New audio system config....

New audio system config....

i have a kenwood cd/mp3 player that im gonna put in my 04 corolla.

i want a good sounding system, good clears and a decent thump, nothing crazy, DEF no subs, or amp, i just want to compliment the new HU with some decent speakers in the car.

so hears the ? i have the 6 speaker which includes the stock tweeters in the car (i believe, obviously i dont know much about these things), should i not even regard the tweeters and just get new 3 ways for the front, or 2 ways because theres already tweeters?

IF (and thats a big if) i get component for the front (speaker and tweeter right?) where does that 3rd piece (not speaker, flat blocky piece) go? like i said i dont wanna go nuts with this, so does that mean i shouldnt even consider component? im sure good 6.5s in front should do. maybe?

so what do you guys think i should do? im on a budget about 400 give or take, so replace all 4 speakers with 3 ways? 2 ways? component in front, 3 way in back?

remeber nothing crazy, just speaker replacement :wink:

thanx for all your help, as you can tell i need alot of it :?

For $400 is kind of a hard choice...
For $600, there are a lot of choices I like.

For $400, I would go for:

Infinity Reference component. ($200) I love Infinity tweeters! The box is the crossover and it can go inside of the door if you are running them from the wires that are already there.
http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/...&c=10&g=76400&I=1086000CS&o=m&a=0&cc=01&avf=N

Alpine Type-R 6x9. ($200) Alpine Type-R bass sounded better than Infinity. Rear for bass.
http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/...c=10&g=52300&I=500SPR694A&o=m&a=0&cc=01&avf=N

This is only something that I would get.
Your taste might be different.

Re: New audio system config....

That "flat blocky piece" that you are referring to are the passive crossovers. Don't put it inside the doors (behind the door panels) because these areas can get wet. If you will only use your Head Unit to power them, there's a space inside the dash that you can use.. right below the head unit.

Go with components! Most coaxials are poorly made and usually doesn't include passive crossovers. Coaxials also won't give you that decent "thump" you're looking for.

I bought a CE so it didn't come with the tweets on the door up in the front corners. Added them myself, imaging improved incredibly. I've got 3-way Polks in the door, but nature didn't intend for ankles and knees to pick up stereo cues...definately go seperates and keep the tweets where they're located (just replace them with the new ones).

Re: New audio system config....

Uh-oh... that’s the place I put the passive crossovers on my previous car, they’re still there, and my wife is driving it now. I thought behind the door panels don’t get wet... I thought only the inside of the metal door itself (where the windows are) get wet. If they do get wet, then I should move them to some place else...

if i go with components for the front do i even need to install the crossover box? if the stock has tweeters already, shouldnt there already be a crossover inside the car? can i just replace the 6.5 and the tweeter?

thnx again all for your great info

I’m not sure if the stock wires already have crossover or not. Never thought about it because I always run after market speakers from the after market amps.

Even though it does, you still should use the crossover that comes with the speaker because they are specially made for that speaker. Crossover point can be different.

i think im gonna go with infinity ref component in front and pioneer 3 or 4 ways in back, hows that sound?

should i have this stuff installed or do it myself, im not too sure if i can do it myself with the cutting and all.

and if i get it installed how much should it cost me?

I never was interested in Pioneer speakers, so I don’t really know how good they are. But many people say they’re good. My favorite is Infinity and MB Quartz for high, Kicker and Alpine for mid, and MTX and JL for low.

Installing the speakers should be easy. Just need to follow the DIY on this site.
If you want to get them installed outside, I think they would cost about $40 each pair.
When I knew nothing about the car stereos, they charged me $75 for tweeter and $60 for 5 1/4 and I think I got ripped...

i just dont know how comfortable id feel about cutting pieces out of my car,

and how would i install the new tweeters? and the new crossover? i can build a deisel computer from scratch, but im not sure i can do this

i wish there was more detailed diys

Take your time and do it step by step. You'll do a better job than most installation places. To you, your car is your car - if it takes a month, so be it. To an installer it's just "another car" - gotta be done in an hour.

I agree. After I learned about stereo stuff and checked how those people installed them, I found out they didn't do good job at all. One of the speaker wires was disconnected and amp was hooked up incorrectly. Left and right input were switched around...

For this car, I installed my own and it took almost 2 months. Several hours on each weekend and totalled about 20 hours.

The DIY that I posted in the DIY section of this site is very detailed (with PICS even) but if unsure of something, don't hesitate to PM / email me anytime Everyone's gotta start somewhere..

Also, if you can build PCs from scratch, you CAN definitely build a system-- because you don't deal with IRQ's, DMA's and Interrupts with car audio :mrgreen:

thanx alot everyone, ill probably take you up on that offer ^^^

from what if read (pretty much everything on this site) its really not a simple thing to replace the front or rear speakers, pretty much everything you do needs some type of custom job to be done right, thats where i feel i may fail at self installing :?

For the rear speakers, you don't need to do anything custom.
What I did is just took out the stock speakers, put double sided tape around the whole, and then put the after market speakers on it.
I used double sided tape on the front speakers of the previous car and it never came off. I actually had hard time taking it off after 2 years. They hold pretty good.

Nothing is custom about FRONT speakers as well.. All you have to do is remove the door panel, remove the stock speaker, and slap in the new one.

i read that for the rear the holes dont line up so you have to either drill new ones or use some sort of foam or sillicon or zip ties to keep them in place,

and for the front ive also read that you have to do the same thing but that the mount isnt even exactly 6.5

For the rear, I recomment a strong double sided tape. They are strong.

For the front, if you check DIY, you'll know. You don't need to drill whole for make it custum. Just need to rip the stock speakers.

exactly what kinf of tape did you use and where did you pick it up (& $)? thnx much

Use exterior grade silicon to "glue" the speakers in place. It sticks better, seals better and lasts a lot longer. The adhesive on double sided tape will dry out over time.

is the glue permanent once i put it on?

Define permanent. If you use silicon, they will stay in place for the life of the car. If you need to get them out, you can get them out with a bit of force.

i mean is sillicon something that i could get off cleanly if i ever need to replace the stock speakers? is this stuff messy?

It can be messy when you put it on, if you're not careful. Once it's cured you can get it all off. It just takes a bit of rubbing and scraping.

I've used zip ties to secure the rear speakers in place

I just drilled new holes where they needed to be and used the new screws that came with the new speakers.