Got a Pioneer 6800dvd headunit, looking to get some better sound for the car.

ive lived with the factory speakers for almost 6 months now, even though the HU was installed the night i got the car, and ive never really thought they sounded bad..anyways, wanted to upgrade the speakers and i thought i would start with the rears..or should i do fronts first?

i read the rears are 320hm which is why they are so quiet compared to fronts, and that is my main reason for starting with the rear upgrade first.

i know most of you will recommend component, but i rather just stick with coax's for budget reasons.

alpine type-s seems to be good all around speakers with soft-dome tweeter, should i go with those? or should i match the Pio HU with some Pio speakers as well??

and last thing, do i need spacers or brackets to mount the aftermarket speakers in the rear? if so,, does BestBuy carry them? got some gift cards and reward certificates there..if not id shop online..

 

ok. few things. I am NOT trying to be a dick. so dont take this the wrong way. The same question that you have just asked can be accessed by using the search button. I am not saying this so that I can look cool or try to be the moderator hall monitor, I am telling you for your reference so that you can do some more reasearch other than what I am going to tell you.

Here is what I would do, and I hope this answers your questions.

first of all, I would not even screw with the rear speakers. Unhook them totally and forget they exist. Rear fill makes your system sound like crap. If you do install them, you will wind up slowly cranking your system's balance forward untill the rears are off anyway. Its a waste of money and you can use that cash and put them into a GOOD set of front componets and amplifier. these two things will make or break your system. You may budget on EVERYTHING else, but put good money in front componets and a good amp to drive them and you will be ecstatic.

I like coaxials...for two reasons. reason 1 is...the closer you get the tweeter to the cone, the better imaging you have. Reason 2 is....they are fairly decently priced.

now for the same argument I can give a couple of counter reasons. I dislike coaxials for the Z specifically because. A: Coaxials are a ***** to fit in the stock location without a pain in the neck modification to clear the window when it is rolled down. (large stock componet woofers are hard enough.) B: The drivers of componet speakers usually have a better frequency response and better all around sound than coaxials, and you have more direct control over the frequencies produced by the tweeters.

Now to answer your next question. I HATE alpine componets. Hate them hate them. The type R and Type X subs are fairly decent, but even the type R componets are disapointing. For the same price, you can get a much much nicer set. And since you are not buying rears, you can use that money to put into fronts.

and lastly. Yes you will probably need spacers no matter what you buy (for the fronts, to clear the window.), and no, bestbuy does not carry them. If I were you this is what I would do:

1. Instead of spacers, I would buy speaker pods for your door. Look for a memeber on this site named Nazaar, who works with a company called "Wicked car audio systems." He has a KILLER set of door pods which alot of members on the site have that totally negate the need for spacers. You can paint them, wrap them in vinyl and have them customized how you want. (made of fiberglass.) this is a slightly pricer route, but believe me, it is a much better option than the huge HEADACHE of having to build your own speaker spacers.

2. I would buy a DAMN NICE set of front COMPONETS to put in those speaker pods. I am a CDT audio *****, but there are ALOT of non-mainstream companies that make incredible speakers at great prices. go to www.woofersetc.com and take a look at their selections. Post what you think you would want on the site, and people will give you their opinions. Remeber what I said, dont budget. Spend the most money that you possibly can on these, they will make or break your system.

3. When you get those componets. Totally unhook the stock tweeters and place your aftermarket componet tweeters in the kick panels (where the driver side fuse box is located.) in the floor pointing up at you. (search for examples on here, alot of members have done this.) this gives much better imaging and will not be anywhere NEAR as harsh as mounting them where the stockers are.

4. Put money down for a GOOD amplifer. I love "elemental designs" (they have a website...google it.). A good clean amp will make all the difference in the world with those new componets.

5. If you are thinking of buying componets or coaxials and running them off of your headunit amp. Dont waste your time or money. Spend your cash on some performance accessories and screw the audio. You will NEVER be satisfied with this route and will end up spending MORE money fixing it.

I hope this helps some. Once you start thinking about a sub, post it and we will try to help.

good luck.

 

thanks for the response. i had tried searching but most results were install issues...either way

i did pick up a set of ininity rears at bestbuy last night, took me about an hour to get everything installed. youre right about the balancing issue, i went from -2 rear to +4 front. i like my sound to seem like its in the center...

i think it sounds great, there is much more detail in the music i listen to, and i assumed the reason i had to push the fader so much to the fronts was because i still have stock front speakers and they arent as loud as aftermarket..but now i see your point about component sets...

ive already got 2 rf 10's in a zenclosure, gives me enough low end to enjoy what i listen to.

and what exactly is the spacing issue that people have when upgrading front speakers?

 

r3zon8, the "spacers for the front" that everyone is mentioning here,,,allows you to mount an aftermarket comp/coax speaker in the factory location and gives the necessary clearance for your window to roll up and down. With out spacers,,your window will hit the magnet of your speaker. There are several options for this,,,,you can dremal out your factory speaker around the basket and use the factory cut out as a spacer,,,,,or you can make a spacer out of at least 3/4 mdf,,,,or you can order a set from Mike at Zenclosures....I am using Mikes and my comp's fit perfect in the Factory location. I hope this helps

 

ugh.. so any component set we buy is going to have space issues with the window? Whatever it takes, I guess, but I'm the type that doesn't want to mess with the stock setup.. ie I don't want to drill or dremel. There is nothing thats just "plug and play"?

 

I cant speak for all speakers,,,I just know I had to have the spacers...If you get the spacers from Mike (Zenclosures),,,installing them is a breeze. Its just three bolts, if I remember correctly, that tighten the spacer to the door using hte factory holes....then, you mount your comp/coax speaker to the spacer.

 

I have infinity kappa 63.7i speakers in my doors and they did not require spacers of any sort in order to fit into the door, the windows clear the magnets just fine, just so you know there are speakers out there that will fit, i just got lucky in my case, didn't know it would work until i bought them. I got them at onlinecarstereo.com for a pretty good price if you're interested.