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240 Questions for Custom Audio Install

VolvoNutt

K-jet Newbie
Joined
Jan 30, 2017
Location
Colorado
?92 245
Already have nice HU installed, looking to put in a nice audio system myself(will be first time doing this myself). Speaker in each door and an amp put someplace. Obviously we know the location of the door speakers. Where do I put the amp? Will I need all new speaker wire from HU? Can it be inexpensive and still transfer quality music?

I want to do this once and be done. Want component speakers in the front doors, anyone do this before? Can I just mount the tweeter flat next to the mid/sub? Does anyone have pics? Is this(component speakers)worth the money in a 240 or should I just buy a $50 speaker? because even this will be better than what is currently being used.

I know nothing about amps, if you know of a good site that explains what I should know before trying to buy a quality yet count my penny?s amp or even about the entire system, educate me :)

Is dynamat in the doors worth it? Is there a generic form of this? I don?t mind paying for quality speakers but the mat stuff seems like you could get away with using something less expensive.

Like I said, this will be my first install other than a speaker here and there overe the years. If you have any suggestions, let?em Rip!
 
For getting familiar with your audio equipment choices. I like to read up on the Crutchfield web site.
https://www.crutchfield.com
Dynamat is good stuff. There are cheaper choices as well but in general you aren't wasting your money on the good stuff like dynamat

If your 240 has the upgraded factory stereo in it. It should already have a factory amp in the center stack behind the lower storage. That is also a good place for an aftermarket amp if it isn't too big.
 
I use Fat Mat sound deadening.

I had a lot of trouble usubg the stock radio harness. Just bypass or remove it. The two best places for an amp on a 245 are under the back seat or in the rear storage area.

I'm not a huge radio guy, but I used all Pioneer components. I'm happy with what I have, but I don't have an amp.
 
Post 2 above is what I actually do. I bypassed the stock amp in my 93 and use just a stereo and speakers. Most stereos nowadays have plenty of power for a good sound.
 
I was told that I would damage component speakers if I did not use an amp. Now under powering them I understand but damage??? I get the fact they would sound better being feed more juice but why would they be damaged if I went without an amp for a while??

Please help edumacate me.:oops:

Or was this crutchfield just trying to push more products?
 
Did some research today and under powering the speakers is fine for a short time until I get an amp installed as long as I don’t crank the the volume.

Anyone have pictures of installed component speakers in a 240 or similar car?
 
I would think the damage would come by trying getter louder sound by cranking up the volume knob in an underpowered system. Most amps- and a powered head unit has an amp- have too much distortion at high power levels. Distortion is the damaging factor.
 
Under the passenger front seat. Gutted the worthless 'foot vent' ducting.

Amp_Floor2.jpg


Amp_Floor3.jpg
 
Is this a possible mounting place for the tweeter above the main speaker?Or is there too much going on inside the door? Too shallow??
 

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245s are tough for any audio installation. Door cards are pretty weak and need some sort of reinforcement for anything decent. Plus mounting depth is pretty shallow. You can buy plastic spacers to increase the depth some and move the magnet out farther.

I have some Rockford 5.25" 2-ways in the front of my daughter's 244 w Kicker 6x9s in the back powered by a small 50x2 amp. You can barely hear the front speakers due to their location even with the balance shifted forward.

I had a pair of 6.5" Polk component speakers in the rear doors of my 245 powered by a small 45x2 amp. If you are able to buy 4" or 5.25" component speakers for the front, your best bet would be to install the woofer in the front door with a passive crossover (commonly called a bass blocker) to reduce the heavy bass from distorting the sound and surface mount the tweeters up on the A-pillar. You could then angle the tweeters toward where your head sites for better imaging.

As for the rear, depending on how you use your cargo space, it would be easiest to buy a pair of 6x9s, pre fabbed boxes and find a way to secure them in the cargo area so they don't tumble around. Power them with a small amp and it should be fine.
 
Did some research today and under powering the speakers is fine for a short time until I get an amp installed as long as I don?t crank the the volume.

Anyone have pictures of installed component speakers in a 240 or similar car?

By the time you hear the distortion that indicates clipping you are in the range where damage is done. Be sure you meet the minimum wattage requirements of the speakers you select.

