Is Upgrading Your Car Speakers ACTUALLY Worth It?
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We are tired of the Miata speakers sounding like our music is playing next to a blender, it sucks! And it’s not fair to our sweet head unit. So we decided it’s time to pair the miata with new speakers and an amp! This is gonna be fun … or will it?
Money Pit is where you get to learn about cars as we work on them. Each ep we’ll breakdown how each component works and then we’ll upgrade it. Join us in our journey to build cool cars, learn about them, and drive the crap out of them!
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Not joking, he's one of the best talkers while working on KZhead.
Huh?
@@LUHKNOWNONDATRACK he doesn't miss a beat. A lot of automotive KZheadrs lose train of thought, repeat themselves, just sound stressed and taxed. He doesn't do any of this. He keeps an even keel, and doesn't sound like he's breaking a sweat no matter what while talking; and talking consistently.
He explained so well at ecs tuning
@@reniervandermerwe OHHHHHHH
True
"Do you like to jam out in your car?" Guilty. "But your speakers sound like they're under water?" Absolutely.
"but your speakers sound like they're under water?" FUCK YEA THEY DO!
I immediately was like YEP. Felt like will farrel in step brothers
I feel bad, I got the alpine series x component 6.5, on all doors and with the alpine series x subwoofer and alpine pdv x9... ooof 🥵
Would the solution be to add dynamat?
I must say, being a car audio professional for the last 14 years... That this is the one of the best videos that I have seen, not only explaining the basics of car audio, the install itself was actually very well done. Everything was very well explained and shown ... All his skills and techniques were very good.... The use of good quality brands and good quality wiring.... The explanations of why these things are very important... For example oxygen-free copper... And improving the vehicles thin cheap ground wires... I would have a difficult time Nit-picking anything... I probably would have found separate grounds for each rather than bundling them up.... And grinding the paint on the chassis where he connected the ground to bare metal.... Overall... EXTREMELY good video.... Hats off to you
Oxygen free cables are marketing BS any decent copper cable with suitable size and insulation will perform just as well.
@@dougmathews4480 link to study showing a comparison which indicates a direct win?
Class D is great for low frequencies. Can use class D in a noisy miata just fine. If you are in a quiet car, gotta use class AB for doors. Also, power wire is way overkill. You machine gunned point of diminishing returns. Those door speakers are not going to pull more than 15 amps peak. At the same time, going overkill on your power feed will save you long run when you are ready to drop a subwoofer. For anyone who hasn't done their first install, use this video as a starting point. YOU CAN DO IT. People like me that would nit pick, ignore us. Your first does not have to be perfect. Your second install will be even better and so on. I have been upgrading my cars for decades. Only last year did I buy a hydraulic crimper. Before that, I smashed the ring terminals with channel locks and soldered with a little torch. With enough practice you will get to a point to where no body panels rattle. My system is so loud, my review mirror is useless at moderate volume and I have to aim the mirror again at full volume. LED headlights dim. Passenger has to scream for me to hear them and often have to repeat themselves. Most of the time, I keep the music lower than people talking casually in the car and the bass drum is softly felt. Fun story. A car in front of me in drive through was license plate rattling and thumping. The car in front of him was yelling to get their order in. When the car in front of me was up, I baby sharked (pink fong) his ass. He couldn't get his order in. He flicked me off a few times, pulled out of queue and went somewhere else. The car that was in front of him smiled and gave thumbs up.
I was about to make a comment on the overlapping ground and the paint but completely agree
I was thinking this the whole time watching this video. He explained everything so well.
I used to install competition stereo systems in the early 90's. I can still remember my first one. Let me encourage you, you can do it. It's so satisfying upon completion.
As a competitor myself, we all know SPACE MAKES BASS!! unfortunately he jus doesn't have it for an spl, but SQ wise he could do a little bit
next we'll need a video of all of your neighbors yelling at you cause you're bumpin pumphrey while driving around at midnight
Yooo yes!
Pop up up and down headlights!!! Pop up up and down headlights!!!
💔👝
But I mean, you GOTTA bump the Pump, and pump the bump
Not much bumping will be happening without a subwoofer
2:46 Camera man was like: “Yea I’m feelin this”
💕⛑
wtf are those replies LMAO
@@lucasschadeck6714 lmao Russian bots trying to steal our gas
@@coltonmartinez4434 damn fart harvesters
I just got my first car from my father. 1986 C4 corvette. Its in rough shape but il definitely be coming back to these videos for inspiration throughout my build of it, already watched the James' up to speed.
This was such a great intro into car electronics! Thank you so much. You guys do awesome work and make sense of so much that before, wasn’t easy to learn. Keep up the good work and all the best to you and the crew 🤙🏼🤙🏼
This guy has to be my favorite on this channel. Doesn’t beat around the bush and tells you straight up how things are and how to do things. Makes a beginner like me feel a lot more comfortable getting into the car scene
Pretty sure he's a jerk in my humble opinion. Give me jeremiah all day. James is great as usual and you cant hate that nerd named nolan. But seriously, zach always rubs me the wrong way. Money pit is my favorite because of the topic, hope the new host takes zach's place and zach can move on to doing something else with donut, preferably off camera
@@TheKos2Kos :(
@@TheKos2Kos huh, interesting i've never gotten that vibe from him at all. seems like a pretty big assumption just from watching these videos. he comes across confident in his knowledge to me.
