Finding space for speakers

Posted on December 16th, 2006 in Opinion by Julian Edgar

At AutoSpeed we don’t do a helluva lot on DIY car sound.

At AutoSpeed, we do a lot on car sound.

Contradictory? Not really: since we’ve done near 3000 stories, even those topics that we cover rarely still have a good few stories available. And this week it’s the topic of DIY car sound that’s been swirling around in my mind.

I’ve bought a new (secondhand) car – a Honda Insight – and fitted a JVC DVD/CD/AM/FM head unit. As a temporary expedient, I’ve simply connected the JVC to the four standard Honda speakers. These are single cone, nominally 6 inch units positioned in the two doors and in the rear bulkhead behind which the battery and control electronics for this hybrid car are situated.

Like most OE units, the Honda speakers’ efficiency is high and so the power output of the head unit is sufficient for my SPL needs. But the lack of bass and treble are obvious. (Interestingly, with the ability of the JVC to allow you to set individual speaker levels down to 1dB and also set distances from the listener to each of the speakers, the imaging and sound stage are fine. It’s just the lack of highs and lows.)

Getting Things Done

Posted on December 2nd, 2006 in Opinion by Julian Edgar

Jeez, I feel stuffed. My back aches, my legs hurt, my hands are sore with little cuts and bruises and – despite having had a shower – I still feel grimy.

But I’m pleased with what I achieved.

This has been an unusual week. In one respect it’s been sad (the cat we’ve had for 12 years had to be put down); in another respect strange (I abruptly resigned from contributing to Silicon Chip, a magazine I’ve been associated with for 14 years); and in another respect puzzling (a former colleague chose to embark on what I consider to be an odd career move). But the upshot of all this is that I’ve had both more time available than normal and I’ve simultaneously felt the urge to concentrate on Getting Physical Things Done.