Upgrading Speakers

[Redog]

I had 2 gift from work becuase I'm such a good employee ;)

Anyway, my stock speakers have been cracking a little bit with a good hit of bass and what not so I went over to Best Buy and bought 4 new speakers with the gift cards

I bought Pioneer "TS-A6961R" 6x9's for the rear. Low end of range but I felt they sounded better than the more expseinve ones and Pioneer "TS-G4670R" 4x6's for the front. Both are 3 way speakers, and they fit the stock holes.

I was going to buy the 2 way Pioneers for the front but compared to the ones I bought, they sounded like ass. With tax (and the gift cards) everything only cost me $55. :yahoo:

Now my question is how to hook them up. I see a plug going into the speakers, do I just cut that off and use wire spicers to hook up the new speakers? I didn't open the boxes yet, but it looks like that's the way to go.

No rush right now, It's been raining here all week, but I might try it on Saturday

[cherrington17]

thats what i did on each. as long as you don't have the monsoon setup i think your fine. *make sure the wires are on the right terminals!* but i'm sure you'd do that anyway.. your not new to the game. :P

[DRA-GON]

sweet deal man good luck with them

[Redog]

What are the colors of the negtive and postive wires on the speakers?

EDIT: I found it out

Left rear + is brown - is yellow
Right Rear + is dark Blue - is light blue

Left front + is tan - is gray
Right front + is light green - is dark green

[ImSoBored]

yeah, cut the plug off the old speakers, and solder em onto the new speaker terminals.

[Redog]

I just got done doing the rear speakers.

I couldn't take off the speaker grill, it's not held in by clips, but I got the rear deck up just enough to slip the speakers in place. I used the brakects that held the stockers in place. I had to break one side tab to make it fit and on the left one I broke one of the "hold in place" tabs. I jsut used one of the screws that came with the speakers to connect it to the bracket.

What a bitch to hook up. Trying to get the speakers in was a pain in the balls. The magnet kept sticking to the metal deck under the carpet, and stripping the wires was a pain due to lack of slack. I chopped off the clips, stripped the wires, used female/female wire conncectors, and slipped the space lugs that came with the speakers, giving more slack thanks to a 30 cm wire.

Tomorrow the front, which should be easier to do after the entire door panel is removed.

The speakers sound awesome, they really kick, and thump. I didn't put the grilles on since I couldn't get the stock grille off anyway. Besides, I still wanna keep a low profile with expensive stuff like that ;)

[cherrington17]

expensive stuff??? my back 6.9's were 100 for the pair! :lol:

[Redog]

Fronts

http://images.bestbuy.com/BestBuy_US/images/products/6196/6196083_ra.jpg

Rears

http://images.bestbuy.com/BestBuy_US/images/products/6981/6981901_sa.jpg

[Redog]

Originally posted by cherrington17@Oct 12 2005, 06:12 PM
expensive stuff??? my back 6.9's were 100 for the pair! :lol:
Quoted post


These were only $83, but still I think they look more expensive :lol:

[cherrington17]

i had some pioneer 5ways. they looked alot better then they sounded. now i have soundstream xts 6.9's they sound amazing, but just look like normal 3 ways. lol

http://www.bigdogaudio.de/assets/big/XTS6.9web.jpg

[Redog]

Yeah it's odd, the more expensive 6x9 didn't sound as good as the cheapest ones that I bought. Maybe becuase they can handle 400 watts is why

The fronts was the oppsite though. the $53 ones where poop compared to the $88 one that I got instead. The cheap one where only 2 ways and the ones I got where 3 ways, maybe that's why.

I really don't know too much about this stuff

[King Asoka]

good stuff man. new stereo gear is always nice!

andmore expensive is usualyy better, but not always.

[kampfer422]

more expensive is for the most part better, but an expensive speaker will never sound expensive in a crappy location or install. When you buy expensive speakers you expect a world of difference. And if you want to talk about expensive....my kicks will house a pair of 6.5s that are 320$ or so.

[Oldsman]

my bostons were $150 for the front and $200 for the rear and bostons always sound damn good.

that was the way to use your gift though, ken. buy more stuff for the car. i'm so proud..............lol

[King Asoka]

^^ I dont want to sound snobish, but if we are gonna compare prices of speakers my fronts cost $640 US........ :blush:

[kampfer422]

which ones the Hertz??? I woud like to hear them cause i've heard their name thrown around but don't think they're here in the US. How are they since they're shallow mount? I may upgrade all my speakers to the ES 07 series...but that will have to wait, i've already gone 2 weeks without sound, can't take that too often.