@@TheKos2Kos Here's an idea; If you don't have anything nice to say, stfu.
@@SlashCampable Practice what you preach.
Zach needs to install the mod that allows you to manually control when each headlight goes up/down. Then pump "pop up up and down headlights" at full volume while alternately winking each headlight. Get Jeremiah in his mesh shirt as a backup dancer.
That would actually be perfect
If you mash the headlight button on miatas the motors can’t keep up and they start popping up one at a time
Yes
This. Must. Happen. Now!
Jeremiah in his mesh shirt. This just reminded me how much I laughed when I first saw Jeremiah in his mesh shirt. Well played.
Great video. Informative, entertaining, and clean too...family friendly. Really love this style.
If you want to low pass filter on your stock head unit to your stock speakers if you have a aftermarket sub setup, you can put a capacitor in line near the speaker and it will filter out the low bass notes
Jobe is going to be a great Dad some day. He makes me feel like I can do anything after just watching a video.
Rita fuck me might be a scam / computer virus profile, don't click that shit
Bro yes !!
I've got a '91 Miata and did this same thing (and more) about 15 years ago. It's time I look at refreshing the entire setup again. The old Miata models are SUPER easy to work on. However, here are some tips: The NA6 and NA8 Miata has a weird parasitic draw that makes batteries die quickly so get an Optima D51R and a longer tie-down rod to match (it's taller than the OEM unit but fits just fine in the footprint). Then get a Battery Tender (or similar) to keep it topped up. If you're concerned about the lack of instant current a yellow-top battery will provide for a higher-powered audio system, get a small capacitor installed in-line with the amp(s) - you won't need much. I also sprung for some quick-disconnects on the factory power/ground cables to make it easier to swap if/when needed and to disconnect fully when in storage (no snow!) - those are 6ga cables, by the way. For the audio system, run the RCAs under the plastic center console/tunnel cover. Run the speaker wire under the door sills. For speakers, 6.5" units in the door are pretty much garbage at speed with the top down since they're pretty much at your feet but they can serve as a decent foundation. Getting proper *component* speakers will allow you to mount the tweeter in a position where it can do some good and reach your ears. The rear deck (where the convertible top would rest when down) can be cut for an 8" shallow-depth, free-air sub on each side. If you still have the OEM seats (which I highly recommend - just get covers or go for a full re-upholstery job), you can mount a pair of 3.5" speakers in EACH headrest. That's a total of 8 channels of audio. From the head unit, FRONT goes to the door speakers. REAR goes to a low-power 4-channel amp driving the headrests. SUB goes to whatever you have driving the pair of 8" units on the rear deck. None of the speakers in the car need a ton of power to work well. After all, the furthest any speaker will be from your ears will be about 3.5 feet. A good amp for the 6.5" door speakers would probably be a 2x50w through a 2x75w unit. The headrests are going to be more than fine at 4x35w. The subs in the rear deck are going to depend greatly on the specs of the units you can find to fit but I found 2x150w to be plenty. I'm running old Infinity Reference component speakers in the door and Infinity Reference in the headrests. The subs on the deck are... Pioneer, I think? The system hits well enough to sound good and cuts through the wind noise adequately but it won't win any competitions. I just want to hear the music while I'm driving. I put the amps on a board that fit in the lower well in the trunk - it's a menagerie of Alpine and California units that, to be honest, aren't a good match for the system but they're what I had on hand at the time. Amp technology has come a long way since I did all that and can probably fit a lot better now (Class-D amps...)
Except he fucked up on major issues here...one mainly that will kill your speakers.
@@chrisSVT Explain?
As a wise man once said: "a bangin' stereo, for me tunes!"
Hamoooooond
TG
Very underrated comment though
Oh what a pillock
Fockin hammock
Honestly I just want Zach as a friend, just a down to earth dude with a calm demeanor and a good attitude. A genuine good dude.
I love this channel, is like a one stop and shop channel where you can learn how to fix cars, DIY on music systems, learn about the history of cars, laugh and buy merchandises...lol You guys are awesome!!!
