I thought I would share this for anyone comtemplating replacing their stock tweeters. Do it, the result is vastly better sound over the stockers. It also give a more pronounced forward soundstage.

I found a set of power acoustiks NEO-40 mounted in a die cast aluminium housing which are about the same size as the '02-'03 tweeter pods.

I removed the stock pods (quite easy) once the door panels are removed. I mounted the NEO-40's in the door cutouts temporarily to see if I liked the upgrade. They look pretty good and sound phenomenal!

I may keep them this way, or I may take it apart and mount it in the stock pods.... I am still thinking about that...

These tweeters were supposed to be a titanium dome as listed on their website, but one of their tech guys clued me in that they are really silks. The specs were changed too late to update the packaging and advertising material.

He could not say specifically who made them, only that they are quite similar to some very high priced silk tweeters, coming from the same trade manufacturer in China.

One point to remember, they don't have their own crossover, so I used a 6.8uf capacitor so it would run from about 6khz to 21khz. If you want a higher crossover point you can use 4.7uf.

I am also using my Kenwood soft domes too. They are mounted lower and more forward on the door, just infront of the door latch.

Good sounds to all.


Chris
Montclair, NJ

 

Do you have pictures of that tweeter?

 

I don't have a picture. But a general search for the Power Acoustik NEO-40 will give you a general idea. I found a picture on the Hifi Sound Connection website.

The Neo-40 that I received are almost identical to the pictures with the exception of the material of the dome. Once the cage is removed you can see the dome much clearer. There is a small plastic diffuser, similar to the one on the Kenwoods soft dome and the Neo-40 dome is made from plastic coated cloth, that's grey in color. The sound is very smooth and not harsh, smoother and lighter than the stock one.

What I liked about the speaker is the die-cast aluminium holder. It is almost the same size as the stock tweeter pod. It was quite easy to rig up a temporary mount. It comes with a long metal strap which has 12 small holes. The strap is screwed to the back of the unit. I unscrew one of the screws on the back of the door panel and attached the strap. I sealed the small openings with black electrical tape (inside out) to provide a seal. They look pretty good for now.

Weather is getting pretty cold now. If I find I don't like the look. It will easy to remove them. They come apart and I can mount the tweeters in the stock pods.

Enjoy the sounds.

Chris

 

Dumb question Chris. Are the neo's in the stock door location? I'm not following where they are from your description.

 

Eric, yes. The Neo-40 are mounted exactly in the stock locations for the '02-'03 tweeters. I removed the stock pods. Once they unsnap, there is an oblong hole. the Neo-40 have a large die-cast aluminum frame which fits the holes pretty closely. To provide a better seal and to make it look better. I covered parts of the openings with electrical tape from the inside. I kind of like the look, has a tech look.

But I am still reserving judgement. If I want to use these tweeters andt want to go back to the stock look I can take the tweeters out of the die-cast frame and mount them to the stock bracket.

At first I liked the idea of a swivel mount. Now that I have it, and have used it, I don't see much of a difference. Just plain old marketing.

Chris

 

Thanks for the explanation Chris.

 

No problem. I have gotten some good ideas here and I thought it would be only right to share any good ones I came up with.