Joe Bellissimo

Nothing wrong with using a shallow woofer in a full sized box. I presume the only difference is that the shallow woofer will have lower output when compared with the full sized woofer.

Its depends on how much modification you want to do. I have never heard a system like that so I can't comment on how well it will work. You definitely want the punch in the front. It has to do with staging as well. If you have too much punch in the back it actually draws the bass in that direction ruining your staging. BTW I made a mistake with the HF6.1 components. There actually is a crossover that you can get with them. As for shallow woofers, check out Earthquake.

My picks would be: Subwoofer -- SPL Dynamics XTR 12" -- $400 http://www.spldynamics.fi/xtr-sub/xtr-300d4-e.html Speakers -- SPL Dynamics HF Components -- $350 per pair http://www.spldynamics.fi/hf-comp/index-e.htm Head Unit -- Schneider SDD7GPS -- Around $1500 Its a 7" Double Din DVD Screen with GPS and Reverse Camera built in. Its got bluetooth and a 3 year warranty. You will probably need some sound deadening to really make that system shine. Accumat is the best option since its half the weight of Dynamat. It costs $80 for 5 sheets of 12"x12". I will assume you would need 2 lots of 5 = $160 TOTAL: $2760 $2410 if you don't include the rear speakers. That system would be loud and clear and take advantage of all of the power from those amplifiers. The speaker amplifier will actually underpower the components to be honest but it will be more than enough to get it loud. Well those are my picks. I have had a play with all of that gear and they wont dissapoint. Cheers.

A bulk pack will probably suffice. I have never worked on an r32 door but most doors wouldn't need a full bulk pack. You should have some left over for other parts of the car.

With that kind of taste your probably going to fall in love with a $1000 set Rock is hard because you need great midbass and a high level of midrange accuracy. Classical is hard because you need the speaker to have the correct "tonality". Your probably best off with a 4 channel amplifier. It has enough channels to amplify the fronts and the rears. Or you can power the fronts and a subwoofer. Or you can use it as a 2 channel to double the power to use with a very powerful set of splits in the front.

4 amps? Thats a VERY small draw. I know amps that pull 3 amps at idle.

I would suggest you check your fuses. Could be totally off but its a start.

If you are going to go with a subwoofer later one you are probably better off using 6.5" coax speakers in the back. For the best quality and best prices I would recommend looking at the following brands: Crecendo http://www.ozbliss.com/pages/products/opus3.html (Its a very deep set so I'm not sure if they would fit in the R33) SPL Dynamics http://www.spldynamics.fi/ CDT Audio http://www.cdtaudio.com/ AD Audio http://www.xmplar.com.au/ad-speakers.shtml You can get good quality sets of fronts and rears for around $600 from any of those brands. I hope that gives you a little more to look at.

The reason I asked if they were factories is because factory speakers are usually paper cones. Paper is very light so the cone can move in and out VERY easily. The result is great bass from a poor quality woofer. The downside is they have poor control at higher frequencies which results in the lack of clarity. I don't think that you will see a dramatic improvement in bass if any. The drumkicks should, however, be clearer and hit harder. The midrange should also be less muffled. With my old factories I was never playing anything lower than 50Hz, but it sounded pretty bassy since I was boosting it at 80hz. For RNB you could notice it, but for rock is was hard to pick out the lack of lower bass. It's hard to explain these things in words but I hope you understand what I'm saying. You can fit any driver in any location. Depends on how hard your willing to to work to get it there. I'm not an installer so I can't really comment on fitting speakers. They are indeed $180 per pair of drivers. This does not include the crossover. Typically you would use the crossover and tweeter from the EXT-5.2 which is on the SPL Dynamics site. Last time I checked they were $150 if bought with the HF6.1. I probably said they were cheaper last time I posted but prices are changing everywhere at the moment. I'm sorry about this but I have probably run you into a problem. The best way to mix the HF6.1 with another tweeter is to use a 4 channel amp and use each channel to run each speaker. This means you can use the setting on the amplifier to split the signal up. This will probably increase the overall cost. I suggested the HF6.1 since you were after some punch and they're a logical option but they will be a bit more complicated if you don't use SPL Dynamics crossovers and tweeters. If I was on a budget I would give Option Audio amplifiers a look. I don't have any info on pricing but the last time I checked they were very competitive. Sounds like a plan but you will need to use a crossover that can work with both the tweeters and midbass driver. I think figuring out the best amplifier solution is your next hurdle. As for the MaxxBass103, you cannot get the same results with EQ. I could post another 3 paragraphs about why, but unless your really interested just take my word for it. Its also a $400 RRP unit so its definitely not for this upgrade, maybe in future. Sound deadening would probably be Dynamat Extreme. You would cover the doorskin behind the trim. Doing the inside of the door will help a lot, but it will cost a lot more to do and will make it dificult to repair if you have a ding on the body. I'm using a material called Accumat. Its more expensive than Dynamat but its MUCH lighter. You might want to consider it since your driving a performance car. Well that's the end of another essay! No dramas. Cheers.