Some extra bits of info on the topic for anyone interested in doing this: - It is extremely important that your positive power cable has a fuse on it as close to the battery as possible. If you run an unfused thick power wire - especially a long one - and it accidentally hits the body of the car or gets damaged for example, you are directly shorting out your battery with a very beefy wire, meaning the battery will essentially pump out all of its energy as fast as possible, not only killing the battery and potentially starting fires, but also literally creating an explosion hazard as the battery overheats and starts to boil. - It is common advice to always make sure the ground cable is the first cable you install to an amplifier. Do not plug in the power, remote or especially the RCAs before the ground is connected. Similarly, whenever you are removing an amplifier make sure the ground stays connected for as long as possible. One of the worst mistakes you can make is plugging the RCA in first, then power. As soon as an amplifier receives power on its terminals, even without being turned on with the remote wire, it will charge up a capacitor bank inside which causes a huge surge of current - often even visible on the power cables as a loud spark. If the ground isn't connected, the amp will ground itself through the only path it has - the RCA. Now this huge current surge will run through your thin RCA wires into your headunit instead of using the nice and thick ground cable. This pretty much always results in blowing the audio traces and/or nearby components in your headunit, resulting in anything from horrible sounding audio to no audio at all or even a completely dead headunit. Good order of operations is Ground -> Power -> remote -> speakers -> RCAs. When removing, reverse the order. - On some headunits the very upper end of the volume range is not actually recommended to use, especially with an amplifier hooked up. Past a certain volume level the headunit starts to "overdrive" its outputs, meaning it has already reached "maximum" volume and is now just trying to make it even louder. This is done to for example get full volume out of a music track that is particularly quiet. If however playing "properly made" music - music that is mixed in a way that it hits close to 0dB at some points in the song - the headunit can't actually "amplify" the sound any more and the sound signal will do what's called "clipping" - the round peak of the soundwave gets clipped off. This will bring unwanted harmonics to the audio and if the clipping is high enough the distortion will become audible to even the most untrained ear. Clipping is bad in more than just audio quality though, as it can even break your amplifier or speakers if done for too long. Set the gain knob of your amplifier to it's lowest level. Start increasing volume from the headunit gradually until you feel like you start hearing distortion - this is most audible at lower frequencies, eg. bass. WHen you hear distortion, take the volume a few clicks back until you can be absolutely sure you hear no clipping. Now try with different songs, and if the audio quality increases by lowering the volume, you are likely clipping. Continue this until you have found a volume level at which all songs sound fine. Now start increasing the gain knob on your amplifier, listening for the same distortion again. Once you hear distortion, dial it back again until the audio is crisp. Repeat with many different songs until you are sure you get no clipping. Now you have "gain-matched" your amplifier and also determined the highest safe volume level on your headunit. Never touch the gain knob from this point on unless you change your headunit (the gain knob is not a volume adjuster!!). Memorize what volume your headunit is at when music doesn't clip, and remember to avoid exceeding that volume level in the future when listening to music.
fkin hell thx a lot mate
Ok what if everything is plugged in and you need to replace your battery? In mechanics class I was always taught positive first then ground.
@@cod7war In this case as nothing in the car is grounded in reference to the battery, the amplifier will not suffer. The power coming into the amplifier does not have a path back to the battery until the ground cable is connected. If for some reason you had two seperate ground terminals on the battery, then once again connecting the amp ground first is important.
You’re the man
Back in the day, when I had to get my headunit serviced, I asked the tech to measure the output with an oscilloscope and give me the highest volume setting without clipping. Saved me a bunch of time.
Jobe telling me that wiring isn't as scary as it seems feels like hearing it from a wholesome older brother
Its really not in cars because its 2 wires house power a bit more confusing
Its not scary untill your car bursts in flames if you choose too thin wire or too big fuse.
@@SkyJUSTIN6 most house wiring is also 2 wires, and a ground. It's not that spooky either, and you aren't dealing with computer controlled systems either. :p I can tell you for sure that car wiring is more complicated. I'm an electrician, and car enthusiast. The big scary part of your house, is just higher voltage.
car wiring isnt, designated pos/neg and it tops out at 14volts -youll feel it but it wont kill you.
@@etherealalex2358 alternating current is scary af boi -invisible death magic
Probably the most well put-together video on speaker installs that I've ever seen. I've installed several speakers and subwoofers over the years, and it took a lot of personal research and money to get it right. The only thing missing is adding a fuse in between the amplifier power and the battery, close to the battery. I've had a case where the power wire got shorted and caught fire, luckily only burning the wire. But a poor install can do some damage. Also if you don't have an aftermarket head unit, make sure you use a proper technique to splice into the back of the factory unit, as those wires can become loose over time and give you some headaches.
You can do HPF and LPF within those Pioneer head units as well. But yea, like the video mentions you should be filtering all the low out of those 6" speakers and run loudness/bass boost off then install a sub.
I have an idea for you guys. How about you do an episode about getting parts from a junkyard to fill out your missing interior pieces? A lot of people don't even consider the picknpull as a place to get car parts.
That or how to make some custom fiberglass ones to replace them. not super hard just a bit tedious but well worth it if you do them well and paint them nicely. (Sounds like good video content to me.)
@@alexisrivera200xable Customer fiberglass is so far out of my league but I wish I new more about it. Could be neat!
@@nephrium fiberglass mesh makes it a lot easier but I'd still recommend reinforcing the back of panels that break easily before you have to free hand make new ones
I really like the junkyard idea. Thanks for the warning so I can grab the stuff I need now
@Dr Beechas and you made it easier on the next guy that might need that part lol
Now as you can see, I've done absolutely nothing to the exterior of my car, and that is because I've spent my whole 300 quid on *exactly* what a 17 year old wants. A banging stereo, for me tunes!
I think you'll find track 4 particularly to your liking
So you want it to look good on the outside, or drive comfortably on the inside? You can't have both.
GLUED! GLUED! He he heee
Queue the techno 🤣
I've done the same in my transit sport, expect I have a pioneer head unit and I hate the thing I should have just bought a Sony
You are one of my favorites on donutmedia, super chill and seem like an awesome guy to know. JL is my favorite audio brands awesome to see you like them too!
