Door speakers
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Guest
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I have Boston normal size in the standard place, and seperate Boston tweeters nearer the top of the door, with the X-over in the door pockets. These along with the rear shelf mounted, and an Alpine amp (not by choice, just chosen by size, as it fits under the passenger seat, behind the DME) give really good sound quality.
All fitted professionally, of course, by my normal ICE/air-con people, so the fit quality is also good.
All fitted professionally, of course, by my normal ICE/air-con people, so the fit quality is also good.
Guest
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I have similar to John only without a separate amp. I chose a set of Infinity speakers with separate tweeters (cost about £110 from Memory). I got 5.25 inch (normal size) but if I did it again, I would fit 6 inch. I am told this is quite easy and would provide a fuller bass. I also replaced the rears (myself) with a low profile dual magnet Kenwood (£40-50 from memory). This is pretty easy but I had to cut the plastic mounting plates to make it work.
I use a top end Blaupunkt head unit and this is adequate. I am tempted to use a small amp to run the front speakers and leave the head unit to drive the rears (which only provide "fill" anyway) but have not got around to it yet.
The improvement is enormous (though still not really hi-fi). My goal was to be able to hear the tunes at 100mph with the sunroof open. Goal acheived. My original speakers had torn cones etc and it is a minor miracle they made any sound at all.
Richard
I use a top end Blaupunkt head unit and this is adequate. I am tempted to use a small amp to run the front speakers and leave the head unit to drive the rears (which only provide "fill" anyway) but have not got around to it yet.
The improvement is enormous (though still not really hi-fi). My goal was to be able to hear the tunes at 100mph with the sunroof open. Goal acheived. My original speakers had torn cones etc and it is a minor miracle they made any sound at all.
Richard
I went for 6" speakers to replace the standard 5.25" (Alpine units) with a separate tweeter (as John above) - really makes a difference to the sound quality and depth of bass. An amp would improve things further (next job for me) but can end up being quite pricey. If you're doing the front speakers you really should do the rears as well as the original tiny Blaupunkt 6X4" will be very tired indeed. The cones become brittle after a while and the sound they produce is pretty pathetic. I've upgraded to Boston Acoustics in the rear. As Richard mentions, mounting bigger speakers in the rear can be tricky as you don't have much depth through the parcel shelf to fit a larger driver. The solution seems to be to go for a speaker that sits proud of the parcel shelf rather than sunk into it - my Bostons sit about an inch high. That is enough to allow a bigger speaker without looking like 1980's £20 speakers from Halfords ! (I'm sure you know the type !)
Guest
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Yes again. The choice of parcel shelf speakers that fit in the standard position is very limited - which is why I mentioned the Kenwoods. They are shallow (and very lightweight for a speaker) due to dual magnet design. I can use the standard covers, so they look very innocuous. I removed one of my OEs and took it to the shop to check the replacement was the same depth.
R
R
Guest
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Nicola,
What did you decide to do?
I'm going through the same dilema. I have bought some Infinity but they don't fit with the original water proofing rear surround in the door. I intend to return them to the shop where I bought them for advice and their suggestion is to try out some from Kickers (I thought they made shoes?).
What did you decide to do?
I'm going through the same dilema. I have bought some Infinity but they don't fit with the original water proofing rear surround in the door. I intend to return them to the shop where I bought them for advice and their suggestion is to try out some from Kickers (I thought they made shoes?).
Guest
New member
I had 6 inch JBL GT series speakers in the front powered by a small Alpine amp. Worth going for 6 inch as speaker choice is wider, minimal effort to get these in and sound much better fed by an amp. For the rear, I bought some Pioneer custom fit speakers as these dropped straight in and provided much better fill in sound. Good bass is hard to achieve but definitely improved sound quality over the standard fit system.
Guest
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The JBL GT series speakers were model number 603 - 3 way speaker unit was 6 inch diameter, compact and not too deep so would slot into the original aperture without fouling anything and only required mounting screws to be re-located. Not sure if they are still available but were bought for #60 when new.
Pioneer custom fit speakers 4 inch x 6 inch and fit straight into the rear shelf and fit flush. They are rated at 90w, model number is TS-H461. Cost about #45 new and should still be available (or equiv model). I still have these, not much use to me now and would pass on cheaply if anyone wants them and lives near the west london area.
Pioneer custom fit speakers 4 inch x 6 inch and fit straight into the rear shelf and fit flush. They are rated at 90w, model number is TS-H461. Cost about #45 new and should still be available (or equiv model). I still have these, not much use to me now and would pass on cheaply if anyone wants them and lives near the west london area.
Guest
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Please do your ears a favour and upgrade rather than use the poor quality factory speakers.
Most 5.25 inch component speakers will fit but be sure to check for depth as the enclosures are not very deep. I used Infinity reference series speakers and it was an easy home install. The difference is night and day. If I did it again, I would put a bigger 6 inch speaker in to replace the 5.25 inch factory speakers as many will fit without difficulty and will provide better bass.
The rear speakers are also rubbish, though they really only "fill in" the sound with the fronts doing all the real work and imaging. I have a spare set of Kenwood dual mag 6x4 rears that will screw straight in under factory grills if anyone is interested.
Most 5.25 inch component speakers will fit but be sure to check for depth as the enclosures are not very deep. I used Infinity reference series speakers and it was an easy home install. The difference is night and day. If I did it again, I would put a bigger 6 inch speaker in to replace the 5.25 inch factory speakers as many will fit without difficulty and will provide better bass.
The rear speakers are also rubbish, though they really only "fill in" the sound with the fronts doing all the real work and imaging. I have a spare set of Kenwood dual mag 6x4 rears that will screw straight in under factory grills if anyone is interested.
I fitted some speakers from Genesis (A16 I think, 6.5" bass/mid, 1" tweeter), cost about £230. My car came from the factory with the 'hi-fi' option and my aim was to maintain a factory appearance.
Spent a weekend fitting them. Needed to open the hole in the door card slightly. Used a shaped wooden spacer between door panel and door structure. Used screws to secure the speakers actually into the steel door structure to make sure the speakers are well-grounded mechanically. Lots of Dynamat on the door. Crossover units fit very neatly into door panel 'cubby'.
By good fortune the tweeter units are a perfect close fit in the factory tweeter housings. Whole things look absolutely 'factory'.
I've also fitted some JL Audio units in the rear shelf, which fit beautifully under the factory grilles.
Spent a weekend fitting them. Needed to open the hole in the door card slightly. Used a shaped wooden spacer between door panel and door structure. Used screws to secure the speakers actually into the steel door structure to make sure the speakers are well-grounded mechanically. Lots of Dynamat on the door. Crossover units fit very neatly into door panel 'cubby'.
By good fortune the tweeter units are a perfect close fit in the factory tweeter housings. Whole things look absolutely 'factory'.
I've also fitted some JL Audio units in the rear shelf, which fit beautifully under the factory grilles.
Infinity Reference 6 X 4 will go straight into the rear shelf. I have got infinities in the front doors as well but the cross overs and the wiring are a bit suspect. I have fitted a Kenwood amp under the passengers seat and rewired the rear speakers bypassing the fader in the front console much better sound, will rewire the fronts at some time as well.
Baz
Baz
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