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**Murr1525** · Oct 25, 2008, 11:36 PM

Re: Need car speaker advice...

I have Powerbass speakers that sound good. Though I also have an Eclipse head unit that sounds great with Cd's, memory sticks, etc, but has no radio reception.

**Markus Kleis** · Oct 26, 2008, 12:30 AM

Re: Need car speaker advice...

Car and home audio are huge areas of interest to me, and I actually have done quite a few high-end installs as well as many cheaper installs. That said, I have ALWAYS been extremely happy with any Polk speakers I have run. I was a ginormous fan of the MOMO series speakers, as they are incredibly easy on the ears, yet loud, crisp, and warm sounding. The only downside to them is that they need 75 wrms or better to be happy.

I personally recommend 150 wrms, but I like it LOUD

Also, you can get MOMOS online insanely cheap. They are ridiculously well-built, and will stand up to some serious abuse.

I have run JL's high-end stuff, MB Quart RSDs, Sony, Infinity, custom home theatre drivers, and probably a few others I can't remember...but I always came back to the Polks. You really can't go wrong with them, especially at their prices.

As for amps, that a toughie... but if you want easy to wire, rock solid stuff, JL is great. Only downside is that JL is very very pricey compared to a lot of other stuff, but IMO it is well worth it due to a few factors: 1.) JL amps can operate at full output anywhere between 11~ volts up to the max voltage they will see of 13+. In other words, if you don't upgrade your battery and alternator they will still crank. 2.) They auto-adjust the impedance to make it so you can run it anywhere between 1.5 and 4 ohms and still get full, clean output.

If you want cheaper, HiFonics has some really cheap stuff with pretty decent prices online.

Hope that is a good start...

**Joe's detailing** · Oct 26, 2008, 12:53 AM

Re: Need car speaker advice...

The sky is the limit in car audio, it all depends on what you can afford..
Focal is well made and pricey, I'd go with Image dynamics for the best over all sound reproduction .
What can you afford...? what pioneer deck have you selected...? need input...

**Ryan L.** · Oct 26, 2008, 07:10 AM

Re: Need car speaker advice...

I was hoping you would reply, Mark. Right now I'm getting about half saying Polk and half saying Alpine.

As far was what can I afford, I can wait and keep building up my paycheck and I don't mind if I have too. But like I said, this isn't going to be a competition car and we probably will sell it in 2-3 years so I don't want to dump thousands into it. From what I'm done my research on, it looks like for parts I'll be looking at around $1500-$1700. So I would like to stay in that range but if for a hundred dollars more I can get significantly better sound then I'll go for it.

I have selected the Pioneer DEH-P5000UB head unit. Couple reasons for that; it has the ability to allow almost every upgrade out there, steering wheel controls, HD radio, Bluetooth, Sirius or XM direct, 6 CD Changers, and iPod Control. So instead of getting a expensive head unit that already has all that, I decided to get that and add to it if I want.

What do you think of the Polk db6501 component set, Mark. And also, some of the shops say to just do components in the front and then coax in the back?

Thanks for the replies guys, really appreciate it!

Ryan

**RogueGypsy** · Oct 26, 2008, 10:44 AM

Re: Need car speaker advice...

The best way to get started is to take a couple of YOUR favorite cd's into the store and listen to it through the speakers/amp/head unit you are interested in. Everyone's ear is different and every speaker has it's own sound. So by playing something familiar to you, it's a lot easier to find what your ear will like.

Next. Speakers are the best bang for the buck, spend most of your budget there. Polk, Boston Acoustics, MB Quart, Orion, Eclipse and Infinity all make reasonably accurate separates. Alpine makes a good speaker, but I think you can do better for the money. I've also never been a big fan of Infinity's consumer line, but others love them.
Separates up front and Coaxials in the rear will sound good, however, if you want a fuller sound mount 6" mid-bass speakers in the rear instead. They'll fill the bass gap between the separates and the sub better by using a dedicated speaker and letting the separates handle the highs and mids with a little mid-bass. Mid-bass is where the Bass guitar lives as well as the lower frequencies of the Piano, organ, horns and drums. Without it you will never really hear 20% of the music being played. If you want more fill, mount a pair of Coaxials in the back door or behind the back seat, pointed at the back door. This will give you full frequency (20Hz-20,000Hz) reproduction without overwhelming Bass boom or Mid-range screech. You will hear parts of the music you did not know were there.

Head units are your source and will have the second biggest influence on the sound of the system. If garbage is coming out (not implying what you've selected is garbage) it doesn't matter what amp or speakers you have, it will still sound like garbage. I'm a big fan of Eclipse and Alpine, I think they have the cleanest preamps and cause the least amount of distortion. I use Eclipse units in all 3 of my vehicles. I like the anti-theft feature too. Without the code to unlock them, they are useless to a thief, so they tend to ignore them. Removable face plates are a useless feature in my mind. Most people never remove them, of those who do, most leave them somewhere in the car (who wants to walk around with a face plate in their pocket?). Thieves know it.

