Worth replacing factory speakers?

[SniperVII]

2008 Madza 3 I touring,Worth replacing factory speakers?

I just got a 2008 Madza 3 I touring Sadan last week, it has the 6 speaker system, its not the 6 disc changer HU just the normal 6 speaker system. I was thinking about replacing the factory front door speakers with Kicker Components and replacing the rear door speakers with 6x8, I was planning on not running an amp I want to just use the factory HU. My question is, is there a big difference in sould with the aftermarket components and 6x8s? is it cleaner? more bass? or not really noticable, or would I be fine just keeping the factory setup. Circuit City want about $400 to replace the speakers all around or I could get them on EBAY for $150 and have Circuit City install them for $100ish. What are your feeling about this? I would like to hear from people that replaced the factory speakers with aftermarket Components in the front and 6x8s in the rear door. THX GUYS (silverpro

 

[xcoldr1cex]

you can just do the front speakers - you're not really going to get any better sound running rears. i'm not running my rears at all.

big difference in sound would be determined by the speakers you get and the amp you power them with - i don't know what the stock HU puts out, but i don't think it's that much so you should probably consider spending the money you were going to on rear speakers on an amp instead.

 

[AutoXRacer]

I haven't replaced my speakers, but I've read that the factory speakers have a high sensitivity rating...meaning they are louder with low powered amps...compared to aftermarket speakers that require a little more power to produce the same output.

Basically the factory speakers are very efficient...though, it does not mean they are better sounding in terms of quality.

 

[fourthmeal]

Your best investment is sound deadening done RIGHT.

If you want guidance, follow the links in my signature.

I just got a 2008 Madza 3 I touring Sadan last week, it has the 6 speaker system, its not the 6 disc changer HU just the normal 6 speaker system. I was thinking about replacing the factory front door speakers with Kicker Components and replacing the rear door speakers with 6x8, I was planning on not running an amp I want to just use the factory HU. My question is, is there a big difference in sould with the aftermarket components and 6x8s? is it cleaner? more bass? or not really noticable, or would I be fine just keeping the factory setup. Circuit City want about $400 to replace the speakers all around or I could get them on EBAY for $150 and have Circuit City install them for $100ish. What are your feeling about this? I would like to hear from people that replaced the factory speakers with aftermarket Components in the front and 6x8s in the rear door. THX GUYS (silverpro

 

[xcoldr1cex]

yeah. i agree. it'll make your stock speakers sound better, worked for me.

but it's going to be involved. doesn't seem like he wants to do it himself?

 

[AutoXRacer]

Doesn't the sound deadening increase the weight of the car...?
Coming from a Miata background, we did everything we could to decrease weight...

Though, I guess not everyone is interested in performance...some people are strictly audio/visual afficionados...

 

[xcoldr1cex]

yeah it adds weight - but it's ~50-60lbs spread out over the whole car (if you do the whole car) so it shouldn't be that bad. you can always do spot treatments to target the doors with speakers and the noisiest areas and invest in more expensive deadener to keep the weight down.

but i think the people that want good sound in their car are mostly using the ms3 primarily for DD - not that autoxers don't use their car for dd - but the whole weight thing is less of an issue for us regular folk

 

[fourthmeal]

IMO, if you are after a car you can live with day to day, and enjoy music in, then the sound dampening is worth it. If money is more important then weight, use RAAMmat, a relatively cheap but very good product. If weight is more important then money, use Second Skin or Cascade, both lightweight but far more costly. Either way, if you are after a car that is as light as possible, you'd probably want to pull the sound system out as a whole, anyway...

Trust me, a little sound dampening in the doors (even with stock speakers) can go a long way. There is far too much resonance in this car, and the stock speakers don't really do too bad (they use neodymium magnets!), they just are surrounded by resonant materials.

Also, do the work yourself man! We've got install threads all over the place, so you can do it on your own and save $$. I used to work for Ultimate Electronics, and Circuit City, and I wouldn't hand either of them a dime to install for me, unless I wanted to do it over again myself some time.

Try to think outside the box when it comes to speaker brands and such, too. Also, keep in mind that the stock head unit can NOT power aftermarket speakers very well, at all. It simply doesn't have the juice. An aftermarket amp tucked into the trunk can do wonders.

Again, read up on what we've created in this forum about the issue.

 

[SniperVII]

IMO, if you are after a car you can live with day to day, and enjoy music in, then the sound dampening is worth it. If money is more important then weight, use RAAMmat, a relatively cheap but very good product. If weight is more important then money, use Second Skin or Cascade, both lightweight but far more costly. Either way, if you are after a car that is as light as possible, you'd probably want to pull the sound system out as a whole, anyway...

