Let me begin by saying the BOSE speakers are driving me insane and they definitely need to go. Right now I have an Alpine iDA-X100 installed with all stock BOSE speakers and 1) I'm getting very little power to the speakers (I may be wrong but I believe it is because the BOSE amp does not work well with aftermarket HU) and 2) they just do not sound good at all. So after researching a little here and there I've decided to replace the front speakers and "unplug" the rears and simply run power directly from the HU to the front speakers (done professionally that is). Now the problem I'm having is deciding on what speakers will 1) sound great with a variety of music meaning nice highs and lows 2) work well with my Alpine HU 3) fit with little modifications for both the 6.5" components and tweeters and 4) not cost an arm and a leg.

Here is what I've narrowed down my choices to (open to other suggestions as well):
Boston Acoustics SR60
Infinity Reference 6030cs
Alpine Type R
Alpine Type S

Thanks Guys

 

well ive had the type r but i kept getting the tweeter ring( later learned that i could against on the cross over how high the tweeter is). Also i have now bostons in the front but cant remember which model but def. like them better than the type R. Either way do it right, do it right the first time.

 

congrats on finally getting rid of the stock bose.... ...
i remember they lasted a WHOLE MONTH before i took them out......

but as i highlighted up top... this is your biggest problem... .. you have to pay to play bro ... dont skimp out bc you will spend more later when you want to upgrade... also you should post your limit.... im guessing around $200 ...... best advice is go to a shop that has multiple speakers and listen to them yourself... everyone has diff. taste and wallet....lol...

GL

 

Image Dynamics make a very good speaker.


http://www.woofersetc.com/p6201/CTX6...ker-System.htm

 

I have always loved polk audio. Personal opinion though..... They are relatively inexpensive and definitely give you the best bang for the buck.

 

This is the reason why I was looking at the Boston Acoustics. I've heard really great things about them. I just don't know how much of a difference there really is between these and the others I've listed.

 

I've heard a little about Polk audio. The problem is the only speakers I have really listened to are the Alpine type R's and the type S's and I like them both, so I don't really know how well the Boston Acoustic's, Infinity's, and Polk's compare. Have you heard the others by chance?

 

Have you listened to any Alpine, Infinity, Polk, or Boston Acoustics? I'm kind of trying to see if someone has heard a number of these speakers in person so that they could compare them.

 

Audiophile and 3 of the speakers on your list DO NOT belong in the same sentence!

I've worked as a professional installer for 10 years and have installed and heard every set on your list.

You've actually got your list in the correct order of good sound, from best to worst:
Boston Acoustics SR60
Infinity Reference 6030cs
Alpine Type R
Alpine Type S

If the Boston's were a 10, the Infinity's would be a 7, the Type R's would be a 4 and the Type S's would be a 2.5....

The Only brand on that list you could even be close to associating the word "Audiophile" with is Boston Acoustic.

Out of that list, would go with the Boston's hands down! I wouldn't even consider the others in the same class.

Other brands you can look into are:
Focal
Morel
Dynaudio

And so on.....



My biggest piece of advice to you would be to support a local shop! (not a box store or online).... Go in to the store with a good CD or two (not shitty burnt) and pick a few speakers in your price range and listen to them in store.... Pick the speakers that sound the best to YOU. Develop a relationship with the salesman, talk to him, and in the end if you're happy with the speakers buy them from him. You never know when you may need help, or technical assistance or whatever and that relationship with the salesman will come in handy.

 

This is exactly what type of information I was looking for. Yes, I know I need to go hear them in person. However, being in a fairly small city there aren't too many choices between car audio stores. Tomorrow I will be going to check one of them out, so hopefully I can make a final decision. In the end I'm most likely just going to order the Boston Acoustics. Thanks for the input.

 

Only considering choices from your list above, I would go with the Boston Acoustics SR60 for the best sound and the Infinity Reference 6030cs for the best value.

Any perceived advantage depends upon many things. You should pick what you think sounds best for your listening preference. What I like may not match what you want.

--Spike

 

Amen to that! However, there are some great speakers that do not have to be in the $500+ range. Another thing to think about is your placement and amplififcation. You can run the best speakers in the world but if you are powering them with their supplied passive crossovers and a 50X2 MTX amplifier in the stock loactions then you will be pretty dissapointed in the results.

Polk Audios were mentioned and as a 'cheaper' brand of speaker, they are quite good. Even the DB series is pretty impressive for the price. The MM series are quite a bit better though and the incredicly expensive SR series are way too overpriced for what they are. Polk makes a fantastic soft dome tweeter that can compete with tweeters that cost 3 times as much.

Most component sets have a huge weakness - the crossover. Unless you are getting into some Hertz Mille's or some Focal Utopia's the passive crossovers that come with most sets are pretty junky. Please consider going active. I have said this in many threads before and I cannot stress it enough! Four channel amplifier powering a set of components fully active can be the difference between sounding good and sounding amazing. Make sure you have an amp that will be able to cover these crossover frequencies!

Placement is very important too! The standard sail panel is very poor for placement. Far forward on the A-pillar or even down in the kick is a much better location for the tweeter. Stock midbass location is fine.

 

I half agree with you there. I personally am a HUGE fan of bi-amping and running active, however I'd rarely recommend it to a novice, especially not someone only looking to spend $2-300 on speakers.

I remember years ago building an S2000 demo car using all Boston Acoustics gear. We called the techs at Boston and had a lengthy discussion with them about going Active or using their Passive xovers supplied with the SPZ components. The end result of the discussion was them recommending that we go with the included passive xovers.

 

I thought it was silly to spend a lot on components until I actually did

I love my DLS Iridiums, can't wait to run them in full active.

 

Bi-amping is still wasting a lot of power on heat so it may solve one problem but still doesn't give your components their full potential.

We have been running the Digital Designs entry level components full active and they are under $250. If anything, cheaper speakers come with crappier crossovers so they'll benefit even more by being run active. Yes, a novice may find if somewhat difficult to set up and tune an active system but its a challenge that everybody should embrace! Also, if you have doubts, you have your local professional to help you out.

 

You know, I totally forgot about the entry level DD components!!! We were a DD dealer for about a year and I sold and installed quite a few of those. Now that you bring them back into my head, they were a very good sounding speaker for the price range!

 

They have been redesigned! The midbass is A LOT slimmer! They'll drop into a 350Z door no problem. Also, the metal dome tweeter has been replaced with a soft dome now as well. They sound a ton better than they ever did before!

 

Seas Lotus Reference will leave your jaw on the floor.

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^this if money is not an object

i run all digital designs however

but picking equipment is a smaller part of SQ, the bigger picture is install