1. Bass is in all music. Hip-hop does have a lot of lower bass tones in it but so does rock music. The problem with leaving out the bass is that in certain songs you will have a "void" in the music where it will sound very empty. Rock music will lose a lot of its warmth since the lowest bass notes will be missing. Midbass is the higher bass tones, the sort of bass that creates your upper drum beats. It is ESPECIALLY important in rock music since the drums will have no kick if there is no midbass. If you have enough midbass it makes your lack of lower bass very hard to notice. It's all up to your taste and how picky you want to be about your sound. 2. Those prices are correct. Did you have a look at the website? Its built really tough. 3. You will lose rear fill if you take the rears out. I know a couple of people who use really cheap or factory speakers in the rear just to fill the cabin of the car with a bit more sound. I would probably recmond getting rear speakers as an afterthought when you have a bit more money to spend and just fitting them in there yourself. Most head units wont allow you to bridge the channels and it will probably fry the decks amplifier. Do keep in mind that I'm running 100rms through mine compared to the average 15rms a deck would output. I can't really say how much output it would have running from a head unit. 4. It's the power handling that makes them shine. The woofers ALONE can take 100RMS. Add the tweeter and crossover and they can take 150RMS+. There are plenty of other 6.5" drivers which can do more, but none that I'm aware of in that price range. 5. My HF6.1s in the parcel tray of my car create rattles. Now that would be normal except my tray is deadened! You will have to make a few compromises. To get optimal results this is what I would do: 1. Install the HF6.1 and tweeters (You can't get a good punch without good drivers) 2. Connect them to a 150rms x2 amplifier (You can't run good drivers to their potential without good power) 3. Sound deaden your doors thouroughly (You can't get the most out of your power if it leaks out the door) 4. Add a MaxxBass103 (You can't get good bass out of normal speakers without some sort of signal processing) I'm describing the perfect scenario. You will more than likely be happy with less than perfect but as long as you know your options you can make an informed decision. I'm not sure if this has been asked yet, but are you using factory speakers at the moment? (Sorry bout massive post )

I'm throwing suggestions out there. I'm not particularly familiar with the factory locations in the R33. The mounting depth is on the website, could someone let me know if that would fit or not? If it doesn't I'll make a different suggestion.

Thought about taking out the rear speakers completely? Keep in mind that most speakers sound much better in a car than in a soundboard. I heard the focals your talking about in a board and disliked them. I heard them in a yaris and was quite impressed. If you want "bass" you need a subwoofer. I get great bass out of my SPL Dynamics HF6.1s in the rear but that's because I'm using a psycho acoustic bass processor on it. If you want "midbass" you need a powerful driver with plenty of power fed into it. Speakers simply cant produce the low frequencies because of the lack of surface area and lack of exertion. http://www.spldynamics.fi/hf-comp/hf-61-e.htm That link goes to the SPL Dynamics HF6.1 midbass drivers. They cost $180 and will take 100RMS. One of the best value midbass drivers around. Keep in mind adding the tweeter and crossover would bring the price closer to $280 but if you want "punch" you can't go past them. You will need to deaden your doors to reduce road noise and to assist the "punch". To get things "perfect" you will need to spend a fair bit. I have achieved, in my car, what you are talking about. The thing is I spent much more than you did and I probably have access to far more resources since I'm in the industry.

I would honestly recommend forgetting about the rear speakers and spending it all on the fronts. Spend $100 on the install in the front and have $400 left over for the front speakers. Rock and metal tear speakers to shreds. You wont get perfect sound from anything under $1000 when it comes to rock and metal. I'm using a $560 pair of Crecendo Opus 5s and I still want more. You can never get enough clarity when listening to that type of music, I can't stress it enough, buy the most expensive set you can afford.