-I'm looking to spend 100-200 tops on a new set of front speakers.
-I listen to mostly crappy punk rock and some EDM (deadmau5, skrillex, feed me, etc.)
-I'm replacing because my fronts are distorting at volumes just slightly over a normal listening, and because they're junk (not stock, but not good). yes I've turned the gain down on the amp.
-I see installs using components that have the tweeters mounted next to the midbass in the lower door card, and read somewhere that unless you were running an active setup (I have a 3 channel amp, so I won't be) this is what generally sounds the best. To me it seems like a set of coaxial would be just as effective if thats the case, but I don't know.
-I'll probably be getting door pods from nazar eventually (6 months down the road) or kicks from bing if he'll do that if it makes any difference on my choice.

The amp is a Massive Audio Nx3 so 120watts each side. I like having uniform brands throughout the car for giggles but I guess I can concede to a non MA set.

Edit: I've also got two car rattlers under the hatch, so I don't need the front stage to hit the lows as much as I need the mids and highs. That along with a new-found dislike of metal dome tweeters might help you help me.

1. Should i get coaxial or components for the fronts since I'm running passive.
2. Are any of MA's speakers any good? (I know about the tweeter brightness, can probably EQ this down a bit)
3. What are the best alternatives. I want to be "satisfied" with these for another 2 years and until I have an actual job instead of this part time college nonsense.
4. Kicks or door pods? As much as I love my dead pedal I could find a way to give it up if it sounded better.

 

I might not be able to help much but there is one thing I can tell you. If you invest in speakers,
invest in door pods or kick panels too. I just made my own door pods and the difference is
so clear compared to stock location. It is not one of those things where you say, yea it is all in your mind. It is very noticeable
It only makes sense to try and make your own if you really enjoy working on your car.
Too much work. The decision to buy is a good one

 

I know I COULD build my own, I would just have to get some hints on aiming, placement of tweeter, etc. I saw some that I really liked on some door panels a person had for sale on here. They were sort of teardrop shape that looked fairly simple to build but I haven't been able to find them since.

I should PM Bing or something and get him to chime in...

 

1- Components. When comparing components to coaxials of equal quality construction, the components will always sound better. The engineers who design coaxials must not only worry about how the speaker will sound, but how they can get all the parts they'd like to use to fit together in a single compact package... and with balancing acts like this there's always compromise. Outboard crossovers also allow for more space to use better quality parts. This is not to say that coaxials cannot sound as good as components EVER, but generally you will have to pay much more for a coaxial that sounds as good as a lower priced component set.

2- I've never used or even heard any MA speakers, so I can't comment on this one.

3- Where you're mounting the components would be the main part of this decision. If you're mounting them in the door, you'll need a component set with a relatively shallow mounting depth woofer. In this case I'd recommend Polk Audio's DB6501. I'm currently using these and am happy with them. They've got silk dome tweeters (less harsh) and reasonable power handling for a very inexpensive set. If you're doing door pods or kicks, mounting depth is less of a concern, so your options are near limitless. A brief search through diyma.com will give you all the answers you need here. My budget recommendation would be Image Dynamics CTX65cs.

4- I personally would vote door pods here. Don't get me wrong, kicks done properly can sound great, but I wouldn't want to give up my dead pedal either. Also, you have to worry about yourself or your passenger accidentally putting a shoe through a speaker cone, or at least mangling a grille.

The main consideration for mounting the tweeters is to keep the path length to the listener the same between woofer and tweeter. This is the main reason why kicks and door pods containing both woofer and tweeter sound good with relatively little "tweaking". Personally, I wanted to door mount the woofer for ease of install as well as stock appearance. I chose to fab mounting pods for the tweeters, which are attached to the a-pillars close to the dash. This kept the path length very similar between woofer and tweeter and allowed me to aim the tweeters to fire on-axis to the far seat. So in the driver's seat, the left speaker (closer) fires off-axis and the right tweeter (far) fires on-axis, and vice versa for the passenger seat. This serves to equalize the volume a bit side to side and cut down on the amount of EQ'ing necessary.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

These are the pods I was talking about that seem simple to make and I like how the tweeter is mounted on it.

 

proper time correction, crossover points, speaker quality, and adequate power wil be required to create a good stage.. anything else is a giant sacrafice and while its understandable, you must understand that you wont get there from here if youre not looking to step it way up past a 200 dollar mark.
Kickpanels help, but simple phase and time correction such as the Alpine Imprint I run will make for the most dramatic impact you could ever imagine

 

Ya I know getting a true SQ setup is going to cost me a lot more than 200, but that's what I feel the best balance point is of satisfying audio and a budget I feel comfortable with.

 

Similar pods as those you see up there used to be made by Zenclosures but he stopped making them. I talked to him before starting mine. Currently the most common and best quality pods are made by WickedCas (Nazar). Just google "wickedcas 350z door pods" for lots of pics and link to their site. Plus shipping was 329.00 as at last month when I checked.
Normally there is a wait time but he had a couple made when I inquired. I decided to build because I thought the price was too high. However that notion completly disappeared when I built mine. It takes too much time to do it right. On that note I would say that price is probably cheap (lol)

 

I did this, little extra work though

Pic was from test fitting before X930 install and other paint work on panel

 

WOW!! Very nicely done!

 

+1 on Nazars pods.

OP, the real issue w staging and SQ is having a good tweeter, and thta means one that can play a bit lower than others.
The best I have ever heard were the F17C Alpine DDDrive flagship speakers from 1999 or so.. they played down farther than anythgni i have ever heard since..

I run Boston Pro se's now, and there are certainly still even better speakers like Focals etc.. but for 400 bucks ( likely near cost/ebay) they are fantastic.

Cas pods w an XTC baffled liner ( cut a small hole in it, they shouldnt be 100% sealed) makes for a damn good sound stage..

I use Imprint time correction too, but regardless.. the pods give you great placement even when using oem tweet locations.