Well, it's that time again. Right when I'm almost set to add in my sub, the Boston 746 plate speakers in my dash decide to blow out so I'm in the market for a new set.

The Boston's sounded good for the time that I had them, but honestly I am disappointed that they only lasted me 2 years, with the first year being driven directly off the head unit. Both of the woofer cones have separated from the woofer surround material.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...stics-746.html

They are being driven by a Kenwood amp at 40 Watts a channel with the HPF set at 100hz due to no sub. I think the main reason they didn't last is the material the woofers are made of. The woofers are advertised as copolymer but honestly it just looks like a fancy paper cone and the woofer surround material appears to be foam rolled.

I have come down to a choice between these two sets:

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...-462.9cfp.html

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...JBL-P6462.html


Both sets have the integrated crossovers and rubber surrounds which is already a plus over the Bostons, but I am not so sure about the woofer material on the JBLs. That honeycomb laminate almost looks like another fancy paper cone.

I am looking for a set that will last, produce about as much bass as you can get out of a 4x6 and get along well with my CDT component set in the sails.

What does everyone recommend?

 

I'm running the Infinity set that you have linked in my 89. They do a decent job with the 60 WRMS each that I'm sending to them. I was more interested in the highs than bass, but they do decent there too. You'll need to put a set of spacers on the mounting screws for the driver side to keep the speaker's magnet away from the instrument cluster.

 

+1 on infinity.

Polk DXI 4x6 plates are nice too!

 

Just looked at these myself.

Looking on Crutchfield.com site, they say the Infinity will not fit my car... (91 Firebird with AC), the ductwork is wrapped around the factory speaker magnet.

I would like to fit these if possible. Anyone successfully get them in a Firebird?

 

I believe the birds need some trimming to the ducts to fit ANY aftermarket 4x6 because of the size of the woofer magnet.

BTW, anyone who stumbles across this thread and wonders about the infinity kappa 4x6s, GET THEM!

I ordered them and installed them in my dash. WOW! they're 2ohm speaker and my amp is 2ohm stable running at 60 watts RMS. The CDT components in the sail panels are 4ohm so they get 40 watts RMS.

These speakers deliver unbelievable sound. After I tuned them properly, The same level that I had the boston acoustics at before sounded so much clearer. Before I had to turn my head unit to around 55 (Maxes out at 62) to listen comfortably and even at that level you could hear some distortion. Now 50 for most songs is the perfect listening level, 55 if I am in the mood for some LOUD music and 60 is at the discomfort level where I have to turn it back down.

These speakers do not distort whatsoever even at maximum volume except for a few harsh metal/rock songs that toss in a decent amount of bass and that is ONLY because I cannot fully tune the system yet. I have the high pass filter in the head unit set to 80hz because I haven't installed a sub yet and this is the only way to get decent bass from the sails. With a 125hz crossover these speakers have zero distortion even at max power but then bass goes through the floor due to no sub.

Very nice quality, crossover dongles in the speakers and there is even a button on the plates you push to tone the highs down by 3dB.

 

Woofersetc.com is a good place to shop. I always prefer to buy from a business where I can deal face to face.

 

Another vote for the infinity Kappas. I had a set of 4x6 plates in another car and they were great speakers. Also they do require a bit of creativity (read spacers or washers) to get them to fit in the dash of a third gen but they do fit.

 

Infinity Kappas are the only speakers I use. Great stuff, esp for the price!

 

Has anyone fit the Infinity Kappa 6x9's in the rear. Seems like a good compliment to the fronts.

 

I had some kappa 6x9s in the rear of my iroc, but that was several years ago. Not sure if the depth was the same as the current ones. But I plan to get new ones for it.

 

I have a CL-61-24 CDT component set in my sails ATM however I am now considering selling it and using the money to buy an infinity kappa 6.5 component set.

I love the CDTs but they're 4ohm speakers. My amp pushes 40 watts a channel in 4ohm mode and is 2ohm stable at 60 watts a channel. Since the 4x6s I just put in the dash are 2ohm they kind of drown out the sound coming from the rear of the car.

 

What did you use to make the 6.5's work in the sails?

 

You could fab up an adapter out of 1/2 mdf.

 

I run the Infinity 4x6 and 6x9 and love them. I had always used pioneer premiere stuff prior too these and they sounded so much better with crisp clear highs, and enough bass to feel ok I don't remember which model... If it was the Kappa or Alpha series. One cost a little more than the other and I used the higher price ones. I have had them in for almost 9 years now.

 

The two Infinity models are the reference (cheaper) and the kappa (top of the line). My rule of thumb is to not buy pioneer speakers. I had some pioneer speakers once upon a time and they sounded not too much better than the originals. Pioneer makes some EXCELLENT head units (have those in both of my cars) but i wont buy a pioneer speaker. Just personal opinion however.

 

Have used Pioneer, Kenwood and Polk speakers in these cars.

There is nothing wrong with Pioneer speakers............

 

I've run Pioneer speakers and some can be a little harsh depending on your listening preference.

Having said that, Pioneer subs should NOT be overlooked. Especially the PRO Champion series.

 

How about the Champion series?

 

Spend a few $$ and get the PRO (still under $130). A great sub at a bargain price. This sub has been in a few IASCA award winning cars.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...S-W3002D4.html

 

Just wanted to mention for anyone searching about 4x6 plates as I was. If you are having issues with the static magnetic field of the dash speakers interfering with the gauges you can make your own shielding really cheap buy going to any home improvement store and buying a metal junction box just bigger than the speaker magnet and put the magnet in it and re-install it. Should clear any gauge issues you were having by installing speakers with larger magnets.