The distortion you heard at the beginning would have been amplifier distortion as the head unit couldn't cope. Just adding a power amp to this setup could have breathed new life into those Alpine Type E's.
the distortion he can fix it from the amp he has to change from 60hz or 70hz to 150 hz or 200 these are not speakers for bass but he can use it for mid voices and high
Its a huge coincidence that I am looking to do a speaker swap on my car. This video couldn’t have come out at a better time.
But fuse your amp, he didn't mention it and it's very important.
An in line fuse
Tune your amps aswell if your looking to enjoy them for more the 2 weeks
Same here 😅
Don't take advice from this video. There is a lot wrong here, but to start, the car had a component system factory (tweeter up high, and woofer lower in the door) and instead of upgrading both speakers he just shoved a coaxial in the woofer hole. A component system would sound much better across the board and would have a much better sound stage. And if you are going through the trouble of installing an amp, then buy one with dsp, buy a umm6, watch a KZhead video on how to use REW, and flatten the speakers.
We need a video of Zach and James just losing their minds while the Miata headlights go up and down
and a Trueno too
So much so 🤣
Everytime I think about doing something to my car, you guys have a video out perfectly explaining and showing me what I need to see, thanks!
Fantastic, I've really enjoyed this video and will have to watch it over again, there is so much going on but at the same time it comes across as a can-do thing even for someone who has little experience at all. Great vid, thanks for the posting.
Disagree. I've done a few radio installs, and work in electrical currently, and this shit was overwhelming. He certainly did a great job explaining and simplifying things, but overall , it was mostly jibberish to me. Telling you the concepts and understanding the concepts are different and, ultimately, with so many different aspects to my vehicle, I'd never attempt this. For instance, my battery is in the front through the firewall....no clue how to get wires through there safely. It's a Chevy cruze anyways, not like I care to upgrade much. But I've had the stupid thing way longer than I imagined and the lack of audio is getting really bothersome.
His hair gets more glorious with every episode
No lie. I do have some hair envy 🤣
100%
The money put series is just a progression of Jobe’s cars and hair
Must be the Keeps® they speak so highly of
@@jakemitchell546 shows how long these things can take 😂
The way you guys represent your sponsors is so satisfying to watch.
The only channel whos ads are just as entertaining as the rest of the video!
They try to stand out and its working
💋💄
agree, generally you hate to watch commercials, not here lol
These videos are fantastic, but this one is like on another level. This is fascinating and you make it so easy to follow and understand. Nicely done folks :)
Thanks Zack! Great tips on stereo installation! 🤘
Money pit is honestly my favorite Donut show, deadass. Keep it up, Jobe.
Completely same.
Hes starting to outshine.hes a great host.
100%. Jobe’s car knowledge is insane and he explains things in a way that even I can understand.
I enjoy all my Donut equally and thoroughly
This wasn’t meant to throw shade at any other donut show or host, this is just the host and show I specifically wait for every week. The format and subject are solid and Jobe’s knowledge and personality fits it perfectly.
We need in the donut store a Hat with Jobe Hair... Just saying sweet flow bro
Awesome video. Having all the right tools made the job way easier too. Thx for sharing your knowledge.
Not sure how I came across this vid. Fun to watch. I was installing car stereos in the 90s before I even had a license to drive! The amps and wiring are all pretty much the same over the decades, but what is cool to see are the new wiring tools and accessories for installation. Cool stuff! Really cool to see vids like this explaining DIY car stereos to the next generation of audiophiles. Keep up the great work.
The little highlighting on the box was SUCH a small thing to put effort into in the editing. I respect it.
Plot twist: the Pop up and down headlights remix was originally made just to avoid copyright in this video.
It is astonishing how this dude can make clear videos and pass info for the wanna be DIY’ers like myself. Thanks a lot and keep up the good work!
I have an old 2008 chevy silverado. A couple months back I put the advance auto special sub and amp, (car dual) which is a 600 watt amp and a 10 inch sub. I spent about $250 on it, (including the amp kit), and it doesn't sound bad in my opinion. It hold the bass very nice and doesn't overpower my stock speakers I have. I love it
Even if they did a video on door handles I'd still watch
Fr tho
@donut we need a video on door handles ASAP
Excellent vid and proof you don’t need to spend thousands to get much better sound in your car. Just too bad the new cars lack the ability in many cases to upgrade the head unit. At least the aftermarket companies are doing great keeping up with the adapters you need to add aftermarket amps and speakers. Thanks for this vid and for promoting car audio!
Dang got a comment from Williston! Jobe made it! On a serious note, please send him a sub, he cannot leave the Miata like this...
@@matthewpriest5329 truee
No big dummies here!
@@tatsumaru12345 when you said that I heard it play
I've driven all my cars since age 16 with sound systems. I saved up my waitressing money first summer working. I was around S650 in 1995. Since the physics guy designed the ported box perfected tuned. The amp was only around 360 RMS. I enjoyed being the DJ at high school and college parties. Hosted a campout Texas Party when my parents went to Vegas. 200 ish people showed, running out of parking and the horses were stampeding. Later on Dad tried to charge my new battery. Ha. It was beyond toast. It was bumping in the garage for louder sound maybe 5-7 hours? He was proud I managed to ruin the battery so well. Got in trouble that people gave my 8th grade brother booze. No problems w campfire either it was a blast.