Amps: Ignore power ratings. Most are mostly BS. There is no standard. RMS rating can be what the amp will produce once before it releases 'The Magic Smoke', or it can be a continuous output rating. Most manufactures go with the once before it smokes rating, because bigger numbers sell more units.
I have a pair of 50 Watt Xtant amps in my Bronco that will peel the paint off of any 500 watt Sony and sound better doing it. Listen for clean, undistorted sound with the tones you like. If it sounds loud, that is distortion. The human ears hears distortion and the brain translates-loud. In reality, a clean amp will not sound loud to the ear or brain. But when you turn it down everything else will be very, very quiet.

Xtant, Orion and Alpine all make very good reasonably priced amps.

A couple of more tips:

Quality wires and Capacitors are worth the money.

RMS speaker ratings do not increase volume, they are simply a statement of the maximum power a speaker can handle. As a general rule of thumb to get everything you can out of your speakers. The Amplifier RMS should be double the speaker RMS. If you never approach the top volume of the system, this is less important. If you do approach the top volume of the system, it is VERY important.

Bigger is not always better in sub-woofers. Often 2-8" subs will sound much better than 1-12" sub and give you the same frequency response (down to 20 Hz, the lower limit of our hearing). Most Bass is in the 40Hz-80Hz range. 20 Hz is more felt than heard.

Go with what sounds good to you, you will be listening to it, not the salesman.

HTH,

Brock

..
..

**new2detailing** · Oct 26, 2008, 11:42 AM

Re: Need car speaker advice...

I have a personal fondness for Polk speakers ( an added benefit is that they are built in Maryland. However, Polk, Alpine, Infinity et al all make very nice speakers. I would second the advice to test them out at a store with your personal music. (do you like it loud, some like a thumping bass whereas others like a crisp sound). Speakers are really where the proper investment will yield nice results. There are others on this forum that know about amps, better than me so I will let them impart their experience.

**Markus Kleis** · Oct 26, 2008, 12:33 PM

Re: Need car speaker advice...

Originally posted by Ryan L. View Post

I was hoping you would reply, Mark. Right now I'm getting about half saying Polk and half saying Alpine.

As far was what can I afford, I can wait and keep building up my paycheck and I don't mind if I have too. But like I said, this isn't going to be a competition car and we probably will sell it in 2-3 years so I don't want to dump thousands into it. From what I'm done my research on, it looks like for parts I'll be looking at around $1500-$1700. So I would like to stay in that range but if for a hundred dollars more I can get significantly better sound then I'll go for it.

I have selected the Pioneer DEH-P5000UB head unit. Couple reasons for that; it has the ability to allow almost every upgrade out there, steering wheel controls, HD radio, Bluetooth, Sirius or XM direct, 6 CD Changers, and iPod Control. So instead of getting a expensive head unit that already has all that, I decided to get that and add to it if I want.

What do you think of the Polk db6501 component set, Mark. And also, some of the shops say to just do components in the front and then coax in the back?

Thanks for the replies guys, really appreciate it!

Ryan

Ryan,

I actually ran an old school of Polk db's in my first system ever. They were great speakers, and the ones you listed appear to be MUCH nicer. I compared the specs on those to the MOMOs I have run and they look very nice. I say go with those.

As for the shops suggesting components up front, and then normal speakers in the back they are basically going with the popular way of doing things. The concept stemmed from the idea of a proper sound stage, which ideally would have ONLY front speakers...but since most people want rear "fill" they add rears as well. In my Ranger and Focus I ran a single set of components up front and no one could ever tell, but in my supercrew F150 I ran rear fill with half the power I had in the front.

Put your money, and your power up front. That does not however mean to run your rears off of the deck as many will suggest, as you need to consider the bottleneck theory. (If you cheap out in the back, when you go to crank the front it will distort in the rear)

Mark

**mcox** · Oct 26, 2008, 06:03 PM

Ryan,

I just saw the thread and thought I would throw in my opinion. Although they are known for their home audio, Bose does make some decent car speakers if you can find them at a reasonable price. I will admit everything in my house are Bose however I really appreciate how I hear what comes out of them. Clear, crisp, clean sound. As someone else mentioned there are people on here who know more about it than me......

**BlueZero** · Oct 26, 2008, 06:19 PM

Re: Need car speaker advice...

I had one JL 10W3v3 in a sealed box running off a JL 250 amp in my SS and it was perfect for me. If didn't rattle the surrounding cars but that's not what I wanted. My box was just sitting under the seat and the amp was fastened to the carpet with Velcro. Made it easy to just unplug and take out if I needed the room.

