ibanez78

i need soe advice on what type of speaker to put in my front doors. My choices are either a 6-1/2 or 5X7/6X8 component set. I'm wondering what other people have and which one they would reccomend

rustychops41

Just recommend getting rid of the awful OEM speakers. I replaced all 4 of mine with mid-priced ($70-80) Kenwoods and the sound is 1000% better. 6x8's in the front doors, 6x9's in the back (5 1/4 rounds in rear doors for the P5 I think). The stock ones are crap. Non-existent magnet, "whizzer cone" tweeters, and total weight of about 1.5 grams.

MisterT

Are you going with amps or just replacing the factory speakers? What is your price range? If you are just replacing factory speakers and using deck power, a set of Infinity Reference series are supposed to sound really good and require less power than say their Kappa series.

ibanez78

you know i'm not sure about an amp yet. I already have a pair of kappa 6X9's in the back and they are awesome, but the problem is they are so much better than the front speakers that they just overpower the front ones. I am looking at a pair of 61/2 reference for the front. i also have a cheapy powered subwoofer in the back that is pretty small but does the job for the kind of music i listen to.I was thinking of getting a 4 channel amp and powering the 2 new front speakers and bridging the back 2 channels into the small subwwofer i have, bypassing it's amp system and just using the box and speaker

MisterT

Why go 6 1/2 Reference up front (unless you like the sound)? Your best speakers should be up front. Powering the front speakers with an amp is a good idea. I am not sure what you are talking about in the last part...bypassing it's amp system...is it an amplified sub? Usually those amps are designed for the particular driver in the enclosure so you may do more harm than good.

ibanez78

yeah for the last part i do mean just using the sub and the box that it's in, i don't want any big speakers or big boxes in my trunk. you asked why i am going with 61/2's in the front, what else can i put in there? i have 5X7's and i don't like the sound of them, i want 61/2's because the type i am looking at are component so i can put the tweeters in the "sail panel" of my door

MisterT

6 1/2s will work. You will have to do a little cutting of the metal, but it's easy with a dremel tool. You also want to make a trim piece (I have seen people use the factory speaker for this) and cut out a 6 1/2 hole in it for the driver. If the trim piece is made of wood, put some Thompson's water seal on it or some polyurethane to keep moisture from getting to it. I also would look in to getting acoustic baffles to keep moisture from them. Those you can get at crutchfield or any where else.

MisterT

I got some ideas on www.sounddomain.com where you can look up specific vehicles and types under member pages. My pics are posted there too.

ibanez78

question, is the insert used because the speaker holes don'tline up with the holes in the doors or are they to help with the sound? and also those baffles for the watrer, couldn't i just some tape or something on the top half of the speaker?

MisterT

The baffles are primarily good to keep moisture out. I guess you could use old duct tape as a "shield" against it, but I am not sure how it would affect the driver if it was taped around the back of the speaker. Baffles are really cheap. i think they are around $6 a pair. The downside would be paying for shipping (almost the same amount for shipping).

MisterT

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-zFSl3af...=1&cc=01&avf=Y
Actually they are $7.99 a pair

Poseur

GO LISTEN TO SPEAKERS! do lots of homework, just listen to as many as you can. make a mix cd that covers the range of your favorite styles of music. and listen away. I'd certianly reccomend an amp, and 6.5" components are likely the best bet. Peronally I'm a big fan of Focal, and Boston Acoustics. but it all varies by ear.