Not sure where to start, Car is soundproofed and stock system sounds awful

[killeraxemannic 10+ year member]

Car is a 2007 Subaru Legacy.

When I got the car I was happy with the factory system. Sounded okay for the time being so I was not going to do anything with it.

Recently I used an off brand dynamat from RAAMAudio in the doors of my car for some highway soundproofing. Worked very well for that purpose but made the stock stereo sound awful. The highs are weak and the bass is gone.

Not sure if I should start with some decent speakers.. thinking Fosgate R165 for the doors running of the stock head unit or to try a new deck first. Was looking at the Pioneer DEH-P7400HD because it has the high and low pass filters and I plan on a sub in the very distant future.

Where would you start? Speakers or deck?

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[UnderFire 10+ year member]

Deck

Speakers

4 channel amp

Sub stage.

That's how I would do it from stock. But I would actually do the first 3 at the same time.

 

[Moble Enclosurs 10+ year member]

The deck can make a huge comfortable difference, but don't rely on it to bring your bass back. When you dynomatted the vehicle, what you essentially did was create a more solid less, vibrating plane for the speakers to utilize for bass reproduction. Likely by losing door volume that was possibly once used once for speaker volume. Reducing panel vibrations can cause the speakers to act more in their operating range rather than produce that for what a substage is designed for. Just because the factory speakers play full range, does not mean they are doing the best job they can. In fact, added distortion can be easily obtained from factory setups due to needed overpowering to get the low end response in most cases.

So, the fact that it lost bass output should tell you that either you separated the needed volume of the door panels for the speakers to produce bass in for resonances, and/or eliminated those needed resonances as well. This is actually a good thing. So seeing that the midrange is the only sound that stayed strong (persay) in that change, says that the speakers are now operating in the range they are meant to play in and the need for a more component type setup and substage is necessary for your personal preference.

But, always begin with the electrical system and do the deck first. A lot of the general control of the sound will be from the source, not the receiver. Hope that helps to understand why that happened.

 

[killeraxemannic 10+ year member]

The deck can make a huge comfortable difference, but don't rely on it to bring your bass back. When you dynomatted the vehicle, what you essentially did was create a more solid less, vibrating plane for the speakers to utilize for bass reproduction. Likely by losing door volume that was possibly once used once for speaker volume. Reducing panel vibrations can cause the speakers to act more in their operating range rather than produce that for what a substage is designed for. Just because the factory speakers play full range, does not mean they are doing the best job they can. In fact, added distortion can be easily obtained from factory setups due to needed overpowering to get the low end response in most cases. So, the fact that it lost bass output should tell you that either you separated the needed volume of the door panels for the speakers to produce bass in for resonances, and/or eliminated those needed resonances as well. This is actually a good thing. So seeing that the midrange is the only sound that stayed strong (persay) in that change, says that the speakers are now operating in the range they are meant to play in and the need for a more component type setup and substage is necessary for your personal preference.

But, always begin with the electrical system and do the deck first. A lot of the general control of the sound will be from the source, not the receiver. Hope that helps to understand why that happened.

That explains things very well. I will definitely be starting with the deck then. How is the one I mentioned in the original post? The features I wanted were high & low pass filters and HD radio. This was the cheapest Pioneer with all these features I believe. That is why I picked it.

 

[Moble Enclosurs 10+ year member]

I couldn't say personally, because I have not experienced that particular one before, but for specs, look for low distortion (thd) if posted as a spec, you will be ok with power as not much is needed anyhow for higher frequency range drivers. Really, a listening test and samples would be the best decision maker. But if it doesn't work, return it for something else, until you are happy with the options and sound. Best thing to do rather than take advice on an electronic, in my opinion. pioneer is a good company so the chance is likely that you will enjoy it.

 

[neonblack 10+ year member]

A new head unit isn't going to do much in the area of power. A decent $200-$250 head unit usually doesn't produce more than 35W RMS per channel. That's not going to power any quality speaker. What you need is an amp(s) for some power. Start with a head unit that is reliable (Alpine, etc.) with features that you want, find speakers/components that will produce quality sound then add an amp(s) that will easily power your speakers.

Add subs to compliment your speaker components if you want. I added two individually-enclosed (homemade fiberglass kick panels) 8" Kicker subs ($55 ea.) and it totally completes my ADS component speaker system. I feel like I'm sitting inside of a drum kit. I have a small car, as well - Pontiac Sunfire.