[cherrington17]

daaayyyuuumm... 640 for fronts? i wouldn't mind hearing those.. just to see the difference. i don't think i could ever imagine paying that much. i like my music, but not that much. lol

[King Asoka]

yeah, it was pretty pricy, but my objective was to have a system that sounded great and could pound with the best of them. They are rated at 100rms and they sound incredible. The range this speaker has is great. without the sub they produce quite a bit of low end, now with the sub the transistion from low to mid to high is awsome. The way I have the tweets set up the imaging is incredible. I dont have my rears in yet and it sounds like I do. I have to admit that they preform best when listening to bands like DMB or the Tragically hip, or Diana Krall and most R&B. Some rap sounds a bit off, not bad just off, if I bad an equalizer up front it would solve all my problems. That will come in time.

Yeah if any of you are near me Id be happy to let you hear them. I havent done a comparison with them. So as far as Im concerned they are the best ive herd. If I had an equalizer I could tune them a bit more, but Im relying on the crossovers in the deck and amp right now.

[kampfer422]

640$ is a high price but not too bad for quality speakers or components. I doubt many people would even think the difference in sound is worth it, but people like me and Asoka definitely would notice. You definitely pay for quality and the smoothness of the frequency range.

Why get a rear stage? Going for a 5.1 setup? I don't really like rear fill. I may add that in later but doubt it...just a heavy front stage. I think i'll have about 1k$ wrapped up in the front stage with like 10drivers up front or very close to the front. But i just got these kick panels and i have to mod them cause they don't fit my ES-600s...that sucks!!

[King Asoka]

I may do a 5.1 setup in the future, but I have a set of Soundstreams sitting around and I thought I might as well throw them in. If I can find a buddy locally who can do some fiberglassing or if I decide to do it myself ill do some serious modding to the sound stage in the near future. I dont have a lot of motivation to do that right now, money is tight and there is not alot of incentive. Not many sound offs in my neighbourhood. And I dont see alot of point in investing in a video set up yet.

When they start to offer more music in DVD-Audio format with 5.1 then ill upgrade my HU and throw in a 5.1 setup, but for now im happy.


Sorry to steal all you thunder Reddog......

[kampfer422]

true true.....there's not alot of sounds off here i care to partake in. Considering my one 12 in a sealed box holds it own against some 15s ported i have no fun and no one here cares for SQ.

[gre0481]

Sorry I diodn't catch this earlier :P It's a bit late now, but for future referance.

Just as they make wiring harnesses for stereos, they make them for speakers.



Most good audio places keep them in stock. ANd some good ones don't, and will order em if you ask. They're also available from meta and scosche.

Harnesses are the best option, if you ever plan on getting rid of the car.

Most people go towards blue book value, including dealers.
SO when you sell your vehicle, you don't get any extra money for the extras you put into it. With harnesses, you just remove the aftermarket stuff and harness, and slap the OEM back in..

Unless you're going with a really old vehicle, then it might not have connectors. But I'm saying pre 80's, 70's...

[n8dogcky]

how would i wire aftermarket speakers to a (i think) monsoon system where 4wires go into the old speakers

[mikegett]

Unless you have bi-amping speakers, you can't use the monsoon. It uses 2 seperate amps for the tweet and woofer. You will need to cut the rear wires from the HU (prior to the monsoon) and wire it to the new speaker. Unfortunately, you will only get about 7 watts from the HU. Do a search on here for monsoon wire code and you will find the pinouts.
The monsoon amp takes your HU signal and processes it via a dsp to give the rear a seperate high and low channel. If you try to use one set of wires, the new speaker will only get a limited range of frequencies. Sine the amp has seperated the rear to two independant channels, you can't just wire the two setts togeather. You would quite literaly be placing two amps onto one speaker.

[mikegett]

Originally posted by kampfer422@Oct 15 2005, 09:16 PM
640$ is a high price but not too bad for quality speakers or components. I doubt many people would even think the difference in sound is worth it, but people like me and Asoka definitely would notice. You definitely pay for quality and the smoothness of the frequency range.

Why get a rear stage? Going for a 5.1 setup? I don't really like rear fill. I may add that in later but doubt it...just a heavy front stage. I think i'll have about 1k$ wrapped up in the front stage with like 10drivers up front or very close to the front. But i just got these kick panels and i have to mod them cause they don't fit my ES-600s...that sucks!!
Quoted post

I take it that your ES-600s is a 6.5S and not a 6.5. It makes it difficult to install but you get a speaker that is 6.5 inches for the cone and not 6.5 inches for the outside of the speaker. In reality, they are closer to 7inch speakers.
Rear fill is a matter of taste. Some people prefer to have a rear fill. I can't stand to have my front stage directed in front. If I can tell where the sound is coming from, then I get extremely annoyed. A good imaging will allow the fronts to surround you just as rear fill will, but it takes louder volumes. My wife will not allow me to increase the volume beyond 22 ( I listen at 44 and max out around 77). With the volume that low, rear fill is a must.
My most expensive set of speakers were eclipse 8701 3-ways components. I bought them back in 98 or 99. They retailed for 1200 but the employee price was just over 300. I have to say that they were the best sounding speakers I have used. The problem was trying to install them. The midrange was a 6 inch ribbon. The same technology used for ribbon tweeters. It is a thin piece of material laid over the voice coil opposed to a cone. The sound is amazing but they require a very large and obscure mounting manor. kampfer422 probably knows what a ribbon speaker is like. Just as he stated. No matter how expensive or nice the speaker, if you can't get a good install it won't live up to its potential. My JLxr's sound great, but I am serious need of sound deadoning. If I increase the volume my doors resonate something fierce.

