i have a 2004 xtype what size are the rear speakers i need to replace them

 

unboxed, by definition the rear speakers are 6-3/4" speakers, but 6.5" speakers will fit in the holes just fine. That will open up your options a lot. Most of the 6.5" speakers are oversized just a little bit to accommodate a 6-3/4" speaker hole.

 

Is it possible to get "better" speakers than factory that provide more bass and more clarity that will work good with the stock stereo?

 

85, as long as you stick with quality speakers, you are going to get a better sound than what came stock. The big thing you need to keep in mind is that you will need a speaker with a rating of atleast 40 W RMS (80 W peak). The factory amp is pretty good in the way of power. Stick with something like Infinity, MB Quartz, higher end Pioneers and Kenwoods, you should be fine. I would plan on spending atleast $150 for a set of speakers to get something better. I would definitely not drop below $100 for the set of speakers.

 

I disagree a little with the price point analysis (unless Thermo you mean $150 for 4 speakers and not just a pair, with that I agree).

The factory speakers suck (I am referring to the "standard" system as that is what I had). Just about any poly cone speaker will be better. Now, Thermo does have a point that if you are going to put some new ones in, may as well get some good ones.

I got some 6.5 Kickers on sale from Crutchfield - if you look around you can usually find $100 speakers on sale somewhere for $50 - $60 (per pair). The difference is night and day, much better low end, superior response. Easy installation. You can bang out a 4 speaker install in an hour or two.

I also have a 200w 10" Kenwood powered sub in the trunk that really rounds out the sound and adds some thump.

 

Can I get speakers with a higher rating than 40watts rms? I've found some nice 4, 5 6way pioneers, but also some other decent looking speakers. Does it matter how many ohms they are?
So you guys are saying there is an extreme difference putting in better speakers on the factory stereo?

 

Yes, ohms do matter. Without getting into a long drawn out discussion of Ohms Law, most car stereo speakers are 4 ohms or less. Stick with 4 ohms - most car audio speakers on the market are just that.

You could get higher rated speakers however without amping (do you have the premium audio system?) you won't see much benefit.

Buy a quality 40wRMS speaker set as Thermo suggested and you will indeed hear measurable improvement in the sound quality.

 

I dont think I have the premium audio setup? It sure doesnt sound like it lol. But thanks for the help guys! I think I will be upgrading my speakers shortly. I want a little more thud and a lot more clarity

 

I've been eying these speakers for a while now. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Alpine+-...&ref=39&loc=01

They go for way cheaper than best buy's price but I just linked to them because I had it favored already.

Just debating if I want to purchase my rims/tires upgrade before I upgrade my sound.

I already have a 7" touchscreen in-dash Kenwood installed in my X, but I don't think keeping head units and speakers the same brand really matter. You don't see door speakers anyways. My only concern would be if I would have to get an additional amp to properly push the pioneers. Although, don't aftermarket head units come with a amp built in or something?

Also, my X comes with tweeters in the front, if I change out all four speakers to the alpines listed above, can I still use the same tweeter? Or should I buy one alpine system that comes with tweeters for the front and another alpine system for just the back minus the tweeters?

Which speakers did you have in mind 85?

 

Eh I've pretty much been going to ebay and looking for 6.5" speakers lol. I really like mb quartz and pioneers though.. they have some decent 3, 4 and 5 way speakers and I think they would sound good. Those alpines look pretty decent though. I dunno... guess I'll have to shop around longer lol

 

A set of those alpines are running for about $73 on buy.com

Any audiophiles out there that can help us understand audio upgrades a bit better?

 

85, stick with a good 3 way speaker. You are not going to see much (if any) improvement with going with a 4+ way speaker. That is just my impression. I would also recommend simply window shopping at some of your local car stereo places (even Best Buy and the like are fine). All you are doing is getting a listen to what the speakers sound like. What you want to do is to try to find a lot of speakers from the same relative price range from different manufacturers. What you will notice if you play the same song on all of them is that they will all sound slightly different. Figure out which speakers you like the sound of and then go after that brand. For example, Kenwoods tend to have more of a bassy sound to them where the Pioneers will have more of a high sound to them. Every manufacturer is slightly different. When you play the speakers one after the other, you will hear what I am talking about.

JagX, what sort of audiophile questions do you have. I can go into as much detail as you can probably stand.

 

Thermo, thank you for always being helpful anywhere you go..

As for my audiophile questions....

1. I have a Kenwood 7" in dash, should I keep it all one brand? or it doesn't really matter?

2. If I upgrade my door speakers, does that mean the factory tweeters that comes in the front driver and passenger doors needs to be taken out? or does that mean I have to shop for at least a pair of door speakers that come with tweeters? or they can still be used with new door speakers?

3. What is the best? 2-way? 3-way? and so on? according to your honest opinion.

4. Is the aftermarket head unit good enough to push the new speakers? or should I invest in an amp? From my understanding, aftermarket head units come with a built in amp, is that sufficient enough? or for real performance invest in an amp?

Thanks again Thermo

 

JagX, do you need to keep it all 1 brand. NO!!!! Now, for simplicity, it may be easier to atleast keep the head unit and amplifier by the same company as they will tend to use the same voltage for the output of the head unit as is the max for the amplifier. But, you can put any brand radio with any brand amplifier as long as the radio outputs a lower voltage on the RCA wires than is the maximum voltage input for the amplifier (RCA jacks). Now, there are ways around this too. But, for simplicity, look at the rating of the head unit and use that to rule out amplifiers.

