I am about to decide whether to purchase some new 4x6s for my dash, or eliminate the dash speakers entirely and get some 5.25" components for the custom kicks that I bought from a board member.

At any rate, can someone give me a quick rundown of how the components would be wired? I know there are crossovers (not sure what they do, limit bass to tweeters?), and I was planning on mounting them in the spot where the 4x6s used to be. Then there is the mid and the tweeter. So, let's go to the back of the stereo...I'll have two sets of front speaker wires, and then what happens? What goes to what?

Thanks a lot in advance.

 

To add a second question: Does running component speakers require an amp? I am looking at the Polk Audio DB5250, and I am reading some people saying that they are power hungry and need an amp. I know we have some real audiophiles here, so I figured you'd steer me straight. I do not really want to run an amp, at least not now (that's more money and wiring/mounting issues that I want to tackle at the moment).

Thanks again.

 

As far as wiring, the speaker pair from your radio will run into the crossover unit that comes with the component kit, then from there, you will run a pair of wires from the crossover to each speaker, the 5.25" mid and the tweeter.

For that setup, I would highly advise an amp. You can get by for a while running them off of the headunit, but they are gonna sound weak compared to the 4x6's. If you throw an amp on them, they are gonna whail.

 

Man, I bet nothing will sound weaker than the stock 4x6s I just pulled out! lol

But I appreciate the advice. I'm already tight on cash, so buying an amp in addition to the comps is gonna hurt. Can you get a decent amp for less than a fortune? And where the heck would I mount it? I had a hard time even finding spaces for the two parts of the XM equipment I installed. I don't want to spend hours doing that imbedded-in-the-rear-seat project!

Maybe I should just buy some Alpine 4x6s on Ebay (they seem pretty cheap) and wait until I get some more cash for a better setup...

 

You don't need an amp any more with components than you do with 4x6s. The only difference is, the components are likely to be able to handle more power, so that later on when you do add an amp, you'll get more total output. But, in the meantime, those components will play just as loud off the head unit as the 4x6s did.

For wiring them up, thaforce has you pretty much covered there, but I wouldn't bother putting the crossovers all the way up in the 4x6 location. You can wire tie them to something up under the dash and they'll disappear when you put your hush panels back on. Just use caution to make sure they aren't in a position where they could interfere with the movement of brake/clutch pedals, nor directly up against the ECM on the passenger side. I used double-backed tape to stick a crossover right to one of my ECMs and the magnetic field from the crossover was strong enough that the ECM malfunctioned and the car ran poorly and threw codes.

 

Thanks for the info, Jim, that really helps a lot. Good to know I can run the comps without an amp1

 

I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the Polk Audio db5250 comps. I can't wait to hear my upgraded sound...even without an amp, it's GOT to be better than 14 year old paper 4x6s up front!