 

[Moble Enclosurs 10+ year member]

A new head unit isn't going to do much in the area of power. A decent $200-$250 head unit usually doesn't produce more than 35W RMS per channel. That's not going to power any quality speaker. What you need is an amp(s) for some power. Start with a head unit that is reliable (Alpine, etc.) with features that you want, find speakers/components that will produce quality sound then add an amp(s) that will easily power your speakers.
Add subs to compliment your speaker components if you want. I added two individually-enclosed (homemade fiberglass kick panels) 8" Kicker subs ($55 ea.) and it totally completes my ADS component speaker system. I feel like I'm sitting inside of a drum kit. I have a small car, as well - Pontiac Sunfire.

Actually, most HUs will produce less than that, believe it or not. But even so, with the speakers in the proper placement to the listening position, you do not need more than 20w per channel for literally most of the full range or 2/3 way speakers on the market right now. The wattage can be a bit deceiving in most cases and the sensitivity of those drivers are usually pretty decent. ANd in relation to the distance of where you sit, being in a vehicle, 20w per channel can be ample power for the common listener. Its a personal preference really, and if you are looking to gain more output than that, yes and external amp is required, but you would be surprised at the output of 20w on a high sensitivity driver in the proper placement to your ear at that distance. Don't let low wattage fool you. The amount of dB increase per watt adds up very quickly and a needed 120dB+ from your fronts is not necessary unless you are trying to keep up with your substage, lol.

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

RAAMaudio sells good products but their CCF product doesn't do what they claim to do for improving the performance of speakers. It has no acoustical properties of its own that lend to blocking sound in frequencies that matter with music. This means it's doing absolutely nothing to block road noise. It also can't absorb sound, so it's no good to line the inside of the door with it. What you should use it for is to decouple two hard surfaces so energy transfer is reduced. In "normal person" terms this means placing it between two panels to stop vibration.

The same goes for their "off brand Dynamat", which is more correct to call a vibration damper since Dynamat is just a brand. It won't block or absorb sound, either.

Both of these products are fine when used for the jobs they can actually do.

 

[killeraxemannic 10+ year member]

RAAMaudio sells good products but their CCF product doesn't do what they claim to do for improving the performance of speakers. It has no acoustical properties of its own that lend to blocking sound in frequencies that matter with music. This means it's doing absolutely nothing to block road noise. It also can't absorb sound, so it's no good to line the inside of the door with it. What you should use it for is to decouple two hard surfaces so energy transfer is reduced. In "normal person" terms this means placing it between two panels to stop vibration.
The same goes for their "off brand Dynamat", which is more correct to call a vibration damper since Dynamat is just a brand. It won't block or absorb sound, either.

Both of these products are fine when used for the jobs they can actually do.

Well it definitely did work well for the road noise. The car is quiet enough now that I can't even hear the tire noise that was bothering me before. Its kinda eerie quiet inside the car when you are on the highway now.

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

I haven't yet heard a system that got worse with deadening. Did you seal something that shouldn't have been sealed? Got any pictures of the doors after deadening?

BTW I've used RAAMat deadener for years and it's as good as any IMO.

 

[killeraxemannic 10+ year member]

I haven't yet heard a system that got worse with deadening. Did you seal something that shouldn't have been sealed? Got any pictures of the doors after deadening?
BTW I've used RAAMat deadener for years and it's as good as any IMO.

Did mine very similar to this post. Have no pictures of mine though. Also put the silver stuff inside the doors on the outside wall behind the window.

Complete Interior Removal- Sound proofing the rattlebox - Subaru Impreza WRX STI Forums: IWSTI.com

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

Seems like something else is at fault.. no highs and bass is weak.. did you swap the wires for tweeter and mids (yah I know that sounds dumb, but...)

 

[killeraxemannic 10+ year member]

Seems like something else is at fault.. no highs and bass is weak.. did you swap the wires for tweeter and mids (yah I know that sounds dumb, but...)

You can't they have their own plugs and they are in 2 totally different locations. Between now and when I made this post I swapped the front speakers out for some alpine comps. They sound cleaner and more crisp and I got all the highs back but the bass is still lacking :/

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

Which is odd, because that's typically what improves with sealed and deadened doors.

 

[killeraxemannic 10+ year member]

Which is odd, because that's typically what improves with sealed and deadened doors.

I got my new Pioneer deck in yesterday and that was the ticket. The system pounds hard now even without having a sub. I am pretty sure the Alpine's were just starved for power with the factory unit.