When you watch TV, you don't stare at it with the back of your head, do you?!
I'm sure I have read this on this forum before. Does no-one besides me have surround sound? Or ears on the side of their head that can hear sound from any direction? I'm pretty sure you don't stare at the TV with the back of your head because then you wouldn't be able to see it, it has nothing to do with the sound. Ever been to the cinema? Where are the speakers in there?
Comparing the sound systems that you use in your car and for 5.1 audio like that is silly.
5.1 needs to have speakers all around you, otherwise the concept fails.
With stereo sound which is what you will normally be dealing with in car, the *best* placement is to have a two speakers, at head height (the level you will be listening at), so they form a equilateral triangle with your head. The distance is down to the speakers and the environment around you.
Obviously this is almost impossible in any car, especially a mini. If the car were to have a single occupant at all times, then you could try and do the triangle thing but its going to fail, this is even more so when dealing with more than one occupant. The next best thing it to make the speakers as far away from the listeners as possible, this way the distance the sound has to travel is more equal, resulting in a better stereo image.
In a mini the best place for this is the foot wells. But then the sound stage is well below your head height, so by using components you can have the midrange in the foot well, and the tweeters closer to head height to lift the sound stage and improve the audio.
Bass is non-directional, it is harder for us to tell where a low frequency noise is coming from compared to a high on. This is why most home systems have a single sub, because you don't need any more to get a good results. Obviously putting subs in the front of a mini is hard due to the lack of space, this is why people use the boot or under the rear seat, and as it is non-directional it will improve the low end lots, resulting in a more balanced, better sounding system.
Although the concepts of sound are the same, you need to tailor them to the environment you have and what you want to achieve.
For sound quality (not volume or bass) you need speakers in front of you. It is that simple...
Apart from that, do as Rob said, add a couple of wires, press on and you will have sounds in your mini, job done! Post a pic or two in the "Show us your ICE" thread when your done
Edited by langers2k, 29 March 2008 - 10:07 PM.
