Im looking for some new speakers and i was wondering if there were certain brands that were known for certain things. whether they are bad or good i would like to know about them. im not gonna be cheap, but im also not gonna get the best stuff. i just want a decent sound system that can get to a decent volume without breaking up. If it makes a difference i listed to anything from classic rock to heavy metal. No rap, techno, r&b, country, or anything else. just basically all kinds of rock and i want it to sound pretty good and reach a pretty good volume for a pretty good price. if it helps, i have an aiwa head unit and i will be plugging my ipod into it through the input in the bottom right corner. thanks alot guys.

In your case since you really don't care a lot lot about final sound I would suggest heading over to your local retailer (tweeter, best buy, circuit city, etc) and listening to various speakers. You're looking for 4x6's for the dash and 6x9s for the rear. Infinity has made a pretty good name for themselves as has Alpine. Polk and JBL are two other brands that people seem to like. Personally, I wouldn't buy any of them but I also ended up spending a good deal more than what you're probably willing to. Above all, let your ears decide. Don't let brand name of price fool you. A lesser known speaker that costs less than a name brand speaker might sound better to your ears. It's all about you after all since it is your car.

I do have a question for you: how good are you with fiberglass? For the cost of buying both 4x6s and 6x9s you could buy yourself a decent component set and build yourself a set of kick panels. This will yield much better sound.

Also, unless your current speakers are blown you might want to consider adding a sub first. I know you’re a rock/metal head. I am too. You would be amazed what adding a sub will do to rock/metal music in a car. Even a single 8" will fill out your low end pretty well.

I have worked with fiberglass, but i dont want kick panels. i like the way the interior looks now, and i dont feel like adding anything. dont wanna get into the price of subs either. both 4x6 are blown. one 6x9 is blown and the other doesnt even make noise, its just silent. so yea new speakers first. my friend has 2 10s for metal and i used to have 2 12s (different car) and i turned them so low to like the sound that i could have gotten the same sound without them in the first place. im really big on pro audio and live sound, but not for cars, so i know a good tone when i hear it. maybe ill go check it out.

I've got last year's Kenwood Excelon series speakers.. 6x9s in the year, 6.5 inch components in the doors... I'm very impressed, and they were the best I heard. They don't seem to get much press, so I guess some people don't like them, but I sure did. so that's my thumb's up to the Kenwood Excelon.

The problem is that most companies don't really design their coax speakers very well. Components, on the other hand, generally get a good bit more attention. I think Jim did a pretty good job of getting kicks to blend with the interior. I’m sure you could copy his design pretty easily. Scroll about halfway down for pictures.

That’s the main reason why I asked about the possibility of running components: they're much better quality. Also, instead of buying two ‘ok’ sets of speakers you could buy one good set.

As for 6x9 or 4x6s being able to match a sub in tonal output (forget SPL) it’s next to impossible from my experiences, especially in our cars with such ****ty speaker locations. My subs defiantly are not loud. It’s rare that they move over 4 mm total even if I’m blasting it and most of the time you can’t even tell that they’re doing anything by looking at them (ie not visibly moving at all). Still, if I turn them off at the deck and bypass the low pass filter I’m running on my comps so that they will play down to 20 Hz you can audibly hear the hole, especially at lower volume levels. Once you get working speakers installed you will probably find that you will want a sub, all be it maybe a smaller one.

Components would serve you better in this respect as well. If you’re dead set against running a sub keep in mind that components will put out more midbass than 4x6s and the vast majority of 6x9s.

Finally, stock locations are horrible. The previous owner had installed high level polk 4x6s and 6x9s in the car and I ran them for a few months. The sound got WAY too bright and sounded really harsh bouncing off the windshield. Low end was basically nonexistent. Needless to say, I was very displeased when listening to any kind of metal. It just lacked that aggressive sound having a decent low end will give it. It wasn't the speaker's fault. I've been playing around with them as garage speakers in 1 cube sealed enclosures. They sound amazingly better on axis (every speaker is off axis in the stock locations aside from the rear that's opposite from you) and actually produce some midbass in the sealed enclosures.

Just some food for thought. I also happen to spend a good deal of time driving and am obsessive when it comes to certian things.

I'll agree with gummie, but if you're dead set on 4X6ss get bass blockers. I'm not even going to get into how things will sound...

I tried polks in my Lincoln with 6 1/2s and 6X9s. The acoustics in that car werent real hot, especially the rear deck which was basically free air. Bass was non-existent but the highs were cleaner than stock premium sound coaxes.

I've heard that the Infinitys are pretty strong for coaxes. I have kappa 4" in my dash right now and they arent anything special. I got them off ebay used for like 25 bucks to put in another car and they were just sitting in a box so I used them instead of dropping money on 4X6s.

I just finished putting MTX components in the 6X9 holes today with MTX amp and they blow everything away I've ever installed. With a sub they are gonna be bad. Cant figure out if I should go one 10 or one 12...probably going to do a 12 like I have in the past.

Pretty much anything will do the trick for you. 4x6 fronts and 6x9 rears.

you can get components in the sizes we have now? i thought it was said that we would have to make a kick panel...now im confused. whos telling the truth? and whats the difference anyways? also, if a speaker sounds good in the store, you guys are saying it wont sound nearly as good in the car because of the dimensions? thanks again for the help.

I've got 6.5 inch components and 6x9s in the sail panels. Nothing in the dash.
I think that's pretty much what most people do, but I've also seen that some people don't even put in rear speakers.

