Speaker question
- Thread starter bluemp5
- Start date
first off blue hello and Welcome to our happy little corner of the net, and to our Club. There are TWO BIG fridge'S in the corner with anything you can think of in them...help yourself...of course only take what you can LEGALLY have. (stash)
make yourself at home on one of the big fluffy couches, kick your shoes off, put your feet up on one of the tables, yes we are allowed to do that, mom don't care....and take it easy.
oh...btw....every once in a while a food fight breaks out...so you may not want to wear nice clothes here.
Welcome!! (stash)
since you do not want to get a sub....you would be best served to get components to put up front.
make yourself at home on one of the big fluffy couches, kick your shoes off, put your feet up on one of the tables, yes we are allowed to do that, mom don't care....and take it easy.
oh...btw....every once in a while a food fight breaks out...so you may not want to wear nice clothes here.
Welcome!! (stash)
since you do not want to get a sub....you would be best served to get components to put up front.
Components are the only option. Very few coax speakers are actually an 'upgrade' to todays new stock stereo systems.
Here's what I suggest, since you don't want a sub:
6.5" components up front. This requires somewhat of a custom install, but it can be done with a piece of MDF and a jig saw.
6.5" Kicker midbass drivers in the rear stock locations (Model:RMB6)
http://www.kicker.com/ShowPage.cfm?filename=kickres.html&menu=MIDTWEET
Then a 4 channel amp that will produce 25-50watts per channel. Or a 5 channel amp. With a 5 channel you can bridge the front channels to send plenty of power to your components, and then wire the kicker midbass drivers in parallel to the 5th channel to send them a decent amount of power.
This is probably the best way to still get some bass from your system without sacrificing any cargo space. Check some other threads here to see how people have mounted amps under the front seats.
Here's what I suggest, since you don't want a sub:
6.5" components up front. This requires somewhat of a custom install, but it can be done with a piece of MDF and a jig saw.
6.5" Kicker midbass drivers in the rear stock locations (Model:RMB6)
http://www.kicker.com/ShowPage.cfm?filename=kickres.html&menu=MIDTWEET
Then a 4 channel amp that will produce 25-50watts per channel. Or a 5 channel amp. With a 5 channel you can bridge the front channels to send plenty of power to your components, and then wire the kicker midbass drivers in parallel to the 5th channel to send them a decent amount of power.
This is probably the best way to still get some bass from your system without sacrificing any cargo space. Check some other threads here to see how people have mounted amps under the front seats.
Stay away from Best Buy or Circuit City unless you know someone who has gone there and had good luck. Every store is different. You're better off going to a specialty stereo shop.
Check online stores such as www.sounddomain.com to get an idea of what is out there. If you only have $400 you should plan to do the stereo in stages. I suggest finding a nice set of components for $150-300. If you have someone install them, it will set you back another $50 at least.
Then when you have more money to spare, pick up an amplifier and wiring kit. Again, expect to pay more to have it installed.
Then you can finish off your system with a set of rear mid-bass drivers later on.
If you go all out and buy an amp and speakers for $400 right off the bat, you will end up tossing them when you realize you want more (more sound, more quality, more bass). It happens every time...car audio is very addictive.
Check online stores such as www.sounddomain.com to get an idea of what is out there. If you only have $400 you should plan to do the stereo in stages. I suggest finding a nice set of components for $150-300. If you have someone install them, it will set you back another $50 at least.
Then when you have more money to spare, pick up an amplifier and wiring kit. Again, expect to pay more to have it installed.
Then you can finish off your system with a set of rear mid-bass drivers later on.
If you go all out and buy an amp and speakers for $400 right off the bat, you will end up tossing them when you realize you want more (more sound, more quality, more bass). It happens every time...car audio is very addictive.
IF you are going to have someone install itt then stay away from BB as they are producing more install nightmares then anyone. CC not much better.
For the Money the Pioneer Coaxles can't be beat for bass response. The yellow cone ones. If $400 is your budget then just put it all towards speakers right now as you don't have enough for anything else. The Pioneers with install will be $400 or a little more. You really don't have enough for components. You really should be looking at $300 just for a set of 6.5" components. Otherwise you'll wish you had.
In short:
Get the Pioneers speakers in the front and rear and add a 4 channel amp later when you have another $300.
For the Money the Pioneer Coaxles can't be beat for bass response. The yellow cone ones. If $400 is your budget then just put it all towards speakers right now as you don't have enough for anything else. The Pioneers with install will be $400 or a little more. You really don't have enough for components. You really should be looking at $300 just for a set of 6.5" components. Otherwise you'll wish you had.
