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Re: '97 900SE Speaker Improvements
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Posted by REM in Seattle (more from REM in Seattle) on Thu, 19 Feb 2004 21:59:31 Share Post by Email
In Reply to: '97 900SE Speaker Improvements, Rick U, Thu, 19 Feb 2004 09:41:41
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Here are a couple items that may help you. In general an upgrade to the speakers using Infinity, Polk Audio, MB Quart, etc. will really helps the audio unit. Some additional sond deadening in the hatch area helps alot also.


Rob Mustard (aka REM in Seattle)
1998 Saab 900SET 5-door; Automatic; 65,000 miles
1991 Alfa Romeo Spider 5-sp; 95,000 miles
1984 Saab 900T 3-door; 5-sp; 242,000 miles RIP




AUDIO SYSTEM UPGRADE IN A 1998 SAAB 900SET 5-DOOR.
By Rob Mustard (aka REM in Seattle)
Search word: rem_mod
Last updated – February 01, 2002

AUDIO SYSTEM
For the 1994-1998 SAAB 900, two stereo systems were available in the USA market. Both the standard and premium SAAB stereo systems have 3.5" full range speakers in the dash and 6"X9" full range speakers in the rear parcel shelf area (6.5” diameter rear speakers in convertibles). These speakers are powered from the in-dash stereo with 20 watts maximum power x 4 speakers driven. There is a very good description of the SAAB audio system available at The SAABNET in the FAQ section, Audio Guide 900/9-3 (http://www.saabnet.com/sites/richard.bevan/).

The front door speakers were fitted only on the premium stereo system, typically sold in the USA in the 900SE trim package. The premium stereo system adds the 6.5" mid-bass speakers in the front doors and a separate mid-bass amplifier to the standard stereo system. The separate mid-bass amplifier is located on the right side of the center console. The mid-bass amplifier supplies only frequencies below 200 Hz to the front door speakers. The amplifier is rated at 40 watts maximum power x 2 speakers driven.

The stock stereo system in my 1998 900SET had two 3.5” diameter paper dual-cone dash speakers and two 6”x 9” plastic dual-cone rear speakers driven by the Clarion built SAAB radio tuner/amplifier (20W Max. X 4). There were also two 6.5” diameter plastic cone front door speakers driven by a separate mid-bass amplifier, handling only the frequencies below 200 HZ (40W Max. X 2). I found the stock stereo system in my 1998 900SET 5-door to have very poor frequency response. The mid-bass was muddy, the mid-range was lacking, and the high frequencies were buzzy.

I upgraded the sound system by installing Infinity Kappa series aftermarket speakers. I kept the stock radio tuner/amplifier unit and the stock mid-bass amplifier. I simply replaced the stock speakers with the Infinity Kappa speakers. I used the Infinity Kappa Model 32.1cf 3.5” 2-way speakers in the dash, Infinity Kappa Model 693.1i 6”x 9” 3-way speakers in the rear parcel shelf, and Infinity Kappa Model 65.1mb 6.5” mid-bass speakers in the front doors. These particular model numbers have now been superceded by Infinity’s latest Kappa line of speakers. The Infinity Kappa speakers give much fuller response in the mid-bass and mid-range frequencies and clear definition in the high frequencies. The total cost for the all three sets of speakers was about $420.

Infinity Kappa 32.1cf
3.5” 2-way speakers
injection molded quartz polypropylene woofer with butyl rubber surround
ceramic composite (ceramic over cloth) dome tweeter
frequency response 95-20,000 Hz (+/- 1.5 dB)
recommended power range 2-30 watts RMS
peak power handling 60 watts
sensitivity 89 dB
4 ohm impedance
100µF bipolar capacitors wired in-line with the speakers to block frequencies below 400HZ
mounting depth 1-7/16”

Infinity Kappa 693.1i
6”x9” 3-way speakers
injection molded quartz polypropylene woofer with butyl rubber surround
ceramic composite midrange (non-swiveling)
EMIT planar tweeter
frequency response 38-21,000 Hz (+/- 1.5 dB)
recommended power range 8-100 watts RMS
peak power handling 200 watts
sensitivity 89 dB
4 ohm impedance
mounting depth 2-3/4”


