Speaker upgrades

[idwoodvale]

Can anyone help me? I'm wanting to upgrade the speakers in my Lux (4 speaker).

The current ones are pretty naff - no bass and piercing treble. I'm told that there can be some difficulty fitting larger ones cos of the limited space - the metal window guide in the front door can get in the way and there's not much room in the back panels.
Does anyone know of a good quality direct replacement speaker or a way of fitting larger ones?
Still a newbie so I apologise if there has been a similar thread already - I've seen the discussion on head units but not on speakers.

 

[pal944]

you don,t have to take the quarter wimdows out. but it is a little hard to do they are the same type as the front.

 

[chrisr]

Yep with Jase B really, had mine done on the S2 about 2 months ago with a well respected long standing audio dealer who stated that the space is minimal re front speakers but the upgrade together with the new head unit has made a big difference the back speakers he didnt fancy at all re the window so he left well alone.

 

[Fen]

I change the back ones in my S2 coupe without taking the window out. The only problem is that the vinyl covering of the panel is folded over the edge that the window rubber sits in, but you can tease it out and then push it back so it looks neat enough.

 

[idwoodvale]

Thanks for the advice. Gonna shop around a bit for a specialist locally.

 

[rpjg_1975]

I am getting some prices on replacement speakers but have found prices ranging from £15 for cheapy obscure make ones upwards. The backs on mine weren't working and i found that one was missing and the other was in pieces.... and yes, you have to take the back interior panels off which I found to be a bit of a nightmare. At least the front ones are straight forward!!!

 

[Fen]

You need 6x4 to replace the standard speakers (al round). They need to be shallow also in the front or they will interfere with the window when you lower it.

It's different if you have the "hi fi" pack with speakers under the arm rest where a door pocket would be more useful.

 

[psi]

I've fitted alpines 6x4's allround in mine (cost about £40 a set but well worth it). the rears are not as bad as you'd think to be honest. My advice is to get another person to help you. I unscrewed the bottom of the rear panels, removed the door trim and got my other half to hold the panel up to a point where I could get my hand (and an angled screwdriver in - too tight for a straight or stubby one). The rear panels are very flexible and will go far enough for you to get i and do the work and then as soon as your finished screw them down again and they looked as good as they did before. Make sure you are on the outside of the car with your head and arm around so th person inside can hold it steady (also easier to take the sunroof out so they are not completely cramped in) Job took 15/20 mins a side as its screwing with an angled screwdriver that is the slow process.

(please note the post writer takes no responsibility for damage, breakage and or stupidity of the owner who tries this and fails. The writer successfully completed this by being careful and only lost a little blood!)

 

[appletonn]

I removed the two front speakers from mine last night (which look to have been replaced at some point, as they are Alpine ones, albeit one has a crushed tweeter cone) and the mounting depth needs to be no more than 47mm, ideally less.

I've sanded down my clip on covers and respayed them with satin black paint, so just need to source some new 6x4s now[]

 

[sawood12]

I replaced my front ones with the JBL 2-way speakers that which are specifically for the car (they seem to be a standard fitment accross the Porsche and VW range of mid-'80's cars) and I reckon the sound quality is not as good as the original ones. My original ones were in good shape and actually sounded OK but just struggled with bass at higher volumes and I upgraded because I was under the impression that modern speakers would sound better, but these JBL ones are tinny, with less midrange and bass quality than the originals. My plans for the rears are to upgrade to larger 3-way 6x9's if I ever do anything where the rear interior panel has to come off, but this will require a bit of metal cutting.

 

[Fen]

I forgot to add above, if you want cheap and cheerful and you have a cab you can go 6x9 in the doors - the quarterlight means that the window doesn't go anywhere near the back of the speaker. I had to trim a little of the inner door to let the speaker frame sit all the way in, but otherwise it was straight forward and while 6x9's don't get much praise in high-end circles it's plenty good enough for as compromised a listening environment as an open-topped car.

 

[Indi9xx]

Good quality upgrade for 944's without having to modify the interior at all is to use some top end 6x4's and then use an active bass unit under the drivers or/and passenger seat.

I have just done this to one of my turbo's and it sounds transformed!

Ultimately I have just bought a genuine 10 speaker interior set for it so it will be getting that installed and the active bass units retained.

If you do not mind cutting your rear quarter trims, the rears in the later cars have a 6 inch rear cut out already in the bodywork for a 6 inch speaker, meaning you just need to change the fill panel, install the speaker, cut the trim and fit the grill over the top.

Most of all, I love my active bass units, especially after I modified their construction to fine tune them.

 

[appletonn]

Jon, any recommendations on the 'top end' 6x4 speaker front?

 

[MonkeyRacing]

I fitted these JBL's in the rear panels on my Lux and worked a treat (no connection to the seller):

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/JBL-p6452-6x4-INCH-SPEAKERS-PORSCHE-911-944-968-FIAT-VW_W0QQitemZ320274955046QQihZ011QQcategoryZ14939QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Wigeon Incognito]

I've gone for Alpine 4625S 6x4s in the front of mine with 100Hz bass blockers, and 6.5" Pioneers (can't remember the model number, they were twin cones rather than coaxials as I don't like higher frequencies coming from the rear) in the rear.

Taking the rear panels off wasn't a problem. They took about 45 minutes per side to remove completely without removing the window glass.

Rather than cut the existing mount (which does allow for a 6.5" speaker, but would leave space around it so not ideal) I took the time to create templates of the aperture than custom make some new mounts that allow for the 6.5" speaker but seal the entire hole.

Everything fits perfectly but due to problems with returning some speakers to a certain online car audio retailer (some may say they are a centre for car audio) I haven't been able to test the setup yet.

 

[j4mou]

these are the ones I went for. there great and a good price too.
(no connection to seller)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/KENWOOD-KFC-4625-6X4-SPEAKERS-NEW_W0QQitemZ190223481653QQihZ009QQcategoryZ14939QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247