With the 4 channel amp already it would be easy to strap the other two channels together to power the sub and build a small sub box for the trunk. Very little additional cost and would add back the bass filtered out of the mids.
Bruh makes everything seem so easy and breaks it down for anyone to understand. Solid 10/10
Back in high school (early 2000s) upgrading your speakers and adding some thump in the trunk was absolutely necessary. We all became experts, meeting up at ours friends houses, popping plastic panels and running wires. If you were real cool you had that Panasonic deck with the 3D dot matrix 😎
Or one of those 6400 pioneer decks that had the fighter jets and race cars on the screen!
@@chrisanderson9374 and dolphins!
Nowadays people just add a sub and call it good
@@patelbv Pioneer DEH-8200 (I think) was the one with dolphins. I still have it, and my Panasonic as well. Class of 2002 yo.
@@ivanfromtheeast4709 in their defense, a lot of time, a sub and a head unit is all you need to free up the front speakers from getting eaten out by bad bass.
I swear to god this series is just Zach's master plan to build his dream miata
I love it
Didnt donut buy it from him to begin this series
@@Olvera_emi that's what they said in a q and a episode. It was his but then they bought it. So he gets a free car/mods until he leaves and they get a tax write off
@@tysshed5807 I think in the how to buy a used car video he said it but maybe I’m thinking something else
@@Olvera_emi I think it was in the 50th episode video that he said it. He may have said it before aswell that's just the one I remember
This was my first and only project so far. In my 15 year old then 2002 vectra c I installed dynamats and fout time cheaper silent coats in all four doors. Then replaced 8 stock speakers with dedicated pioneer speakers and 2din pioneer radio. . Result was amazing, no need for subwoofer, crystal clear, bass heavy sound.
Thank you so much, Donut. I just got done installing 2, 8 inch subs and used this video as a point of reference for concept. Now I'm rolling around with some great sound!
Some tips from an old ex-stereo installer: - for running wires through the door grommet boots, get your hands on a 3foot tie strap. Flexible but stiff enough to push though the boot. - the blue remote wire from the head unit turns on and off with the head unit, not the key. The fact that the deck itself turns on and off with the key replicates this action but the blue wire itself is controlled by the status of the deck. - the gain setting knob on the amplifier is used to match the input sensitivity of the amplifier to the output voltage of the head unit. It is not some kind of auxiliary volume knob. Turning the gain up just makes the amplifier max out and start distorting at a lower volume level on the deck. Turning the deck up past there just increases distortion and crap sound. It is better to be conservative with the gain rather than just maxing it out (which we see far too often). - you used a 4channel amplifier and are running just two speakers. Unless you plan on adding another pair of speakers or powering a sub with the the other two amplifier channels, you could have bought half the amp and saved some $$
Or bridged the amp channels and bought some higher output speakers...
@@Muscon01 or ran another set of RCA's, to make life easier for throwing in a sub later, also
I usually dont comment but i just gotta say that i absolutely love Zach, I dont care what the episode is about but if its him ill watch it. informative, charismatic, knowledgeable and overall a pleasant viewing experience. give that man a raise! take it from jarred ;)
YES, it is absolutely worth it. I changed the stock speakers on my 2006 corolla and the difference is insane. More extreme for me considering the damn things were 10 years old and the front door speakers probably getting lots of water and dirt on it over the years since they’re on the very bottom sides of the doors. All and all, for the sub amp, 2 12”s, the ported 2 speaker box, the kicker sub amp, the ds18 mid amp, the 2 rear 3way 6x9’s and the 2 front 2 way 6.5” speakers and the 8ga and 4ga wiring kit, all and all around $1k, replacing the 4 channel 2.5v preout jvc with a 6 channel 5v preout Kenwood Excelon, very excited.
Over a year late on most of these videos, but I'm definitely loving watching these videos, I'm happy my car's stock speakers on a Dodge Charger Scatpack is actually super good as stock, loudness and clarity at max volume is pretty good, but I am missing the subwoofer, so I'll be looking into installing that later down the line, with that I may check into upgrading these stock door speakers too, but we'll see!
This is probably the only KZhead channel where I don't skip the ads.
This and JayzTwoCents :) Because his ads have copious amounts of explosions!
And donut operater
You'd do well to insulate the doors and seal them up nicely. It gives a better bass response if all the air gaps are nicely covered and the outer skin has some good sound deadning on it. :)
And they would do well to connect the amp on signal to the receiver instead of directly to accessory power. (Several reasons). And when referring to matching speakers with Amos, it's IMPEDENCE, not RESISTANCE. But that's the angry electrical engineer in me talking.
@@alienclay2 what are these several reasons?