[King Asoka]

yeah same here mike, my pass side map poket rattles like a mgofo at higher volumes. Its starting to piss me off! If your gonna get some sound deadening let me know, cause maybe we can get a group buy going. there is a guy on caraudio.com that works for second skin, so he might be able to work a deal. he also tends to have stuff for sale on caraudio.com from his own stas.

[kampfer422]

well the ES-600 is a 6.75 speaker. Quite annoying for installation but well worth the hassle. For right now i've decided to mount a baffle for the 5.25 HDs and then make a new door pod for the ES-600's. It may take me a little bit to make the door pod right. I would love to get ribbon speakers or tweeters but the installation is too much of a hassle and won't really go well withough major modding to the panels. I love the sounds of the ribbon tweets though, nice pick there Mike. If you're looking for sound deadening, I am talking with ANT, guy from 2nd Skin, he's on all the forums so probably the guy Osaka is talking about. I am trying to get him to let me sell 2nd Skin but maybe i'll see if i can get a group buy or something. I can get sound deadening materials off of Parts Express.com right now at dealer price. But i need lots of it, like 100sq ft, maybe 75sq ft. for my coupe. Too much sound pressure. Hell, when i get done with the car for the summer shows i should have about 8speakers up front(4 in each door), 4 speakers in the rear (4in and 6.5in in each side panel), and hopefully two 12s.

I also know what you mean by needing rear fill for low volumes. Right the front stage is good for me but does suck at low volumes but with my plans i think i'll have all i need.

[mikegett]

I was hoping to wait until spring for the deadening. The high right now will probably be in the high 60's for quite some time. That means alot of time heating the sound deadener for a proper bonding. I just don't know if I can wait that long. I placed a small amount behind the speaker to beging with. It lasted about 2 months before everything started to rattle. Anyone have a good estimate of the quantity needed for the front two doors in a 4 door alero?

[King Asoka]

Im geussing no more than 12sqft per door. Its about 4 x 3. Ill measure it up today.

Yeah I think the guys name is ANT. If you can get a good price ill take enough to do the whole car. And waiting till spring is probably what im gonna do to. Mybe buy it soon, but wait till it gets warmer to install.

[kampfer422]

well i used about 15sq ft on my doors of the Galant. That was 2 layers on outside skin, two layers that covered all the holes of the inside metal and a layer of matt on the trim panel itself. I think for my coupe i'm thinking of about 75sq ft. for the whole thing. That will give me like 3 layers on the trunk floor, two layers on the side, 2 layers on the trunk lid, 2 layers on the rear deck, one layer on rear seats floor, two layers under driver and pass seat, two layers on side panels, doors throroughly(sp? that just doesn't look right) deadened, and possibly the roof. And the firewall will have two layers. Lots of deadening!!!!

[kampfer422]

For those interested in 2nd Skin deadening (http://www.caraudioforum.com/vbb3/showthread.php?t=228880)

ANT did go ahead with the discount but you need to be signed up for one of these forums.

[King Asoka]

sweet, im a member of caraudio.com.

[mikegett]

Very nice. Is there a location that we purchase the second skin from for the discount?

[King Asoka]

click on the link and join one of the sites.

[Redog]

Comming home from work today I heard the following and they all sounded great

November Rain GNR
Paradise by the dashboard light Meat Loaf
Where's the party KidRock

[Menace]

I actually just bought those same speakers from best buy {Pioneer "TS-A6961R" 6x9's}

They sound great just installed them today and I felt the same way, they sound better then the more exspensive ones.

[Menace]

Btw on the topic of those speakers, I want to mount them and not use the stock 6x9 cover. The only problem is that the oldsmobile company cut the 6x9 holes f*ckn huge. So I was thinking maybe just to replace the carpeting in the space behind my back seats then place them in and cut it so it perfectly fits. Any other ideas ?

[cherrington17]

sounds like a decent plan. i haven't figured out how to get my carpet out of there though. it tips up, but the back seems to be firmly stuck back there.

[Menace]

Yah same here..

[King Asoka]

Once you remove all the plastic clips on the front its just a matter of pulling and twisting to get it out.

I suggest fabbing up a mdf baffle to mount the speakers in. Thats what my plan is . Make sure to put some sort of sounddeadenig between the baffle and the metal or else you may get one hell of a rattle. Rubber washer shoul do the trick or just screw the bastard down real tight.