Infinity Kappa 65.1mb
6.5” mid-bass speakers
injection molded quartz polypropylene woofer with butyl rubber surround
frequency response 40-2,500 Hz (+/- 1.5 dB)
recommended power range 4-50 watts RMS
peak power handling 100 watts
sensitivity 89 dB
4 ohm impedance
mounting depth 2-7/16”


INSTALLATION
Installation of the aftermarket speakers was really quite straight forward. I found the audio and interior sections of the SAAB Service Manuals available from the dealer to be very helpful. To fit aftermarket speakers to the existing speaker wires will require an adapter to the SAAB speaker connectors (I could not find any adapters) or cutting off the SAAB speaker connectors and adding the correct connectors for the aftermarket speakers.

The front speakers are easily replaced. First use a small screw driver to pry up the plastic grill for access. Then a tool like the “Skewdriver” is needed to remove the two speaker mounting screws. After terminating the speaker wires to the new speakers, just reverse the process for re-assembly.

The rear parcel shelf speakers are a bit harder. There are not very many aftermarket 6”x9” speakers that will fit in the existing cut-out in the parcel shelf. The easiest method to resolve this problem is to mount the after market speakers from under the parcel shelf. This simply means screwing the new speakers in from the bottom of the shelf. There is plenty of room below the shelf for most aftermarket speakers. To access the rear parcel shelf speakers remove the parcel shelf from the hatch area, then remove all the screws and the rear seat back latch bolts from the speaker grill assembly using Torx drive bits. You will also need to remove the fasteners holding the rear quarter panel carpet in place and pull the carpet out of the way.

Fitting the front door mid-bass speakers requires removing the front door panels. This is rather involved and really requires a diagram of the front door panel fasteners. Either the SAAB Service Manual for interior assemblies is needed, or there are pretty good instructions available at The SAABNET in the FAQ section, Audio Guide 900/9-3 (http://www.saabnet.com/sites/richard.bevan/). Other than the removal of the door panel, the speaker replacement is straight forward. The mid-bass door speakers are mounted in a plastic spacer ring that is in turn mounted to the door. The plastic spacer ring is large enough to house most 6.5” and 6.75” aftermarket speakers. The limiting factor will be the speaker depth. If you are adding door speakers to a vehicle that did not come with them (to an S model for example), you will need to fabricate or buy some speaker baskets and will probably have to run your own wires as the doors are not always factory pre-wired.



SOUND DAMPING IN A 1998 SAAB 900SET 5-DOOR.
By Rob Mustard (aka REM in Seattle)
Search word: rem_mod
Last updated – January 25, 2002

SOUND DAMPING
I mainly listen to jazz and blues and found the amount of road noise a bit too intrusive. So I decided to add sound damping and absorbing material where possible. The following details the current sound deadening material found in my 1998 SAAB 900SET 5-door and what modifications I made.

Front Wheel Wells and Floor Boards:
Under the carpet is a .070” thick asphalt mat covered by an approx. .090” thick white closed cell foam mat with a strong synthetic rubber backing. These two materials cover the entire area from the behind the dash, down the firewall to the beginning of the front seats, and from front left wheel well to right front wheel well including the center console.

There was no need, or much room, to add anything in this area.

Front Doors:
The interior door panel is made of a good quality pressed composite board. There are two pieces of rigid foam glued to the back of the interior door panel. Under the interior door panel is a foamed synthetic rubber membrane covering the entire inside door skin. The membrane is adhered to the door skin along the bottom edge and along both sides. The top is not adhered. Under this membrane is a smaller rubber membrane with an adhesive backing that covers the electric window motor assembly. The exterior door skin (the sheet metal skin that makes up the exterior surface of the car) has a piece of .070” thick asphalt sheet approx. 4” by 18” applied to the lower portion of the door skin. There are three pieces of rigid foam wedged in to the door. Two pieces are wedged at the bottom of the door between the inner and outer door skins, and one piece is wedged as a “stopper” in the square opening of the inner door skin.

I added a piece of .060” thick Dynamat Super approx. 5” wide by the width of the door to the inside of the exterior door skin, just above the side collision reinforcing bar. I also added an 8” by 8” piece of Dynamat Super to the inside of the exterior door skin directly behind the door mounted mid-bass speaker. After replacing the factory rigid foam pieces, I then covered the lower half (approx. 12” high) of the interior door skin with Dynamat Premium. I then replaced the two factory rubber membranes and the interior door panel.

