urpow

I got questions! :-)

So what exactly is a subwoofer and what is its purpose?

When do I need to install an Amplifier in my car?

Will installer new door speakers and rear speakers require me to install an amplifier?

Thanks in advance.

Woodson

I'm not an expert, but I'm the first to respond, so here you go.
1) A subwoofer reproduces the lower frequencies (bass) and is not necessary but is great to have.
2 You NEED a separate amp to run a subwoofer. You don't need an amplifier to run your front speakers and optional rear speakers, but again, is great to have.

You can improve your stereo significantly by upgrading your front speakers and adding rear speakers. You will need a couple of items from Lucid (a site sponsor) like a rear speaker harness to connect to the head unit (radio). There is a lot of good information on his site.

You can spend a little on upgrading your stereo or a LOT.

kumar75150

for the s2000, i think a decent setup is:

new headunit
Polk bundle from Lucid
maybe a Bazooka tube if you need bass

this can be done for about $500

lucid

[QUOTE]Originally posted by urpow
[B]I got questions! :-)

Aaric

A single speaker cannot reproduce all the frequencies the human ear can hear accurately - so speaker companies generally use 2-3 speakers to do it.

Subwoofers reeproduce base much more efficiently and accurately (well, if you don't build it to 'thump')
Larger speakers can handle lower frequencies. Lower frequencies also aren't directional, so you don't have to have clean line of sight to your ears to hear it, so many mount them in the trunk. They usually come in sizes from 8 inches up to 15 inches, depending how loud and how low you want to go.

Tweeters are high frequency specific speakers, and you generally want a straight direction for the speakers to your ears.

Midranges generally reproduce the frequencies between the tweaters and the woofers.

Coaxial or 2-way speakers are just a midrange with a tweater mounted in front behind the grill - which can be a problem due to mounting locations and cheaper tweaters used.

amplifiers give more power, and usually do it cleaner. An extrernal amplifier will get louder and do do it without distortion. Higher powered aftermarket head units will do it to a lesser degree as well.

Crossovers are filters for the signal to route different parts of the signal to the amps and speakers. Depending on the application, it can be simply capacitors and coils, or an electronic device that is adjustable, and can be used to tune multi-amp systems effectively.

Personally, I upgraded to separates (tweeter mounted higher to reproduce the higher frequencies) in the front with an amp first (headunit wasn't much of an option since I have the OEM cd-changer)...the low location of the stock speakers resulted in my leg blocking most of the high frequencies....and the stock power of the OEM radio wasn't enough to hear witht he top down. I'll probably get a sub for the rear and another amp for it when I have more time/money to play with it.

'02 s2000's have a stock tweater which alleviates this, as well as a higher powered stock radio.

How far you want to go depends on what type of sound you want (loud vs accurate) and how much you want to spend.

S2K Newbie

I decided to keep the stock stereo and buy a beefy Alpine amp, with new Boston RC's in the doors and Boston RXs (if I remember right) in the panels behind the seat, along with a sub custom-built into the tub in the trunk after removing the spare tool kit. I just dumped the tools into the tire itself and stuffed some cloth around it so it wouldn't rattle.

Whole setup cost me around 1200 bucks or so.

My only complaint is that I don't have a front-rear fader. The fader fades between all 4 speakers and the sub, because that's how the amp had to be wired (2 channels bridged to the sub).

Maybe eventually I'll buy a new head unit. I had a nice Alpine installed in there for 2-3 weeks and didn't appreciate whatever change it provided, so I went back to the stock and saved my 400 bucks.