I'm reluctant to mess with the body work for speakers, but it's good to know what's possible if you're brave enough!

I'm thinking parcel shelf shallow mounting JBLs with directional tweeters might do the trick.

There's also the option of RetroSound speakers which offer very low-profile and old school classic car shaped speakers but I'm not sure about the quality.

The radio is a nice option to have but I really do hope the best signs will be coming from the engine. To date, that's not really been the case and the car has been with professionals getting fettled for the past 8 months! It's soon to be a new dawn, with a banking sound track

[stugilmour]

Thanks for the input everyone and thanks Stu for the depth measurement, really not a lot of room to play with.

I'm thinking parcel shelf shallow mounting JBLs with directional tweeters might do the trick.

There's also the option of RetroSound speakers which offer very low-profile and old school classic car shaped speakers but I'm not sure about the quality.

Sorry for any confusion, but there might be a bit more options for you. I found my purchase notes, and the speakers I may have used for the parcel shelf are:

Infinity Kappa 682.9cf

5"x7"/6"x8" 2-way car speakers

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_1086829CF/ ... .9cf&tp=93

Even with the dual size call-up, I recall having to modify the mounting holes slightly to fit the stock grilles. I do recall the speakers being slightly larger than the stock grilles. Note I have an aluminum fuel tank, so my speakers don't attach themselves to the top of the fuel tank. Might be a bit problematic to install the parcel shelf with a stock steel tank.

If my notes and memory are correct, these speakers show a bottom mount depth of 2 15/16", which is certainly more room than I recall. I suppose if you are not using the stock grilles you may be able to top mount 6" x 9" speakers.

Crutchfield shows this model as the currently available substitute, which show the same 2 15/16" bottom mount depth, although they do not appear to use a remote cross-over.

Infinity Kappa 682.11cf
5"x7"/6"x8" 2-way car speakers

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_10868211CF ... -11cf.html

Let me know if you need me to check things out further. The car is in storage right now, but I may be able to remove the boot bulkhead and take a look at the gap between the shelf and the fuel tank.

HTH

Stu

[theelanman]

I bought these.....

http://retrocarstuff.com/shop/svc-speak ... -463n.html

[stugilmour]

I bought these.....

http://retrocarstuff.com/shop/svc-speak ... -463n.html

Cool. Shallow mounting depth. Did you use the stock grilles? I thought I used something like that as well.

Stu

[theelanman]

my shelf didn't have holes in it so I made a pair of kick boards with holes in that sat on the vertical face under the rear seat squab.......
it was just a pressure fit (nice and tight with the aid of carpet)..........no fixings etc.....
fed the wires under the central plastic tunnel and under the seat squab.....easy

[SprogBarnes]

Thanks Stu but no need to measure the gap. Kind offer though. I think it's about two inches, so not much room to play with!

@theelanman - I looked at those retrosound speakers and wasn't sure if the sound quality or bass would be affected by the shallow depth. Or if I'd hear them over the engine and road noise! How are you finding them?

Great idea to put speakers under the rear seat, I'd not considered that!

[theelanman]

I found the speakers OK.........
Can't say more than that really.......there's a lot of cabin noise anyway so it does well......but I can't tell if the little sound quality detail is there from the cabin noise.....I can hear it quite well.......

[SprogBarnes]

Hi Stu,

Thanks for your very detailed post.

How are you finding the infinity speaker, I've seen a lot of good reviewes about it. How long have you had them fitted and do you run them through am amp?

What size did you fit (5x7?) and did they fit flush on the parcel shelf with the original speaker grill or did you need to build a box.

Sorry for all the questions but if you've found a perfect solution it would be good to know!

Thanks again

[stugilmour]

The Infinity line is really good. Very clear and lots of definition. I would consider their whole line to be at the top end of popularly priced speakers. Anything more expensive is probably wasted in the Plus 2 environment.

I think I have had them fitted for six or so years with no issues.

I use a Kenwood four way amp (one channel pair for the rear speakers and one channel pair for the front speakers). 75 watts RMS per channel (300 watts total). I think the head unit amp only is about 25 watt RMS per channel. IIRC the Infinity speakers sounded pretty lame without the amp. I had to put the volume up quite a bit to get a normal listening level. That said, the Crutchfield link says they are a pretty efficient speaker, so not sure if you will need an amp for sure.

I mounted the amp under the boot floor. Lots of room on the right side, and easy to connect to the battery. Someone else recently posted they located an amp behind the panel on the right side of the rear seat, which sounded like a good idea. I think I considered that spot but did not want the hassle of making an attachment to mount it vertically; the amp is pretty heavy.

I should perhaps check the speaker size and model call-up to be sure. I am going off some purchase notes I found. If I remove the trunk bulkhead and take a look in there I can tell if they are this model of Infinity speaker, as they have the distinctive remote crossovers. I am pretty sure that is what I used, but heck it was six years ago.

I definitely fit them with the stock grilles. They fit flush and look completely stock. I did not build a box for them. I don't think I used the foam bucket deals as there was so little clearance to the fuel tank.

At any rate, the Infinity 682.9cf model is billed as both a 5" x 7" and a 6" x 8" in the same speaker; there are several mounting holes provided to make this work. That said, they did not exactly match with the mounting studs on the stock grilles. With a bit of fettling I got them to fit though. I can't recall if I was actually able to use all four mounting studs. I just couldn't figure out a standard size that would fit the stock grilles studs, and I figured the dual size call-up had a better chance of fitting. Crutchfield shows this Infinity model as NLA, but I see there are other dual sized speakers available from several manufacturers.

HTH

Stu

[SprogBarnes]

Hi Stu,

Thanks for all of your input here.

I have the original steel fuel tank so I'm not sure there's much clearance under the parcel shelf and I think some speaker mounting will be required.

Also the car trimmer is working to a timescale that required me to get equipment ready for this week so thought it best to order from the UK.

I ended up buying some E range 6x9 Pioneer speakers - https://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/produc ... -27779.htm
and a small proportioned Pioneer stick amp - https://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/produc ... -32858.htm

The setup is powerful so the audio quality should be excellent, when not in motion!

Fingers crossed it'll all fit together as the speakers are a bit on the deep side...

Thanks again for your input!