Rear Doors:
Like the front doors, the interior door panel is made of a good quality pressed composite board. There are two pieces of rigid foam glued to the back of the interior door panel. Under the interior door panel is a foamed synthetic rubber membrane covering the entire inside door skin. The membrane is adhered to the door skin along the bottom edge and along both sides. The top is not adhered. Under this membrane is a smaller rubber membrane with an adhesive backing that covers the electric window motor assembly. The exterior door skin (the sheet metal skin that makes up the exterior surface of the car) has a piece of .070” thick asphalt sheet approx. 4” by 18” applied to the lower portion of the door skin. There is a piece of rigid foam glued to the inside surface of the exterior door skin. There is also one piece of rigid foam wedged at the bottom of the door between the inner and outer door skins.

I added a piece of .060” thick Dynamat Super approx. 5” wide by 14” long to the inside of the exterior door skin, just above the side collision reinforcing bar. After replacing the factory rigid foam piece, I then covered the lower half (approx. 12” high) of the interior door skin with Dynamat Premium. I then replaced the two factory rubber membranes and the interior door panel.

Rear Cargo Area:
I exposed the rear cargo area by removing the carpet covering the wheel wells on each side, cargo area carpet mat, spare tire, tools, etc. The rear wheel wells each have three small pieces of .070” asphalt mat applied to them. One at the front of the wheel well, one at the middle, and one at the rear of the wheel well. The inside surface of the exterior skin of each rear quarter panel has one piece of .070” asphalt mat approx. 4” by 18” attached to it. There is also an 8” by 24” piece of soft foam wrapped in plastic inserted between the inner and outer skins of the quarter panels on each side. There is a .070” asphalt mat covering the cargo floor above the rear muffler. The hatch lid has no sound damping material at all.

I covered the rear wheels wells with Dynamat Super. I also covered the exposed cargo floor on each side of the spare wheel well with Dynamat Super. I then covered the spare tire well with Dynamat Premium. I used some left over scraps of Dynamat Premium to cover the rear speaker shelves and to apply to the hatch lid. I also applied about 6 square feet of .75” thick Soundcoat sound absorbing foam (similar to Dynaliner by Dynamat) behind the carpet in the area around the rear speakers.

Conclusion:
The additional sound deadening seems to have reduced the road noise by about 10-25%. The doors close with a more vault like “thunk”. The mid-bass speakers seem to be a bit clearer, and there is less sympathetic vibration apparent in the door at loud volumes. There is definitely a lot less road noise from the rear cargo area of the car. I would guess that the Dynamat claim of a 3 dB reduction in the road noise level is about right. The sound damping in the rear wheel wells and cargo area is probably the most important aspect of this improvement. I would rate this ‘experiment’ as $250 and 2 days well spent.

Additional Notes:
I used one 12 square foot sheet of Dynamat Super (a .060” thick rubberized material with a 5 mil aluminum foil covering on one side and pressure sensitive adhesive on the other side) and two 13 square foot sheets of Dynamat Premium (a .045” thick mineral filled rubberized material with pressure sensitive adhesive on one side). I purchased the material from Crutchfield (http://www.crutchfield.com). The total weight of the material added less than 15 lbs to the car. For product specifications see (http://www.dynamat.com). There are several comparable sound damping materials available at car stereo retailers (Cascade, Accumat, B-Quiet, etc.). An inexpensive source of sound deadening material can be found at McMaster (http://www.mcmaster-carr.com) searching under “sound control”.

The SAAB Service Manual, Section 8.2 – Interior Equipment, was very informative when it came to removing the interior door panels, rocker covers, etc. The SAAB Service Manual is available at your SAAB dealer for about $12.

While I had the door panels off, I added some Wurth Body Protection Spray (a clear rust proofing wax compound for door panels, doorsills, etc. Very thin when applied, it gets into all the crevices and dries to form a hard, protective wax coating). One spray can had more than enough material to all 4 doors and the hatch lid. Available from Car Care Specialties (http://www.carcareonline.com).



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