I just did 6.5 components in the 6X9 holes. Twasn't exactly easy. Required a little modification on the covers. Now I really wish I had a matching set up front because they are strong. Also, the amp I put on them is apparently way too powerful because with the gain on 0 they were almost as loud as the front speakers If I had some components in the kicks it would be unstoppable. I dont really want anything down there though. Maybe try for some 5 1/4s in the dash sometime.

You can get componets in many different sizes as long as you can afford them.

Our cars arent that great when it comes to OE component locations. The sail panel location is behind your ear so anything with highs is really muted. The dash would be more ideal for some high power componets for metal but were limited by space. This is why most go with the kick panel speakers to direct the high freq toward your ears. So when your shoping in the store all the speakers are in nice boxes made for that speaker to sound its best in the car is a different story. I think us Metal heads have a harder time seting up our systems.

I'd suggest you get the best 4x6's you can afford for the dash with bass blockers. If you plan on getting a small sub go with a set descent 6"s in the sails. If the sub isnt on your list get good quality 6X9's. If you dont want the sound to break up your really going to need an amp for the rear speakers and a few tracks from kill e'm all for fine tuning.

what speakers would you suggest for this setup, SSC. id rather keep everything stock looking and dont wanna add anything or make wiring complicated. just some good replacements. they dont have to be the ****, but not sh!tty. and for this, what kinda price range should i be thinking about? thanks a lot guys.

Im thinking ride the lightning for fine tuning.

Do a small amp on a set of Infinity 6X9s or something comparable in quality like kicker or mtx maybe from circuit city. They've had stuff on sale lately.

do i need the amp? if so where should i put it? i got an amp here that i used to use for subs in my old car, would that work? its not much for subs, but probably enough for speakers.

You can get them in 5 1/4 and 6 1/2 as the two common sizes. Others are out there but they're all round. You can stick them in the 6x9 location but I think components are better suited for front speakers.

The problem with the stock speakers is not the size/shape/dimensions. It's because of their location. See my original post again Speakers sound worse off axis and reflected off the windshield (in other words the stock dash location).

I'm just running comps and subs. Love the sound, love the sound stage. Everything sounds like it's coming right out of the center of the windshield. Also, skipping out on rear speakers gives you another $200 or so to throw into better front speakers.

Guessing you're running the font off the head unit and the rears off an amp? If so, keep in mind that your deck will only put out around 22-26 watts and the amp is easily doing about three times that. If you’re running both off the amp then your comps are probably more efficient than your 4x6s. Play with the fade to balance it out.

Again, go out and listen. You might find that you prefer a cheaper set of speakers over a more expensive set. A trip to your local retailer will take about a half hour of your day and will let you know what you like and how much money you're going to end up paying. Just don't take the sales rep’s advice on pretty much anything, the majority of them don't know what they’re talking about because they don't have to anymore since no one gets paid commission anymore.

As for Ride the Lightning, it is a great album but it was also recorded in 1983. You might want to pick a more recent recording as it will be of higher quality. Remember, you don't have to choose the CD you like the best. Choose the one with the best acoustics (and I don’t mean best acoustical guitar solo :P).
click for ideas of amp location

An amp is always nice to have because head units have pretty low power/high distortion internal amps. Necessary, no. Nice, yes. As for your old amp, use it if it's a class a/b but I wouldn't bother if it was a class D. You've got nothing to lose.

I took a few cd's in when I got my speakers a few years ago. Nothing hits the highs like cemetary gates and I found a set of Pioneer 4x6's sounded the best and could be ran off the head unit. If your not going to be running a sub then your going to need the 6x9's for a little bass or the system will sound real flat. All you really need is a small amp even a tiny 100/150 watt amp would work nicely and you can tuck it under/in the passenger side dash. I have all of my setero equpitment out of sight so it all apears stock except for the head unit.

how hard would it be to wire up components? are the stock locations really that bad, or are you guys just super picky about your sound? i think my amp is like 700 watts lol, but i wouldnt have to go buy a new one. when i did check out speakers i liked the sound of the infinity 4x6s. also, i like the sound of the cheapest pioneer the best for 6x9. the more expensive ones had like too much bass. i dno, does that sound right?

My experience with running any speakers off the headunit is not very favorable because the headunit always seems to flash and cutout at higher volumes where I like to keep the volume at.

I'm running some 4" kappas in the dash off the head unit and running the comps off of a MTX 282 amp which seems to be way overkill for the job but I only got it because it was on sale on crutchfield for 100 bucks down from 180. Even Jensen and offbrand amps cost 100 bucks regardless.

You can't fit components in the dash. Sure, you can install them in the sails but it makes more sense to have your stronger set of speakers in front of you. The comps will sound way better than anything you can install in the dash.

Also, as for 6x9 bass. The speakers will put out a good deal less in the car because of their location. The sails are terrible. My 6x9's sound better now that they're out of the car and in 1 cube sealed boxes.

I think 5.25s can be installed in the dash so comps could be mounted in dash. Thing is I think the tweeters would have to be placed elsewhere in a good position where its not bouncing off the glass and sounding like crap. I mounted some on the pillars of my Lincoln before.

well my friend bought new speakers for his, but then he realized the previous owner already updated them. so hes giving them to me. infinity 6x9s and sony 4x6. i wish the fronts were different, but for free, you cant really beat it. thanks a lot for the help guys, and im sure youve helped a lot of others out as well.

Lucky Lucky

Good deal! Let me know what model Sonys they are and how well they work. I need to get my sister some new 4x6's for her Camaro. I am leaning toward getting some sony 4x6's and seeing if they or my old Pioneers actually end up in her car.

i know from experience with pro audio and live sound that i suck at describing a sound with words, and that sound is an opinion. ill let you know what i think of them, probably wont go in for a few weeks though.