Speaker aiming on A-pillars

/ pssounduk

[@truckguy9413]

SQ is hard! Being a master installer dealing with the masses has to be harder! Keep up the great work!!

[@SQ_Silverado]

I love your work P, I’m from California, everyone here puts like 20 ds18 or deafbonce drivers and they think they are loud and sound crystal clear 🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️ I have a mid level SQ build going in my truck. Spending more on install then actual gear.

[@Jeenzy79]

Another very informative video… love your work mate! Inspiring me to build a nice affordable system of my own.

[@LenSilvester]

Chunks of wood, lumps of hot glue, drilled holes, etc!! It's nice to see a master installer's beginning stage of build looks as shitty as mine does at the start, lol.

[@pssound9749]

Len Haha, yepp, that’s the easy part! 😃

[@danielramirez837]

Hello, and greetings from medford , oregon . I been a subscriber for ur channel for some time now and I have to say u do amazing work and have alot of knowledge about car audio . Always look forward to ur videos.:) iam in the process of building my own A pillar pods for a 4inch mid range drivers and 2.7 inch tweeters . Its going in a full size suv this is my first time doing this so I going to purchase another set of A pillars to start the project . Anyway , thank u for the info this will help me set up my speakers. Have a great day .

[@gagedoble2843]

How did they turn out?

[@joshneff2609]

Peter your videos are awesome

[@jacquesbolduc1070]

Merci pour tout ces ajustements pertinents 😎

[@socketsocket2763]

very helpful info Peter.. thumbs up !!

[@JayRays1truck]

Great information! Thank you for this video!

[@lfernandez9194]

Like the set up 👍

[@JimmyG91]

Hi peter! Love your channel..just curious on your thoughts on amt and ribbon tweeters in caraudio and also beryllium domes like scan speak and focal utopia? In high end home audio i think these types are superior to soft textil domes in 99 of 100cases😊

[@Frankie_G_]

So the way to determine optimal aiming, is by testing different angles and listening at which point they sound the same L-R? Thanks

[@jenyad6676]

thank you

[@Pippo.Langstrumpf]

Hi, I'm interessted in the Materials you use for building these Pillar-Modification

[@LenSilvester]

Another great video Peter, and perfect timing for me :-) I have gone through 4 different A-pillar "aiming" builds in my Jeep Wrangler because I have always felt "location" was a little off. Just starting over again because I am switching to a Brax Matrix set up, the location and aiming will be similar as the Audison tweets and mids where with the 6's in the kicks, that you inspired me to build :-) I understand there are so many variables to consider in every build and my question might be to general. Question: do you have a centre target that you try to achieve with every build? Example, a distance back from centre of dash/windscreen, or centre between driver and passenger ear location, etc. I understand you are always short for time on these projects, and KZbin is very time consuming!! Maybe you could do a drawing to help explain some your thoughts and process. Thank you again for your time and effort in all that you do and share with the world, cheers from the snow covered fields of Ontario, Canada.

[@pssound9749]

Len There’s no set rules! One thing i like to care more about is airspace for the midrange! You gotta make sure it has enough volume behind it and the build is solid, so energy is not wasted. 👌💪

[@LenSilvester]

@@pssound9749 Thank you Peter :-). Good thing there are no rules, or we would all have the same sound, lol

[@morosso1968]

i got this. i have a simple basic setup with a 2 way component at the front where the tweets are just double sided taped on the top corners of the dash pretty close to the wind shield. it's been sitting there for awhile and i just thought they sound good. after watching your videos then i tried to aim the tweets more on axis and how i was surprised to hear a ton of difference towards better. how i'm loving my good old speakers now singing just like with a new life. i simply put it this way then; be it in hunting, how can you hit your target if you are not aiming it right. right? cheers!

[@clintonsorensen9263]

Quick question, im new to the a pillar game everything ive done in the past has been kick panel, and my question is where do i aim them for both me and my passengers, i usually aim at dome light because its between both me and the passengers and in the middle of most vehicles.... do i do the same with the a pillar

[@pssound9749]

Clinton Sorensen that’s a good middle ground indeed.

[@brendangood1812]

Hi Peter. Noticed you use plywood for alot of your fabrication. Do you prefer it because of less warping and more moisture proof than mdf ?

