Car audio peeps

[Apex]

I just discovered my newly purchased Impala from my mother in law has a bad speaker. It may just be wiring, or it could be the speaker itself, I'm not sure right now. If I need to tear into it, I'm going ahead and replacing the speaker and running new wiring.

My wife said she would give me about $500 or so to spend on a new stereo. I've been running my options. I'm deciding what to do. I'm done with going with ultra high end stuff. I've passed that point, but I don't spend the cheapest amount because I still like a good speaker.

Right now I'm thinking:

Polk Audio db651S 6 1/2", 55W RMS speakers for the front, $100 for the pair.

Pioneer TS-A6964R 6x9, 40W RMS, $80/pair

Alpine CDA-105 Head unit. 18W RMS x 4, iPod Compatible, 6-ch preamp outputs...$150

Now those put me at about $330 before taxes for the setup. I think the 6x9's will be good enough for me as far as bass goes. I'm not trying to thump the trunk, just fill up the car.

I've also been thinking of spending a little more and getting a set of Alpine speakers for the front door.

My other debate is to keep it simple like that, or spend a little extra. I found a Kenwood KAC-2404S - 40W RMS x4 amplifier for $150. The speakers can handle it, plus I don't blare the music, but having an amp on those speakers can help.

I don't know. I'm thinking of keeping it simple, and getting good quality components, then see how that works out before I blow big money on the rest. I have also considered a Bazooka BTA6100 6 1/2" 100W (max) powered sub. Not much, but enough to fill the car with a decent sound. I don't know.

Any recommendations on a good 6 1/2" speaker? I'm not sold on Polk's. I have always really liked Boston Acoustic speakers and Alpine always makes great stuff. I know at the bare minimum, I'm getting new door speakers and will most likely go ahead and run some better wiring for them.

Suggestions?


*Cliff Notes: Looking at some speakers, recommend any good 6 1/2" speakers? Should I just keep it simple, saving a 4-ch amp or maybe a small sub for later?

[caps]

you want an honest suggestion? for a $500 budget just save your money and replace the bad speaker with a stock one.

[Apex]

You haven't heard these speakers obviously. Hahaha

[00NissanNinja]

I have sony xplods in mine. I think they are the GT series. They are fantastic and produce more bass they I ever will need. The sound is nice and crisp and with the right deck you can fine tune everything to create very good sound. I don't have an amplifier since it really isn't all that necessary if you get the right deck to complement the system. I've had them for three years now and they have been great.

[caps]

Originally Posted by Apex

You haven't heard these speakers obviously. Hahaha

ive heard more speakers than most people will ever hear in their life, and trust me its not worth the time. if your serious about it look into a nice set of budget components, a small amp, and a PAC high-to low level converter

[Apex]

Ok, you talked me into it. I'm just going to get a head unit that lets me play my iPod through it (I'm a big Alpine fan) and a new set of front door speakers. My car has built in tweeters into the A-pillar, but I can't hear them at all (bad aiming), so maybe new tweeters, but I doubt it (may just get them in the new speakers). I'll find the best front speakers I can get for the money. So $150-$300 for a head unit and $100-$200 for front speakers.

Then if I want more, I can go and upgrade later on with better components.

[bdavison]

The problem with most car stereo setups is that they chop frequencies.
Ive seen so many setups by folks that just concentrate on the high treble, and low bass frequencies, and that always gives lousy sound quality.

Get a decent headunit first. Then get your speakers. When you get speakers, buy them all at once. Check on the box and look for the speakers freq range that it can produce. Make sure there are no gaps, and preferably it they overlap on a few freqs between speakers. 6x9s in the doors for the midrange, tweeters in the front for the highs, and some 6-8" subs in a box in the back. Then find a crossover which will allow you to seperate the frequencies and send them to specific speakers. Send the bass freqs to the sub, the midrange to the 6x9s, and the high to the tweets.

Then if you really want it good, you need to run some freq testing. There are freq apps for the apple products that will use the mic in the iphone to measure the freq range. With some test music, you want to make sure that there are no freq that are zero.

You will only need a amp if it starts clipping at higher volume levels.

[caps]

Originally Posted by Apex

Ok, you talked me into it. I'm just going to get a head unit that lets me play my iPod through it (I'm a big Alpine fan) and a new set of front door speakers. My car has built in tweeters into the A-pillar, but I can't hear them at all (bad aiming), so maybe new tweeters, but I doubt it. I'll find the best front speakers I can get for the money. So $150-$300 for a head unit and $100-$200 for front speakers.

Then if I want more, I can go and upgrade later on with better components.

i dont know what your looking for as far as a head unit, but the alpine 9887 is a PHENOMINAL unit. and one thing that most people dont realize is that you can get the 9886, which is exactly the same as the 9887 except for 2 things;

1. It has USB input
2. it only has a 2 way eq (iirc)

Now the first is very useful, and the second can be fixed later on if you decide you want more tuning ability buy purchasing the IMPRINT module from Alpine.

Also the 9886 with the the IMPRINT, costs the same as a 9887 but has the addition of usb

[Apex]

I like the style. My Mustang currently has the older version like the Alpine iDA-X305S, which is quite nice. I just don't like the huge screen on it, it is really bright and can be annoying at night. So the 9886 is an excellent option. I'll look into it.

[CynicalC]

Perfect budget. Buy my head unit! lol

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/pts/2298774897.html

[HKr1]

Originally Posted by bdavison

Check on the box and look for the speakers freq range that it can produce. Make sure there are no gaps, and preferably it they overlap on a few freqs between speakers. .

If your looking for something on the box, Sensitivity is a good one. 1w@1m, higher db the better. Some speakers really suck........

[Apex]

I ended up getting a set of Alpine SPS-600C speakers. The stock tweeters were really lacking. This works great with the stock system. Turns out the old speaker was just that, old and tired. So this setup I get much more high and mid range up front, but now the rear speakers sound muddy. hahahaha

Took me an hour to install them myself. Sounds great.



Here are the specs:
General
Speaker Size 6 3/4
Design 2-way
Tweeter Design Dome
Tweeter Composition Silk
Woofer Composition Poly-mica
Woofer Surround Rubber
Parts Warranty 1 Year
Labor Warranty 1 Year
Specifications
Sensitivity 88 dB (1w/1m)
Frequency Response 70 - 22k Hz
RMS Power Range (Watts) 2-80
Peak Power Handling (Watts) 240
Impedance (Ohms) 4
Top-mount Depth (Inches) 2 1/4
Bottom-mount Depth (Inches) N/A
Cutout Diameter or Length (inches) 5 1/2

I'm not big into spending a lot of cash on speakers anymore. I listened to these and loved how crisp they sounded. I was at the store for an easy hour just listening, tweaking EQ's, listening again, trying different head units, and these came out on top for me. It has been such a long time since I messed with speaker systems that I forgot how sucky the stock speakers are. This will make me happy. The head unit is on hold for now. I'm going to be really picky with that.