Trust me, a little sound dampening in the doors (even with stock speakers) can go a long way. There is far too much resonance in this car, and the stock speakers don't really do too bad (they use neodymium magnets!), they just are surrounded by resonant materials.

Also, do the work yourself man! We've got install threads all over the place, so you can do it on your own and save $$. I used to work for Ultimate Electronics, and Circuit City, and I wouldn't hand either of them a dime to install for me, unless I wanted to do it over again myself some time.

Try to think outside the box when it comes to speaker brands and such, too. Also, keep in mind that the stock head unit can NOT power aftermarket speakers very well, at all. It simply doesn't have the juice. An aftermarket amp tucked into the trunk can do wonders.

Again, read up on what we've created in this forum about the issue.

What about if I went with a 75x75 watt 2 channel AMP for the front components and got some kicker components speakers? That should crank up the sound if not blow the speakers within the first year.

 

[fourthmeal]

Watts aren't really the whole story, but you've got the right idea. You know, if you went with a 4 channel amp (about the same cost), you could bridge two of the channels and stick a decent subwoofer in the trunk. BINGO, now you've got full-range sound!

Doing rears are a joke, anyway. I certainly don't have them. The fader is full forward on my Cantons.

If you want me to pick out an ideal inexpensive system for you, I'll do it this way:

MTX RE-Eq processor for line-out conversion and bass restoration (our head unit kills lower frequencies, you can restore it with this or other processors)

Pioneer PRS TS-C720 components. Trust me, these ain't like any pioneer you've heard before. They are some of the best components you can buy for very little money.

Pioneer Premier 4ch ICEpower amp. I have a 2ch version, and I LOVE it. Its not in this car right now, because I'm working with TUBE amps at the moment and I love those too. But the Pioneer ICEpower amps are really great, and they use like zero power, and are tiny.

JBL GTO 10" sub

Cheap, but decent sub box (or make your own..)

Knukonceptz wiring kit w/ RCA's. (8 gauge is all you need for the ICEpower amps)

JBL ReEQ, $99

Pioneer PRS components $254

Pioneer Amp, 4ch $249

JBL GTO 10" sub $55

8 gauge wiring kit $15.25

Roll of RAAMmat $118.96

4 Yards of Ensolite $47.84

Can of spray adhesive $7.66

Lastly, if you need to cheapen up somewhere, go with:
Diamond D661s Components $179

Blaupunkt PCA 465 4 Channel Amp (This amp isn't crap...I promise)$99

So there you go. You can either get it done for about $846 + some small things like speaker wire, wood, etc.

Or, as low as $622 + the small stuff.

Pretty damn good, if you ask me, and it should sound GREAT.

 

[Abaddon]

I'll back-up Fourth's suggestion on the pioneer Icepower amps.

I'm running the Alpine PDX series (Same basic amp) and love the sound coming off of this thing. I have it mounted where the factory sub used to be (With the JL-Audio cleansweep and the crossovers... yes yes, I know Fourthmeal.. I'm going active next spring...).

They draw very little current at full power (although some people say their idle current draw is higher then most Class D amps... I think 4 or 5 amps), and atleast the PDX 4.150 is known for producing much more then its rated power (I think 400 watts x 2 bridged).

Get the Pioneer version and save $$$$. I went with the Alpine because I like the idea of stacking them (will have a 4.100 and 2.150 stacked when I go 3 way active in the front).


Imagine.. you could get two PDX 4.100 amps, and a 1.600, stack them, and you would have 4 x 100, 2 x 200, 1 x 600 all at 4ohms (or 2ohm, regulated amp, power doesn't change from 2 to 4 ohms); and all in less then 1 cubic foot of space.

 

[fourthmeal]

I'll back-up Fourth's suggestion on the pioneer Icepower amps.

I'm running the Alpine PDX series (Same basic amp) and love the sound coming off of this thing. I have it mounted where the factory sub used to be (With the JL-Audio cleansweep and the crossovers... yes yes, I know Fourthmeal.. I'm going active next spring...).

LOL! It took me quite some time before I really grasped why active was so damn cool.

Anywho, Sniper, I hope some of those ideas helped you along!

 

[alleycat]

I replaced all the speakers in the car, as well as adding
two speakers in the rear near the headrests with custom mounting brackets (pics coming) plus a sub, amps and head unit and it makes a world of difference. No way the factory speakers could have handled the change. Believe
me I ran just a sub for years and thought that was good,
but once you put some quality speakers and amps in you'll
be much more impressed.