@@inglouriousmofo if you connect the amp on to accessory power 1. it can turn on before the head unit sets it signal, making an annoying 'pop' when it does turn on. (I know, I've made this mistake before) 2. The amp will stay on even if you turn off the head unit, wasting power. (Not much on a d class amp, but still real ) 3. I'm not sure about the Miata, but you don't want your sensitive electronics 'on' while your car is engine starting and voltages may be dipping. Usually, a car will not send the head unit on signal during that, and if the amp is properly connected to the head unit it won't be on either. 4. If you routed the LR RCA cables from head to amp, it's kinda a noob deal to not have pulled the tiny amp on cable along side given 1,2 and 3 Once again, not sure about the Miata, but if the car didn't have a dedicated amp on line from the stock head unit, a cheap time delay relay should be installed in its place.
Nice video! Good presentation. Lots of good background info without getting sidetracked from the Main event. I will have to do some research on the high pass filter options. That sounds useful. Thought some of the speakers read about had it built in already. If so I don't want wasted effort. Thumbs up!
Used to love fitting ICE in all my mates cars and my own Had a massive set up in one of my cars which was a monster one - 1 x15 inch, 2 x 12 inch 2 x 10 inch 6.5 componants, 3 mono blocks and a 4 way amp, 2 power caps, uprated battery / alternator plus hundreds in connectors and wiring.
I've installed half a dozen car head units with amps setup in my life. Still watched the entire video. Zach is just an awesome show host and the video is very well produced. Keep up the great work Donut!
Well said mate
do these speakers actually need an amp if the heras unit could output 50watt per channel and the speakers are 50rms
Same here, well done video
@@tomtricks6838 yes. Most head units for some reason like to fudge their output and use max not rms rating. (Not sure about this brand but really its typical) secondly its not a good idea to try and push the head units amplifier because thats a lot of heat dissapation youre asking out of a unit with more sensitive components than an amp has. You can also put the amp where its easier to shed heat or put a fan on it. Also car audio is a hobby youre rarely satisfied with, outboard amps allow for easier upgrades, like more or bigger amps. This setup is gonna beg for a big sub down the road.
Bro why not just say six? Lol
Is no one going to talk about how Zach has 3 arms in the thumbnail?🤔
😳
@@Haydenz11 🤨😳😳
yyyou’re talking about it. Are you no one?
Secretly an Octopus 🐙
@@halffulltome tru tru
FYI, I love that you add a progress bar for the ad. Thanks for that
Agree with you on some of this, but please, look into how to set your amp with a dmm, because gain isn't a volume knobs and is actually a variable input voltage adjustment, when gain is set too high, it introduelces cliping, cliping cliping is bad for your speakers, much worse than overpowering a speaker
Preach Brother!!!! that shit drives me crazy! like, ok its loud, but sounds like shit.. You could just adjust your gain properly, and turn down the volume on Headunit, might not be quite as loud but at least it won't make me wanna destroy my own eardrums because it sounds like shit
Amen. I was impressed with the video, up to that point... then it was all let down.
It's Wednesday my dudes!
AUAUAAUUAAAAUUUUUUUAAAHHHHHHHHHH
wait I've seen you before
AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH
Yes
@@PrecipiceLifeTheory im here everyday, and instantly
I’m so glad he talked about hi and low pass filters, so many people put in new speakers and hate it because they don’t tune the speakers for the right notes
True, and lots of people also put in new speakers expecting a substantially better sound. That's a foolish way to go about it.
@Dr Beechas What’s wrong with the Sony system? Mine sounds great
@@mezican12 what's in your listening room or home theater?
especially since most people probably don't even know what better sound is because they don't listen to music with as much detail.
@@Nathan_Jay I personally have an 80bucks 160W soundbar with subwoofer, nothing fancy but enought to give a nice wide sound
Infinity reference series is the best budget friendly high quality speaker in my opinion. I've only ever put those in my vehicles, never been disappointed. Hella bass response too.
freaking awesome. Reminds me off my high school days hooking up friends cars with audio/ video. I running is MBQuart for highs n midrange components 1 Alpine X 12 sub alpine amps. it's really a no brainer to upgrade your car audio unless you have a brand new car these new systems sound great but when u purchase a used car you should budget to buy a whole system I'll never pay 2500$ or more for a premium stereo from the factory. ..a aftermarket system is the way to go and cheaper and will sound better than most factory stereos. keep up the great videos good work
Do a b2b on pre-war straight 8 engines.
Lol just came from Carwow
I’ve asked for this before! As I have seen a pre-war straight 8 bare block in person... it was a big chunk of iron for sure!!
Behind my house is a bunch of scrap cars from back in the day, and I was amazed to see 8 spark plugs in a row on those old rusty blocks
Yes pls
I back this
It’s one of very very few places where no one can tell you to turn it down and you can listen to whatever you want. You owe yourself a good system, we all owe it to ourselves.
But it should always come after performance*
@@thomassloan781 nah
@@thomassloan781 nah
It's ok some people like only seeing tail lights 🐌
@@thomassloan781 the reality is even the most enthusiastic enthusiast can only "hot rod" occasionally or one time will have their license. But you can enjoy good tunes and a nice interior 100% of the time.
The role of the amplifier cannot be understated here, even the original speakers that were replaced (that looked to be aftermarket anyway) would have benefitted from the amplifier as it's likely some of the distortion was coming from the head unit's inbuilt amp being absolutely maxed out at '40 volume'. In other words, if you're a DIYer and doing this on a budget, you can do it in stages and the first stage would be putting in a decent amplifier that will allow you flexibility in future. A really good video as always!
