I'm unhappy with my current setup, so I'm looking for change.

Here's what I have in my '93 EG Hatch:

Head unit: Eclipse CD5030 - 7 band parametric EQ, internal crossovers

Front speakers: 5.25" Pioneer G 2-ways - $38 at Wal-Mart
Rear speakers: My car has no OEM spot for speakers, but I have some random 6x9 Sony Xplods mounted to a piece of plywood (Gift of car's previous owner).
Subwoofer: MTX Thunder 5000 10" (250W RMS) in a sealed enclosure
Amp1: 75Wx4 Amp. Cheapie Dual brand , but it at least complies with CEA2006
Amp2 (used for sub): Power Acoustik 125Wx2. Used bridged for subwoofer.


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I'm content with the subwoofer setup, and I think my head unit is good. The amps aren't the greatest, but I think they will suffice (both are rated for <1% distortion). Correct me if I'm wrong about the amps being adequate.

Where my problem lies is with my satellite speakers. Now, I don't need super loud music or epic sound quality. Just enough volume to overcome road noise and full sound with reasonably clarity. I have no A/C, so in the Summer, I ride with the windows down.

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The Sony 6x9 Xplods are absolute garbage. They're rated 50W RMS, but even with proper crossover usage, they distort TERRIBLY even with the slightest bass. These speakers put out shrill, high pitched sounds that lack depth and clarity.

The Pioneers, despite being only 5.25", 25W RMS, and the cheapest thing Pioneer has, put the Sonys to shame. Problem is, they aren't balanced at all. With a flat EQ curve, their highs are very powerful - sometimes more than I can stand. That's saying a lot, because I like a lot of highs. These speakers don't have much depth either. If I muffle the highs with the EQ and turn the volume up, I quickly max the speakers out. They just aren't very responsive to lows.

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So, I'm looking to upgrade to something worth my time. I'm thinking I should throw out all four satellite speakers and use two Alpine SPR-17Cs. I'd run them bridged from the Dual Amp.

http://www.crutchfield.com/s_500SPR1...7C.html?tp=105

These are 6.5", and Crutchfield says it would send me the required mounting brackets. I've searched the forums, and all I've seen as far as fitting 6.5" speakers is that some people simply say it works, and others say an enclosure of some sort is needed. I know the Pioneer 5.25"s completely fill the plastic speaker housing the car came with.

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Give me your input, fellow forum users!

How exactly do I get the 6.5s shoehorned in?
Are my amps acceptable?
Will the SPR-17Cs work well enough to for at least decent full-range SQ and enough volume to overcome road noise?

 

if it were my car id ditch all four speakers and the amp running the speakers. i would then get a set of 6.5" components and buy an appropriate 2 channel amp to run them.
i have a civic hatch and i dont miss rear fill at all.

 

How much is the cheap amp compromising the sound?

 

I run infinity reference 6.5's in front of my car and I love them.

 

cheap amps clip much easier in most cases. an amp clipping gives bursts of dirty power. thats what blows speakers most often besides mechanical failure. my door speakers are rated for 100 rms a side. im feeding them 50%more than they are rated for but its clean power and the speakers have lasted me 2 years so far.
as for infinity references, if you arent into any SQ, you might like these.
phoenix gold rsd have made many budget minded people happy. Great bass for a 6.5 door speaker!
if you have more money to blow, I love image dynamics stuff.

 

Yes, clipping. Clipped sine waves. Heat. The most common cause of speaker destruction.

The amp is CEA2006 certified. But, CEA2006 Certification only covers 4ohm at 14.4 volts. Meaning the only figure I can count on is 4x50W at 4ohm... but I doubt my alt puts out 14.4 volts under much load.

The amp claims to be 4x75W at 2ohm. Running two 4ohm speakers bridged will effectively make them 2ohm, so far as the amp knows. So, that being said, all I really need is for that 150x2 to be at least 100x2.

 

I read in a few reviews that people supposedly switched from Infinity Kappas to Alpine Type-Rs and liked the bass better. I got a $50 Amazon gift card for Jebus' birthday, so I got on Amazon and looked around. I just bought the Type-Rs for $90 shipped. $40 after the gift card.

Hopefully they're worth it.

I've got a friend with an extra Alpine 4x75 amp. We agreed to try his out once I get the speakers. I'll buy it if it helps.

 

the alpines are not bad speakers, much better than the infinitys. my brother has some type arrr's in his malibu. they have decent midbass. tweeters are a little bright, but thats just for my taste.
if you have 100x2, you will definetly get by. just set the gains properly to help keep the clipping down.

 

Get the pg rsd65cs

Best bang for buck.

 

you dont read threads before you respond do you?
rsd's have been suggested.
type r's were the final purchase decision....

 

I haz a bad habit of skimming through lol

 

then why bother posting in the first place?

 

lolol win.

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Anyway. For some reason, I "knew" Amazon didn't have Phoenix Golds, so I never researched them. I looked just now and saw that they were on there. Darp.

I didn't want to deal with the hassle of components though.

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How much would it help to throw some Dynamat behind the speakers?

 

dyanmat works. there are round thick deadening pads made for that as well. i forget the manufacturer. it will help a bit. it would also help to dynamat around where the speaker mounts to the door.

 

CLD tiles?

 

Sound Deadener Showdown CDL Tiles, Second Skin Audio Speaker Tweaker Kits, Dynamat Dynaxorb, all pretty much the same thing so take your pick.

 

i have all all audio you'd need exept the 6x5s...if anything feel free to pm me