[newBgeek]

As a teenager, my first car was a beat up station wagon that I picked up for a few hundred bucks. I was an audio enthusiast even back then, so I did my best with what little funds I had. I put a couple of Radio Shack Minimus-7 speakers (very well rated compact speakers back then) and screwed them to the roof by the tailgate. I had an old home-made house speaker with a blown midrange and tweeter, but a working 12" woofer and threw that in the back to use as a sub. Bought a cheap amp and threw that into the spare tire well. What I got was simply outstanding! Amazing sound quality that would blow away most car systems even today. So what did I learn from that experience? Just carry house speakers in your car!

But seriously, when you think about it, if you took the compact speakers that you listen to at home and shrunk your listening room, all of a sudden those small speakers that sounded OK in a large room will sound a lot better in a much smaller room, because of the smaller space you need to fill. Bass response improves, and the energy level of the speakers is much higher. If you took high-end bookshelf speakers, and put them in a small, carpeted listening room, they would sound fantastic. When you look at what I did with the Boxster, they are basically sealed bookshelf speakers turned on their side.

As far as tweeter placement, what I always do is to put the tweeters on extra long wires before I install them, then use double-sided tape to stick them in various locations and do very careful listening tests. I believe the spot that I picked is the best location because you get the greatest distance and minimize the delta between the left and right tweeters, improving imaging. It also helps to surround tweeters with carpeting for a slightly cleaner sound. But listen for yourself and stick them wherever you want.