I do this for a living and a little while back I put a set of Kenwood Excelon XR-1701P in a Miata, with no amp, and I couldn't believe how much it rocked with that alone. I must say, that is some very impressive wire running and amp mounting!
Zach buying all his parts through the company and labelling them as “business expenses”
Technically it is for the channel 😂😂 it's a win win right hahaha
Lmao I think we all would if we could 😂
If I recall, Donut bought the miata off him so they are all business expenses
Having a decent subwoofer will help the perceived loudness of the overall sound immensely. Levels you play the music is uncomfortable but still unsatisfying which can be solved with a subwoofer. It can even be an under seat subwoofer and it'll beef things up pretty good. (down to about 40Hz. if you want lower, under seat subs may not cut it but I think for most ears properly produced 40Hz is more bass than they'd ever want.
I agree with this, and I recall back in the day people with Miatas would rock a self-powered Bazooka tube for the bass, and often a single 8" or dual smaller ones would be enough to get some bottom end. The cool thing with the modern tech, is it is smaller, lighter, and sometimes more efficient, and still plays loud too. I replaced the stock 8" Sony Sub cabinet in my Focus ST with a 6.75" Kicker Comp RT (the tiny one with a 6.75" passive radiator), and added a tiny Kicker Class D Monoblock to drive it. I also bought an Audio control LC2i active line converter, and used the original sub speaker wires as my input. Luckily for me, the LC2i corrects the bass cut the stock amp does at higher volumes, and keeps the volume linear. Most people are shocked how loud, deep, and hard that baby box plays, especially after they see it. I simply wanted to improve on the stock system, without making my cargo area useless
It's always "more bass than I'll ever want" until you hear a system that plays lower, and then you want MOAR!! 😂
I had a cheap
@@iandavis8755hat’s crazy to me, because I just installed dual 12” kicker comp RTs with the LC2I pro under my gmc seirra 1500s back seat. Even though it doesn’t get much air it still gives a crazy bump.
A good sub will definitely improve overall sound a lot. I’d also like to add, it’s a good idea to use a product like a Dynamat Speaker Kit. It transforms the flimsy sheet metal in your car door into a solid, non-resonant baffle. For improved mid-bass performance with less distortion. If you’re spending that much money on a upgrade, you don’t want to hear your doors rattle.
This was extremely helpful, Thanks Donut !
Nothing beats the satisfaction of doing the work with your own hands. Thanks for a very informative and well done video.
2 quick tips that you probably did but didn't mention, but would be good for someone who's doing this for the first time to know. 1. Label the wires and label them well, this way they won't get mixed up and cause you fade/balance settings to be almost useless. 2. if you're going to send welding wire (or anything really) through the door grommet, make a small loop on the end and tape over it completely to make sure you don't accidentally nick a wire with a sharp edge and cause a massive headache.
Bringing Zach into the mix was the best move Donut could've done tbh. This series is so good
Great video, I’d also like to add, it’s a good idea to use a product like a Dynamat Speaker Kit. It transforms the flimsy sheet metal in your car door into a solid, non-resonant baffle. For improved mid-bass performance with less distortion. If you’re spending that much money on a upgrade, you don’t want to hear your doors rattle.
Thanks for the video! This was incredibly helpful.
Thank you so much for going into detail about how you wired your speaker wires. Too many channels on KZhead glosses so fast over that but you just showed me something that I know am confident in doing 👍🏾
Speaking of high-pass filters. The Pioneer head units like the one installed here has a very good setting for filtering sound. Independent adjustable high-pass filters ranging from 20 Hz up to 120 Hz, with slope settings ranging from 6 dB per octave, to 36 dB per octave. Very easy to set up, being that you have the informaion in clear text.
Dude that was awesome! So clear and direct. And I think even I could do it!
I suggest adding some tweeters on the pillers. You'll like the upgrade. A small center console custom woofer box with a single 6.5 inch or a 8 inch would sound very nice in the miata.
Bold of you to think I don't like my music played as if it's underwater
Big speakers and under glow baby let’s rock like it’s the 2000s 😎
"Are Under Glow Lights Worth it?"
Dooooooo ittttt
Im doing that soon tbh, but I got leds in my headliner that are gonna be wired up to the underglow. So when headliner is purple the underglow is purple
@@GetBoned0 I physically cringed
Don't forget a fuse for any amps as close to the battery as possible. A 2 channel amp would work here, but you could _bridge_ the remaining 2 channels for a SMALL sub (need another pair of "RCA"s). I've powered non-sub speakers via amps, but in my '02 Holden / Vaxhaul / Opel Barina / Corsa the factory speakers sound AWESOME powered by the (VERY SMALL) JVC Kenwood KMM-BT306 with the HighPassFilter set to about 100Hz. You'll get better control of your crossover frequencies via the head unit settings (amp or head unit powered speakers), so set crossovers on amp to OFF. DON'T use BOTH head unit and amp crossovers at the same time! I added a sub and amp (both bolted down, which actually improves the bass) and set the LowPassFilter ON THE HEAD UNIT also to 100Hz. Both crossovers need to be set to the same value to avoid redundant overlap or gap in frequencies, which is way less easy via the pots / dials on an amp. Yes, some amps have switches to set crossover frequency, and that is _probably_ fine to use. 120Hz might sound better with weak or small non-sub speakers.
