The modern stereo system

Princess Valiant said
So I'm putting together a road car (72 dart) designed for long road trips. Highway gears, gas sipping engine selection, comfortable bench seat with an armrest, cup holders. A lot of thought given to accessories.

Then comes the audio..... I've been daily driving a 68 dart for the past 7 years with a radio delete plate and I've had it.

So I'm thinking of an underdash mp3 with USB to some kickpanel speakers, a pair of custom made speaker enclosures that will bolt on the package tray in the corners.

Then I'm thinking of a dual 12 inch subwoofer box or extra large bass cannon, mounted above the where the rear end is in the trunk. Then a package tray with speaker grilles left empty for the bass to come through into the car.

Bass is key and has to be very strong or it is not really worth doing.

I don't fool with old *** cd's, so it would have to be USB or blue tooth.

Has anyone done anything similar, suggestions ??

View attachment 1715720157

View attachment 1715720158

View attachment 1715720159

If you’re going for sound quality, do some decent kickpanels up front. The ones from RetroSound are very small drivers and won’t provide the mid bass - treble that you’d want.

I put in 80 mil Kilmat along my entire floor and on the package tray and then mounted JL Audio C2-690TX three-way 6*9’s in my package tray in a boom mat enclosure with the bottom removed to keep the bass response. I’ll be adding 5 1/4” JL Audio speakers in kickpanels up front as well as two smaller speakers with bass blockers center mounted in the dash, and a smaller single sub eventually.

For sound quality, you want the soundstage (where the music sounds like it’s coming from) to be in front of you. Like there’s a band right in front of your windshield. Good quality drivers at your feet are excellent for that. They give the sound more space to your ears and will sound better than a speaker on the dash would.

if you’re going for peak loudness, get an amp and a couple 6*9’s and some big subs and do that. Don’t worry about kickpanels.

Alternatively, two 12” subs is a lot of sub bass and bass. That will be loud but it’s not going to be the best sounding music. You could get a smaller single sub and have someone custom tune an enclosure for your application. That will maximize bass response throughout the spectrum in your car, much better than any prefab enclosure will. Getting one designed will run around $100.