I have boston acoustics 4 by 6's and i am thinking of adding tweeters also will that be a good enough front sound stage?? I am running off an eclipse head unit and I am thinking of running 2 12's or maybe 1 12 or 2 12's or 2 10's, what will get me the most attention running 600-1200 rms to subs. Will my highs be able to keep up?

 

I have yet to find a set of 4X6's that will produce a good enough sound to not consider adding kick panel speaker pods to get the desired sound. They offer great highs without needing to add tweeters for most setups(depending on the type) If you plan on using the 6X9's in the rear as well it should not be too much of a problem. If you are not going to use the 6X9's, I suggest adding speakers to the front which you can run with your rear speaker lines to better balance the volume between your dash and kick panel speakers.

 

Just adding more speakers will usually make your soundstage worse. You want to keep your mids and highs close together, and you don't want 2 different speakers playing the same frequency range. If you don't like the highs on your 4x6s, consider a different pair.

 

good point. I should have added a little more detail...

If you want to keep the 4X6 speakers and go with another set of up front speakers as well, you should look into speakers that are made by the same manufacturer and of the same model type. Most quality manufacturers will be sure to "sound match" the same model speakers to each other to prevent possible signal interference between different speaker sizes producing the same frequencies. Even going as far in some instances to include crossovers for each speaker to further reduce any chance of sound distortion between the different speakers.

 

Sounds to me like you want to move beyond the average pair of midrange/high speakers. If you want good high's you need to ditch coaxial speakers alltogether. Coaxials usually come in plates and usually have the tweeter mounted right in front of the midrange driver. Not all coaxials are like that (the 4x6 plates have them seperate, the 6x9's dont), but the general sound quality as opposed to a pair of seperates really sucks. Seperates are the way to go for good high's. They cover a far greater spectrum of sound (depending on model) and will not distort as easily. Seperates usually come as a set of 4's, 5 and 1/4's, 6's, or 6 and 1/2's. Seperates come as a package with the midrange woofer and the tweeter seperate (as well as a crossover), and this will allow you to soundstage the front. Soundstaging (as you prolly know) will give you the best crisp clear midrange/high's.

Its important to have clear midrange/high's because as you upgrade the subs (bass), it tends to drown out 'loud' stockish midrange/high's. You need to upgrade the midrange/high's to produce crisp clear sound you can hear through the bass.

One of the most important things you have to keep in mind when soundstaging a high quality midrange/high setup is that you want the sound to hit you directly. When sound waves bounce off objects they dont sound as good because they distort. So for the best high's you want the sound waves to hit you directly before bouncing off anything. A good example would be the difference between the stock 4x6's mounted in the stock location and a set of 5 and 1/4's mounted in some kickpanels.

- In the 4x6 coaxial setup, the sound waves bounce off the windshield before they reach your ears. This can cause the sound to distort. Combine that with the general low sound quality of coaxial speakers and you can have speakers that are loud, but not clear.

- In the 5 and 1/4 seperate setup, the midrange and tweeter are mounted in a kickpanel enclosure. A kickpanel enclosure is superior to the stock location because it angles or 'aims' the speaker drivers right at the ears of the people driving the car. This gets the sound directly to your ears with no distortion. Combine that with the higher quality of the 5 and 1/4 seperates (over the 4x6 coaxials) and you have a very clear crisp sound that can cover both the midrange bass and the high's. The seperate setup would also include a crossover. Crossovers go between the deck/amp and the speaker and basically what they do is when the range of sound being produced is too high or low for the speakers it blocks it out. You will benifit from this because the speaker will never bog or distort and all you hear are the sounds it was meant to make. Not only sounds better, but also increases the life of the speaker.

Another important thing to keep in mind (as mentioned earlier) is to make sure when you mix and match components they compliment eachother instead of drowning eachother out. Usually you can be safe by sticking with the same manufacturer and model series.

As far as adding a tweeter to your boston 4x6's, it might make the highs a little better at first, but if you really want good high's that will cut through that bass, you'll need to spend the money and upgrade to a set of seperates. It all really depends on how much money you want to spend and how much it means to you. I'm finatical about my high's so I'm going all out (boston pro's 5 and 1/4's in kickpanels, 6 and 1/2's in 6x9 location w/ bracket and custom mount rear tweeters in roof, and a 4 channel amp for high's to compliment 2 12" w6's). Other people might not care that much so coaxials or a single set of seperates might be good enough.