The small subwoofers are usually less efficient. A PA subwoofer would give best SPL on the smaller amp but needs a lot of box space.
I replaced the old fullrange 5.25" Coax speakers in my 23 year old Renault Clio with some 40€ Alpine SPG-13C2.. like those at 6:39. but smaller, and man it was worth it, even with no extra amplifier. The mid an high frequencies were so much better and the installation (just remove the speaker covers, not even die doorpanels) was easy as hell.
I get flashbacks from the end of 90s - beginning of 2000s, when aftermarket audio was a hot topic. Would be a fun episode if you somehow got Mad Mike from 'Pimp my Ride' to help you choose and install an audio system :P
“Hydraulic crimpers give the best crimp, let me show you how well they turn out” Forgets to show how well they turn out lol
Most people have a really shit crimp the first try before learning to rotate the whole thing 90 degrees halfway through. If you don't do that you often put "ears" on it as the cheap Chinese hydraulic crimper we all buy only has metric dies that just barely don't fit the AWG standard terminals. Source: guilty as charged and have seen many others do it.
I know I was disappointed with that. Was gonna ask Santa for a set. But the last time I sat on a Santa's lap at a shopping centre, he told me he was an amateur ventriloquist... He put his fingers up my ass and told me not to say anything........ Lol
I have an Alfa Romeo 1999 year in Brazil. Can you imagine how crazy it is? I love your channel and your videos. I learn a lot.
Bro the whole donut media crew just motivates me to be productive in life
Imagine if he would blast the pop up headlights song at full volume at the middle of the street...
yes
🤟 it would be sick
@@greatestevar but it would be fucking legendary
@@greatestevar you can’t spell ever ( in your name ) and you write “ok” as “k”… your opinion doesn’t matter
@mark ok cool
Purpose of weight reduction: allowing you to add big speakers and amps and still be faster than your friends
Exactly this
Great video and awesome way to help someone install their first setup! Honestly bro! But damn lol..Be careful going ‘all the way up’ on your source. Hard to tell without an oscilloscope/dd1 or someone with a recent test on that pioneer but normally anything past 3/4 on a solid Kenwood/alpine/pioneer unit and you’re riding some square waves to clip city haha. Usually 3/4 of the way you’re safe and clip free, maybe a click or two past depending 👍🏻😎
Extremely well done video, even though I'm not the biggest JL Audio fan, this had great info in it
I've always used the old wire to pull new wire through the door grommet.
Only thing I would have done different would have been use the old wire to pull the new speaker wire through since you won’t be needing it anyways. Then you can cut it at the harness or tuck it under the dash. Just my 2 cents though. Love watching your videos Jobe!
Honestly 500 bones ain’t bad! Love car audio/video. That’s how I made all my fun play money when I was in the military. Gave the guy a list of what all they needed to buy and then spent Saturday or Sunday behind the dorms putting in speakers, head units, headrest TV’s etc… Pro tip, run your power wires on the opposite of the signal wires to reduce noise and interference. Great vid Team Donut
Excellent presentation and good video of what you did and I appreciate you discussing the technical details of the speakers and the amplifier as these are very important and lots of people simply do not care to learn and understand these things. And that tends to not make me happy or happy for them as knowledge of what and why are very important for many different reasons. That is a C😎😎L system that you put into your Miata hopefully you will add at least a 8 inch or 10 inch subwoofer system to improve the bass performance. And the Decibels you have now are probably more than adequate as you do not want to listen at more than 95 decibels for much more than a couple of hours. And adding a subwoofer would for sure even raise the decibel readings. Don’t get me wrong I love it loud and with bass that you can feel. You might find that surprising coming from a 68 year old guy. However I have always loved good audio and I really prefer it to be Equalized to sound as the music sounded in the studio (HOWEVER) I occasionally listen with the low frequencies cranked up some as I love to feel the BASS. 🔊🔊🔊🔊- - - -💥💨
You guys are always asking "is it worth it?" - Time to familiarize yourself with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. It's VERY CLEAR he meant to include 'sweet tunes' at the top as part of 'Self Actualization' - achieving one's full potential, including creative activities.
Life is not complete without "sweet tunes" or "rockin' jams"
honestly no other channel has better ads than donut lets be real
if anyone uses the highpass or lowpass filter, the speakers you bought will have either a spec sheet online or in the manual / with the speakers that shows the frequency range of the speakers or a graph showing what frequencies it can reproduce at what level. you can then use the low pass filter and/or high pass filter set at the high cutoff and low cutoff point of the speakers so they are only getting the signals they can faithfully reproduce without muddying it all up with unnecessary resonant frequencies and such from those lower signals (higher pitched frequencies wont have much noticeable resonant frequencies compared to lower frequency signals but cutting out the highs can still improve it).
Dave, you're right. This guy is easy to listen to and follow. He makes me feel I can do this.