There is no reason to use an amp if you don't want to. There is no such thing as damaging speakers by underpowering them.

False. They can easily be damaged without adequate amplification. The amps do more than just increase the volume.
 
Thanks so much everyone!

So Schaff70, your saying I should turns the low and high speakers into mid and high speakers, then use the bigger speakers in the back as the lows. Sorta like my own 3 way speaker system?
I don?t know if that?s entirely what you were getting at or not....

How difficult is it to access the A-pillar? First time for everything:oops:


Maybe I?m making this too complicated, maybe I should just get the same brand speaker but in a simple 2 way coax. Like Schaff70 said about his kids 244, can?t hear front speakers! So would all the extra effort be worth little gain?? Worth the extra $$$ on the component speakers alone??

No matter what goes in, it?s going to sound phenomenally better, I just want to do it once and be done and happy.

What?s the biggest speaker that can go in the back doors ?with minor trimming?? :lol:

Again thanks for the help guys & gals!!!
 
A few more thoughts on good audio in general from a bass player and hi-fi fan.

When you push an underpowered amplifier too far it puts out square waves instead of round ones. This is distortion. Speakers dislike square waves so even if you're not pushing them beyond their technical limits you can potentially damage them. Conversely, a big amp can push too much of a beautiful, clean round wave through your speakers and exceed their capacity for excursion (speaker movement) or heat dispersion. This will physically damage the speakers as well.

Regardless of whether your power capacity in your amp (whether it's the one in your head unit or a separate amp) and speakers is balanced or not, turn it up only to where it sounds good and clean. Nasty, raspy distorted sound, whether from your amp or speakers, is a sign that something is at risk.

One solution that I used to pretty good effect in a former vehicle was a small, self-powered subwoofer under the passenger seat using a head unit with a high-pass filter. This means that all the signal above a certain frequency goes to your mids and tweets, while your sub carries all the water for your low frequencies. The effect is that the mids and tweets are much more effective and much less strained. This requires a pretty decent head unit but is a relatively simple way to get good power and respectable bass at a reasonable cost (and doesn't require a big sub box). This won't get your windows shaking and offend your fellow drivers, though, so I wouldn't recommend this approach if that's your goal. Also with any sub pay attention to phasing effects resulting from the sub being at a different distance than the speakers and delaying the sound. A powered sub should have adjustments for this.

Another clue: don't do the "smiley face" eq curve with hyped bass and treble and cut mids. It sounds like ass, will destroy your gear, and will make all the rattley things on your brick go nuts, like someone's playing your stereo through a kazoo. Go for a nice, balanced sound and make subtle adjustments. At least try starting with a flat or no EQ and the loudness off. Season to taste.
 
I am building this with quality in mind, not trying to hit a dB level. I mainly listen to classical, jazz, opera, blues, a little classic rock on days that I need to jam, and some modern R & B. I am actually hyper sensitive to sound so I don?t listen to it loud.

Quality over quantity for sure!

Will be putting down some sound deadening material to help aid everything.
 
265778431.jpg


From my 84 245 - Polk 6.5" components in the rear doors. Involved cutting new holes and adding some metal straps to reinforce and support the speaker. there is also a 1" plastic spacer installed to move the speaker magnet away from the window mechanism inside the door panel. These were powered by a small amp I had in the floor cargo tray in back.

289810858.jpg


I also had 4" Polk 2-ways mounted in the stock location. Fit was a little tight and I made new panels to hold the speakers out of 1/4" MDF. Seat back scraped the speaker grille whenever the seat was folded down. I had to be careful when folding the seat back.


265884836.jpg


Bad photo, but the front doors had a 4" woofer installed. I installed the tweeter in the fresh air vent because I wanted a cleaner look. The a-pillar is easily removed by removing the door trim first. I believe the a-pillar simply snaps into place.

Link for and example of bass blockers. Basically a capacitor to filter the frequency for the + wire leading in to the speaker. They come in frequency ranges, I'm not the best person to ask the details, but you can easily figure out which ones will be correct depending on the size and frequency range of the speakers you are using them with.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_007BB...xgtDwh6YMndy1BbkliuKZHsVw9g2L_KAaAmEdEALw_wcB
 
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