mnkyboy

I want to replace my factory speakers with something decent. I like the factory HU, since I have the indash 6disc changer.

What speakers would you recommend for me to buy? I want to spend around $125. Im not a big car audio person, but I do want better speakers than the factory speakers.

Any suggestions/comments would be great.

Also, could you name some online places besides crutchfield.com that I can purchase speakers. I will be installing them myself.

TheLastMarauder

Wal Mart... lol....

mnkyboy

Thats an option, they have some Pioneers for $54 that Crutchfield has for $79.99. They are made for Mazda vehicles according to the specs. Crutchfield has some other speakers that are good prices , but I need some suggestions (other than Wally World).

pro00

I just bought a set of tweeters and subs from
Boston Acuostics from ebay for 200 dollars
6 inch subs, 1 inch tweeter
Installation should run another 75, got the hookup

I have yet to recieve and install it but, I think that is the way
to go, I will keep you up to date what happens with installation and quality of sound

Price wise, best to buy from the internet, way cheaper, and never had problems with them. Always check feedback

hope that helps

JJB

I got Polk audio ones for my car (EX572a for the fronts and EX602a for the rears)... though I also did the head unit before the speakers. Price was reasonabe, as I recall, and I think that they sound pretty good.

I got them from Crutchfield as they give you the adapters and wiring stuff you need to use the stock wiring (plus I am lazy and did not look around a lot more). The only catch was the adapter plate for the rears (Mazda uses a dumb *** non standard hole patern for the rears) needed to have the opening enlarged to get the speakers to fit cleanly... took me a heck of a long time to do it as I did not have the right tool for the job... but, once I had that sorted out, it was a 30 minute job to get all four in the doors.

MisterT

Crutchfield had a thing where you buy one pair of Polk Audio speakers and get a 2nd pair half off. I never listened to these speakers before, but Blaupunkt (spelling?) has inexpensive speakers. That would save you a bundle. You should find something decent in that price range that your factory HU can push just fine. If you need help installing yourself, there is a site called www.carstereohelp.com that has illustrations on how to remove the door panels and rear deck to get to those bad boys.

michael

SEA_P5

Go to:

www.ikesound.com

Get the Infinity Reference for front and back.

Infinity Reference 5752cf ---$59
Infinity Reference 652i ------$57

116 Bucks

There are some other ones that might fit in your budget range.

Check it out.

hihoslva

Infinity is a good choice. However, they tend to be lacking in the bass a bit.

But for clear sound, those from Ikesound are a steal.

Optimally, you'd like to get speakers with a high sensitivity (efficiency) rating (expressed in dB) - this is basically how loud they can get with a given amount of power. So speakers with a higher rating will get louder with the stock deck's output than those with a lower rating.

Infinity generally has a nice high rating. Anything 90 dB or above will be pretty good.

Also know that as a general rule, a high efficiency rating correpsonds with slightly lower bass output, no matter what the brand. You can try installing some XTC foam baffles behind the speakers (search for "XTC" on Crotchfield), which in essence puts the speakers in a small enclosure - this *can* boost the bass enough to be noticeable - and you get the added benefit of some moisture protection and even a little bit of sound deadening from them. They are a good purchase, IMHO, and I use them.

Don't expect to be crazy loud though, no matter what you do. Your main accomplishment with new speakers will be better clarity, and maybe a slight increase in output.

~HH

mnkyboy

Tnks for the nfo. Walmart actually has some 6.5" Blaupunkts for $34.86. Ive seen these speakers go for over $50 elsewhere. Are they any good?


Walmart also has some Pioneer 6x8s for $56.86. The specs state they are designed for Mazda vehicles. Anyone have experience with Pioneer?

mnkyboy

I dont want to be a moving bass box! All I want is clearer, better sounding music. Tnks for the info.

hihoslva

I would say first, that anything is better than stock!

Second, see if you can audition the speakers - NOT hooked to an amp, but hooked up to a head-unit only.

Third - *almost* any speaker will do, because you are not concerned with how much power they will handle.

I have found that Pioneer and Kenwood make decent speakers for lower-power applications at good prices. Those Blaus look decent, too.

I would get on Crotchfield, and look at all the specs of everything in your price range. Look for the combination of highest sensitivity rating (in dB) and largest frequency range (in Hz to kHz). Once you've found it, see if you can get them somewhere else cheaper. If not, snap 'em up from Crotch.

There are also some reaonably priced component sets out there (separate woofer & tweeter, with outboard crossover). If you don't mind a custom-type installation (tweeter mounting), these might be good to look at also. I have even read about new Infinity sets that have a 5x7/6x8 woofer and separate tweeter - most sets are round woofers, though.

Again, though - I think what you're looking at will definitely be an improvement over stock.

One more thing - I would also consider leaving the rears alone. While many people like to change them out, they are not very audible to the driver. If you only swap the fronts, this frees up a little more money to spend there - where it counts. Just a suggestion.

~HH

Dave Cameron

I would chime in with our buddy Hihoslva on this, make sure you go listen to the speakers before you buy them. I am amazed how many folks do that .
You will be the person living with them so make sure you like the sound of them....
The web will be probably the best prices depending on the shipping. E-bay and online stores will beat many brick and morter shops on price but often fall through on warrenty. I suppose it is an issue of what critera are important to you. Personally no matter how nice the speakers when I get them I try to get two sets becuase I just know at somepoint one will die for some reason or another. That and the spares look cool hanging out in the little shop of horrors!
So go listen to as many brands as you can, and then hit the web for pruchasing....
Good Hunting, and let us all know on what you settle on, how you purchase them, you intall, and what you think when you are done. Hopefully the process will be fun for you and you will be pleased with the results.

surf_doggy

Just got my Mazda 3 5 door. The front speakers look like they are components.
If I got a set of after market component speakers, will I need to find and replace the crossovers, or can I use the existing ones and just replace the speaker pieces?

If I need to find the,, anyone know where they are?

devorak

hey hey now, mind the thread jacking

Jakers

responding to the pioneer question, i got a almost that exact pair, but i beleive they were 6x9's for my back 2 speakers, only problem i had was the tweeter on it, taps the plastic cover when its really pounding, but that can be fixed with foam or something, and i also had some metal that rattled in the trunk, so i went back there with some good old duct tape, and duct taped the 2 metal pieces together, and then the rattle went away. my old ones in the back were blown when i got the car, so cant compare them, but the factory ones were only 25 watts, the pioneers i got were 225 watts, they were like $80 from walmart. but they sound pretty good, so i would recomend them