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Best Budget Speakers

A

arin

CEG'er
Joined
Feb 26, 2006
Messages
201
What would be the best bang-for-your-buck speakers for around ~$50/pair? I have the "Premium sound" in my '96, but would just like some kind of upgrade for some better all-around sound/bass. Not looking for anything special, but I'm sure a $50 pair of speakers would be a major upgrade over the stock ones, no?

I really know nothing about sound systems... Is the HU more important or what? Would I not get the best sound out of upgraded speakers with the stock HU?
 
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you do need a better HU. it would sound bad with after market speakers. not that it doesn't already. you should really look at ebay for some speakers and HU. i got mine new for at least 1/2 the price. (infinity kappa)
 
yeah just the speakers don't sound too good. just get a new HU and speakers and bypass the amplifier. If you really cant afford new speakers as well as the HU then just buy a new HU and use the stock speakers. That will sound a lot better than just speakers...
 
I'm piecing my audio system together one bit at a time and I decided to put a new HU in first. It sounds 100% better than stock and having the ability to tune the treble, mids and bass is a big improvement over stock. IMHO, get a new HU and then speakers
 
Best bang for the buck is Pioneer 2 way. Better bass than 3 way. If you are going to replace all four speakers, consider Pioneer 3 ways in the front and Pioneer 2 ways in the rear.
 
Your not going to get much bass out of 6x8's I can tell you that... unless you modify your doors and put 6x9's in like some have done.... or get a sub... personally I have pioneer 6x8 4-way's all the way around, and also run a sub, so they give a really clear vocal signal for me.
 
Well, what would be the best bang-for-your-buck HU for sub-$50? Is there such a thing that would be a good upgrade?

Or what do you guys think:
Do I get the best HU possible and no speakers
or a combo? I guess I would prefer to get the best HU possible and not fool around with wiring four speakers up, if that will give a good boost. Probably could spend ~$100 on anything atm.
 
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I personally like this Blaupunkt and wish I would have got something like it: http://cgi.ebay.com/BLAUPUNKT-KEY-W...ryZ18798QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem. Not a lot of people have these, but they are really cool definitely worth the money IMO.
Here is another great deal, these retail around 200 IIRC
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-07-CLARION-...ryZ50558QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
If it is of any use, I have a Pioneer that cost me around 180 and I absolutely love it. I can't say anything for the lower end Pioneer models, though, as I have no experience with them
 
Pioneer 2 or 3 way. I paid around $50 for a pair of 6x9s. Remember the fronts are more important then the backs.
 
Does anyone know what the wattage is of the stock radios in contours(with "premium" sound), so I can compare tos ome of these I'm looking at?

Is there a certain wattage that these HU's can put out that would be too much for the stock speakers?

What are the good brands? Clarion, Panasonic, Sony, Pioneer.. ?
 
arin said:
Does anyone know what the wattage is of the stock radios in contours(with "premium" sound), so I can compare tos ome of these I'm looking at?

Is there a certain wattage that these HU's can put out that would be too much for the stock speakers?

What are the good brands? Clarion, Panasonic, Sony, Pioneer.. ?
Click to expand...

Lets just put it this way.... an aftermarket HU will put out more wattage than a factory radio in your contour....
 
i want to say i read somewhere that the stock premium system has like 7-9 watts rms... if thats true (i could be totally wrong) then any aftermarket 16-22 watts rms is going to be significantly better...
 
Best Sound

Best Sound

It doesn't matter how good the sound qualities of your head unit are. If you have a great HU and low quality speakers, you will have low quality sound reproduction. The speakers are what reproduce what the HU puts out, and most of HUs produce better sound qualities than the human ear can hear. Therefore, go with the best speakers you can afford, as they produce the sounds that you hear, and the better they are, the better the sound will be.
 
i dont know the exact reasons but from experience i tend to disagree with the last post. from experience i noticed a larger difference from upgrading the HU as opposed to just upgrading the speakers. i know in some instances upgrading the speakers sounded worse because a lot of bass was lost... thats just me though.
 
I agree with you. It's better to upgrade the head unit first before the speakers because an aftermarket head unit most likely has the latest technology in sound reproduction. Stock head units do not. Plus, most aftermarket head units comes with a built-in EQ for fine tuning of sound reproduction. As a result, you will get some improved sound with the stock speakers that can be tolerable until they can be upgraded.

ConcepTrs913 said:
i dont know the exact reasons but from experience i tend to disagree with the last post. from experience i noticed a larger difference from upgrading the HU as opposed to just upgrading the speakers. i know in some instances upgrading the speakers sounded worse because a lot of bass was lost... thats just me though.
Click to expand...
 
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