Currently I don’t have any aftermarket equipment in my car except a head unit. I am designing a different setup and have previously sold all my old gear.
It depends a lot on what you want the system to do. If you are running a system without a subwoofer, I would highly recommend it. This will allow your system to play lower bass and will sound more full. If you are running a system with a subwoofer, then it is not entirely necessary. Although you should consider this. If you run a larger speaker in the front you accomplish a couple of things. The larger cone of a 6.5 will play lower into the bass region, which allows you to set your subwoofer crossover lower which in turn helps clean up and tighten the bass. It depends on what kind of speakers you buy, but a good number of 6.5 speakers will fit without any modifications to the door. One thing to take into consideration is the depth of the magnets, which could interfere with window operation or the install in general. It is easy to make a wood spacer ring that will allow the installation of deeper speakers though, which simultaneously solves your diameter problem, as you can simply cut the mounting hole larger to accomodate the larger speaker.
No, I don’t have any pictures of my door panels with tweeters installed. I did however find and attach a picture of generally what the installed tweeter should look like.
Crutchfield is a good company, and have a good level of service and include instructions that are fairly easy to follow. I don’t personally shop from them typically because they don’t carry the brands that I want. As far as where you should shop, I don’t really have a strong recommendation for you, because I don’t know what’s available where you live. I deal with Magnolia Audio/Video and Innovative Audio here in Bellevue, but I am pretty sure that you don’t have either of those companies where you’re located.
I would suggest that you perform the installs yourself. This sort of thing is not that difficult, and you will feel good knowing that your system was designed and built with your own hands. I personally derive much more enjoyment from my systems knowing that I put them together instead of paying someone else to do it for me.
As for where to buy products, I would listen to stuff anywhere you can, and decide what you like. If you find a dealer that you think is trustworthy/knowledgeable, then go with them. Otherwise just buy online. If Crutchfield carries the brand you decide to go with, then you can be confident in purchasing from them. I just know that they don’t carry the brands that I prefer.
i went with Kicker K65’s all the way around. Actually I have had em for awhile, and were in my brothers car. If you want a quality EXTREMELY crisp speaker, these are the best I have ever heard…BUT, they are defenitely intended for a system with subs. They wont play bass for shit, but they are the cleanest, crisp speakers I have ever heard. And they are pretty cheap too! Kicker has all great stuff in my opinion, and the best customer service ever! When my brother was in his accident, the right rear speaker got kinda messed up…I talked to Kicker, via email, and I was figuring on paying them to either replace it or fix it. What do ya know?! I get an email back the following day saying they will replace it FREE OF CHARGE! All I had to was pay for shipping to Kicker. Kicker K65’s in my opinion!
i have fosgate compents up front and the just power 6.5 in the back and they own. wouldnt trade them for the world i have a lil amp pushing about 60 rms to them. with no distorsion or anything.
I got 6 1/2 Mb Quarts components in the front and they sound awesome even with the wattage out of the head unit. I got a kenwood amp to push them just too lazy to pull the wires. :loser:
i hate my polk dx (3065) mids. i know i need separate midbass drivers but these really lack in the lower end, so much so i have to raise the cutoff with active crossovers/eq to avoid distortion.
anywho, all the above sounds good. infinity or mbquart will be your no brainer, all around safe choices. idq and cdt deserve checking out if youre more serious.
If you want a set of perfects I’m selling those along with a lot of other stuff I have. I’ve got a sony ES 600w mono sub amp, perfect 12 in a custom box. a kicker comp VR 10 in a q logic box, and a JBL 150.1 mono sub amp. Everything is in great condition and nothing will be more than $100
I would also recommend Focal speakers, I’ve got a set of my own, but the “entry-level” componants. The Focal Polyglass. These can be had now-a-days for under 200$, and they sound SUPERB. Better than any other speaker for the money. But, I’ve also dealt with Image Dynamics Chameleons($350) as well. THese speakers rock my socks off, and with a 2ohm voice coil, would make any aftermarket 2 channel amp give more power. But that would rule out running it off of a headunit, which I would never recommend for a componant set.
So, Focal, ID, even Adire Audio’s new Koda componants are good! Componants are the way to go if you’re not going to drop the money on a subwoofer, because they are just more pleasing to the ear. The install may take you an extra 30 minutes, but will sound 300x better.
I dont usually reccommend speakers that you can get from Best Buy, except maybe a handful.
What if you do go with a subwoofer or two in the trunk? I planned on going with Focal components (K2 series) in the front, not sure about the rear yet, and either one 10" or 12" subwoofer in the back.
Im running a set of 6 1/2" 165k2p Focals in my teggy and let me tell you guys they were worth every penny i spent on them. Im not sure what your budget is the focals can be pretty pricey, And you will definetly need a good amp to power these babys up. :rockon:
Ya pioneer makes a decent speaker i just finished my freinds system wich consisted of a cd head unit, 6 1/2 components, 4 ch amp and a 10" sub all made by pioneer and his car actually sounds pretty decent for the money he spent.
IMO, if you want components that are good for all around listening, but don’t have the money for mb quarts, the rockfords are really nice. They have good bass, bright highs, and with a small amp you can make them sound almost like subs. If you already have subs, infinitys and the kenwood dual mags are nice. If you don’t mind putting out some extra cash, the jl’s, boston acoustics, and mb quarts are really nice too. If you just want something that is all around sick, and you have the cash for it, go with a set of quarts. The mb quart 6 1/2 can sound like a set of 10" subs, or you can go high pass and they will blow away any highs on the market. They may seem overrated because EVERYONE and their mom talks about them, but they are like that because they are the best, plain and simple. It’s like if you want the best sub on the market, jl audio cannot be beaten dollar for dollar. Between sound quality and volume, there is no better sub on the market. That, and the fact that you ca beat the living piss out of them and they won’t die. Anyway, that’s just my opinion. Like some of the others said, don’t be afraid to go to a store and listen to the subs before you buy them, but if it were me, i would buy a pair of jl tens and run the recommended power to them, then put mb quarts in the back. Good luck with your search.
i have 6.5" pioneer speakers all around they sound real nice…180 Watt in the front and 220 Watt in the back…for all four it came to about 120 - 130 bux…they sound really nice for the price i paid for em
I have a 5 1/4 Boston Acoustics Rally (component) set in the front.
In the rear, I have Boston Pro 6.5" midbass running off a Boston in line crossover. I don’t run tweeters in the rear because the music starts to sound funky with any sound imaging equipment (Audio control ESP and the like). I power those with a Pheonix Gold 4600 with high pass on the front 5 1/4’s and full range on the 6.5 mids. Sounds good to me. I have always had Boston Acoustics for highs and JL for bass. I’ve heard most of the others and I think my stuff sounds just as good and most of the time better.
BTW, these speakers are tuff as crap. I used to have an Old School Punch 60 on my highs and Punch 200 on bass. It was untouchable for the money I had in it.