Remember your hearing is important too! A good friend of mine in college used to compete in car audio. He had a killer system. Then he started having fluid coming out of his ears. Went in and they told him he had partial hearing loss and if he didn't stop cranking it he would permanently damage his hearing.

**Ryan L.** · Apr 23, 2009, 08:57 AM

Re: Need car speaker advice...

Sorry to bring this thread back but I'm in need of help.

So far all I have done is a new head unit and speakers. Pioneer DEH-P4100UB head unit and Alpine Type R SPR-17C speakers.

The speakers are $150 for a pair and get rave reviews everywhere I look. But they sound worse than my stock speakers!!!!

At low volumes they're great but as soon as a crank it up they distort. They can handle 100W RMS and my head unit only puts out 14W to the speakers.

Is is possible that they aren't getting enough power and that is what is causing the distortion?

Thanks,
Ryan

**Zuke** · Apr 23, 2009, 09:46 AM

Re: Need car speaker advice...

Originally posted by Mark Kleis View Post

Car and home audio are huge areas of interest to me, and I actually have done quite a few high-end installs as well as many cheaper installs. That said, I have ALWAYS been extremely happy with any Polk speakers I have run. I was a ginormous fan of the MOMO series speakers, as they are incredibly easy on the ears, yet loud, crisp, and warm sounding. The only downside to them is that they need 75 wrms or better to be happy.

I personally recommend 150 wrms, but I like it LOUD

Also, you can get MOMOS online insanely cheap. They are ridiculously well-built, and will stand up to some serious abuse.

I have run JL's high-end stuff, MB Quart RSDs, Sony, Infinity, custom home theatre drivers, and probably a few others I can't remember...but I always came back to the Polks. You really can't go wrong with them, especially at their prices.

As for amps, that a toughie... but if you want easy to wire, rock solid stuff, JL is great. Only downside is that JL is very very pricey compared to a lot of other stuff, but IMO it is well worth it due to a few factors: 1.) JL amps can operate at full output anywhere between 11~ volts up to the max voltage they will see of 13+. In other words, if you don't upgrade your battery and alternator they will still crank. 2.) They auto-adjust the impedance to make it so you can run it anywhere between 1.5 and 4 ohms and still get full, clean output.

If you want cheaper, HiFonics has some really cheap stuff with pretty decent prices online.

Hope that is a good start...

Another great company IMO is Memphis, they fly under the radar but are a solid comany. Like Mark i like it LOUD, bass is bass but i want peoples ears to bleed! A good componet set up would be a good idea. Anyone wanna build me a 10'' sub enclosure for my ranger! NO SUB Space

**ColonelCash** · Apr 23, 2009, 09:54 AM

Re: Need car speaker advice...

I've been out of the game for a long time, but when I would run in SPL comps JL / PPI / Strokers were the best for bass. Our car was in the mid 160db range about 10 years back, we had 8 strokers if I remember correctly. Each sub had its own amp, stupidly loud. 1 inch thick plexiglass for the windows, 4 alternators to push it all.

If you are going for clean sound, I suggest looking into some componet sets. Having the tweeter seperate from the regular 5.25 or 6.50 speakers makes a world of difference. I agree with the Polks that have been mentioned, never been a fan of Alpine speakers myself. Infiniti Kappas were always nice, if they are still made.

**RogueGypsy** · Apr 23, 2009, 10:22 AM

Re: Need car speaker advice...

Originally posted by Ryan L. View Post

Sorry to bring this thread back but I'm in need of help.

So far all I have done is a new head unit and speakers. Pioneer DEH-P4100UB head unit and Alpine Type R SPR-17C speakers.

The speakers are $150 for a pair and get rave reviews everywhere I look. But they sound worse than my stock speakers!!!!

At low volumes they're great but as soon as a crank it up they distort. They can handle 100W RMS and my head unit only puts out 14W to the speakers.

Is is possible that they aren't getting enough power and that is what is causing the distortion?

Thanks,
Ryan

Yes! Not enough power and the speakers are clipping. Don't do that too much or it will damage the speakers permanently. Time to get an amp.

It is also likely that the factory system had an amp mounted up under the dash, most newer ones do. So you aren't getting the volume that you used too.

**Ryan L.** · Apr 23, 2009, 11:19 AM

Re: Need car speaker advice...

Originally posted by RogueGypsy View Post

Yes! Not enough power and the speakers are clipping. Don't do that too much or it will damage the speakers permanently. Time to get an amp.

It is also likely that the factory system had an amp mounted up under the dash, most newer ones do. So you aren't getting the volume that you used too.

Thanks RogueGypsy!!

I know RMS is the power that the amp puts out constantly but do I get a AMP that says exactly the same RMS as the speakers or can I get more or less?

The guys at Crutchfield said to get a amp that was 100W RMS x 4 (same as speakers) but I read things saying to get a amp that is twice the RMS as the speakers because they usually don't produce what they say they do.

Thanks,

Ryan

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