[@pssound9749]

Brendan Yes, ply is far better, stronger, lighter, except for trim panels as ply can chip away.

[@Fcojavcom]

Hello, Peter. I congratulate you for your work and for the channel that you have on KZbin, you do tremendous installations. I think the issue of tweeters and how to point them out is complex in the sense that every vehicle is a new world. I'm currently working on my Mazda CX-9 and while I'm happy with the result, I still feel that I can achieve much better results. Targeting tweeters and mid-ranges out of axiss is a matter of deep experimentation. It takes time and effort. (I have installed on the A-pillars a CDM880 Morel and TN53K Focal tweeters embedded in aluminum housing pods) Your construction experience is simply based on trial and error or do you normally have a pre-determined system for your jobs? +-30º off axiss, directed to the roof of the vehicle?, some installers point them facing each other, etc. What do you normally do? Greetings from Chile

[@pssound9749]

Hi Francisco! As I explained in the video i’d never aim the speaker looking at each other on the opposite side! It could work with a midrange, but definitely not with a tweeter in my word! Yoou have 2 options: work with the reflections or try to avoid them as much as possible! In the next video i’ll show the finished setup in the Chrysler 300C, where it’s using the reflections!

[@cerronetube]

Peter, are these aimed directly towards driver's head or they are aimed symmetricaly towards a point in the middle of the car ceiling between both front seats? Which one do you preffer?

[@pssound9749]

kaloyan nikolov They are half way from side window and windscreen within 30degrees from listener. I find it a good average in most cars! Best result takes trial & error, much testing in every car and clients have no time and money for that.

[@lfernandez9194]

Pit is the drivers away from the air bag or do you disconnect or bypsss air bag in case of an accident

[@pssound9749]

LFernandez919 Airbag is not behind the A-pillar. Only the tie point/fixing point is behind the pillar. In case of accident the top clip releases and the top of the pillar pushed out, but as it’s always fixed at the bottom, it doesn’t go anywhere.

[@Jeremydmeyer76]

It's gonna be expensive to send the whole car though. 🤣 Great information. Thanks for sharing the knowledge.

[@pssound9749]

Jeremy On a very big project i suspect i could actually be way cheaper even with shipping, than some top shops over there! There’s a shop in Holland where people fly their cars to and it’s not a joke!!

[@jelle7708]

Which shop?@@pssound9749

[@CORZER0]

Nice! Thank you! working on a project now!

[@bigbirdstube]

There has got to be a way to adjust the speakers after install. With hinges or something.

[@johnpaice8481]

Hi peter on the subject of pillar builds , what lower frequency point do u aim for to give the best sq soundstage experience , I know this is driver dependent and also volume dependent for the larger driver but what would u aim for if going for the ideal stage ...thanks

[@pssound9749]

John The lower the better, that simple! 😃

[@bbfoto7248]

+John Paice +Pssound It's always gonna be a trade-off or compromise between having huge tumor-like A-Pillars using larger midrange drivers in order to reach as low as possible in frequency, or trying to push a smaller driver past its low frequency & SPL limits. For the critical midrange, you want to avoid beaming AND distortion as much as possible within the driver's intended passband. Using 3.5" or smaller midrange drivers, if I can get them to *play cleanly down to between 160Hz-200Hz* to cover as much of the vocal range as possible, in addition to not limiting dynamic output capability too much/and keep distortion low [

[@johnpaice8481]

@@bbfoto7248 Hi thanks that's very helpful .....😊

[@JediMasterFO]

How do driver specifications correlate with installation placement and vehicle characteristics?

[@pssound9749]

Jedi Master1976 It matters a lot! Some midbass speakers work well in a door, but suck in a smaller enclosure and vice versa. Same can be said about midrange speakers! Some need open air behind the back of the cone, some can work in a little pod too. There are cone & dome midranges, which have different dispersion character as well as different functional frequency range. Tweeters also have different dispersion characters, frequency range and distortion levels, which can tell a lot how and where you are best to use them. It’s a pretty complex for an outsider to know what speaker to use and where in a given can in what type of install.

[@JediMasterFO]

@@pssound9749 Thanks! With center consoles extending all the way to the floor and forward to the firewall, how likely is it to have standing waves, constructive and destructive interference in the footwell and how do you deal with it?

