Rear speakers upgrade, necessary?

[marcusx123]

Hey all,

I have a 2015 Touring and the speakers are just terrible. I'm upgrading the headunit soon and thought might as well replace the speakers too. I'm going to install a set of component speakers in the front.

My question is, what do I do with the rear speakers? Should I just leave them stock or should I put a pair of decent coaxial speakers there?
I've heard somewhere that upgrading rear speakers can actually hurt sound quality.

 

[jlcpremier]

Depends what kind of amp you want to put in for the aftermarket speakers. With a 4 channel, you can do front and rear, or front and sub...if you go 6 channel, that adds a sub output as well then you can do front, rear and sub. Either way, you generally want to amplify aftermarket speakers, especially components. That is unless you find some that recommend 15-40 RMS, and I don't think you will find components with that rating. The head unit only puts out 15W RMS, the 50W is peak. Since you mentioned going with the 6000 NEX, you will have front, rear and sub pre-outs at your disposal

 

[squibcakes]

You don't need rear speakers as tempting as it may seeem. Leave them stock off the head unit.

You want all the sound coming from the front for good staging. The head unit may be enough to power the component speakers but as ^ said, get a 4 channel amp and hook em up bridged for double the power. If you find you don't need double the power, you could bridge Ch3 +4 for a mono output for future sub install.

Think about getting some sound deading material for the lining of the front doors (dynamat).

 

[tibimakai]

I have put components in the rear too, this way the rear passengers can enjoy good sound too.
I've got a deal on the second set, so why not? (buy one and get the second for free, in December)

 

[marcusx123]

So far I bought the 6000NEX, and Polk DB6501 component speakers. Any suggestions for a decent and affordable amp?

Also, if I get a powered subwoofer and no amp for the aftermarket speakers, will it sound better than an amplifier for the speakers but no subwoofer?

Sorry about these really basic questions, I'm really new to the car audio world. thanks for the help guys!

 

[tibimakai]

Right now, I have the two components and the 3.5" Polks in the dash and I'm very surprised, on how much bass I have and how good it sounds compared to the factory setup.
I will be installing amps and different head unit anyway, since I have them already, but if I knew how big improvement will make just the speaker upgrade, I would have skipped the rest.
My recommendation is, do it step by step and see if you are fine with just the speakers. The rest can be added later anyway.
I know, Bestbuy has these setups, where you can turn on the amps for the door speakers and you can add the subwoofer amp to the systems. Go and try it out.

 

[lhendricks92]

I have also replaced my head unit (Pioneer 4000NEX). The stock speakers already sound much improved. My next step is to add a small powered sub to help out with the low end (Kenwood KSC-SW11). Then the head unit won't have to work so hard because I will set the crossover (using the head unit) such that only high and mid frequencies will be sent to the door speakers. Low end requires a lot of power, and now that will be the sole job of the powered sub.

I'm expecting a huge improvement. If I'm not satisfied, I will tackle the door speakers.

 

[tibimakai]

If you would see those door speakers, you would replace them right away.

 

[V8toilet]

So far I bought the 6000NEX, and Polk DB6501 component speakers. Any suggestions for a decent and affordable amp?

Also, if I get a powered subwoofer and no amp for the aftermarket speakers, will it sound better than an amplifier for the speakers but no subwoofer?

Sorry about these really basic questions, I'm really new to the car audio world. thanks for the help guys!

I have the Polk 6500 components up front, polk slim line coaxial in the rear with bass blockers, and a JL Audio 8" micro-sub in the hatch area. I'm running this off the stock head unit with an Audio Control line driver. I have an Alpine amp pushing 100 watts RMS per Ch on the components, 60 watts per Ch RMS for the read doors, and 160 watts mono RMS for the sub. I started out with just the components, then added the rear Polks, then added the sub. The rear speakers definitely help with the fill for an overall better sound and the subwoofer is a must have because it adds so much depth to just about any song. I tried a Sound Ordinance powered sub and returned it. I listened to many other brands and it's my opinion that JL Audio makes some of the best subwoofers in the world at their price point. If I had to do it again I'd probably cough up the little extra for the Focal or JL components. Polks a good budget speaker but nothing special. Adding the rear speakers is worth the effort.