need your opinion on speaker upgrade

[lostatlantis]

what's up all, what's the best speaker upgrade for a stock '96 firebird? I don't want a sub, just to replace the four factory speakers. I have an alpine CD deck in there, i remember it's 50W x 4.

My goal is to get the best sound quality possible from upgrading the four speakers and nothing else. Right now, the Alpine deck at volume setting 9 or 10 is plenty loud on the factory speakers, but the clarity is definitely lacking.

I don't know much about car speakers... and it's really hard to get a good feel in places like bestbuy.

Thanks in advance!

[umdcam]

do you want to use external amplifiers to power these speaker replacements? or do you just want to use your alpine deck to power them ?

[Nathan]

It also depends on your budget too. For a decent priced speaker with good sound I went with Fusion. They make crisp clear speakers for cheap. Better than Infinity, Polk, and similar speakers and usually 15% - %20 less for comparative speaker ratings.

[lostatlantis]

umdcam, for now I am not considering external amps, just the alpine deck. Is that a decision that I have to make now, or can the external amp be worked in later? But anyway, I know for sure I won't include any external amp in this upgrade.

Nathan, my budget is the norm for a college junior... [img]smile.gif[/img] Obviously, I have to shoot for the most "bang for the buck". I am all about sound quality though, and I won't mind paying up if the quality's there. I guess you can say I am a budding audiophile hehe I will go for it if the speakers can really perform. I've just finished saving up enough to get a Gradeo SR-125 (headphone), and I am more than happy to start another round to upgrade the firebird.

I just couldn't stand listening to those speakers in the firebird.... CDs sound so bad and muffled on them, almost sounds like they are down-sampled to radio quality.

Are there any prominent websites or magazines that do good reviews of car speakers? I know they must exist, but I guess I haven't had much luck finding them. I'll google Fusion later today to see what I can dig up, but I'd appreciate further suggestions & info!

[lostatlantis]

keep in mind I won't be using a subwoofer now or in the future, so I am looking for speakers with good overall response.

[lostatlantis]

by the way, what does it mean by "component" speakers? Is that the type of connection used?

so far still no luck on google... can't seem to find a good site (or any site for that matter) that reviews car speakers.

[lostatlantis]

what about this set of Infinity at circuit city:

http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.js...&oid=67918&m=1

it's $99 for a pair of 2-way 6.5 inch, and 50% off for the 2nd pair.

[96firebird311]

Originally posted by lostatlantis:
I've just finished saving up enough to get a Gradeo SR-125 (headphone)

I assume you meant Grado.... [img]tongue.gif[/img] .... I just got a pair of Etymotic ER-4P's for myself. :D

Sounds like your a perfect candidate for this thread. [img]smile.gif[/img] And a component set consists of 6 things. 2 woofers, 2 tweeters and 2 crossovers. Amp output (or headunit output) goes to the crossover. The crossover sends high frequencies to the tweeters and the lower frequencies to the woofer. Simple and easy to install. Builds a solid front stage.

[02PewterBird]

Originally posted by lostatlantis:
what about this set of Infinity at circuit city:

http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.js...&oid=67918&m=1

it's $99 for a pair of 2-way 6.5 inch, and 50% off for the 2nd pair.

I have four of those in my car running off the stock HU, and they sounded incredible compared to the factory ones. I don't notice it as much now, but I had the rear ones only for a day until I had time to put the front ones in and I was turning off the front speakers just to hear the back ones.

I work at Circuit and everyone I know in the Roadshop is running those speakers. They're not the best thing out there, but they're pretty good for the price.

[lostatlantis]

yep 96firebird311, that was Grado, sorry for the spelling [img]smile.gif[/img] and congrats on your new headphones!

The component setup seems to be the way to go, but I think for my budget that's outta the question. I am looking to just replace the speakers easily. Yeah I understand the soundstage and imaging will still be screwed up, but as long as the sound is clear then that'll do fine for now.

02PewterBird, I bet you got some nice discounts off those speakers from CC... [img]smile.gif[/img] I worked at Circuit City during high school, and I know the huge employee discount they have for car audio. Almost everyone had a setup going. I got the alpine deck through that too. Anyway, I basically found the infinities just browsing through CC's website. Is that the best for $150? I am going to get all four speakers replaced, and $150 is a reasonable budget. Do you know if there's any big sales coming up, at CC or any other place?

by the way, do stores install speakers for free? and also, I noticed the firebird's speakers are actually 6 3/4 in, a somewhat odd size since most speakers are 6.5 in. Does that even matter at all?

[lostatlantis]

Found another interesting set:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....6&type=product

it's Sony's XS-V1630A... $69.99 for a pair, so it's just under the $150 for the infinity for all four speakers. This one's 3-way vs Infinity's two way. In theory I know 3-way should be better, but then again other factors come into play as well. Any comments/suggestions on this Sony set? Do they even make decent speakers?

[lostatlantis]

right now, I am leaning toward the infinity at Circuit city... but I am not sure if they have free installation or not. Also the sale price is good thru June 26, so I have to decide within the next two days.

so if you want to give your input, do it now! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[user1101]

Originally posted by lostatlantis:
Found another interesting set:

In theory I know 3-way should be better, but then again other factors come into play as well.

:rolleyes: Why?

"In theory," would a 4-way be better than a 3-way? What if Infinity made a 10-way? Wouldn't that be 10 times better? You're falling for a marketing ploy hook, line, and sinker. You also said that your HU's amplifier is a 50x4. I doubt it. It's probably a 22x4. Check your owner's manual for the RMS rating, not the peak rating on the box.

For $150, those Infinity two-ways sound like a decent deal if you're willing to settle for a mid-range speaker. The higher end manufacturers like CDT and Focal have 6.5's that go for about $130/pair. If that's out of your price range, then I'd settle for the Infinity's.

Then again, if I were you, I wouldn't even bother with replacing the rear sail speakers. They only make a minor contribution to the soundstage. I'd spend the $130 on a pair of Focal 165CA's . They're extremely efficient drivers and do well down low for systems that lack subwoofers.

[lostatlantis]

good point man. Like I said before, there are many other factors that affect sound quality, with the number of woofers/tweeters being just one of them.

And yeah I know the Alpine HU most likley isn't 50W RMS; I never said it was. Like you said, that's probably peak power. I remember the manual didn't list RMS info, and I had to go online to look it up. However I forgot the model number of the unit and right now I am too lazy to walk 15min to the campus garage [img]smile.gif[/img]

your reply is actually what I've been waiting for. I've been searching for higher end car speakers but I honestly couldn't find much useful info. What are some other good high end manufacturers beside CDT and Focal?

Not replacing the back speakers is a good idea... haven't thought of that. But our front speakers are in pretty bad locations near the feet area, I always thought the rear speakers contributed more because of that. The 165CA's sounds great - exactly what I am looking for, efficient and good bass w/out sub. Is $133 a "good" price for it or just average?

time for bed~

[lostatlantis]

by the way, what are some serious websites for reading and researching car speakers?