Alright,

Im not into car audio as much as most of you guys and I have never had an SPL reading taken as my system isnt very big at all. I was just wondering, as most of you would be able to give me a rough idea of the SPL of my system.

My system:

HU: Pioneer DEH-P8400MP
Comps: Fusion FSC-4
Compamp: SPL X SPLA-150
Sub: Pioneer TSW-305C
Sub amp: JBL GTO-2000

I know its nothing special (far, far from it) but what sort of db's (only a rough guess) would this kick out?

Please dont flame me for having a ***** system!!!!!

What car is this in?

If its in a smaller car (ie: saxo) I would reckon about 130 db's but I could be wrong.

Depends on the instal as well and whether its ported / sealed etc...

130 is a good guess.

Maybe as high as 135 on an AudioControl mic.

Ben

If you had time to play around with different frequencies find out what you peak at, and had your amp scoped and setup perfectly, i'm sure 135dB would be possible :)

Cool, if I save up hard and get another £2k thrown at it I might reach my target.

The cars a Cinquecento BTW.

What are you aiming to hit fella? If you want to try a high tuned box, with nice big cabling, i'm sure good results would be within reason in a small car like that

Im aiming for 180db...lol! Arent we all??!!??

I wouldnt mind something that will hurt.

Im slowly upgrading everything, next upgrade will be sub and sub amp. I wouldnt mind a single 12" sub like a xxx12 and a mono amp. But I must start saving up first! After that Im getting new comps and comp amp, Im wanting something like a 3 way sytem, a pair of Comp 8's in door builds and a set of DLS 6.5" comps in kickpods. running from a pair of Crystal 200.2's. I really cant decide whether to go SPL, Streetbass or SQ. I like the idea of streetbass because, chosen carefully, I can have a versatile sytem ideal for listening to every day on the way to work!

Thats all pipedreams ATM, it will probably turn out completely different and a whole lot cheaper. One thing I've learnt from my current system and stuff I've had in the past is not to just get something because I can afford it at the time because it will always be inferior to something I could have saved up for. This is my first car and first system and so far have had three different sets of front speakers. I've only had the car 7 months!

Id Say 180 is aiming a bit high. Try 150 or 160 i you fancy building a wall. I'm aiminmg for over 150 without a wall in a Mk2 Golf, or i might say sod it and build a wall :)

I'm not sure he was serious about 180dB ;)

150dB makes a nice challenge, keeping it all tucked away in the boot- sounds like you've got some nice plans there chap, best of luck getting them all bought and installed :)

Thats what I want really, something a bit sly. I cant afford to have it all nicked, keeping it in the boot is the only way. 150db sounds like a more reasonable figure (for now!).

When a reading is taken, do you have the fronts on? i.e Would the reading of, say, 148.3db include the SPL front the comps up front? I suppose it wouldnt would it? As mids and highs dont produce pressure do they? Would you turn the fronts off when competeing?

I usually disconnect the front amp.

They Won't make any different to the spl reading that's been produced.

Your not likely to gain anything through having the front speakers running... doe to XO frequencies, they most liekly won't really be working anyway

Same as N:S, I have a circuit breaker, to disconnect power from frontend amps, and make more available for the bass end of things

Most people just pop the fuses to the front amps or fit switches in the remote wires to switch them off.

Most readings taken this year will be on the new mic set-up.

This reads more linear to the currently used Audio Control mics and will unfortunately read lower but more accurately.

Id aim for 145+ on the new mics, a 150 on the new ones is an excellent achievement from the boot of a car.

Ben