[@UniqueChannel654654]

I'm late to the party here, but do you use an RTA while test aiming to see response? If so, where do you set the microphone? And won't the mid being unenclosed alter the response with back waves? How do you account for the end result of being sealed?

[@aapokolhinen]

Usually midrange aiming isn’t as critical as the tweeter since it doesn’t play as high. You will find other videos on Peter’s channel where he has himself installed midrange quite off axis and said it is fine. It may not be perfectly optimal but for most builds it probably doesn’t matter that much.

[@tombstonelv8506]

what do you think about Tang Band W3-871SC 3" Driver. I use them in my 3 way active system with helix dsp ,they are cheap ,like really cheap, was thinking to replace them to get more ''live'' effect could you suggest me something ,i would like to get some high end speakers,but for now I do not have so much money, I also have FR and scanspeak TW in A-pillars ,but I cant get that live effect in sound stage.... I really enjoy your channel ,i know what it takes to made a car sound great. keep up for great job. sorry for my language

[@tombstonelv8506]

is it inportant to make a seald box for fullrange in pillars? I know that they will play lower frequencey,but is there any other diffrence in sounding?

[@bbfoto7248]

+@@tombstonelv8506 I'm not sure where you are located, but an excellent midrange driver (when used within its limits) that were not very expensive for their high level of performance are the *Eton Symphony 300-4/A8/MG* 3.5" midrange drivers. They perform great in 0.5-1.2L sealed with some fiberfill or wool. They look and perform similar to the better Audible Physics midrange drivers, but were around $170 USD per pair. Sadly, it looks as if they have been discontinued because they are very hard to find now. :(

[@Deviantsoundz]

I just had someone today tell me the the whole "off axis takes the harshness out of tweeters" after watching this vid earlier.

[@pssound9749]

murcielagojdm So i’m not the only then! 😂👌

[@bonzology322]

spot on assesment

[@joemaxxcapri1799]

How long will these wood pods held up

[@pssound9749]

Forever?

[@Gavin.S]

What’s the purpose of the drilled holes?

[@racingsmurffi4640]

Anchors for fiber/epoxy

[@brendangood1812]

Resin dosnt stick to plastic properly. The holes allow the resin to go through the plastic of the a pillar and flow around the back of the holes. Ties the fibreglass resin to the pillar permanently

[@Gavin.S]

Thanks for the response!

[@pssound9749]

Nice to see you guys actively commenting to each other too! 😉😊❤️

[@drrckhamilton]

Yayyyyy!!!!!!! Thanks Peter......Just curious. What tool did you use to cut the odd shapes in the A-pillars? Thanks.

[@pssound9749]

Derrick Dremel with different bits.

[@madtubbs22]

That is pillars for a vag car. Just wondering where do u aim the speakers. Btw keep up the awesome work Greetings from Sweden

[@pssound9749]

Yes it’s for a VW Scirocco. They are around half way from side window and windscreen, so within 30degree from listener from both sides.

[@madtubbs22]

@@pssound9749Thank you for the answer audio guru. Im building a passat with Hertz Mille 3"+1" in the pillars and Hertz Spl 8" in the doors. I know that the best way is to messure and listen to what sounds best.

[@49ics05]

👍🏼first :p

[@MaestrroMusic]

2nd

[@justinmurphy2227]

Man everyone wanting to reinvent the wheel and know everything at the same time. What do they think installers and competitors did back in the 90s when there was no DSP or time alignment but still got center images? They spent hours micro adjusting speakers one millimeter at a time and these cars were designed for 2 seat listening! I know of a certain competitor that would wake up first thing in the morning with his ears were fresh and go straight to his garage and spend one hour tuning. No more than one hour because he felt that his ears were becoming to acclimated to noises and could not differentiate between frequencies as good. Could you imagine how long it would take even now with the equipment we have? People have no time and no patience and make excuses. A high-sensitivity speaker needs to be played off access? Really? How about if the pros aren't doing it's not right because they would try everything every different way they could think of to win and to get the edge. Sometimes people need to think about what they're saying because it doesn't even make sense LOL!

[@pssound9749]

Justin The man you’re talking about is 1 out of 10million! That’s the ratio anywhere you go! Even industry professionals are driven by time restrictions and budget, so most of the time the outcome is mediocre, just like a car i saw yesterday on a meet, which was shocking!