Okay, I have a stock head unit with some cheap JBL 6.5" speakers on my door. All the other speakers are stock. I plan on getting the Alpine 7873 very soon. What I want to know is what kind of component speakers I should be running in the front. I know that it'd be best to get an amp, but that's money I'd rather spend on something else...so I plan to run off the headunit (for now). No subs is fine for me. I just want something that hits harder and sound cleaner and can be turned up without little to no distortion...something like the system from the new Nissan Maxima (if that's at all possible). I know anything would be better than my stock system, but I'm open to suggestions. I want to do it right the first time. Also, I'd like to keep expansion of the system possible.

Believe me, I'd rather spend the money on a radar detector, but the crappy sounding tape player bumping through blown speakers is killing me. TIA

 

Just how "cheap" are these JBL coxials. If they aren't too shabby, add a small amp and subwoofer combo. You NEED a subwoofer. I was driving around with my $89 Alpine coaxials, off my CDM7857 until recently when I added a 4 channel Eclipse 32440 4 channel amp and a Boston C110prefab sub. The amp is alright, is rated at 85 Wrms at 13.8V has the preamp board and amplifier section isolated from each other and can handle a 2 ohm mono load from my BA C110!!! It's not designed for a 2 ohm load in mono, it it did. It got so hot that the adhesives holding the emblems started lifting off!!! The amp was $449 and the subwoofer system (10" with passive radiator) was $399. It makes the world or difference... The stereo can now drown out road, exhaust and windnoise, and I find myself driving slower now. Get the amp and sub first along with your 7873 and then add a new set of component later. It would be a waste to spend $300 on a component set and power it off the deck. I was in the process of puting in a set of 6.5" MB Quart Q's but I ran into the problem with the Molex connectors, so I was forced to live with 6.5" Alpines a bit longer, but with amp power. They really don't sound too bad when the BBE is on....


The Maxima's Bose system is a POS. My roommate is getting his pulled out right now and thinks my tempory $1200 system sound better than his Maxima's stock Bose system.

If you wanted something decent but didn't cost an arm and a leg, get a set of coaxials for $150, prefabricated sub box, like the JLCS110W3 ($249) and a decent amp like a 4 channel Alpine MRVF307 for $349 with the rear channel bridged to power them both.

[Modified by dc24me, 1:04 AM 7/27/2001]


[Modified by dc24me, 1:07 AM 7/27/2001]

 

The JBL door speakers I have now are already blown on the right side...and my stock left tweeter is blown too. Come to think of it, my rear right speaker also becomes distorted at higher sound levels. So my system sounds like CRAP. The only way I can listen to it without hearing distortion is to listen at lower levels.

You know something? I just remembered I was given an old Hifonics 2x50W amp from the guy I bought my car from...so I guess I won't have to run without an amp afterall.

I did a search and found some basic specs: http://www.tms-electronics.com/produ...id=Mercury%20X

Should this be adequate? I'm not looking for big thump right now. Just clean highs, clean bass. No sub if possible for now...later down the road for sure.

You mentioned a problem with the MB Quarts. Can you reiterate on that? I plan on getting an MB component system.



[Modified by Dozed, 11:50 AM 7/27/2001]

 

To install any aftermarket component system, to do it properly, you don't want to run the factory wiring since it's about 20 Gauge and doesn't have the ability to carry enough current. You'll want to upgrade the wiring. And if you want to run the tweeter in the door, you'll want to run two pairs of wires, since you do NOT want to mount the passive crossover network in the door. The door is going to open and close and the crossover network is so much more suspectible to moisture. Put them below the seats or under the dash. The doors have a Molex connector and that's it. If you don't want to new drill hole through your door and be a hack, you'll want to drill out some blank spots out of the connector. It's going to be a pain in the ***, but using Monster Cable S164RCL (it's a white cased cable with 4 conductors inside designed for Home Theatre installation) helps.

If the Hi-phonics amp works, use it. You can start out with a decent set of coaxial or component speakers first, but if you are using components, make sure you like where the tweeter sounds before you start cutting stuff. I have a set of 218.61Qs I am going to mount the tweeter coaxially. My roommate has a set of Focal Utopias and the tweeters were mounted in the kickpanel. I like the way metal dome tweeters sound down there.

You will need an subwoofer later, but getting a good set of front speakers is the first choice. What exact MB Quart model are you looking at. I know their stuff really well. Make sure you use of Dynamat eXtreme at least around the speaker and behind it in the door. Leave the rear speakers out for now, less you have a 4 door and care about your backseat passengers.




[Modified by dc24me, 2:19 PM 7/29/2001]

 

Thanks for the advice! I'm looking at the MB Quart DSD-216. Anything I should know about these speakers before buying? Is there anything else that I should be looking at in the same price range? Thankfully, I've been given a decent amount of Phoenix Gold wiring along with the HiFonics amp. I'm sure I should have no problem wiring everything up since the previous owner of the car had hooked up a very nice system before taking everything out and giving the car to me. Actually, there's still a lot of spare wiring running through to the rear of the car that he didn't take out...which is good and bad in a way.

