3 way components in P5

[Hitson16]

Does anyone know if it is possible to in stall a 3 way set in the factory locations in a p5, I'm thinking a 5 1/4 and a 3 in the door and the tweet up in the stock spot. Can that be done? Also what is a resonable estimate for a set of kickpanels. I went one shop and they said about 400 (thats painted). I havent been to another place yet, is 400 high?



Jay

 

[1sty]

No it is not possible and not very useful. I can not think of a single car that ever used 5's and 3's effectively. There isn't a need. The purpose of a 3 way is to get a seperate mid and midbass driver to strengthen the low end and clean up the mids a bit compared to a 6.5" component. 5s and 3s are both mids not midbasses.

$400 is almost redicoulusly low.
The best installer around me charges $1200 minamum. Now he is one of the best on the east coast but he builds kicks like they should be built.
Kicks take time to aim right to get an favorable results and they must be build very solid or they will resonante or just not stqay put. Not to mention look like s*** which is a guarentee for a painted kick.

I would highly recommend doing just a 5.25" componet or a true 3 way set with well built kick panels.

Get them vinyled.
Don't go lowest bidder on kicks or you will get an ugly and terrible sounding enclosure.

 

[Hitson16]

Yeah I was thinking more in terms of whoat might fit in the door rather than the speakers purpose
How would 6 1/2 mid basses in the rear door panel with a 5 1/4 or 4' component up front sound with time correction help from a alpine hu?

 

[1sty]

Probably not very good in that even thought singal will be hitting your ears at the same time all of the lower midbass will still be noticably behind you.
It may be worth a shot before doing kickpanels or door pods though.

 

[chuyler1]

You can fit 6.5"s up front. A set of nice 6.5" components that cost as much as you were thinking for the speakers and kickpanel install combined will sound fabulous.

The CDTech HD series speakers for example come in a 'braxial' version (coaxial with a bracket) and have an add-on tweeter kit to raise the sound stage. They are engineered to go in your doors and use "controlled dispersion technology" to combat the side bias found in cars.

http://www.cdtaudio.com/Braxial.htm

Do a search for these speakers on the internet and you will find they come well recommended, especially by the car audio fanatics at the www.sounddomain.com forums.

 

[Hitson16]

is there a difference between 6 1/2 midrange and 6 1/2 midbass speakers

 

[chuyler1]

It depends on the brand.

Kicker for example will sell a midrange with their component set, then go and sell the same woofer seperately and call it a midbass.

 

[Hitson16]

Thats interesting, thats what I was looking at. I guess I just need a better set of components, right now I have infinity reference, and the highs are too harsh and they lack snap in the drums. I been to 3 tweeters to try to hear the kicker resolutions comps but none of them have them, they are the onlyauthorized dealers aroud me. Anybody heard them? I have a jl 300/2, I heard the kickers take a lot of power.

 

[chuyler1]

Any good set of components will handle 150watts easily. I'm not familiar with the Kickers though. I'm not a fan of them. In my mind, kicker says quantity, not quality.

I was sending my Eclipse 6.5" components 240watts, crossed over at 75hz, and I have never heard another set that produced the crack of a snaredrum better. They were however in partially sealed kickpanels.

 

[Hitson16]

those braxials come with a crossover or do I have to buy them seperate.

 

[Hitson16]

Those braxials look really nice but

a. I can't listen to them before I buy them
b. The mount depth on the HD 6.5 braxial is 2 13/16. Will that fit?
c. do I need to run new speaker leads or does will the factory leads work fine for a jl 300/2?

 

[chuyler1]

a) I have the 3-way classic series installed in my g/f's car and I can vouch for them. They sound better than any retail set you will find in a store (such as Kicker/Alpine/RF...). From the speakers I have heard, they closely resemble the sound of A/D/S components. Very smooth and neutral (no ear pearcing highs, perfect transition between tweeter and woofer, detailed midrange, and solid, but not overwhelming, midbass down to 60hz)

b) You will have to make a baffle to mount them to because the front speakers are 5x7. (basically an oval piece of MDF with a circular hole for the speaker). If you use 3/4" mdf for the baffle the mounting depth shouldn't be a problem.

c) Every car is different with regards to factory speaker wires. I haven't done an install on my P5 yet so I can't vouch for Mazda's choice in wire. In general, newer cars have better wire. If you do the install and you hear crackling from the tweeters or a harsh fuzziness at loud volumes....replace the wires....if you don't then it isn't necessary.

 

[chuyler1]

oh, and yes they come with an external crossover.

They are identical to their regular components except they have a bracket and a different housing for the tweeter.

 

[1sty]

Kicker has a distict midbass 6.5" and 8" driver.
They are not used as mids in componets last time I checked

 

[Hitson16]

Cool thanks for the help all. I think I decided to just get a good set of 6 1/2 comps up front and leave it at that. I'm still not sure what I want to get, although I agree with you Chyuler that the CDT's in general seem to get outstanding reviews, it still hard not being able to listen to them. Also www.thezeb.com an authorized cdt retailer is selling 2002 eurosports for almost half price, have you heard these? if so how do they compare to the HD line? The are almost the same price, the euro aren't braxials though just regular comps.

Also can anyone else verify that I will def. be able to get 2 13/16 mount depth in the p5?

 

[chuyler1]

They do have the euros in a braxial, at least they show them on their site.

I haven't heard anything about them yet. The crossovers look very similar to the HD series. If the price is the close I'd say go for it. Go to www.sounddomain.com and do a search in their forum for CD Tech. The people there love CDT and they'll let you know if they are worth the extra money.