Car Speaker Upgrade — Time For Some New BUMPS!
Ever since I bought Old Bluey, my 2006 Scion xB, my brother-in-law @luey has urged me to GET SOME BUMPS. He meant a cracking sound system. This week I was forced to step in that direction.
As an Uber driver, I must have the ability to play music through an acceptable sound system.
The Diagnosis
On Monday I heard farting from the right front door speaker area. I thought it was something rattling outside the speaker. So I played the bass-heavy trip-hop smasher Angel by Massive Attack, removed the door panel, and immediately diagnosed the problem.You can see I tried to reduce the buzz by ripping a couple of pieces off the lip. It just made it worse.
The Cure
New speakers, baby! But at what cost? $11.96 it turned out! For the speakers at least. I also needed a few other bits and pieces, detailed in this near-comprehensive video. My total was under $40!My speakers are called CHAOS EXXTREME!
(I chose to leave the existing dash tweeters because they seem fine. Also, changing them causes an electrical resistance issue that, unmodified, makes them louder than the door speakers.)
The Process
I'm a total novice at car maintenance but YouTube is a GOD in this realm. Let's have a look at me working shall we?
Play me.
Play me.
It sounds a lot better with the door panel on, and in real life.
The Conclusion
I'm very happy with my new speakers. I especially like that you can see them through the grills!
My Thanks
My thanks to my wife @Sherryl for moral support and photography.My thanks to my two year old nephew, Nathan, for keeping me grounded.
My thanks to you for being here!
Thanks.
Great work, Bart! Looks like you did a terrific job! The play by play photos are great. Did you really smash the old speaker with your foot? I too like that you can see the speaker through the grill. Very nice!
Thank you @luey! I did not smash the speaker with my foot. It's just a classic part of the Old Bluey Fan Club upgrade projects. I always try to stamp on the offending part. You'll see it more in future projects. x
I've never seen a car like that. It looks bad-ass, but in a "I also carry my family around" kind of way.
The new speaker looks cooler, more hi-tech. YouTube definitely helps a lot, there's a tutorial for almost anything, I've used it recently for some weird toilet flush systems that are embedded into the wall. :)
Haha! Thanks! I had to explain to my wife why this is a magnificent compliment :D
YouTube is amazing for this stuff, yes. I'd love to see some of your projects, but I guess that real-world toilet systems are a little off-message for your brand.
Hehe! I can understand the confusion, it's not an obvious compliment at first. We don't have that make of car here in Portugal, that looks sturdy as heck and ultra-comfy.
Yeah, can't say my toilet system repair would fit that well with a gaming channel :D Disadvantages of focusing on one topic, not much room for other stuff. But YouTube (or the people of the world, should I say) make tutorials for everything. Soon I'm going to work on a dropped ceiling and I've already been looking at some structure ideas, there's no lack of info for sure.
Portugal! Is English your first language?
Why do you need a dropped ceiling?
In Portugal we speak Portuguese (maybe you know more about Brazilian Portuguese, but that is a derivation of our language - we discovered Brazil centuries ago :)
Pedro Álvares Cabral? Vasco da Gama? Cristiano Ronaldo? :D
I'm used to English for several years now, so I'm kinda OK with it.
We want the dropped ceiling because we had this open space in the backyard (I don't know if awning is the right word), and we decided to have it closed with sliding doors. It's still a bit cold during the winter because of the tiles, so I'm going to make this ceiling to make the place warmer, more comfy and modern.
Here's an example (not my place specifically) of what it was before having the doors:
It also helps that I'll save a bit of money by doing it with the help of my father in-law, instead of hiring someone.
Thanks for the dropped ceiling data. I understand now. An awning is usually a fixture rather than the architectural feature that yours sounds like. Maybe. Good luck with that project.
BTW even though I live in the US, I am from Britain. So I’m more familiar with Portugal than Brazil, although admittedly I know embarrassingly little about either.
Thanks for the explanation. It seems you're from closer than I thought then :)
Well, all you need to know about Portugal is beaches, some top soccer players and beautiful landscapes. The weather is getting a bit weird now, small tornadoes are starting to show up here and there, no big deal but kinda surprising to see.
You forgot to mention the best drink in the world...
Time to drop some beats and party on Highway :D
Great to see your post after a long time :D
I've been breaking them in and soon it will be time for some very loud Ben Folds.
Life is quite busy at present but I hope to be more active on here soon. Thanks for the love :D
That's a big upgrade turn up the volume and enjoy :)
A thousand thanks :D
that has got some epic bass to it awesome work done
A thousand thanks :D
job well done bro quite amazing diy
Thank you so very much @starboye :D
UPVOTED & RESTEEMED
PROMOTING CAR PROJECTS ON STEEMIT
It does indeed looks cool though buddy the new Speakers trough the grill !You do know your sound of music buddy ,grasping the fault in the speaker !
Nice work done mate !
Very many thanks :D
Glad you are testing them with Ben Folds. Excellent repair job. I did something similar once to a set of 70s speakers whose cones were crumbled.
Might I suggest this as the perfect driving album?
https://open.spotify.com/album/6snYAeR3hklBu7LpvyQ3LR?si=2k8z2de1S52oy_mFEOTeDQ
Little by Little by Lane 8.
Thanks and well done with the 70s cones. With God’s help we’ll conquer this terrible affliction.
I now have a rattle in the right door so I’m not ready to Draw a Crowd just yet. I already stripped it back down and bubble wrapped some things. No dice. The rattle may be deeply internal...
I will pump my riders full of Lane 8 presently.
Thank you.