I was thinking of putting the JBL speakers in the rear. Do you still think I should just leave the rear speakers out? I don't care about the rear passengers (heh), but it seems to sound better to me with the rears.

Is dynamat absolutely necessary? How much should I get? What do you mean by mounting the tweeter coaxially? Sorry for all the questions. Car audio is like a whole new world to me.

 

The DSD216s are okay. It's basically the same speaker set as the 218.02Cx set released like 8 years ago, except for the polypropylene cone and the clear crossover for the case. Sort of overpriced for what you get. If you really must stay with Quart, I'd suggest as set of RKC116 coaxials which have the identical tweeter mounted on a pivot and a ABS composite basket. I never liked the cheap steel basket they used on the DSDs. The woofer from the Reference series offers a decent amount of midbass if it gets enough power.

Coaxially means that the tweeter and woofer is on the same axis. Co- the is a prefix for two. Basically the tweeter is mounted in the middle of the woofer. You can have separate components or coaxially mounted components. The RKC116s I described above are coaxial components because both the woofer and tweeter have their own separate input. Sometimes the advantage of the coaxial is that the speaker system may sound more balanced. With a coaxial speaker, all the sounds come from on point, so you have a distinct left and right. If you went with a set of separate components and put your tweeter in your factory location up in the door, the tweeter will be right in your face, and may sound bright or harsh, making the speaker set loose linearity. You'll hear too much from the tweeter, that it doesn't sound good. MB Quarts are notorious for this. Different tweeters are different optimum spots for mounting and different dispension patterns. Metal dome tweeters are very revealing, meaning that can play up to 20Khz and beyond. Soft dome tweeters usually have decent response up to 17 to 18KHz or so. Since glass is a reflective surface and would intensity the highs, I generally like to put metal dome tweeters down low, either coaxially or in the kickpanel. If the tweeter is mounted higher up in the door or in the dash near all this glass, I'd choose soft dome tweeters, like silk. Balance is the key to having an accurate sounding system. One disadvantage of having a tweeter mounted low is that you may have a low soundstage. Basically, you want your dashboard to sound like a stage when you see a live show.

As for Dynamat or any other resonance control material, yes you need it. When you mount a speaker in an enclosure such as a door, the speaker and the enclosure become one. If the you have a good speaker but you put it into a poor enclosure, it will sound like ***. The key to maximizing what you have is making the door as good of an enclosure as possible. If you wanted to go all out, you'd want to get a $250.00 shop pack of Dynamat eXtreme (39 sq.ft) and a sheet of Tac mat foam to sandwich between the door and the doorpanel, but that's a bit excessive. But if you did, with just the front speakers getting power off the amp, when the car is off, you would swear there is a small subwoofer in there. Dynamat keeps the door panels from vibrating which will cause the sound to discolor. You want the doors to be a solid as possible, like a home speaker enclosure.


I removed my rear speakers. Front speakers and a subwoofer in the rear is all you really need.

Hope this helps. But, if I confused you at all, please let me know. Same goes for it you have any other questions..

 

Thanks for the great info! I understood everything pretty well. Coaxial speakers would be nice...but will they fit without modification in the stock speaker locations? I'm really opting towards a component system though...so that means a component system with silk dome tweeters.

I don't really care what brand it is. I just looked at mainly MB Quart because I've heard many positive things about that company. Are there any particular speakers I should also be looking at (coaxial or component)? I'm looking to spend around $140-160 for the speakers (keep in mind I will most likely try to find it on eBay). If at all possible, would you suggest the best bang for the buck that I can get for that price range or cheaper?

How much dynamat should I be getting for my particular application? I don't want to spend loads and loads of money on a sound system since I'd rather spend it on performance mods. So...getting 39 sq. ft. of dynamat is out of the question. How much would I need just to surround the speakers? I do plan on using carpet padding as sound deadening which was discussed on the Integra forum a couple of months ago. This will be applied throughout the entire interior.

 

Try searching for speakers online at crutchfield.com( sometimes they have clearance items listed online, and they carry good brands.), soundcity.com( rockford fosgate, soundstream, kenwood, pioneer...etc., some good prices), partsexpress.com( not as many top brands, but a few decent ones, also they have a buy out special on some older Coustic equipment, including a 5" component system).

I know that there are many more companies online, but these are just off top of my head, maybe some other people will have some more suggestions
Good luck with the system

 

You're a mind reader! I was about to ask about any online stores to shop.

 

Glad I could help, hope to get some answers about another topic I posted. I just try to check this forum because I was once a seriouse car audio nut, now I just like cars in general.
If I come across some more sight, I'll post them