In short:
Get the Pioneers speakers in the front and rear and add a 4 channel amp later when you have another $300.
no it wouldn't
The kicker is a midbass only and you need to have an amp that can bandpass its crossover. Do matching speakers all around and you will get hte best results. The pioneers I mentioned have far better bass output then the Infinitys do.
The kicker is a midbass only and you need to have an amp that can bandpass its crossover. Do matching speakers all around and you will get hte best results. The pioneers I mentioned have far better bass output then the Infinitys do.
According to their site, the Kicker's will play down to 30Hz. If you had an amp as 1st_MP3 said, you would be able to tune it with the built-in crossovers to get a decent sound stage up front, and some added bass coming from the rear. They won't output anything close to a sealed 8" or 10" sub, but its better than nothing.
I tend to shy away from rear full-range speakers because I like my music coming from the front, and I rarely have passengers in the back. But thats just my opinion, if you like rear sound, go with the matching Pioneers. You can always play with the crossover when you get an amp later on.
I tend to shy away from rear full-range speakers because I like my music coming from the front, and I rarely have passengers in the back. But thats just my opinion, if you like rear sound, go with the matching Pioneers. You can always play with the crossover when you get an amp later on.
Yeah, again, playing with the crossovers. I was checking out those Alpine Amp's you've been raving about in Crutchfield last night. They have a nice, easy to configure crossover that will do bandpass.
Just like my PPI 5-ch. I had one set of RCAs going into it, high passed the front to tweeters at 3.5KHz, sent the remaing signal to the rear channels, highpassed it again at 73Hz and sent it to my mids(to create a bandpass) and sent the remaining signal to the sub channel where I highpassed again at 18Hz to create a second bandpass (or subsonic filter). Didn't have to use the supplied crossovers for my components, and because the drivers were only 3.2Ohms, they power distribution was perfect: 30watts per tweet, ~45-50watts per mid, 200watts for the sub.
Just like my PPI 5-ch. I had one set of RCAs going into it, high passed the front to tweeters at 3.5KHz, sent the remaing signal to the rear channels, highpassed it again at 73Hz and sent it to my mids(to create a bandpass) and sent the remaining signal to the sub channel where I highpassed again at 18Hz to create a second bandpass (or subsonic filter). Didn't have to use the supplied crossovers for my components, and because the drivers were only 3.2Ohms, they power distribution was perfect: 30watts per tweet, ~45-50watts per mid, 200watts for the sub.
Both 1st_MP3 and I were discussing building systems with the stock HU. I have spoken to others about it and the consensus is that it is doable. However, you need some sort of line driver to get the best quality. There are stand alone line drivers as well as in-dash eqs that will increase the signal's voltage so your amps get a clean signal.
I would not recommend powering after market speakers with the stock head unit though, so...for an amp, you should look into different 4 channel amps that put out somewhere between 30-50 watts per channel. Crutchfield is a good place to research because they allow you to compare stats.
I would not recommend powering after market speakers with the stock head unit though, so...for an amp, you should look into different 4 channel amps that put out somewhere between 30-50 watts per channel. Crutchfield is a good place to research because they allow you to compare stats.
It would be an improvement over the stock unit but internal hu amps don't ever sound as good as they claim.
HUs average from $200-400 for a decent model depending on the options you want...and thats why you should consider upgrading. Do you want to play CDRWs? mp3s? DVDs? Is there something you really don't like about the stock hu? Some stock units don't even have CD players either. These are the reasons most people upgrade, not because they want more power...well some people do, but they end up buying an amp down the line because the hu isn't enough...if you're worried about sound quality, most stock systems loose quality in the speakers, not the HU.
...for the same money as a new HU, plus a little more for installation, you can buy a 4 channel amp and hook it up to your current head unit and get the power and bass response you're looking for. Even if its the same 35-40 watts per channel, you can bet your ass a 9"x9"x2" amp is going to be more dynamic than the 2"x2"x2" one thats built into the HU.
HUs average from $200-400 for a decent model depending on the options you want...and thats why you should consider upgrading. Do you want to play CDRWs? mp3s? DVDs? Is there something you really don't like about the stock hu? Some stock units don't even have CD players either. These are the reasons most people upgrade, not because they want more power...well some people do, but they end up buying an amp down the line because the hu isn't enough...if you're worried about sound quality, most stock systems loose quality in the speakers, not the HU.
...for the same money as a new HU, plus a little more for installation, you can buy a 4 channel amp and hook it up to your current head unit and get the power and bass response you're looking for. Even if its the same 35-40 watts per channel, you can bet your ass a 9"x9"x2" amp is going to be more dynamic than the 2"x2"x2" one thats built into the HU.
