Alright, please humor me. I did alot of searching but didn't seem to find many folks in my situation looking for what I'm seeking.

I currently have a AVIC-D3 installed with all the factory non-Bose speakers. I'm looking to upgrade the speakers seeking better highs and maybe a bit more bottom end, but not looking for major thump by any means. I think my days of subs and amps are over...just too much to deal with really.

Question #1: Is the AVIC-D3 powerful enough to run a set of ~$250 seperates? I understand I wouldn't be making the best use of them, but I'm looking for a noticeable difference from stock through a simple and fairly cheap upgrade.

Question #2: Is it worth keep the rears? I barely hear them now, but I wonder if adding a set of decent coaxials in the rear for a little more low end adjusting using the fader would work well?

Any help would be appreciated!

 

My opinion, replacing with comps up front,,,you will not gain much difference (w/o amp) than a decent set of coax. Most headunits will provide around 17-20 RMS.

As for the rear,,,different people here have different opinions. Me personally, I enjoy a slight rear fill. I replaced my factory non-bose with a set of coax and faded them greatly to the front.

 

I think the D3 runs 22 RMS. Does that sound like enough?

 

as Lsmith says, dont waste your time running any thing other than a stock replacemtn coaxial with the headunit, any headunit, regardless or ratings, wont come anywhere close to making a decent set of speakres perform and sound right.

just get a 50-75 dollar stock replacement and pop them in your door...or spring for an amp and front speakres

b

 

Would a set of coaxials really sound better than the stock separates? I just figured if it came with separates I should upgrade with separates.

 

I replaced my rears with coax's and did a heavy bias towards front on the fader. When I replaced my amps, I disconnected them and don't really miss them now. Pullig all the trim off was a bit of a chore, have to be careful to not break the fasteners, not much of a return IMO.

+1 on the amp + components answers. Don't bother without decent power. You could end up driving the HU amp into clipping and trashing your tweeters...

 

.............

 

Jeez.. responding to your own message... and then doing a bunch of periods (like it's over and I was always right)... not sure if that's cool here.

--Spike

 

i was too lazy to give my opinion again.. so i quoted it from the other thread

 

I agree with doug. ***ck the rear speakers. I have a pair running from the HU amplifier....and I have no idea why I did it other than looks. Cant even hear them.

 

Sorry... I should have picked that up.

I agree with your comment.

--Spike

 

headunits can run coaxils suffciently

headunits powering components sound horrible

 

Cheap speakers (whether they are coaxial or components) with their small sound-producing parts work OK when driven by an H/U and no external amp. The sound is “tinny” and “thin,” and probably won’t provide a great listening experience.

A quality speaker (and that could be either a coaxial speaker or a component speaker) needs an amp capable of providing adequate power to produce good sound. It makes no difference if it’s a coaxial speaker or a component speaker. Either of these can produce great sound, but if either is a high-quality speaker, they need the extra power that an external amp provides.

--Spike

 

Not only does the amp provide more power to the speakers, it amplifies the signal producing a better sound. Rudimentry as that might sound

 

^^Good point. It’s not just the power (more amperage). A good amp delivers clean power that superior devices (e.g., coaxial, component speakers, SubW’s, etc.) need to deliver great sound. A low quality amp won’t help at all.

--Spike

 

Thanks for the info guys. It sounds like it's "go amp or go home"