Car Stereo Speaker Projects Illustrated

Very useful information

This book may be a little complicated for begginers into the audio world. Also don't be fooled by the name of the book, this book does NOT tell you how to design and make speakers, rather, speaker systems. As in, 4-5 speakers and a subwoofer. Although, this book does touch on why speakers do certain things, along with distortions, and all those little goodies that rob you of true quatlity! It will also help you on designing different types of enclosures for all audio.

In the 70's and 80's I did my own hobbiest upgrades and they sounded good. After the 90's I did 2 cars using Ferguson's first book called "Killer Car Stereo on a Budget". Those sounded very good. Passengers said it sounded better that $2000 systems. My last car used this newer book, and it sounded amazing. Like a $3000 system. My head unit was about $150 (you may be able to use your existing head unit - he explains). My old head unit did not play MP3. For the front i got very good quality Madisound components (2 each: woofer, tweeter, crossover) for about $250. (you may be able to use your existing front speakers - he explains). My rear speakers did not need to be changed. The woofer amp was about $100 on sale at Fry's. The woofer speaker about $100, and the wood and glue was about $30. I paid a pro to run power and signal cables to the amp in the trunk, and to mount the amp, for about $80. That is total about $700 because it went all out. Many normal priced head units now include a line level subwoofer output so you do not need to pay extra for a subwoofer crossover. They also do not send the lowest frequencies to the 4 main speakers, so they sound better, even if they are stock main speakers, like the ones I kept in the rear. It sounds better than my home stereo. The Madisound raw speaker drivers and crossover are better than my home equipment. The crossover was custom designed by Madisound using software and inputs from the actual driver performance ($25 extra). This book shows how to do it with his newer design choices that have matured and expanded from his first book. He tests them all with the best test equipment, tested in real automobile situations, and includes subjective listening tests. No wonder the results sound so good. He covers the concepts that are so fundamental and so often overlooked, that apply to stereo in vehicles. This is not about powerful bass that sounds muddy and wastes money and equipment on extreme power. But it does include bass that is powerful and clean and done with about a 100 watt amp dedicated to the sub. The four door speakers only need the head unit power since they do not have to handle the subwoofer frequencies. Some of the technical things are over my head, but it was not important if you are willing to stick with one of his pre-designed systems, which is what I do. Please vote if you like my review or not. Have fun driving with the full, rich, powerful, extended, hi quality sound! I love driving with the music. The time flies.

Car Stereo Speaker Products Illustrated the moment I read the last word in the title: ILLUSTRATED. Finally a car stereo book that is completely illustrated with step by step procedures for all types of projects for cars, vans, and SUVs. I started reading this book with very little knowledge of how to build my own system, but now I feel confident enough to tackle my stereo project before me. Dan Ferguson really hit it on with this book! It's a must for any beginner car stereo enthusiasts!

not correct information

I like this book. It has a unique SUBWOOFER BIAMP FILTERED CROSSOVER project (It's easy to build, works very well) And it has a really cool Jeep CJ box, And you keep the back seat. Nice if your a Dad with little ones. Covers speakers from Madisound, Kicker and MTX. Note front and back speaker projects. Not just Subs. The people from Madisound I found to be very nice too. This BIAMP FILTERED CROSSOVER is not the same one as from his first book. (Killer Car Stereo on a Budget.)

THe book is first incredibly dated. THe projects and advice are ONLY good is you plan on hand making every single component including your crossovers. Basically the book should be called " how to build a system with no money after youve robbed radio shack." Not a single chapter had any relevant information other than the technical basics. And for that there are far better presentations book wise. If i had known i would not have bought it. However if you are in the mood to build heavy, blocky gear that looks like you made it at home, then by all means this is the book for you.

A very good book with detailed custom-made speaker projects for the front, rear (flush and surface mount) speakers and boxed woofers explained in clear and simple terms. The tips on making and cutting your own mount boards are especially useful. However, if there is a future edition of this book, it would be best if it included simple wiring diagrams from the speakers to the amplifiers. Since for beginners, they might not know what to do or how to hook up the speakers afterwards. Otherwise this book would have deserved a 5-star rating. p.s. To Amazon.com: The shipping schedule is excellent. I received this book in less than 2 weeks from the order in perfect condition.