racing geek

iTrader: (5)

First off, I know next to nothing about speakers and subs and what not.

I currently have Infinity speakers in the front (blew 1 and other is on its way out), unknown rear speakers, and a Sony X-plod head unit that is starting to look outdated and scratched up. All of this was installed by the previous owner.

I don't really want to spend money on an amp and subs because I simply don't want the extra weight, I don't want to fill up what little trunk space I have, and I don't think I can afford a decent setup. What does the amp do anyway? I had someone tell me they prolong the life of your speakers, but if you're amplifying the sound wouldn't it just kill them faster?

Speaking of money, I want to try and keep to my budget of around $200 since I still plan on doing a brake upgrade in the near future. So, I am only looking to get some new 4x6 and 6x9 speakers. When I was looking, I was reading stuff like "2/3/4 way speaker," "150 watt max/440 watt max", "RMS," "nominal range" and "dB sensitivity." What does all that mean? What are some other things I should look for or stay away from? Does the material make much of a difference?

This is what I was looking at...
4x6
6x9

Are they any good? Can I get better speakers for the money or for just a little more?

Help is appreciated,
Mike

Oh, and how long would it take to swap all this, and would any extra wires or anything be needed?

blackandgoldl69

first i would get a new CD player Sony explode sucks for a cheap but good brand i would go with pioneer and when looking at speakers you want to look at the rms rating that is the recommended watts you should run to a speaker so that you don't blow it you shouldnt blow a speaker on just the headunit alone anyway the speakers you choose would do just fine and their shouldn't be any extra wire or anything needed it should take about an hour and a half to get it all in hope this help

The_Wraith

IMO Blaupunkt is the best for quality in terms of decks. I have not owned their speakers so I can't comment on that. They are a company of Bosch who also makes really good tools. I have a deck from them that has over 4000 colors for backlighting to choose from.

The Project

iTrader: (6)

Racing Geek,

I agree car audio can be confusing to the beginner. Let me try to simplify things for you…..

Subs and amps don’t really weigh that much. Maybe 30 pounds for two subs and an amp. It makes VERY little difference (if any) in the ¼ mile or acceleration but it’s up to you. The amp provides more, cleaner sound to the speakers. More power to a speaker won’t kill the speaker as much as distortion. You’ll get more power distortion from a head unit then from a decent amp. Also, you can turn the gains up or down on the amp to match the output of the speaker (gain is sort of like a volume dial on the amp).

"2/3/4 way speaker" - means number of speakers together (eg 4 way means 4 speakers). Speaker quality is more important the number of speakers. 5 speakers is not necessarily better than 2 or 3 speakers. Don’t get too caught up in this.
"150 watt max/440 watt max" – maximum power a speaker can handle.
"RMS" - is part of the power rating
"nominal range" – frequency range of the speaker (most humans can’t hear above 20,000 hz. Speech is usually in the 4-6,000 hz range.)
"dB sensitivity" – the higher the number the more efficient the speaker is

Stay away from cheap brands (audiovox, boss, jensen, pyle) or speakers that promise 400w of power for $50.00

If It were my $200 here is what I would buy as an upgrade to my system
Front - http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?...roduct_ID=1023
or
http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?...roduct_ID=3140

Rear –
http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?...roduct_ID=6259
or
http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?...roduct_ID=3389

If you're not afraid to cut the front dash you could fit a 5.25" speaker where that 4x6" would go. This is not as scarry as it sounds.

Also remember that powering the 6x9 with the head unit will not give the speaker as much power as it deserves. In other words adding an amp will make the speaker sound much better. Just remember to make sure the power of the amp matches the speakers so you don't under or over power the speakers. In other words everything needs to match or it won't sound as good as it should (sort of like making sure all your engine parts match or you won't get the power you want!!)


You can use your stock wires if you wish and it should be a straight swap. Remove dash pad and rear speaker panels, then just re and re the speakers. Total time for all 4 speakers should be under 1.5 hours.

Later on if you might want to swap out the deck…..there are lots available.

Also, a good amp and a single sub will make the world of difference in terms of sound quality. It IS possible to build a good quality sounding budget system if you are patient and build the set up at your budget allows.

Good luck………….

Civerus

Alright here we go, You do not need 440w max, unless you amplifying, save the money, go cheap. I can sit here all day and lecture you on how "you get what you pay for" but I have found an alternative, that is epic.

I run a pioneer 50w x4 headunit, CD player, mp3, radio. Thats it.

It powers a pair of Pioneer 3-way 4x6's, and a pair of pioneer 3-way 6x9's. These alone, with the foam backings (unless your fiberglass ones behind the 6x9's are good) sound simply awesome for the cheap prices you pay. I also added a Pioneer 760w 2ch amplifier, and a pair of Pioneer 12" subs. All of this, together, can FAR surpass any same-level brand (Sony, roadmaster, any walmart generic brand, and one step above those.

When I sit in my car, it sounds like im in the damn sound studio. And it wasn't that expensive. The only brand I would put above it is Infinity, because no matter how hard you try, you really can't distort a good Infinity.