As for being able to keep the factory tweeters, I would say you would be better off tossing them and going with something else. Unless you know the frequency characteristics of those tweeters, you would be making a lot of guesses and would end up having to buy a lot of stuff to possibly get something that sounds ok. With that being said, you can pull out the tweeter, see what diameter it is and then if you go with separates up front, you can find a tweeter that will fit into the factory opening and mount your new tweeter there.

As for running 2/3/4+ ways speakers, I use the law of diminishing returns. yes, in theory the more speakers you get, the better the sound should be. But in reality, it all depends on the quality of the speaker. I would keep things simple and go with a good 2 way (coaxial) speaker if you want an easy install (ie, 6.5" mid range speaker with the smaller tweeter mounted to the larger speaker). Granted, for the buck, it is really hard to beat a set of component separates. This has a separate 6.5" mid range speaker, a crossover, and a tweeter. yes, they cost more, but my experience is that you get much better sound from these than any coaxial speaker you can get. Please keep in mind that I am comparing speakers of equal quality. You can't pit an MB Quartz coaxial speaker against a no name component set and expect the component set to be the MB stuff. What you pay is a general representation of the quality of stuff you will get.

Now, for the aftermarket radio being enough to power a system, that is like asking what your favorite color is. It may be, it may not be. How loud do you like your music? Are you running subwoofers? are you using speakers with a high sensitivity or a low sensitivity? All this plays into what is "enough" power. Without more data, I can't give you a solid answer. If you have a radio that outputs over 30 W RMS to each speaker and you are only running the door speakers, then that should be enough for the average person. Another way to look at it, was the factory radio loud enough for you? If so, then 30+ W RMS per speaker for the output of the radio is what you are looking for.

Now, getting back to brands of speakers. I am a firm believer in getting different brands of speakers for the front and rear. I'm sure there are people wondering about my madness. Well, it is simple. If you can get the correct combination of speakers, you can get a decent surround sound effect out of your car. But, this also takes some tuning of amplifiers and what not to make happen. This is more of a hit and miss type of thing. But, once you get it setup, it is really neat because normally you end up with the drummer in front of you, a guitarist off to either side and the lead singer behind you and you are there sitting in the middle of the band. But, to each their own.

 

Thermo, thanks for such a detailed reply!

As for my head unit, here are the specs listed http://www.crutchfield.com/p_113DDX7...ures_and_specs

I do not wish to install sub-woofers, I just want nice quality clean sound from door speakers with a bit of bass to them. I don't like the whole trunk rattling, screws loosening bass, lol.

I was thinking about the tweeter issue, maybe I can buy components for the front and just coaxial speakers for the back... is that possible? Or would that distort the sound? Because if I get two sets of component speakers, than I have a total of 4 tweeters... I want to keep everything looking factory... By any chance, do you know the diameter of the tweeters in these cars?

And I don't like the factory speakers in these cars, they sound very cheap with no real quality in sound... so no my factory radio wasn't good enough because these cars BARELY have any bass!

But with the specs I provided above, how do I read how much watts are being pushed for each speaker? I see the RMS Power Output is 22 watts and the peak power output is 50 watts. Does that mean, I would possibly need to purchase an additional amp? Again, I like my music rich in quality with some bass to it.

Thanks again Thermo! You're the man!

 

JagX, yes, you can do separates up front and coaxials in back. That is how I normally design systems. But, you can also do separates all the way around if you are wanting that little bit extra in the way of clarity and whatnot. The big thing to keep in mind is now you have to find a place to mount the tweeters too along with the crossovers. Not hard, but plan where they are going now.

With the power of your head unit, you are going to want to put some consideration into the sensitivity of the speakers that you are putting in. If you look on the speaker boxes, they normally label this value as "sensitivity" or will simply have a number with a "dB/W @1m" (decibels per watt as measured at 1 meter away). The higher the number, the louder the speaker will be for a given power input. You will also want to have the rear speakers 1-2 dB/w less than the fronts. This seems to help with the imaging of the sound inside the car. Then, as long as the speakers are rated for a minimum of 22 W RMS/50 W peak each, you will be good. I would not recommend getting speakers that are rated over 50 W RMS each (100 W RMS total). This will keep the speakers strong enough to handle what the radio can put out, but not so stout that you start loosing volume.

As for what brand of speaker to get, all I can say is to stop by a local stereo place and find a bunch of speakers that are the same size and roughly the same price from as many different brands as you can. Then, listen to each one, one at a time. You will notice that some will sound different than others. In your case, since you are wanting a little more low end, picking the speakers with the more bass will be to your benefit. Granted, they may not be quite as clear as some others. So, this will be a balance for you. Once you get the brand, then you can select what speaker set you are after (ie, want the basic coaxial speakers, separates, or the top of the line separates). I also find that going with 2 different brands of speakers (1 brand for the front, another for the rear) helps create a surround sound effect inside the car. May be what you are after, may not be. Just something to consider.

 

Honestly in the advancement of sound these days, for car audio you are best to buy component systems for the doors with tweeters and then speakers of the same brand in a 2 way model for the doors without tweeters. The range of sound in materials makes it a waste to have 3 way speakers. It takes more power to power an individual midrange and the difference is not very notable in car audio. If you are using the stock system to power the speakers you are much better off going a component and then 2way coaxial for replacement. Look for speakers the have a large range (35hz-20000Hz) for example for sound clarity and bass and for loudness you want the highest sensitivity available. Say 93-95db/watt/meter. The higher the sensitivity rating the louder the speaker will play with littler power. Its not so taxing on your stock amop and prevents distortion. Find a speaker that has a good balance of these qualities. I find that infinity seems to do the job quite well. They do lack in the low end though a little but no worse than stock.