"Jon Lind" <dtJon@hotmail.com> wrote:
> I was thinking of putting some surface mount (speakers) behind
>the seats with a small amp and a portable Discman. I wanted to see if any
>of you guys on the list had some different/clever ideas on installing a
>radio that's useable (and audible) without axeing up the car too much.
I've always liked the Miata-style speakers in the headrests, as the
sound power required for a given level at your ears increases
according to the inverse-square law as you move the speakers
farther away. With lower power to the speakers you get less distortion
etc. And I (unlike some, I suppose) think that the car radio should be
primarily for the benefit of myself and the passenger, rather than for
the benefit of those I happen to drive past.
I suspect that the Miata-system also uses some clever psychoacoustic
stuff, filtering the sound with an inverse of the sonic effect of a
typical outer ear so that it sounds like it comes from the front.
One can now buy equalisers that do this for headphones to make them sound
less "inside-the-head", the same product would work for speakers close to
the ears (what are headphones after all). Optional, but it is sort of nice
to have the sound appear to come from in front.
Anyway, my thought is to take some of the excess from re-upholstering
my seats and make a sort of pannier or saddlebag for each headrest.
This would be an upside down bag to fit snugly over the headrest. To
each side of the headrest is a pocket for a good sounding amplified
computer speaker, facing forward through cloth mesh. Perhaps I could
get power from the wires that used to go to the "hockey-puck" seat-belt
safety switch that used to be in the seat, and run that wire inside
the seat up to my speakers....
Another idea is to find a cheap source of "button" speakers, and then
cover a large area with them (wired series/parallel combination to keep
the impedance right...) You get bass in proportion to the volume of air
you can move with the speaker, so although 1-inch speakers sound
awful alone they can be really great once you get a few square feet
of area covered. Make a "speaker quilt" to cover the rear bulkhead --
it won't get stolen because no one will know what it is.
Douglas McKinnie
'72 B-GT
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