Its a 97 Integra coupe. One of my speakers recently went out and I want to just replace all four. My question is, can I just splice the wires or is there more than that associated. Ive never had to deal with audio so I'm a complete rook at this.

 

Yeah you can just splice, try to maintain polarity of course. There's also speaker adapter harnesses for our vehicles, can be had cheaply but have to be special ordered. But, if I could do it over again, I'd take this route rather than cutting my OEM speaker harnesses.

 

I'm assuming these adapters have to be ordered through the manufacturer? I also have a few other questions now that my original one has been answered. What does a speakers wattage really mean? Whats is RMS wattage?

 

The adapters can be ordered through Crutchfield or ebay. If you have OEM speakers, you can cut off the plastic connector on the SPEAKER and modify that to work. Thats usually what I do to avoid cutting the wires.

 

Hmm good idea.

 

Go to radio shack and get the terminals that fit your factory harness and the new speakers connections. Make up a short length of wire with the terminals crimped on both ends. Simply plug it in and make sure they are insulated with electrical tape at the minimum.

The speakers rated wattage is what the speaker can take in to perform to it's designed output. There are many variables as to why a speaker is louder or has a higher wattage rating or vice-versa. In other words wattage does not = output. It also depends so on the efficiency of the speakers movement; especially in a factory replacement speaker with no external amp.

RMS stands for "Root Mean Square", which is fancy mathematical formula for finding the average amount of power an amplifier can continuously produce. There is no legal standard for calculating RMS watts for an amplifier.

 

So what range of wattage should I stay in if I'm using the stock head unit?

 

If you are using the stock HU you should be looking for speakers that are the most efficient with the lowest min. wattage rating.

As an example... http://www.eclipse-web.com/integrated/se6500.html this speaker is rated at 40W RMS, it is what the speaker will handle continuously, and 120W max or peak, it is what the speaker will handle in short bursts, [for a second every once in a while].
It also has a sensitivity of 90dB, it will produce 90dB of SPL, [volume] measured 1 meter from the speaker, with 1W RMS powering it.
It will also fit the door location without mods.

This speaker... http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-e...tab=F is rated at 80W RMS and 240W max and has a sensitivity of 88dB, because it is not as sensitive as the Eclipse speaker it will use more power, [wattage] to get to the same SPL, [volume] level as the Eclipse.
It will also fit the stock mounting hole, however it is 1/4" deeper then the stock speaker so mods will have to be made for it to fit.

Between the two examples above the Eclipse is a better choice between the two for a few reasons..
1- sensitivity.
2- RMS power handling.
3- it fit's without mods.


So, again, you should be looking for a speaker that has a high sensitivity rating and a low RMS power rating and one that fits the stock locations without mods.

For the doors you can use either a standard 6.5", [not to be confused with an over-sized 6.5"] or a 5.25" speaker, either will fit the stock plastic speaker housing, the rear of your 2door will need a standard 6.5" although mounting depth is not as much of an issue as with the front speakers. 94

 

Thank you everyone for your help.