Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Audio Infinity Kappa in front door - what size?

I want to put Infinity Kappa speakers in my front doors as I am sick and tired of the Pioneer (Piomud) 6x8 three ways i installed last year. I was looking at getting the 5x7 component set, but evidently Infinity doesn't make them anymore. Then I stumbled across some old posts that people were able to get Kappa 6x9 three ways in the front door without modification. Is this really true, even for a '99 with power windows?

Are there any other Infinity solutions i should consider? I am NOT interested in any other brands at this point. I am done experimenting and want to go back of my old favorites.

BTW, i power the fronts with a Kenwood 35x2 amp.

Thanks in advance,

Russ
SVT 99#1194

The extent of the modication seems to be drilling an extra hole in most cases. I know someone here is running Kappa 6x9s. Hopefully he will respond.

go with the kappa 60.2 6 inch componets, they are on reduced price right now so you can pick them up for pretty cheap and they will sound better than any 6x9. Mine are powered by a 50x4 amp and they sound great!
-chris

Yeah, I have Kappa 3-way 6x9s in the front doors and Kappa 6x9 2-ways in the rear.
These come with a plastic spacer (about 1/2" thick) which I put between the speaker frame and the door. Just wanted to make sure the magnets cleared the window glass. No biggie to install in the front; just drill new mounting holes.
The rear required a little bit of trimming to the metal door pull bracket to clear the speaker frame. This bracket is just screwed into the door itself and can be removed, trimmed, then re-installed. In either case, no modifications are required to the doors themselves or to the door panels.

If you do not plan to use a subwoofer, I would strongly recommend also putting 6x9s in the rear doors. I know that many people look at the rear speakers as just "fill", but in order to make bass, you have to move a lot of air. Four 6x9s will move a lot of air, but get ready to track down and fix all kinds of rattles in the doors.

BTW - Before the 6x9s, I had the Kappa 5x7 component system installed in the front doors. They were OK, good midrange and highs, but lacked good low end punch.
I left the crossover and tweeters from this component system hooked-up and just wired my 6x9s into it (bypassed the low frequency crossover though).

Expensive speakers, but well worth it.
Last thing, give these puppies plenty of power, MINIMUM 50 watts RMS per channel. They'll suck it up and ask for more.
Good luck with the install.

-Wes
98 SE Sport

Any problem mounting the woofer in the door? I don't mind drilling holes at all, but I would like to avoid having to create custom spacers and/or mounting brackets.

Great advice Wes, thanks very much. I have a 10" Bazooka for the bass which does fine as long as one of the back seats are down, so i'm not too concerned about the rears. What is your opinion on going with the 6x9 versus the 60.2 component set, other than the obvious that the 6x9 install would be easier.

Russ
"CART 99"
SVT99#1194

Some people say that round speakers sound better than oval, but both sound pretty good to me. If oval speakers were really all that bad, I don't think KEF would have spent all that money developing and building home speakers around them. In case you're not familiar with KEF, they are one of the most expensive and well regarded high end speaker manufacturers in the industry and have been around for as long as I can remember.
Anyway, back on topic. I haven't listened to the 60.2 component set yet, but I would expect them to be quite good. These are a 2-way system I think, so they might be lacking in midrange. You would have to make or buy a mounting plate for the woofer, but that should be easy to do. Then the tweeters will have to be mounted somewhere. I put mine in the door panels and painted them to match my interior color. The crossovers can be mounted on the door frame behind the panels.

Being a bigger speaker with more cone area, I'd like to believe the 6x9s would make more bass, but since you already have a subwoofer, the point is moot.
I guess you'll have to go listen to both in order to make a decision.

-Wes
98 SE Sport

Wjang, you are correct about oval speakers, they can be extremely good. They do have a slightly different radiation pattern but that doesn't mean they are inherently bad. The one thing that makes component sets normally sound better than 6x9s, and the like, is that they use much higher quality drivers and crossovers. However, if you compare a budget component set, with a small 1st order crossover, to the same companies high end coaxials, they won't sound any better but do offer better flexibility.



[This message has been edited by dnewma04 (edited April 12, 2001).]

Hmm, interesting comment about the midrange, which is leaning me strongly in the direction of the 6x9 three-ways. Plus the fact that the installation will take 1/2 hour vs. a day for components. Thanks to both for your opinions!!

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Russ
"CART 99"
SVT 99#1194

After reading all the advice posted by you guys, i cracked open the crutchfield catalog and discovered the Infinity Kappa 6x9 3-ways were being sold at the unheard of closeout price of $169/pr. They are on there way.

Thanks again,



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Russ
"CART 99"
SVT 99#1194