924Board.org

[kmd924]

Hey, new here. I'd like to make the sound system in the 924 a more desire able setup, my only issue is making modifications to a nice interior which I'd like to keep un-molested. I was thinking of tracing a cardboard template of the door panels and making a custom door panel in place of the original. Upholstering the new panels might come as a challenge to me having never done it before. Has anyone done this before or something similar? Any suggestions or tips are much obliged.
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'77 924

[Khal]

Welcome to The 'Board. I think you'll find if you just pop in a new head unit and a pair of decent speakers in the stock locations, you'd have all the sound quality you need. Not a whole lot of point in going crazy on an audio system for these cars, IMHO. Difficult to mount speakers anywhere that doesn't require hacking up interior bits. And unless you go way overboard, you're unlikely to get sound that'd impress any serious audiophile anyway. If it's something you feel you just have to do, don't let me dissuade you. But a top-end head unit and a couple of proper speakers will do it, I reckon. The modern stuff is pretty damned good.
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'80 924 Turbo

[BionicBalls]

I cut out the door panels in the bottom front right corner and put me some 6" speakers in there. I would suggest adding some support to the door panel though as 6" seems to be slightly too heavy for the plastic clips of the door panel to support.

I also have some 6x9's in the back behind the back interior panels. You have to cut out a little metal, but they fit quite nicely.
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1980 924 NA
1982 931

[ideola]

I agree to an extent with Khal that trying to achieve audiophile quality in these cars is something of an exercise in futility. However, for under $1000, you can easily install an excellent sounding system.

Buy the best head unit you can afford, and find one that has the highest pre-amp output you can find (typically measured in V), as this is what determines maximum gain before distortion. Look for a head unit that produces greater than 2V preamp output.

What I've done in two of my cars is to install a good quality head unit as described above, that has pre-amp outputs and a dedicated sub out. In both cars, I am using a Bazooka-brand active (powered) sub mounted onto the back of the rear seat (the part that folds down). I then use the head unit's built in amp to drive two 4x6" for the front channel, and two 4"x6" in the stock rear locations (you can also use 4" round in the door if you prefer. This basic setup provides excellent (though not audiophile) sound. In my opinion, anything greater than 4" speakers is overkill IF you add a subwoofer and set it up as I describe below.

In the 941, I also added two 1" Kicker-brand tweeters to the front speaker arrangement, which greatly aids in clarity and stereo image. These particular units had built in passive cross overs. I installed mine on the angled surface of the door card right next to the power window switch. The angle of the door card there is almost perfect for directing the tweeters toward the passengers...although mine came with special angled bezels, which I used to increase the angle even more. The difference of adding these tweeters is remarkable when compared to my other system which doesn't have them. These speakers are inexpensive and a great addition to the overall system.

Also in the 941, the head unit I got has an awesome array of audio frequency tuning capabilities, allowing me to precisely "tune" the sound of the overall system. By rolling off low end frequencies for the 4" speakers, I am able to prevent those speakers from having to reproduce frequencies better suited for the sub, thereby conserving all of the head unit's amplification capabilities for reproducing highs, mids, and low mids. This principle is the key to building a good sounding audio system, whether for use in a car, or for sound reinforcement! I don't care about creating ghetto-blasting window-shaking low end, so I went with a single 10" bass tube in both cars. The Bazooka powered sub does a plenty adequate job of reproducing the lows, especially if your head unit has the kind of cross-over capabilities that mine does.

To the original question, if you don't want to cut up your existing door cards, find a second pair from a parts car (craigslist, ebay, this and other forums, etc.) and cut those. The rear 4"x6" and sub can all be mounted without any further modification to the interior. For what it's worth, the 924S and early 944 door cards are pre-cut to accommodate 4"x6" speakers...however, be aware that the inner structure of the early 924 doors do not have the correct "hole" to accommodate a speaker in this location. I am planning at some point to do this modification on the 941, but it will require using a sawzall or nibbler to careful trim out some of the interior sheet metal behind the door card in order for the speaker magnet to fit there.


4"x6" coaxial door speaker and 1" Kicker tweeter. There are also a pair of identical 4x6 speakers in the OEM rear locations (under the inner quarter liners).


Pioneer head unit


Bazooka active bass tube


iPod / USB interface, routed under center console and arm rest.
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erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made

[mikebola]

Mine came with 6" speakers in the doors. Word of caution: they don't fit without hacking the inner door panel to pieces. I've been in the process of repairing them right now because everything broke loose on the passenger side and half the mounts snapped on the regulator.
You COULD put a pair of stock sized speakers in the supplied mounting hole (if your car HAS mounting holes in your doors) and slap a pair of tweeters on your dash for a decent mid/high output in the front. And you can fit some small subwoofers (or those awesome flat blaupunkt subs) in the roomy openings behind the rear wheels, too. The 4x6 speakers really don't sound bad if you can find them, so if I were you, I'd go on a search for a set.

Oh, there was a decent speaker option or two in the 944. I think it was option m490? I remember something about 3 speakers in each door...
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proud owner of a 1979 924 Sebring Edition with a 931 trans that looks horrible but somehow runs...

[kmd924]

Thank you for the suggestions, your input is much appreciated. Two 4x6 accompanied by the tweeters in the front look like a good pair, I recently found a nice Becker head unit I' going to pair with a Blaupunkt amp and eq. As for the back, I found a pair of nice 6x9 triaxials that'll fit nicely into two angled speaker boxes which fit well in the rear hatch area. I'm sure I'll be playing around a while trying to get the sound right, but as a mild audiophile I am bound to at least try to make this work out for my ear.
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'77 924

[ideola]

Cool! Take some pix and post a how-to when you finish the project
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erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made