Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Audio audio updrade...what to do?

Sorry bout the copy quote thing....messed it up a little (never did that b4) My reply to the quote is also inside the quote box

You are gonna have to change the speakers sooner or later, you might as well do it first. If you change the speakers first you might realize that you are happy with just that simple change. If you change the HU you will notice a change and blow out your stock speakers sooner. Just go step by step and stop whenever you are happy with the sound. Car audio is addictive, so expect to spend at least twice what you budgeted. If you can change the HU and get some good speakers, you will def. notice the difference. You might want to consider bypassing your factory amp if you get a good HU. I'm no audio pro, just trying to share the little bit I know.

Here is my reply again to make it easier to read:

Ya I like that HU alot...being that it has alot of power, I wouldnt need to wire an amp to the door speakers that i plan to replace anyway. However, i do really like the new HU that have the 16color displays (i believe its Pioneer) that is at Circuit City for i think 499. Those are the most atractive out. There is the one Sony w/ the miny video screen but I've been told you need extra hardware to make that work which is stupid considering the price tag. Guess the desion is b/w looks or power. (Wish there was a high power HU like the Panasonic MXE CQ-C9800U with better display ) Is there such a HU out there in my price range $400ish?

I have heard from various sources that ppl tend to favor putting component (round speakers) in the doors instead of 6x8's. Is there better sound quality w/ these? IIRC 6x8's have better base responce even though there wont be much comming from the doors, they seem to handle the bass a little better, I could be wrong.

As far as door speaker recomendations???? Infiniy Kappa's, Punch,JL, Pioneer, Polk, others??? what is the best buy?

Thanks again in advance for the help

I agree with the Panasonic suggestion. That h/u has a digital Tripath amp built in. Great choice for not wanting to get an amp. Not so sure your factory wiring will take it, but being factory amplified, it might be able to take it. As for upgrading speakers, it depends on how much you want to spend, and what kind of sound you are looking for. If you want a decent set of cheap 6x8's, get ahold of some Powerbass Black series. They sound damn good for only being 35 bucks a pair, at least that is what I can get them for. If you want something better than that, get a set of Kenwood eXcelon's. They have impressive sound for a 6x8, and are quite sensitive, making more of a lower power h/u than most other 6x8's. If you want to get components, but don't want to make a mounting ring, get a set of Infinity Reference 6802cs. Those are what I have, and they sound good off of my Premier P-300, and don't cost a whole lot on ebay, can be had for less than 100 bucks a pair. Mount the woofer in the standard opening, and mount the tweeter with double sided tape on the A-pillar facing in towards the center arm rest area. I haven't found a fault with the sound from them so far, they provide clean and decent sound for the money I paid for them (60 bucks including shipping). There are other options, just depends on what you want out of it.

The factory wiring would be fine for the hi-po Panasonic. I'm running 90x2 RMS through it right now.

Ask dnewma04 (Dave) to build you a set of his "budget components" to replace the speaks in your front doors. I guarantee you'll be happy with them. I used them for an install and was quite impressed with them, especially the bass response.

I think the next most powerful HU's after the Panasonic are the mid-level Alpines which produce 26x4 (there's quite a few others in that range too). But, whatever HU you get, don't forget to bypass the factory amp.

I'm still looking for door speaker replacement suggestions. There are just so many different ways ppl are running them its confusing. Such as 5x7/6x8's, components, 2ways, 3ways. I know what the 5x7/6x8's are but what exactly is the component...a round speaker w/ the tweet attached or unattached? Also what about the 2-way or 3way business? Some have differnt sizes on the front doors than the rears (i.e. 5x7 front and 6x9 back or even 6 1/2 components front and 5x7's in rear?) I just want a kick a$$ set combination of front and rears for the doors that sound great, won't distort, are plug in and play w/out the need of crossovers or amps to sound good. I really am not worried about price, however, dont really want to spend over $125 a pair. I would like them to be connected (i.e. the speaker and the tweeter connected so i dont have to mount the tweet somewhere else). I saw a set of IIRC infinity 5x7's at CC that have the movable tweet so you can aim it in any direction, nice feature, but then some really like the round Infiniy's. So many options, I would really apreciate a audio pro to suggest a setup that I am looking for and some explanation as to why or why not to go with certain setups. Thanks alot

P.S. I am leaning toward the new Panasonic that puts out IIRC 70x4 RMS so I would not need an amp for the door speakers.

Get 2 sets of Crystal CSx570 speakers for drop-in high performance (cost $80/pair). It uses an outboard crossover (directs highs to the tweet and lows to the woofer) which is easy to install with the speaker.

A good crossover section is imperative for clean, precise sound. "Cheap" coaxials just put a cap on the tweet to block the lows and let the highs roll off on the woofer. So, you've got two drivers producing an overlapping set of frequencies which muddies the sound.

Don't get caught up in the round versus oval thing. It's really not important. Any difference between the same motors being used on different cone shapes (provided the same surface area) would be inaudible.

thanks cthomp for your info. So your saying its imperative to run a crossover? The reason I didnt want to use speakers that need a crossover is b/c i dont really know too much about the whole crossoverthing as far as instalation, setup, fine tuning, etc.

How do the speakers you mentioned compare to the speakers that are being sold at BestBuy/Circuit City? Any speakers there of very good quality and are what Im looking for?

Still not to sure about what to do with size combination for front and back and if that nessesary. Also is it better to get a speaker that is a 2-way or 3-way (what are 2-ways and 3-ways?) v.s a speaker that is not?

3 way coaxials will be a waste. stick to the 2 way coaxials. coaxials are the tweeter mounted in the middle of the woofer, sharing the center vertical axis line. the kappa coaxials have an external passive crossover. u dont have to know jack about crossovers. crystal has a pretty decent rep. most of the best buy/circuit city stuff will be overpriced unless its on sale, kinda like crutchfield

I bought polk/momo carbon fiber two ways with crossovers. It was really easy to install. Plug stock wires to crossover wires and then attach wires from crossover to the speakers.