I am looking to achieve a car audio system that sounds like if I am in a cinema, can someone help me?

Question

I love getting into custumizing my car's audio system, but it seems that every time I have a question on it, all I get is people selling me different components that do not meet my expecteitions, I been to a lot of car shows but I do not get anwers.

Answer 1

Simply put, you will never find that. You are trying to get an experience like you are in a room that has 25ft ceilings, is 30-40ft across, and has a screen that is at least 20ft away then simulating it in a box that is no more than 4ft floor to ceiling, 6ft across, and less than 10ft deep. The acoustics are completely different in small spaces than in large ones since the sound has no way to develope. Plus, you are dealing with half the surface area of the car being reflective glass which will only hurt the sound more, and there is no way to accurately predict what the resonant frequencies will be in the cabin; so, you will be getting many weird nodes in the car where the sound is too loud or too soft.

If you want to try it, I would get the biggest vehicle you could to offset the problems of a small box. A van or large SUV would be the best bet. Then, you would want to cover up all the flat, reflective surfaces you could with sound dampening material. Still, even if you put 3inch foam up everywhere, you are going to only get sound dampening down to about 90Hz which means the bass will be unrestrained. There is a chance the seats will absorb some of the lower stuff, but it will still sound bad.

After you have dampened as much as you can, you are going to have to worry about speakers and placement. Tweeters and midranges can usually fit in pillars or kick panels. The sub is generally going to be okay wherever because of the size of your "theater". Still, it is going to be a lot of problems. An outboard parametric EQ and actively crossing over all the speakers will help, but movie theater sound is just not simple to do in a car.

Getting a 10ft x 12ft x 8ft room to sound like a movie theater is hard enough. To make a car sound like a genuine theater is near impossible. If you aren't doing all the work yourself then expect to be paying at least four figures for the install which might only sound okay or accept not being satisfied with your stereo. For someone like me who has years of acoustics experience, I would not even attempt this endeavor unless the customer had a great deal of time and money on their hands along with a 0% liability clause in the contract.

Answer 2

You'll need a surround car receiver, 5 speakers

(at least), a sub, and 5 channels or more of amp-

lification. Any capable car audio store should be

able to help you, or you can call or check online

with a store like Crutchfield for further advice.

Answer 3

Hi. You will never get a car audio system to sound like you are in a Cinema.The rules for Hi Fi sound reproduction can't apply to a car audio system.